The Healer's Crown

Chapter Five

Seraphina and Elena sat around the heart, the fire casting shadows along the room. Seraphina's emotions bubbled beneath the surface after another tense encounter. She hadn't spoken much since returning to the gardens, still trying to process her own feelings. Elena continues to watch her quietly for a moment, cross stitching a Phoenix with the light from the fire.

"You've looked stressed for the last fifteen minutes. Is something bothering you?" She said calmly. In the short time that they've known each other, they've become friends and confidants. Seraphina faces her, but she hesitates before saying anything. Her heart tangled in feelings she was not yet ready to admit. Heat rises to her cheeks as she thinks about the moment with the king, the way his warm skin felt against her hand. The way he let her in. She shouldn't feel this way about this man, but yet she does.

"It's about the king, isn't it?" Elena asked, breaking Seraphina's concentration on her thoughts. She glances away, looking out the window, her brow furrowing. Her gentle question breaks through her defenses, and she leans against velvet chair.

"He's... not what I expected," Seraphina admitted. Elena eyebrows raised, and her curiosity piqued.

"In a good way or a bad way?" She asked, setting down her craft and giving Seraphina her undivided attention. Seraphina presses her lips together, recalling everything that has happened - mostly, the harsh demands and the threats. However, there were moments when she saw the man behind the crown.

"Both, he can be so cold; so focused on the curse and his kingdom. It feels like nothing else matters to him," Seraphina started. Elena face soured for a moment.

"So the stories tell," she interjected.

"I know... but then," she trails off for a moment, pondering her words, "I see something else. A man who's struggling, who's desperate, who's..."

"Vulnerable?" She asks. Seraphina nods, her mind returning in the gardens with Caelum. The way Caelum spoke of his father, the weight he has been carrying, has left Seraphina feeling conflicted.

"He hides it well. Underneath all that power, he is terrified. Terrified to die like his father. I understand him more than I thought I ever would," Elena shifts her position on the hearth, watching Seraphina closely, her craft long forgotten.

"King Edric died of the same curse?" Elena eyes widened at her realization, "is that why you're conflicted?"

"Yes, but it's more than that," Seraphina ran her hand through her coils, her fingers getting caught in a few tangles, "I shouldn't feel anything for this man but hatred. Not after everything he's done. But... I can't help but see past all that now. I see someone who has been hurt, someone who was so scared he lost himself in the process."

Elena remains quiet, allowing Seraphina to speak freely, though her expression is one of understanding.

"I don't want to care about him, but after tonight... I don't know, it's like I'm somehow drawn to him in a way I don't understand," Seraphina puts her head in her hands. Elena smiles, resting her hand on her shoulder.

"Feelings don't always make sense, Seraphina. You've been forced into a situation that, honestly, neither of you wanted. Maybe that's why you have a connection. I think that the gods have a plan for us. Maybe this is Aurelia's plan for you," Seraphina brow furrows at her words and stands quickly, walking towards the window. She looks out at the vast royal grounds, her window in perfect view of the orchard; though the stump was hidden by the trees. Her mind replayed her encounters with Caelum - the arguments, the tension, but also the quiet moments, like the way he looked at her.

"What if these feelings are just because of the curse? That this... this obligation is all this is?" Seraphina asked. Elena rose from the heart, walking over to Seraphina, gazing out the window with her.