the crown of blood and betrayal || a ya fiction

1

Writer's POV

"Aiden, how could you... how could you do this?" Isolde's breath was shaky, heavy but still the few of her last breaths managed to escape from her almost frozen lips. She couldn't believe that Aiden, the boy she had, though used, but loved so dearly, was going to be the reason for this unfortunate situation.

Aiden Sakaris, standing in his casual yet strikingly bright pants and a loose dark brown jute shirt with a light gray shirt underneath, let out a gritty laugh. His gray eyes looked into Isolde's ice blue ones, which made Isolde feel cold. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of someone who did not even have superpowers.

She was lying on the carpeted floor, Aiden hovering above her, his slim yet strong hands lying on Isolde's sides.

"You really did think that Jordan was after you? And on top of that, you proclaim yourself as the smartest in your little, sparkly Alabaster? You actually thought that you would make it out of here without becoming my victim, Amari? God, your frenemy, Liu-Nesaie, I'd say that she's way smarter than you." He deliberately rolled all the "y's" and "u's" to simply annoy her. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. Aiden saw her face muscles tense up and realized he shouldn't have spoken about Aerilene. He let out a small chuckle and got up, awkwardly brushing himself off.

"Well, Amari, it's good to know that you're still as ticklish as you were when you were a kid." He extended his arm and Isolde hooked her arm in his and got back upon her feet. Both of them shared a few serious looks before Aiden gave in and started laughing hysterically, Isolde joined in too. It was always like this. Aiden, the crown prince of Sakaris and Isolde, the crown princess of Alabaster, were both friends. Almost soulmates. Almost siblings. Aodhan Amari, Isolde's father and the king of Alabaster, was Spiel Sakaris's best friend. And due to this rule, both Aiden and Isolde, were partners. Friends and each other's motivation to keep going.

Aiden was visiting Alabaster to see Isolde and help her out with archery practice. Unlike Isolde, who had powers of ice and water, Aiden was born powerless and it had always been his biggest strength and the biggest weakness. Isolde on the other hand was born with endless, world consuming powers. They always do this. Instead of practicing they end up in playful banter. Today they carried out the final scene of a battle and let's just say that towards the end of it, Isolde was not a fan of Aiden.

"Well, you know I heard Jordan saying that Amiliu's rising again." Aiden said, rolling up the sleeves of his dark brown jute shirt. They walked through long corridors, passing the armed guards and potted plants with Isolde not replying to the question. Aiden cleared his throat and asked again, "Amiliu's rising again, isn't it Izzy?"

Isolde stops in her tracks and that makes Aiden stop. She pursed her lips and grabbed Aiden's shoulder to bring him close.

"I think you should focus on more important things like," She paused for a second, "Like how good at archery I have gotten or how your father is looking for a bride for you." She smirks and Aiden slaps her hand away. She makes a disappointed face but laughs it off. "Well, Senelia Oswald is a good choice." She says and holds his hand to drag him into the courtyard.

"Oh hell no. Not Senelia. She's weird. I met her 2 weeks ago and she couldn't stop sniffing my hair. And my chest. And my armpits? Who does that?" He shakes his head at that thought. Isolde laughs.

"At least she is not into belly buttons." She points out and Aiden scrunches his face. "Leia was a weird choice. I didn't know your dad was so desperate for you to get married." She lets go of his hand to grab her archery set.

"Yeah, me too. Like, I don't know why he's searching for a bride when I have her right in front of me." Aiden pursed his lips and ran towards Isolde in a comical manner. She pushed him away and he fell to the ground. She laughed, he smiled. "No but seriously? Why not you?"