youngblood [h.s]

SEVEN- pride & prejudice

Athena's POV:

The words of the queen are green. The sunrays that cross the large glass window and expand are green. The confused and intrigued looks of everyone around me are green. Every particle of everything that makes up the room is green. The tapestries resemble the vibrant grass of the first day of spring; people look like statues carved directly from large emerald blocks; the paintings look like amorphous spills of watercolor, in shades of green that I never imagined existed. For a moment, the world becomes the gaze of the prince, who is glazed on me.

An enormous effort to look back at him with indifference seizes my body, submitting me to my unbridled pride. However, neutrality turns into curiosity as the duration of our eye contact extends, and my face moves by istself, the eyebrows rising slightly and my lips twitching in a challenging smile. I'm really ignoring all the contradictions of this action: here I am, a no one locking the prince of Elementa with insolence. I know I should stop, but I just don't want to.

Harry notices the change in my features and I can see a mischievous glow in his eyes, almost lost amid the forced cordiality. His gaze accompanies me, and he moves on his throne. Then, suddenly, he ceases to be the future king of the nation and reduces himself to the frisky kid he once was. He rolls his eyes comically, bulging them, and then raises his eyebrows exaggeratedly, imitating me. I feel my face melting like a glacier and my petulant expression falls apart, being replaced with a smile, and I can't help but laugh with a muffled sound. I cover my mouth with the back of my hand so that no one notices this newly formed solemnity, and I realize that Harry also laughs, but with no intention of hiding the act.

And we stay there, staring and laughing softly, lost in our own universe like two immature children. When I can contain my laughter, I bite my lips, shaking my head with an ironic reproach toward the prince, and he gently shrugs. However, a meteor suddenly crosses our galaxy: Harry receives a violent nudge from his brother Edward, who sits on the throne beside him, glaring at his the bruntte with unfathomable eyes. Harry sighs and recovers his polite posture, breaking our eye contact. I immediately turn my eyes to stare at my shoes, reproving myself mentally. Ten minutes here and I already decided to go to the playground with the prince. Great start, Athena.

The world around me gains more and more reality as I recover myself from the inertia in which I was only a few seconds ago. I notice the queen is talking, her strong voice dominating everyone's attention. Noticing Molly's and Bea's concentrated glances, I force myself to pay attention to the queen as well.

"...therefore, the Games start within three days. Truth is, the competition will be tough, and indeed dangerous. The challenges will always be revealed one night before their occurrence, so all I can say now is: be prepared to test your physical, logical and political skills. One or more participants shall be eliminated per set." she states, blinking devilishly. Everyone in the room, including the court, seems tense. Even Harry straightens his posture, in such a discreet movement that I think it's only noticed by me. I wonder how much I missed while staring at him.

The queen claps her hands and smiles, cutting the nervous silence as softly as a rusty cleaver passing over the bloody carcass of a bison.

"Oh, my darlings, I can see the boredom in your faces- no, don't feel bad. I'm aware that you all want to hear some good news, for a change" she completes when most of the girls undo their frowns quickly. " I've already taken enough of your time speaking about what's still to be explained. Now, let's talk about the fun part."

The queen's words are followed by a wave of excited and curious murmurs, that echo through the room.

"Oh, so there's a fun part." it's too late when I realize that the sarcasm wasn't only inside my head. I almost facepalm, but I can contain myself enough and only clench my fists. The murmurs cease immediately, and I don't even need to look up to feel the queen's burning eyes upon me. Beside her, Edward seems extremely annoyed, while amusement shapes Harry's features.