Princess Alver (og Cale x Alver)

Part 6

Alver had wasted two weeks.

It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but ever since her first meeting with young master Cale Henituse, she'd been delaying things more and more and now her return to the capital was long overdue.

It would be less embarrassing if her curiosity had actually been satiated or if the infrequent meetings with Cale Henituse offered her any actual benefit.

All that she'd really learned was the same thing she'd already noticed when she first saw Cale. He was a liar and he was hiding his true self. She didn't have any idea about his true self and she couldn't for the life of her understand why she ought to have wanted to learn more about him.

He was rude. Shitty. Arrogant. And frankly, classist. She hadn't earned anything for her curiosity but a headache.

It was a bit galling to admit she'd failed and further that her goal had been pointless from the beginning but she was wise enough to accept a loss with grace. When inquisitive minds sought answers from bad people, they weren't always going to like the answers that they found.

What she couldn't understand was why she felt melancholy to leave.

Alver was due to leave with her aunt later in the early afternoon. They'd attend to a few more minor matters on their way back to the capital and then Alver would return to her life as Crown Prince Alberu Crossman and completely dismiss her time with Cale Henituse. She'd remember it, of course, but merely as a piece of trivia that she might be able to utilize as a point of negotiation with the Henituse family.

She had to find some use out of this ridiculous situation after all.

Despite the blow to her ego, she should be celebrating that she could finally put all of this behind her.

But instead she was wasting her time sitting in a tree feeling strangely morose.

From her position, she actually had a fair view of the window belonging to Cale Henituse, albeit at a fair distance and she didn't intend on watching the window. Still, it was worth noting to count Henituse the dangers presented with having such an easily accessed tree with a clear view of his son's window. Someone with foul intentions could wait for Cale to slump onto the balcony and take a shot with a crossbow.

Cale certainly had enough of a knack for making enemies that it was almost more surprising that someone hadn't already tried this.

Alver really wasn't looking towards the window though. She was pointedly avoiding looking at it. As though to prove to herself that Cale Henituse meant nothing to her and she wouldn't care in the slightest when she left.

Because it really didn't make any sense that she did care.

They hardly knew each other and the brief meetings she'd had with him had been unpleasant.

...that wasn't entirely accurate.

There were certainly unpleasant aspects to spending time with Cale Henituse, starting with his foul mouth and his dishonest nature and ending with his intention to make an enemy of the entire world.

But there was something... nice about his presence. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was but it kept her coming back for more.

"You look like a squirrel up there."

Alver nearly fell out of the tree, flailing as she looked down in shock at the unexpected figure.

How the hell had he snuck up on her?! Was she really that out of it?!

"...does that make you a dog barking at my tree?" She said wryly. She hadn't meant it to be more than a snarky reply but it somehow felt a bit apt for their relationship. Or at least, for what Cale was.

Like a damn dog who didn't know when to stop barking.

The thought made her want to tease him.

"Woof woof." Cale said in a hilarious monotone that actually forced a laugh out of her. "Gotta say, I'm starting to understand what dogs find so annoying about squirrels."

Why was she always laughing around him? He really wasn't funny. And she didn't think she was all that happy around him. There was just something about him.

That was the real tragedy of leaving. She'd never be able to figure out what the hell it was about him that was making her feel so strange.

"I've got some good news for you then, dog boy." She settled back onto her branch, lying back and closing her eyes. If she didn't look at him then he wouldn't confuse her so much. Hopefully.

"What's that then?"

"I'm leaving today."

Alver couldn't say what she was expecting. Frankly, she hadn't expected or intended to tell him that she was leaving but she thought that she might as well let him know since he was there anyway.

However the gulf of silence that filled the space between them wasn't what she was expecting.

Wordlessly tense and consuming sound with apprehension. Alver didn't like it but she felt as though opening her eyes and admitting that she wasn't as nonchalant about this as she was acting would be acknowledging a loss of some kind.

She surrendered her pride when she heard movement below, opening her eyes to see what Cale was up to.

How was it that he always managed to surprise her? Perhaps it was because she never actually knew what to expect from him. He let his true self shrouded behind so many layers of bullshit that it was honestly debatable whether he even had a true self hidden behind it all.

It struck Alver with uncomfortably clarity that the pair of them might just be similar in that way.

She could really explain why the sight of him calmly taking a seat under her tree was so surprising to her. Perhaps she expected the mutt to bark some more.

"What are you doing?" Alver wanted to pretend that she wasn't curious but what would the point be? She was leaving today and should she ever meet him again, it would be her wearing so many shrouds of bullshit that she was unrecognizable.

"Sitting. Problem with that, squirrel?"

Alver's lips twitched upwards.

Ah. What a belated way to realize that she liked his company.

"Not at all, mutt."

She grinned mischievously at the offended look he sent her but she owed him far worse than that for all the insults he'd flung at her shamelessly.

Although she really didn't feel all that vengeful.

Early afternoon was crawling closer as the sun danced up the horizon which gave rise to questions as to why a man like Cale, who drank all night and slept all day, was even out here so early but she let those questions slide away.

For just a few hours, for the last few hours, they'd just keep one another company.

It was a strangely unforgettable memory that lived in her heart, even years later.