Princess Alver (og Cale x Alver)

Part 7

Time is a funny thing. People have a tendency to attribute too much to time and too little as well.

Time, supposedly, would make all people forgetful and make feelings distant.

It was natural to presume that with time, a brief meeting would become nothing more than a distant memory and that feelings that burned so treacherously would become distant as well.

That wasn't what happened.

Cale was a bit troubled by that.

Bob had made an impression on his heart. A strange impression. He could vividly remember every moment spent with her, the handsome curve of her face, the spark in her eyes, and all those strange emotions she'd been able to inspire with her odd arrival and departure.

In some ways, she became even bigger inside of him with time.

He couldn't help it. Often he would just be minding his own business, drinking himself silly before glaring up at the night sky and he'd wonder about her.

Where was she now?

Would she ever come back?

Why hadn't he just been a little bit nicer to her?

Perhaps if he hadn't been such a lousy person they could have spent real time together. He could have really shown her around town, taken her out to a nice dinner, talked to her a bit and gotten to know more about her.

That was the odd thing.

He really wanted to know more about her. Also, the strange inclinations towards her sounded like courtship no matter how he attempted to dress it up.

A strange and impulsive feeling inside of him.

It made him want to forget about her even more. Whatever feelings he might have developed, they were misguided and one sided.

It was in his attempts to get his mind off of her that he agreed to go to the capital at his fathers behest.

Nearly a year after their strange meeting, he still found his thoughts drifting toward her whenever he wasn't properly distracted. The bustle and noise of the capital would be good for him.

Cale nearly dropped his drink.

His eyes locked with sky blue eyes across the hall and the crown prince of the kingdom smiled at him warmly, the same sunny smile that he directed towards all of his subjects. An acknowledgement of his subjects and a political gesture.

Cale's skin itched.

He tightened his grip on the wine bottle, a faint desire to do something completely crazy building up inside of him.

Bob looked different. Far more masculine for starters. Blond, light skin, and those blue eyes. Perhaps he wouldn't have noticed the similarities at all if he hadn't spent the last few months obsessing over her.

Memories were flawed though. He knew that.

But he also knew it was her. He couldn't explain it. It wasn't based on anything logical. But one look and he knew that she was the crown prince.

Later, in retrospect, he would really wonder why he didn't consider the possibility that she was his relative or any other far more logical explanation first.

He'd just known.

And he couldn't help but approach her through the crowd greeting the prince.

Distantly, he wondered if Bob was actually a man. He considered briefly if he cared and decided that he soundly didn't give a fuck.