Rise or Burn

Chapter Eighteen

Princess Valneela counted the white cranes that flew over her. Seven. She watched them soar through the cornflower blue sky, wings wide. Seven long beaked, long legged, long necked birds. Seven cranes. That was supposed to be good luck. She remembered the superstitions Samma had taught her and her siblings. One crow for the nearly dead, two robins for newlyweds, three blue jays for the recently deceased, four ravens for a new born, five canaries for coming danger, six robins for the end of a chapter and seven cranes for good fortune. She'd never been much of a superstitious person but she liked counting birds. It was an old habit.

"Good morning your highness," Fainree Jolsken greeted. They stood in a soft pink dress with lace puff sleeves, a satin belt, a ruffled skirt and a V-shaped double-layered ruffle lace trim on the front and back of the bust. Their hair fell off their shoulder in a braid adorned with small flowers. Their eyes shone like spring leaves, catching every last bit of sunlight. They smiled at her.

"Good morning," she greeted back.

They settled next to her at the edge of the fountain. "I hope you don't mind my company," they said.

"Not at all." She'd just been sitting here thinking about Sage. I should have gone with her, she'd been thinking. She didn't want to play the waiting princess anymore. She wanted to do something. Anything. She should have gone with Sage.

"I return to Earthique tomorrow," Fainree announced suddenly.

Val's eyes widened. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

She was silent for a moment then she said, "Ah, I see. I'll be sad to see you go."

They smiled again. "Will you really?"

"Of course," she said. "I've enjoyed your company very much."

They laughed. "I wasn't sure if you did," they admitted. "You've seemed rather... distracted."

Guilt. "I must apologize for that," she said. "My intentions weren't to offend—"

"No, no, I'm not offended," they cut her off. "On the contrary. I think I understand. I must confess something. I heard the rumours of you dancing with a commoner at the Dello ball, before my arrival. I didn't believe them at the time, of course. I've never been one much for gossip. I rather make my own assumptions of people upon meeting them but..."

"It's true," Val said. There was no point in lying about it now. And even if there was, she didn't want to. Fainree deserved better from her. "And she wasn't just any commoner. She's someone I love very dearly."

Fainree smiled. "A love like yours won't be easy in a world like ours but I truly do wish you happiness."

Val stared. "Why?" She was confused. Fainree had come to the palace as a suitor. Their union would have been a massive political gain for their family. Val had spent her entire life in court, she knew how nobles worked. They didn't do anything unless there was something in it for them. She hadn't particularly gotten that impression from Fainree but she never put anything above any noble.

Fainree rose. "You deserve to be loved and to love if love is what you choose. I've always known that if I were to marry it'd never be for love. Forgive my bluntness but I don't I need an epic romance to be happy but I think you do. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be loved, as there is nothing wrong with not wanting to be loved."

"You don't want love?"

"Not in the way that you do. Love means so many different things to so many different people. I think that's amazing. Love is one of the only things that has been defined over a thousand times yet there's never been one universal definition. And there shouldn't be. We should all be free to define love in a way that suits us. In a way that makes sense to us. I think we have very different ideas of love. That isn't a bad thing, but I don't think we would have been happy together. And I think we both deserve happiness, don't you?"