The room buzzed with talking - the main conversation; war. War was coming to The Mare and it was out for blood - innocent blood. Mens voices overlapped each other as she sat at the end of the long table with her head in her hands. Stress seemed to be a constant state for the Raven girl.
"We attack them first and slowly draw them here." A man proposed.
"We do that and they'll win." Y/n spoke up, causing the whole table to stop talking all at once and stare at the girl who had been quiet until then.
"How so?" Her father asked her. His interest had been peaked - he had hopes his daughter would take after him and lead the royal army with good battle strategy.
"Well first of all, that would only cause us more casualties then them. Secondly, we would have more of an advantage from here in The Mare. More resources, easier access to them, things we won't have if we blindly attack them on their land." Y/n said as she stared her father right in the eyes. She knew since she was little that all her father ever wanted from her was for her to be smart when it came to war, to be prepared for anything and everything.
"She has a point." One of the men said from beside her, the others faces held impressed expressions.
"Who are we at war with?" She asked her father.
The graying king stared at his daughter and stayed silent for a moment, for he knew that what he was going to say would ruin her world.
"Snowbrooke."
She felt her heart stop and the people around her go silent. How could the silence be so loud? How could it be so annoying? She stood abruptly from her chair and pushed open the doors - her hands falling to her side as her eyes faded from their purple state back to their normal color.
Buzzing filled her ears as she walked furiously through the stone corridors. She stopped abruptly when she noticed how long her shadow was on the stone path. Sunset. Her pace quickened even more as she raced to one of the many balconies that the corridors fed off into.
Y/n stopped and looked over the edge, her eyes widening at the distance from her and the ground. "You can fly. It's not like you're falling to your death." She muttered and looked back and around the empty corridor. "You got this."
The Raven princess jumped over the edge and right before she hit the ground she transformed into a large raven with gorgeous blue/black feathers and beautiful well-kept wings.
She soared high into the clouds and squawked happily when she dipped down and dipped her wings slightly into the water. It was moments like this where Y/n felt happy with everything - no war, no forced marriages, and no royal duties. It was beautiful.
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Thomas leaped over giant fallen trees and through snow covered fields. His huffs came out in short, white clouds from his nose as he ran. He knew that her father had to have told her by now - he hoped that her father had said something otherwise she was about to have her world crushed and it would have been him who did it.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw the ravens beautiful bluish feathers reflect off of the setting sun. He stomped his foot lightly on the ground, causing a small shockwave to shake the blossom trees that surrounded the Raven.
The blossoms fell from the trees, creating a beautiful scene. The Raven looked around in curiosity, it's eyes landing on the Stag that stood by a giant winding tree. The Raven made a cawing sound - almost like it was calling to the Stag. The Stag walked over to the Raven and bowed its head to it, the Raven spread its wings out and bowed its head as well.
The cherry blossoms seemed to fall in bunches, creating a curtain like feel. The glowing light that had encased the two animals had faded and the blossoms stopped falling and in the place of the Stag and Raven were Y/n and Thomas. The two royals stood and Y/n looked at Thomas with teary eyes.
"Did you know?" She asked him as her voice wavered and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Thomas reached for her hands but she pulled them away, wanting the answer first.
"Y/n I need you to know that -" "Did you know, Thomas?"
The man looked at her and nodded - he felt almost ashamed in what he had done. He should've been honest with her, they hadn't seen each other in years. Thomas just wanted to enjoy what little bliss they would have together before their lives became clouded with ash and war.
Y/n closed her eyes and let the tears fall - her lips quivered as she tried to hold back the sobs that wanted to escape. Thomas walked closer to her and held her in his warm embrace - he needed her to know that he was sorry and he never meant to hurt her.
"That's why you left isn't it?" She asked him and Thomas nodded and held her smaller frame against him. "Yes. I had to get out of there before your father saw me. I had to see you before you start to hate me." He admitted.
Y/n pulled away from his embrace and held his face between her hands. "I could never hate you, Thomas." She muttered as she rested her forehead against his.
Y/n always knew that no matter what, if she loved something enough, she would never stop loving it. She would never stop caring. When it came to Thomas, she could never hate him - she talked about him like he put the stars in the sky and she looked at him like she just realized what love was. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she didn't love him, that she didn't want him, the more she realized how much she loved him.
Thomas looked into her eyes and placed a hand on her cheek - stroking it gently and slowly leaning in. His tongue swiping across his lips to wet them as their noses touched and they could feel each others breath on their skin. Both of their eyes closed as Thomas grazed his thumb over her pink lips. They stood their for a moment - lips not touching, their eyes closed and their foreheads leaning against each others.
Thomas pulled away from her touch and placed a small peck to her cheek and then one to her left ear where he whispered the beautiful words that made her heart race and her stomach fill with butterflies.
"I will always love you."
She watched him start to walk away and she couldn't help but feel transported back to the day when his parents took him away from her. Before Thomas got to far, Y/n grabbed his hand and pulled him back into another hug. She buried her head into his green coat and inhaled his scent of cedar wood and musk.
"It's always going to be you, Thomas Ashford." She whispered and held him tighter. He squeezed her back even tighter and rubbed her back soothingly, hoping that it would help calm her. Tears spilled from his eyes as he sniffled - he pulled away and slowly let go of their connected hands and headed into the deep forest.
This is what war does. It starts raging fires and tears down kingdoms, burning everyone and everything around it. War didn't care who it's victims were - who it took and who it left standing with a broken heart.
