Dark Prince Rising

Twelve

Aelon knew as soon as he left her room that he wouldn't be able to sleep. His heart was racing, his entire body trembling with emotion. He stumbled to his bathroom and placed both palms flat on the edges of the washbasin, measuring his breaths. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down...

But his mind kept replaying parts of the scene that had just unfolded in Cira's bedroom. A flash of her hair, pale silver in the moonlight; her full lips, parted slightly as she leaned closer; the feel of her warm breath against his cheek. Pulling away from her had been like stabbing himself in the chest. 

Gradually, his hands stopped shaking and his breathing slowed. He poured some water into the basin and splashed some on his face, rubbing his temples. He felt a headache coming on. 

Back in his room, he changed from his sleeping clothes into a soft green tunic. Then he slipped out of his room and into the commons. The sheer curtains that separated the common room from the balcony were blowing gently in the night wind, lit from behind by the moon. Aelon paused, watching them dance. 

He smiled, reminiscing over his childhood. His gift tutor used to make little pieces of cloth for Cira to play with, all different bright colors. She would make them fly up into the sky, like kites but even better. The tutor would tell her to make the cloths do different things, sometimes sending as many as twenty up at the same time. And Cira never let one fall.

Secretly, Aelon was a bit envious of her gift. He wished that he could've been born with a power like hers, so innocent and beautiful. Instead, he was cursed with the ability to create and destroy life itself.

Needless to say, it had been a rough road learning how to control his gift.

A cold chill swept down his spine as he crossed the common room and left, memories of the man he'd accidentally killed sweeping up to overtake him.

The hallway was lit brightly by the moonlight streaming through the high stained glass windows, painting the floor in bright blues and reds and greens and yellows. Aelon didn't really know where he was going until he was there. The west tower, the tallest of all the four towers that stood over the Palace.

He climbed the winding stairs, lost in his thoughts. He didn't even notice that there was another person in the tower room until she spoke.

"Aelon? Is that you?"

It was Nalia. Aelon's stomach twisted, and for a moment he thought he might be sick. He really, really did not need to deal with the Princess right now. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

"Yes." He sighed inwardly as she rose and came to him. She was beautiful, in a dark, glossy, mysterious way. Her long hair was the color of the finest ink, and her skin was smooth and light brown. She was flawless. But he could not love her. She was nothing but a friend to him.

"Couldn't sleep?" She tilted her head to the side, her black eyes shining in the dark.

He forced a smile and shook his head. "No. I keep thinking about my childhood." He couldn't tell her about what was really keeping him awake. 

"I was thinking about the future." She sighed heavily, her gaze moving past him to stare out of one of the windows. "Why don't we share our worries? It can only make us closer, right?"

"I suppose. Do you wish to go first?" Why, oh why had he left his room? He wondered for a moment if Cira was awake in her own room, and his heart throbbed painfully at the thought.

"No. We've never talked about your childhood." She smiled up at him, beautiful and loving. "I moan and groan about my future all the time. You deserve a moment, too."