Frost (Bxb)

Chapter Ten

Volcion was much different than Glacion. The exact opposite, in fact. While Glacion was ice cold, cover in white snow, Volcion was extremely hot, the soil so dark it was nearly pitch black. I, of course, had to steer my ship into the Volcion King's hangar, mostly because I was sure to melt if I stepped foot onto open land. Teiken and his father both had made sure that the castle was a comfortable temperature for each of us, although it was still a bit toasty for me. Joseph was by my side, since the human had insisted he come along. It was as if he had appointed himself as my personal bodyguard, not that I minded, or anything. I rather enjoyed his company, even if it made my stomach do weird things. Either that or I was falling ill. Which, I hope it wasn't the latter, since I couldn't afford to get sick. I had to be healthy at all times in case I was needed for something.

Joseph wasn't the only one who came with. Jack stood on my other side, his short black hair cropping his sharp face, his blue eyes curious as he took in the Volcion Castle. He had been adamant about coming, since he was starting to get bored on Glacion. Olivia volunteered to stay behind to continue working on their ship, which allowed Jack to come with us.

I was thrust out of my thoughts when the double doors in front of us opened, revealing Teiken in all his glory. He greeted me with a grin, walking over to me and gently hugging me, making Joseph glance between us with a raised eyebrow. "You finally made it, Asurah. I mean, I knew you were coming over today, not...that I was waiting for you, or anything. Come, come, father is waiting for you."

He pulled away from me, glancing curiously at Joseph and Jack, before he waved for us to follow him deeper into the castle. And while Glacion's castle colors centered around white, and light blue, Volcion's castle was dark, black marble floors and dark red walls, with torches lighting the way. It was the polar opposite to my planet in every way possible. And since Teiken was my friend, it made me think of the saying "opposites attract" which was very true in our case. Not romantically, of course, as I could never see Teiken in that way even if I was stupid enough to fall into love's clutches. But I wasn't. Love wasn't something to delve into, because it was dangerous territory.

We walked into a large rounded room with a throne chair in the center back, a giant man sitting in it as he assessed us with vibrant orange eyes. King Temour was a very intimidating man...if you were only seeing him for the first time. However, since I had known the man for many years, he had revealed to me that, despite his intimidating size, he was a softy, sweet right to his core. His black hair was shaved on one side, the other side long, and braided with tight braids.

Like Teiken, he smiled widely when he caught sight of me, standing to his impressive height, before he walked over to me an yanked me into a hug, his arms strong and warm as they wrapped around my form. I smiled and hugged him back, barely paying any attention to how Joseph was staring at us. I pulled away, my hands still on Temour's upper biceps.

"How have you been, Your Highness? It's been a while since I was able to visit you."

Temour scoffed and waved me off, ruffling my hair as I raised an eyebrow. "Please, stop with the formalities, Asurah. Temour is fine, you know this. Anyway," he gestured for me to follow him and I did, following him out of the throne room. "I wanted to thank you in person for accepting our proposal. I am so happy to be able to share Volcion's culture with you."

"So ah...did I miss something? Are you guys proposing to each other, or something?" Jack asked, making me blush and shoot a glare at him.

"Of course not! Temour is like a father to me! Besides, we were talking about his business. He wants to expand Volcion's fashion business to other planets around the galaxy. And he asked me to be his, I guess, test subject."

For some reason, I saw Joseph flinch from the corners of my eyes. Furrowing my brow, I glanced at him only to have him shrug at me, averting his eyes. Confused and curious, I looked away from him back at Temour, who explained more about what he wanted to do, and where he wanted to take his business. We talked for a few hours about the business, planning out which of my cities to put the headquarters in, and how we were going to place the individual stores. Joseph stayed weirdly close to me the entire time, and Jack often asked Teiken about the planet and its inhabitants. It seemed like those two were getting along, and weirdly enough, I felt kind of proud that Teiken was making another friend. Like me, he didn't have many friends outside of royalty. In fact, anyone with royal blood didn't, I would assume. Sure, there were often times people tried being our friends, but it usually ended up as them wanting a way to get to our money, whether it be priceless gems or creds. It was rare to find a completely genuine friend, nowadays.

By the time Temour and I were done talking business, we moved over to the dining room for a meal, the room giant with a large chandelier hanging in the center. There were a few art pieces on the walls, and the table looked to be made out of obsidian, buffed and polished to look like a shiny gem. I sat down on one side of Temour, Teiken on the other, with Joseph sitting next to me. Jack sat by Teiken and they both began yet another conversation, this time about their female lovers. I couldn't tell if they were bragging about their lovers, or if they were trying to one up each other. It was both adorable and amusing to watch. Until I felt Joseph poke my shoulder, making me glance at him curiously as he looked at me intensely with those chocolate colored eyes of his.

"So, is Teiken a friend of yours? Or is this another strictly political thing?"

I shrugged, grabbing at a cherry-filled roll. "Both, actually. Though, maybe a bit less political. I've been friends with Teiken for so long now, I know just about everything about him."

"Must be nice. All my friends left me when..." he paused, his voice trailing until it went silent. He then shrugged and bit into a roll, the cherry filling spilling over his lips. "Well, they're not my friends anymore, let's just say that."

I frowned, watching as he licked the cherry filling off his bottom lip, oddly fastinated by the action. I blinked and shook my head, gently biting my bottom lip. "That's sad. I couldn't imagine losing my friends, for whatever reason. Not that I have a lot of friends. I do consider you a friend, though. So...you have me."

Joseph gave me an indistinguishable look, his chocolate eyes staring intently into mine, before a small smile formed on his lips. "You are way too kind for you own good, you know that?" He sighed and turned to his meal, his eyes taking on a...sad tone. "I consider you a friend too."

I smiled and began eating my food, barely noticing how Teiken shot me a look of bewilderment, his orange eyes shifting between Joseph and I, his lips moving as he mouthed something at me.

"Oh my gosh, you like him?!"

My mouth dropped open at his accusation, and I quickly glanced at Joseph before I responded, mouthing my words clearly. "I most certainly do not! Not romantically, like you are probably thinking."

"You've been basically checking him out this whole time." Teiken deadpanned, making me pout and narrow my eyes playfully.

"Says the one who is basically flirting with Jack. I wonder how your lover will feel about that."

Teiken gave me a look of disbelief, his eyes wide as he scrunched up his nose in disgust. "What? Ew gross! He is very much lacking the fun part I enjoy." With that, he winked, making me grimace as I fought the urge to laugh.

"I did not need to know that, Teiken. Besides, on a more serious note, Joseph and I are only friends, nothing more."

Teiken raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming on his lips. "Are you sure?"

I hesitated, glancing at Joseph from the corners of my eyes, watching as he took a bite of some of the greens, his eyebrows raising while he pursed his lips. He took another bite, and I couldn't help but glance down at his lips as he ate. I shook my head, tearing my eyes from him as I looked at Teiken. "I'm sure."