A loud knock on the heavy wooden door made him come back to his senses. The knocking ceased for a moment, and happened again. He got up in the dark. “I am up, just stop” he mumbled with a raspy voice.
“It is I, Merrick” Larsin announced himself on the other side.
With a sudden realization, Merrick brushed his face with his hands, waking himself up. He was surprised by the fact that the Young Prince had come back and that was knocking on his bedroom door. He parted open the heavy, draped curtains of his bedroom, and open the door for Larsin “Come in, brother” he allowed him entrance.
Larsin entered the room and looked at his brother. Everything was perfectly tidy, even him, after sleeping for several hours, it drove him nuts how perfectionist he could be, but he was there for something more important and he had promised not to fight.
Prince Merrick Dortamus was the eldest son of their Majesties, which meant more responsibilities and more things to accomplish in the future. Just like his brother, he had mid-neck long hair, wavy and inked in the darkest shade of brown. His eyes matched the color of his hair, making them look glossy whenever light sneaked across them.
“Good to see you” Merrick greeted him, washing his face in a silver bowl filled with cold water “When did you arrive?”
“Just now” Larsin shortly answered “How have you been?” He was trying not to sound desperate for his help.
“Cut the introduction Larsin, what did you come to see me for?” Merrick knew his brother enough to know he wasn’t there to talk about how much they’ve missed each other during their time away.
Larsin felt relieved to not have to engage in more small talk and threw the bag of pearls on the marble table, making a thug loud noise. Merrick turned around, looked at them and instantly recognized what they were.
“How did you get them?” Merrick quickly asked him.
“Thanks to a girl that got attacked by mermaids” Merrick lifted a doubtful eyebrow and looked at him with disbelief.
“Women don’t get attacked by mermaids, and if they do, they don’t survive, you should know that” Merrick lectured Larsin.
“She did survive” he ensured him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I brought her to the castle from the island” Merrick’s eyes opened widely and Larsin could feel how angry he got.
“Have you lost your mind?” he raised his tone.
“Before you kill me, father blessed the decision of her staying and mother finds her charming” his older brother rolled his eyes, growing impatient.
“Of course she does”
“I’d still be back there if it wasn’t for her” Larsin was more focused on counting the tiles on the floor rather than looking at the disappointed expression on his brother’s face.
“Clearly you need to polish your abilities if a human is better than you” he sounded despicable.
“Do not begin lecturing me about my training Merrick” Larsin arrogantly responded to Merrick’s insult.
The Princes were known across the kingdoms and inside the walls of the castle for not getting along since the very first day they met each other, and they stopped trying to hide it a very long time ago.
Merrick was chief of almost every soldier in the kingdom, working hard for every single one of his achievements, rightfully earning the title of Crown Prince. He couldn’t stand how easy everything came for his little brother, that’s why he lectured and pushed him to go beyond with his training.
“What’s so special about her anyways? And don’t say she’s beautiful, your standards are low”
“She found the dragons, knew about the Ptelea Cave hidden on the mountain, its mechanism, I can keep going” Larsin was laying against a wardrobe, hands on his pockets, pretending he didn’t listen to his brothers last comment.
“That doesn’t make her special Larsin, just very well educated”
“I didn’t remember a Ptelea Cave on that island” Larsin looked at him.
“Neither do I, but it doesn’t mean anything” Merrick was examining the pearls.
“Vatra let her sleep cuddled to her” Larsin said in hopes for Merrick to consider Arline as a special being and make him come to his senses.
Just then, Merrick seem engaged in the story and looked at his brother dead in the eyes to see if he was lying, he wasn’t obviously.
“Now by that I am impressed, your dragon is more stubborn than my horse” he was being honest.
“Apparently she has an ease with it” Larsin confessed “Even the wolves approached her”
They stayed in silence for a few, very long minutes. While Merrick was putting on a shirt he asked his brother, with an annoyed tone “What do you want me to say?” he kept looking at the pearls.
“For now, nothing” Larsin told him “Just don’t judge her and tell me if you feel anything when you meet her” he was about to leave his brother’s room.
“You can’t possibly believe she has a gift, right?” Merrick confronted him at the quick realization of what he was implying.
“What does this mean then?” he signaled the pearls “Look, she shows signs and you, better than anybody, knows it’s possible to be chosen by any spirit circling around”
“I’ll see you at dinner Larsin” he sent him off without answering nor clarifying anything.
Once his brother left, Merrick decided to lay in bed for a few more minutes. It was too much information to process just as he woke up. He didn’t believe his brother could’ve found a guardian roaming around in that island, but it was possible never the less.
After a few minutes, he decided to finish getting ready and go for a walk in the forest before dinner, to ease his mind.
⎯
Arline had just finished getting her hair done by the lovely old lady, Pauline, after getting a warm bath and a nice quick nap, when they heard a gentle knock on the door.
The maid reached for the handle and opened it, showing a very different picture of a very clean and tidy Larsin, resting in the door frame.
“Good afternoon Pauline” he greeted her.
“Very nice to see you master” she bowed.
“May I come in Arline?” he asked from the outside.
“Oh yes, of course Larsin”
He got inside and stood behind her, admiring the complicated pattern of braids styling her beautiful, soft, dark brown hair.
“You can go Pauline, thank you” Larsin ordered politely.
