Wayward [The Princess' jewellery box]

[III] Finding new gems

After that, she bursts in her chamber, only to see Nell standing near the portrait of her dear friend and herself. In the portrait, the two of them were wearing matching dresses and had a peaceful expression on their faces. She (Ariana) remembers practically begging her (Lucetta) to have a portrait together, because the latter didn't fancy having her portrait painted. 

In the end, Lucetta couldn't refuse anything to Ariana, so she accepted reluctantly and asked her to not expose it publicly; which explains why, it was put here.

Looking at the portrait, Ariana felt a pout appears on her lips. 'Lucetta, when are you coming back to me? I miss so much.' While thinking that, the words of her friend before her depart resonated in her head.

"Ariana, my jewel, please don't be sad. I will always come back to you, so there is no need to be saddened! When I come back, I will pamper you all you want, and I will refuse none of your requests, alright?" Lucetta whispered in her ear, and then kissed Ariana, on the cheeks and on the forehead. Thinking about that, Ariana blushed slightly and licked her lips, thinking about what she would do to Lucetta.

Snapping out of her thoughts and trying to make those unholy thoughts go away, she called Nell, whom in return faced her.

"Nell~" She called out with affection in his voice. Not a disgusting sweet, but the type of sweet you would want to linger on your tongue as long as possible.

"You're here, your highness." He stated, with a slight puzzlement, as he caught the longing in the princess' eyes for a mere second.

With a slight bounce in her steps, the princess played with the dangling gem of the choker, teasing Nell, when she arrived at arm-length from him; which did not fail of making him blush. "That's a nice choker you've got on there. It looks better every time I wee you wearing it." She kissed his cheek, making a blush appears.

Looking away with his blush, he pleaded Ariana to not tease him too much. "Uhh— Please, don't tease me too much." 

But, the attempt was useless as she waved it off, with a giggle. "Haha— My apologies. But, it really does look great on you." She teased him, and went on her bed.

"You've seen me wear this for the last six months. Aren't you sick of it yet?" He asked, while following the princess to her bed.

"No way~! Nell, you're my precious jewel!" She exclaimed while hugging him.

He looked away shyly, which made her squeal and continue to kiss him, leaving kissing marks on his skin.

Sparkle all around her, she put her face against his chest. "So, about that thing, I requested..."

"Yes, everything is on schedule." He fake coughed in his hand, before starting his explanation. "I believe the second prince of Xek, the militant state of Arbelzea, will be a perfect fit." He showed her with the help of his shadow.

"Hmm— A prince." She hummed, while looking up to look at the projection.

Thinking about what the prince would look like, she imagined an unattractive prince full of himself. "... I have a feeling, he'll be a jerk." She said, grumbling in a cushion.

"Why do you say that?" He questioned. "I thought what you needed most— Was a strong military power. 80% of the greatest leaders in History, had military strength to back them up." He said, while taking a thinking pose.

"That's true." She agreed.

"[Efrit Karsia, the second prince of Xek, is a magnificent warrior.
He is called the Phoenix of the Sun god that, appears in Xek mythology.
He's also the number one hunter of monsters, as well as the Xek military commander.
So although, he's the second in line, Xek's military power is actually in his hands.]" He continues, but she seemed to be uninterested. "But, that's not all.
[He is Xek's top secret, and has never revealed himself in public.
About two weeks ago, he led the Xek army in clearing up the remaining Orian island forces— And, there was an accident, where his face was revealed for a moment, causing a huge commotion." He said, and showed her the portraits of the second prince, that he collected "And rumours about his appearance spread like wildfire. This is a sketch we've made, based on the information we gathered."