Wildflowers Bloom in Winter

Chapter 1

If murdering royal blood was an option I had, I'd probably go for it.

Yet, it is not, so here I am reunited with my old enemy, both of us alive even though I should not have been, both covered in snow in this stupid, cold forest I wouldn't have been in if it weren't for him and his incompetence as a royal. Who needs monarchies anyway? If I had the power all those years ago I'd probably join some revolutionary militia hungry for rebellion and democracy. Still, I'm sure if he was strong enough and if we weren't fighting a giant mountain troll at this particular moment in time he would have killed me already,  so all I had to do was finish this troll off, gather the materials I needed, and bolt out of here as soon as possible without him noticing for the safest escape and hope that the troll somehow knocks the great Prince Albert Marsilius Go– hell, even his name is as tedious his personality– out.

The troll was relatively large compared to the ones I usually saw roaming around in this area. Everything else about it– its grotesque complexion, its putrid stench, its asinine facial expressions– was standard and as mountain troll-like as one could possibly get. I ran up behind it as Albert managed to land a few strikes at different parts of its body. It would really take only a few minutes for me to wipe out such a low level beast, but the quicker I got rid of it, the quicker I would have to face my real problem; I had no intent of murdering anybody, nor did I intend on being murdered.

Alas, I could not afford to spend any more energy than absolutely necessary to get the job done. Channeling my aura into my blade, I ran up to the beast (the troll, not the prince) and made one decisive strike to chop off its arm while his royal travesty went for the legs and succeeded in knocking it over. For how much drivel occupied his cranium he was an irritatingly good swordsman, and I inwardly commended him on his ability to annoy me even while being helpful. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity and heaved one final stab right in the middle of the bastard's (the troll, not the prince) eyes. With the beast slayed, all I had to do was collect the loot and move on, most likely to a tavern in the nearby village to grab a pint of beer and forget all about seeing my ex-fiancé's face again.

I looked back to meet his eyes, still sparkling and passionate as ever, his face still pleasing to the eye despite being half-drenched in troll bodily fluids. Nothing about his face pleased mine, however, especially since he wasn't knocked out as I had hoped he would be and looked at me with the kind of determination that belonged to a man who wanted– no, needed– answers, which was somehow worse than a gaze filled with pure bloodlust.

See, it would be incorrect to say that he drove me out of my estate and kingdom himself. A more accurate description of my exile would be that it was self-imposed.

In other words, I ran away.

"You," he started, walking towards me with the same determination he held in his eyes, "after all these years, this is where you show up?"

"I could say the same to you," I countered. "Besides, it has only been five years."

"Only? Only? You had the entire kingdom on their feet looking for you, Freesia Gregori. Everyone. Your parents too. I know you think that they do not care for you, but they do. Even your friends. Even... her. It's all because of you that she-"

I stepped back. All of a sudden, his movements had changed, his hands started trembling as if he were fighting back the urge to strangle me, yet his eyes became incredibly sorrowful as if he was reminiscing a painful memory.

"What do you mean 'her'?" I scoffed, only to regret it two seconds later as my eyes widened in realization. My muscles tensed up, and before I knew it my body had already brought itself over to Albert and grabbed him by the collar. "What did you do to her?" I hissed.

He stayed still, making no attempt to free himself from my grasp. "Your  disappearance took a big toll on her. She wouldn't leave her room nor let anyone in. Then one day, I barged in forcefully so that I could check in on her, but it was too late. She had disappeared too."

I let go of him. Memories flooded into my mind, preventing any words from leaving my mouth. We both stood there in silence, my snarky retorts making no move to rescue me from the awkwardness, my loneliness creeping up on me making me realize just how much I regretted not tying up all loose ends before I left. How could I be so carefree? How could I completely ignore the possibility of something like this happening? My head hung low with the weight of my shame, unable to meet the eyes of the one whose first love I indirectly lured into a wild goose chase. It took all of my courage mixed with some anger and impatience to look back up at him.

"Why are you here?"

It was a simple question, that my heart already knew the answer to, but I needed verbal confirmation that only he could give me. I gazed directly into his eyes, almost desperate, and his eyes softened to match my desperation. "They stopped looking for the both of you a year after the incident. But I never did. I have had my men looking for her this entire time," he closed the distance between us and spoke directly into my ear, "and I think she is here. I received a report of an apothecary whose owner's description matched almost perfectly."

For a moment I felt like I forgot how to breathe, because the air simply refused to move in and out of my lungs as it did normally, and I had to practically force myself out of the shock to remain sane. I chose my words carefully, making sure not to bring up anything that would remind me just how much of a terrible friend I was. "Why are you alone? I thought princes had to be accompanied by at least twenty guards at any given time?" He chuckled, much to my surprise. "Ah, yes. That would be true for a prince. I, however, abdicated that title and my right to the throne three years ago." At that point I was almost getting accustomed to the shock, so I was actually able to make a verbal retort instead of just staring into the abyss like an idiot.

"I'm sorry, you did what?!"

"Exactly what I said. I'm sure you would agree that I was never suited for administrative matters. Instead I found my home in the knightage, and am currently on a rogue mission, making use of all of my saved up precious holidays."

I sighed. I already knew what he was going to ask me, so I saved him the effort and decided, "I'm coming with you. She's as stubborn as a mule. She's not going to leave that place until she gets what she came for."

"Now that's the spirit," he smiled. "Let's get out of here first. I think we both need some beer in a warm tavern to get rid of all this ice."