“Thank you so much” Arline said. She bowed down and left the room, leaving them alone.
“How do you find it? The castle” he wondered.
“Overwhelmingly enormous” she sighed with a smile “And too precious for its own good” He agreed with her “Thank you Larsin, really” she turned around facing him, they had been looking at each other through the mirror.
“Don’t thank me” he charmingly said looking at her eyes, she stood up from the stall “Fancy a walk through the forest?” he offered while pointing out of the window.
“Really?” She asked excited, she had spent a good amount of time admiring the scenery through the window after she got up from the nap, and was staggered by the beauty of the land.
“Let’s go then” he grabbed one of the coats from the hanger and placed it over her shoulders.
They rushed through the complicated corridors of the castle, walked across the kitchen and made it to the big wooden door at the end of it.
The landscape outside was out of this world. The trees were painted in different shades of green, with some yellow leaves hanging at its ends, showing the coming of autumn. If you chose to walk deeper into the forest you’ll find yourself in the shore of a big, deep lake. She was too stunned to speak, pay attention to his company and appreciate the beauty of such landscape at the same time.
“This way” he said while gently grabbing her hand and slowly began to walk through an already marked path.
She was fascinated by the surrounding lands of the castle and Larsin decided it would be great to take her by the side of the grayish blue lake. The view of the coast of the kingdom was delightful as the Sun was getting ready to set, so they decided to wait until then.
“I never asked you the kingdom’s name” she asked him
“Reiska” he simply responded.
The noble Kingdom of Reiska was founded some centuries ago. Unlike most of the lands from around the world, Reiska didn’t have laws against non-gifted children. Which meant everyone had to learn the history of the deities as well as train their abilities in the army before pursuing what they desired for their future.
Larsin and Arline kept talking, getting to know each other a little bit more. Their conversation was disturbed by a loud growl, followed by a warm and heavy breathing that finished with a pair of big, round eyes that had been stalking them for the past few minutes.
“Oh great” Larsin rolled his eyes, clearly irritated.
“What?” Arline found it entertaining how mad he got.
“Aska, come out right now” he yelled at the woods and a heavy stomp came from some crashing trees. The creature was similar to Vatra. Except it was an indigo shade of blue with very dark eyes and significantly bigger in every way, especially the wings.
“Dragons just roam around?” Arline whispered.
“This one belongs to my brother” the dragon rubbed its head through Larsin’s body, earning itself a pet.
And as if he had called for him, the silhouette of a man appeared in the carved path off the trees. Arline felt as if she was staring at a look alike of his friend, and decided to look away, a little bit embarrassed.
“Too much of a coincidence considering how extensive the forest is” Merrick commented with a calm voice, not noticing Arline until he moved his view over his brother’s shoulder. He involuntarily smirked. He was wrong, she was indeed beautiful “Are you not going to introduce me to our guest, brother? ” Merrick asked charmingly, almost reminding him of his manners.
Larsin felt a wave of rage towards his brother, but stepped aside to let him fully admire Arline “She is Arline Cole” Merrick gently kissed the back of her hand.
“Pleasure to meet you Arline” he locked eyes with her sweetly “I am Merrick” he introduced himself.
“The pleasure is mine, your Highness” Arline bowed down her head “I’ve heard about you” she mentioned.
“Hopefully nothing too bad” he gently smiled at her, but gave his brother a quick glance “And please, just Merrick”
Aska was getting closer, she seemed curious and Merrick didn’t stop her. At this point, Arline had grown used to them, sort of, but still respected a certain distance.
The dragon rubbed her nose very delicately against her torso, like a cat. Very carefully, Arline extended her hand and the dragon approached her, allowing her to pet her. Even he hated to admit it but Merrick was impressed by Arline and annoyed that his brother was right.
The eldest brother let out a sharp whistle and his dragon obediently went back to his side “Very impressive Arline, really” he admitted.
“I think we should go back” Larsin interrupted “It’s getting colder and they must be waiting for us”. They all agreed and started their return. Larsin was holding Arline’s arm while Merrick engaged in a conversation with her, clearly leaving out his brother as much as he could.
“Doesn’t she rest with the others?” she wondered while she saw Aska fly away, in direction to the mountains.
“Oh no, the only kind of freedom she has experienced is choosing where to rest” Merrick explained.
“How do you know she wouldn’t just escape?”
“She answers to my calls and I’ve showed her enough respect for her to retrieve it as loyalty”
Arline had to admit she really enjoyed listening to Merrick talk. His voice was soothing, but expressed self confidence, without being full of himself, if he spoke in the right tone. Not to mention how smart he was, and he wasn’t ashamed of showing it.
Once in the castle they headed to the dining room. The large darkened ash wood table was settled. A so called “small feast” was displayed and Arline then noticed how hungry she was after this days of feeding with hakes and some berries.
The evening was more than pleasant. A family of strangers took her in and, not only treated her as their equal but made her feel safe and at home. She felt a kind of happiness and calmness while watching them share anecdotes, she hadn’t felt in a long time.
They asked her about her family and she told them as much as she wanted them to know. She didn’t have the greatest family dynamic in the world, but it was bearable. Arline could feel how Merrick looked at her. She sensed he somehow knew she was only telling the good part of the story.
Dinner passed and she went to bed. As soon as her skin cuddled the silks and wool, she fell asleep.
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