Flora

꧁Chapter 4꧂

Playing: Edvard Grieg- 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈

Back at Larkspur, Prince Steve was strolling through the premises of the castle after doing a ton of work for their departure to Azalea next week. He's been worn-out and he barely has time for leisure like riding his horse, getting a drink, and fencing. If his brother was still here, it would've been him who's stressing himself out with these matters but unfortunately he isn't so his duties as the upcoming King falls upon him. While sauntering through the corridor of the palace, he stopped by his older brother's room. He had the keys for every room in the palace so he grabbed the key for the room and unbolted the door open, revealing a room with tons of stacked books and papers on top of a desk. His brother was fond and proficient of literature so much so that he wrote numerous books of romance published under a fake name he made up for himself. He was also a poet, in his childhood, he would often bring paper, a quill, and an inkpot whenever he visited places with panoramic views as they hold a ton of inspiration for yet another poem to be born in his fresh mind according to him. He also said that art is a form of language and for someone to learn that language, one needs to appreciate the things around him/her and give meaning to their existence. He said that our mind is like an empty canvas or paper and although Steve is still in the process of figuring out what his brother meant by that, he looked up to him not for his excellence in art or combat but because of his nature as a person. Despite being born into a wealthy and influential family, he never let his high rank or fortune get ahead of himself as he always strived to be normal. He always strived to follow his passion, admire art and not let anything nor anyone get in his way of pursuing it. He can't hate his brother for leaving even if he wanted to, he always knew his brother would go to unthinkable measures to pursue something he wanted and that's another trait of him he admires. He traced his fingers on every pages of the books feeling its bumps and texture until his hand touched a crunchy petal of an Azalea. He picked it up from the page and scrutinized it for a while before realization hit him as he let go of the petal and it dropped on the floor. His eyes widened as he ponder over the possible outcomes his brother could've faced whilst trying to cross the border to Azalea. The forest serving as the border is vast with only a few trails to follow and although the part facing Larkspur is not dangerous as Larkspur has a strong military force, the part facing Azalea is quite the opposite. The constant threat of bandits and wild animals is something to be cautious of in that part of the forest that's why he couldn't be more worried than he currently is. He called for Kai's presence and the lad immediately went up dashing to his office.

"For what does my presence serve here, Prince Steve?" He asked whilst still panting, sweat dripping off his temples, baffled by the sudden request of his presence.

"I think I now know where Daniel is." He stated and heaved a deep sigh while facing the window in his office with his arms crossed.

"Where might that be? Your Highness?" Kai's eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

"He's in Azalea, I'm certain of it. Upon our arrival in Azalea, you should work on finding both of them. Although I'm not sure if he's still alive since he crossed the border which we know is flocked with constant threats from bandits and wild animals." He said as he sighed. Kai gasped in response as he guessed the possibilities.

_____________________

Judy stood up immediately and parted from the worst position they could possibly be in right now. Judy turned away to hide the blush that crept on her face as she touched her lips, still in shock at what transpired between them. It was her first kiss and it was taken by a guy she's not even in a relationship with. Truth be told she wants to be in a relationship with him and she isn't mad at him but only surprised, and she was also surprised by herself. Why wouldn't she get mad? She wanted to be mad at him but not a speck of rage was to be found throughout her system. She glanced at the lad who lay there dazed and frozen in shock as his mind still couldn't fathom what just happened. He touched his lips whilst still boring hole to the ceiling with his stare. He processed what happened, but he kept asking himself if he was in his dreamland or he is wide-awake. After it sink in to him, he stood up in a flash and bowed to Judy with his hands clasped together.