itbomm

chapter 21: quiet, but i'm sure there is something here

Athanase doesn't talk to Autumn or Athanasia first.

Instead, he talks to Charlotte Milford.

"My apologies for requesting a moment of your time, Prince Athanasios," Charlotte had started with a curtsy, standing in the room where he laid in bed for the moment. "Although father and Sir Robain has decided to place you on rest for the time being, my second brother, Ferdinand, along with Sir Odysseus of the Nightingales are both currently training if you'd like to join me in observing them. Perhaps we could have an impromptu tea party."

Her cheeks were the slightest hue of red, and she seemed oddly more nervous than when they first met. Was it because he had the same facial expressions as his father?

Or maybe...

No, he didn't believe in love at first sight, but maybe if he didn't have his memories he would've fallen for Verena and her kind act. He was only feeling hopeful of Charlotte because of his memories, and it was already fairly weird because he didn't consider himself to be a child — not any more.

Still... a part of him that he wished to desperately ignore whispered to him.

Curiosity. A genuine interest.

What was it about this girl that made him fall in love?

It was a dangerous line of questioning, but he's not quite sure why that would be the case. Part of it just felt like a gut feeling, that befriending her would be something terrible for him. Or maybe he should've simply waited, should've spoken to Autumn before trying to find answers to a question he feels to be hopeless.

Athanase tries to ignore the feeling that tells him that he'll never find what he's looking for from this girl.

.

(You won't find your Happily Ever After with her.)

.

He ignores whatever warning, whatever red flags in his mind, that echoes for Charlotte Milford.

Instead, he smiles, "That would be lovely."

.

("And just as it is with everyone else," seethed the Witch of the Tower to the Lonely Prince of the Empire, "You will be disappointed in all the rest.")

——————————

He could hear the sound of metal clattering against a stone floor in a sharp scrape, cutting deep into the atmosphere with a resounding clash. It was a sound that felt oddly foreboding with how slow everything felt as he arrived at the training grounds.

Following behind Lady Charlotte, he saw a few knights lounging around the vicinity, only giving the Lady and Prince a respectful acknowledgement. They probably found it intimidating to be in the same space as the Imperial Prince, but he could tell that they were curious when they kept trying to catch a glimpse of Athanase in passing.

The training grounds were just as he expected — an outdoor place crafted with a sort of white stone with the texture of bricks, with white pillars hanging a blue flag with the Milford's Family Crest.

The crest was a simple design, really — just a pair of two swords crossed over a shield, all on a dark blue background with three small stars on the bottom. The dark blue was a symbol of loyalty to the royal family, as this particular shade of dark blue was considered a colour used by the most noble of the empire's people. The three stars were a symbol of how the Milford Family has almost always had three children in every generation.