Shady Royalty

Chapter 4 - River

~~~ Marie's pov ~~~

It appears that I have misjudged him, Marie thinks to herself. Marie has always been quick to judge. Normally, her judgment is correct though. Perhaps he just puts on a though act because he is ashamed of who he really is, Marie concludes. Before today, Marie only met Ashton during a few royal meetings. He is always by his mother's side. Usually, he stands next to her menacingly, glaring at anyone that speaks with even an ounce of disrespect towards her.

He always wears a yellow tank top with a red rim, rust orange pants, a red and yellow utility belt, red shoes with yellow straps, an orange cape and his yellow gloves with two red stripes. Marie has never seen Ashton without his gloves. The bottom part of the gloves, as marked by the first red stripe in the middle and the second red stripe at the bottom, looks mechanical. The gloves appear to be some sort of power enhancement.

Ashton has terracotta brown skin, light orange eyes and a brick red spiky fringe with a razor fade. The scarlet red hair tips, along with the messy yet stylish hair cut, kind of makes his hair look like a flame. His resting face usually contains downturned eyebrows, a scowl and makes his seem unapproachable. Right now though, he looks calm and at peace. How facial features are relaxed. His whole demeanor is relaxed.

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if we weren't royals?", Ashton whispers softly.

"Yes, I do", Marie answers quietly.

"I would love to leave near this area. Near the border. There's more rain by the border. I'd like to be able to enjoy the rain more often", Ashton says as he noticeable drifts into his ideal fanasty.

"I'd invite you to the Water kingdom more often, put I don't think that you should spend that much time in the cold", Maria explains.

"You're right. I appreciate the offer though", Ashton replies.

Marie thinks for a while. She slowly stands up and reaches her hand out towards Ashton. Ashton examines her for a while before grabbing her hand. Marie gently pulls him outside of the cave towards the bottom of the slope. The raindrops gently tap her bare skin as she lets go of Ashton's hand and begins dancing in the rain. Ashton watches her in surprise for a while. A small smile forms on his face as he hesitantly starts dancing as well. At first, they were small and simple dances. Eventually, he joins Marie in full swing as they go crazy with their dance. In that moment, it feels like the two of them are finally free. Free from their royal responsibilities, free from judgment, free from having to put on an act. Marie chuckles fondly while she watches Ashton laugh to himself as he runs around in the rain.

"Careful Ashton. You might slip", Marie warns him playfully.

Ashton momentarily freezes and stares at Marie with open eyes, as if he forgot that he isn't alone. He nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"R-Right. Sorry", he stutters sheepishly.

"No need to apologize", Marie says teasingly.

Ashton looks down in shame.

"Don't stop now. Continue having fun", Marie encourages him.

Ashton just sighs in response.

"I'm tired. I'm gonna go get some shut eye", Ashton says.

Marie watches him as he makes his way back up to the cave. He was having so much fun while he was dancing. He looked so free. He looked so happy.

After awhile, Marie follows suit and makes her way to the cave. She lays down next to the dying campfire and slowly drifts into a deep sleep.