Sparks of a flame

6. Hangouts and Books

VIOLET

The cold night air bit at my bare shoulders mercilessly and its accompanying breeze whispered to me that the lacy gloves I had worn for warmth were useless while messing up my baby hair.

 My freezing fingertips found their way to either side of my shoulders and clutched it desperately in an attempt to give it some warmth. The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention and my tongue made an appearance every other second to provide some moisture to my dry lips. I wiggled my toes in the white flats that had been picked out for me, grateful that the knee-high socks it had been paired with ensured my feet were at least warm.

Directly ahead of me, I stared at the single light coming from the view of the mountain. It was red and blinked every thirty seconds. It looked lonely and I sighed deeply as I watched it, wondering who was all by themselves on the mountaintop. Though there was not much to see because the mountains were pitch black –save the blinking red light– the twinkling stars made up for that.

"Are you not cold, Princess?" I turned to look at the human that possessed the voice. 

He was dressed much more appropriately for the weather than I was. He took off his beanie that matched his sandy brown hair and attempted to put it directly on my head. I giggled as he struggled to put it perfectly over the messy bun Lady Katherine had forced me to wear and smiled my thanks when he gave up, preferring it was comfortable rather than perfect looking. 

He shrugged off the white coat he was wearing and I eyed the tight, black sweater he had donned underneath, swallowing a little as I let my eyes trace the visible outline of his rock-hard abs. I caught myself just as I felt the coat fall over my sleeveless shirt and ducked my head to hide the blush on my cheeks.

"Thank you," I said when he moved to stand beside me, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He simply smiled and looked at the mountain. The red light blinked again and I saw a small smile on his face. "It looks lonely," I commented, my eyes fixed on the red light.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, there is only one light, so I assume it is just one person out there. Or at most one family."

He shook his head. "I do not find that lonely. Being alone is peaceful. You do not have to share or deal with other people. I would like it."

Weird, I thought but nodded at his analogy. An awkward silence followed after that, and I fidgeted as I stood there, trying to think of the right thing to say.

"Would you like to sit inside?" he pointed to the mini-library on whose balcony we stood. "Out here is rather freezing."

"Yes," I nodded. He held the door open as I entered and I let out a sigh of relief as the warmth from the fireplace greeted us. He chuckled slightly at that and asked why I had not just sat inside. I hung his coat on the arm of the closest chair but left the beanie on liking the way it felt on my head.

"I thought I would look at the view," I responded. 

He walked to the corner of the room and dimmed the lights, turning them from bright white to a soft orange. Shifting subtly in the plush sofa I had settled in, I felt my guard go up. After all, the prince was a stranger to me. He picked up a remote from one of the shelves and soft piano played from the surround system when he pressed a button. I found it odd that a library would have a speaker in the first place, but I kept the comment to myself and tried to relax.

Oblivious to my discomfort, Prince Stephen walked to the table in the middle of the room and lifted the lace. A teapot sat on a silver tray with two teacups and he lifted the pot to empty its contents into the cups. I smelled it before I saw it and instantly recognized the tea from my high school days working part-time in a tea shop.