Forgotten Truths (Book One of the Forgotten Truths Series)

Chapter Twelve 2/2

"...are all princes rude, or was that just saved for you?" Edge asked while she prodded him with a stick. He only caught the last part.

"What?" He grumbled; still drunk with sleep.

Drought blinked. He had called fallen asleep. The sun had already set. He had slept for longer than he had meant to. With a quick turn of his head, Drought could tell that Edge had already cleared the extra vines that had cascaded into the pathway.

"You're alive!" Edge cheered.

It took a moment for what she had said before to sink in. Drought opened his mouth to retort. Quickly, Edge continued.

"For a minute, I thought that all Droplet Tribe princes might be jerks- Although you're the only Droplet Tribe prince I know," She added with a tease that hinted her voice.

"We- I'm not a jerk," Drought said with a yawn. A smile pecked at him, but he shoved it away.

"Mhm, I guess that -you- aren't," Edge kneeled next to him.

"Pfft, what's that supposed to mean?" Drought blinked at her.

"Meh, I dunno, most royals seem a bit..." She was careful with her words, "...bratty ?"

Drought sat up, "That's funny coming from a farmer," He laughed.

"How'd you come to be a farmer anyways? You seem really good with plants, where most Flame Tribe villagers..." Now it was his turn to pause, "Aren't?"

Edge scratched her neck, "Ah, hah, yeah, it's a long story. There were.. Erm, family needs."

'Family needs?' His mind echoed while he tilted his head at her.

A rumor that he had heard from a couple merchants who came to Droplet Tribe rang back to him:

~*~

"A farming Flame Tribe villager?" One of their traders asked the merchant.

Another laughed, "Hah, doesn't exist. They'd burn down every inch of a plant before one could harvest one."

"Yup, just as confused as you. Probably a Hybrid, I'd guess." He continued, "She sold good crops for a couple pans, and even told me a bit of how they were struggling after her husband's death."

~*~

It was a wild guess to say that what those two talked about was Edge's father. It made sense though- Edge was extremely good with plants. He could guess that was the same with animals.

She stared up at the still-starless sky, "Sorry about last night," Edge seemed to force out a laugh.

"Bad dreams," She added as her hand snaked up to the burn on her face.

Drought sneezed, "Oh I don't care about that," He wanted to comfort her more, but he didn't want either of them to get too close, "I couldn't have slept anyways,"

"Thanks," Edge put on a smile again.

There was an awkward pause between both of them. Drought couldn't tell whether Edge was smiling, or blushing. He really hoped that she was only smiling. After a moment, Edge spoke up.

"Well, you already know that I like to plant, what's one of your hobbies?" She asked.

"Uh, I don't really have any," Drought mumbled.

"Come on!" Edge rubbed his back, "You've gotta have some strange prince-hobby,"

"Uh- I really can't think of one," He began, but Edge's eyes pierced through him.

Edge smirked, "Sure you can. It's easy to tell,"

Drought searched through his memories. A memory of him as he sailed across Droplet Tribe's rough seas crossed him. There was something so refreshing about it... He could still taste the tinge of salt in the air.

"Hm.. I guess sailing," Drought said.

"Cool, you can't really sail that much in Flame Tribe. It's mainly small, shriveled up plants, but some parts are more fertile than others," Edge replied.

Drought nodded. He didn't really know what else to say. Their conversation quickly dried up as fast as water would go in a Flame Tribe desert.

Despite his nap, Drought was really tired. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open at this point. He wouldn't mind, at this point, if Thought squawked at him all nightlong.

His eyes continued to wander back to Edge's burn. Curiosity rose in him to ask her about it- However, he could guess that it had something to do with her nightmare yesterday. He didn't want to make anything worse.

~*~

Eventually, they turned to watch the rising stars. Drought closed his eyes for what felt like a minute. When he opened them, it had become much darker.

He looked over to find Edge as she leaned against him. Drought flinched as he jumped back from Edge. In the process, he woke her up.

A part of Drought felt bad after he woke her up; Edge looked so peaceful in her sleep.

"Sorry," She grumbled; still half asleep.

Drought opened his mouth to reply. In that time, Edge walked up to Drought, brushed off a couple loose strands of hair, and kissed him on the forehead.

Then she got up to leave. Drought's eyes trailed after her as she left. Their whole conversation, from when she climbed up onto the roof, and to now, replayed in his head.

What had just happened?

--

Fun chapter :D

I wanted to build more on Drought's character, and add some drama/romance between him and Edge

The only question is, is if this'll stay... 🧐

Anyways, as always, have an amazing rest of your day/night!

-Echooo