The Bad Fairy (girlxgirlxgirl)

31. The impatient angel

💧

"Do you remember what you told us last night?"

The morning is already warm, the heat pressing down from the sky and entering any space that they are in. The subtle chilly air of the night managed to let them sleep for a while, but towards the morning the heat became unbearable again. It's weighing on everybody's mind, making them all irritable and tired. Even their horses step around as they try to get ready to leave, grunting to each other. Chepi looks over at her brother. They are all tired, but nobody is worse than the three men she is currently travelling with.

"You can kill me if you want." 

Dieq mocks his voice, quiet but somehow so loud in the stables of the inn. He is standing in front of Nayan, the amusement in his tone and in his eyes barely hiding the anger that must still be lingering in his body from last night. Chepi remembers their whole conversation, because of course she does. She just wasn't expecting them to remember it in such detail. How annoying.

It's only been six hours since they last argued, and Chepi got a mere five hours of sleep before she was dragged here by her brother. The stables of the inn are emptied of all other horses except for theirs, and several guards stand outside. Chepi feels odd. Like, stuffy. She really didn't like being with Anemone and Evangeline, but at least then it was just them and the naked sky. Now it's everyone and their mother watching her, making sure nothing happens to her, or the princes that she is with.

They'll head towards the capital today, taking a shortcut through the Heaven mountain pass, through the Heaven-Reaching mountains. The sun is up, so they are already late. Still, Nayan, Dieq and Eang just can't stop arguing.

Nayan rolls his eyes, right in front of the crown prince, and turns towards his horse in an effective way to ignore him.

"What? Are you backing out on your words now?" Dieq says, half-taunting, half-still-actually-angry-about-being-stopped-last-night. Chepi is already standing by Dieq's own horse, ready to get up on it whenever these childish soldiers could stop fighting and actually get a move on. Eang is standing by his horse, silently fuming but pretending to not hear anything, occupied by whatever useless task he is pretending to do. Chepi just wishes they could stop arguing and talk it out like real adults do.

Nayan turns back around to face the crown prince, already furious from last night and definitely not up for any more bullshit from Dieq. "Fine. Try to fight me, then. See if you regret it."

Chepi rolls her eyes in the background. Nayan's angry and petty words were definitely not what the situation needed. Even though her brother is mostly in the right here, Chepi can still acknowledge that he has done absolutely nothing to de-escalate the situation since last night. The only thing he did was put their fighting on hold, which definitely didn't do anything but push it to another day. Chepi grows impatient as she watches Dieq take a step towards the fairy crown prince, feeling challenged. She really wants to leave now. What if Evangeline and Anemone are here already?

"Why the fuck would I regret it? You had no business breaking us up last night, but I allowed it to happen because I respect you as a crown prince. Do not make me regret that." Dieq spits out his words, completely unlike the calmer way he used to talk to Nayan before the argument. Nayan immediately looks offended. Chepi can read it on his face. He scoffs, taking a step closer to Dieq, too.

"What? Allowed? Are you fucking delusional?"

Dieq stares him right in the eye, his voice clinging with a warning.