"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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Irina felt a laugh bubble up in her throat as she stared up at Aleksander, who in turn, gazed at her with such affection.
They were currently at the foundations of what they had dubbed the 'Little Palace', their little palace. She was seated on the marble floor, his coat around her shoulders as to shield her from the cold. He, on the other hand, was telling her stories of his travel, amusing her greatly.
Between them were a basket of sweet fruits and two goblets of kvas. Their dinner for that night, one he had brought for them to share in that very building. Almost as if it were a form of baptizing the place and marking it as theirs.
"Oh, how I wish to go there. The summer palace of Fjerda, I didn't know that still existed after the formation of the Kenst Hjerte. Did you happen to see any sildroher?" Irina asked almost teasingly, only for him to give her a knowing look.
"As a matter of fact, I did. Plenty of them. They would emerge from the water every summer and bring such gifts to the king. Met one too." Aleksander said, shrugging nonchalantly.
He need not tell her that the summer palace had long since been abandoned and that the sildroher no longer emerge from the waves. After all, that had been so long ago, and telling her would reveal more than it should. Especially if he had told her that the sildroher he had met was his own sister.
"Saints, you've been everywhere." She exhaled, bringing a piece of grape to her mouth.
He smiled at her genuinely, moving back to sit beside her. "It means nothing though if you cannot go home. Being a nomad who doesn't belong anywhere isn't exactly the ideal lifestyle."
"Still. It must be nice to see all the things they only mention in storybooks and see all the places in maps." She grinned, looking over at him to see that he was already looking at her with an incomprehensible look. "What? What is it?"
"Is that what you truly wish? To see the world?" He asked, lifting a goblet to his lips and taking a long sip of kvas.
She thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Maybe someday. At least to reach that summer palace you told me much about. I could try to spot the sildrohers, perhaps take a swim among the leisure waves."
Aleksander didn't have the heart to tell her the truth about all of it so he let her dream of it, dreaming of a time when things could be simple for the two of them.
"Just say the word, darling." He said, his quartz eyes staring at her intently. "I'll take you. Wherever you want."
"How I wish that could be so." She sighed, wrapping his cloak tighter around her form as a gust of wind swept through the building.
"I'm serious." He insisted, taking one of her hands in his. "Anywhere at all. I wish to show you the world and its wonders. Will you let me?"
Her blue eyes glazed over with esteemed fondness, finally feeling that throughout everything, things were starting to look up. "Yes. When?"
