Crowned Prince | hendery

14: Ironic

"Taeha!" As if he could not call her name any louder down the halls of the imperial castle. She walks faster, hoping that he takes a hint that she did not want to face him right now. However, he was much taller than she was and could easily catch up with her. "It is rare to see you on this side of the castle."

Indeed aside from the wing where her room was, she never truly ventures out towards the wing of the lounge areas and recreational areas of the castle. Though, it was more like she was scouting where she would hold a gathering for the noble ladies of Hwei to introduce herself to these people.

"I had work to do." She mutters walking faster than she usually does and not even lifting her head towards the prince.

"Are you perhaps preparing to meet with the other noble ladies?"

Taeha nods her head as she hurriedly heads down the stairs with Hendery tailing her from behind.

"You should be careful, Taeha–" as if her name was a curse meant to be placed upon her head, she stumbled on her dress and fell forward. She was expecting a fall and to embarrass herself among the guards of the palace, but a stronger set of arms held onto her waist stopping her from completely falling down the stairs with her face first.

"You must be careful, Taeha." His breath whispered not only through her ear but to the nape of her neck. Her eyes widened at the sensation that she wanted to run away from this man, yet if she did, she would fall.

Instead her hand reaches down to where his hand was holding her, stopping her from falling. When her hand reached his, she felt how big his hands were compared to hers. There was also the warmth in his hand that was seeping through her dress, though she wasn't entirely sure how that was happening.

"You can let me go, your highness." Her voice soft near whispers as she squeezed his hands off her waist.

"Your highness?"

He let go of her, but not entirely as he reached down to grab her hand to prevent her from walking any further.

"It appears as if there's a sudden distance between us."

Taeha looked at him as if he had gone insane for a few minutes. "There has always been distance."

Hendery then lets go of her hand.

"We are to be married by name." She keeps her feet planted on her goal. "I have my ambitions and I want them to remain my ambitions."

"Is that why you're meeting with the noble ladies of the land?"

Taeha nods her head. She knows that she was acting weird, this was nothing compared to their encounter not even a full day ago. However, there was a difference from that shared conversation and now, she was aware of what kind of things she was feeling towards the prince. The odd tension that they shared was one she knew she was heavily responsible for. If she aims to achieve her goals of running away from royalty, the best answer shall be to distance herself from people within the nobility. Even if Hendery was like her, she would rather build a relationship of friendship or romance with him once she was stripped of all her titles.

Hendery was about to turn around, she took this as her chance to run away from him as well, but she was stopped once again with footsteps following her from behind and gently grabbing onto her wrist just to call her attention.

"Before we depart," he takes a deep breath in, "I would like to tell you that I am not stupid to not realize what you are doing."

Taeha wanted to take a step back, but she also didn't want to let go of the warmth that was wrapping around her wrist. Her thoughts were nothing but ironic.

"Our conversation yesterday was nothing that I could forget and as I recount it," his hand slides down to hers, "I am further convinced of the fact that you did not misspoke."

Taeha takes her hand away from him and finally takes a step back. "What I said was simply out of courtesy." She bows her head. "Realization only came after a few moments that it may cause some misunderstanding, which is why I misspoke." As she lied she can't look him in the eye.

The prince goes quiet.

Taeha lifts her head, this time much confident with the next few words that she would be telling her. "I am still looking forward to aiming towards that goal we had in mind. That is why we must get wed as soon as possible."

The silent prince, who had a stern look on his face, suddenly changed. "Pardon?"

"Was it not you that suggested that this would only work if we were married."

"Ah," as if he had eaten all his words, "I recall." Although his face does not recall the moment he told her this.

"Then," she looks to her side, "I shall inform Emily of the urgency and prepare for the wedding. We shall not aim for such a huge one, as there is a war. I shall inform you of what is needed and when you shall get yourself measured for the outfit." She nods her head listing things she needed to do. "You may not participate in preparations, focus on your work. I shall look over the wedding."

"Are you sure?"

Taeha nods her head. "Your kingdom needs its crowned prince the most." That was all she told him before turning around once again. This time finally reaching the end of the stairs.

"Taeha!" Hendery runs down the stairs as well, but stops right before he stands on the same ground as she was on. "Would you like me to assist you when you meet with the noble ladies?"

Taeha simply smiles at the prince and shakes her head. "There is no need. It would not make sense for a couple where the crowned prince, who is awfully busy, sends his fiancé off and then I begin talking behind his back." She smiles at him.

There he hears something. One that began at his chest but seemed to echo into his ears like a bell giving out its warning to him.

"Then I shall," he pauses, distracted by the echo of the rhythm into his ears, "make sure to arrive on time when you call for my measurements." If he were any more honest, he no longer has anything to tell her. He just wanted a few more moments where she was looking at him. He just wanted her a little longer.

"Then I shall take my leave." The princess bows her head towards him before turning around and heading back to the wind where their room was located.

All he did this time was watch her. Just as he did with their exchange last night in the room, he could only watch her. She set her rules and her goals and it was clear that he had no part in it, except as the key to achieving it all.