His Little Heir

A Step Towards Destiny

He scared her.

The obscurity of it all set sirens blaring, their sound hammering against her skull. How had he found her? No, that was an easy question to answer; of course he knew she existed. But to marry her? That was a different story entirely.
Quishea' didn't have the best military, everyone knew that. It needed Faye, but what did Faye need Quishea' for?

Absolutely nothing.

From what Daya could see, the economy was in the midst of it's prime. The streets bustled, and pockets were heavy. She hadn't seen many farms from the plane, but such a wealthy kingdom wouldn't neglect such a thing; almost the entire interior of Faye castle was dipped in gold, after all.

So why her?

Daya was young, heck, only two years younger. She was next in line for the family throne, but that's where her potential for Leon ended.

And Austin, God she missed him. Even just to talk to him, just hearing his voice would be enough. But she couldn't do that; tensions were too high, but why?

Such knowledge had been denied to her for twenty-two years.

"Daya, you okay? I-I didn't hurt you did I?"

Leon scared her, but at the same time she was puzzled by him. Why did he care so tenderly for Daya if they had just met?

"N-No you're fine. Thank you."

And here she was, cowering behind a bathroom door when the answers to her questions waited outside.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Leon leaned against the door, "I'll leave you alone."

Alarm bells' thunder split her bones to the point of breaking, but somehow, her lips still could shape one word: "Wait."

Leon's feet reemerged underneath the door's gap. "Hmm?
"D-Do you mind staying. Just for a little, I-I don't want to be by myself."
"You wouldn't rather your father?"

That was quite a question, but Daya didn't want her father; she wanted answers.

Daya rose, twisted the knob, and looked up into the sea of emeralds.

"Not really."
"I'll warm up your soup then?"

Her eyes crinkled at their corners as a chuckle simmered to the surface.

"Can't have it cold now can we?"

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  With her heart's calming, the room lost it's warmth. The ice of fatigue began to set in; was it always this cold in here?

     "Hey Daya, I-"

    Her body jolted, the sound of his voice sent the bells' ringing coursing through every vein. The little color Daya had left in her face immediately drained, surprise's suffocation prompted her lungs to gasp for air. She whipped around, her hand on her chest. "Don't do that to me!"

     "Did I scare you?" He put the soup on the bedside table.
      "Y-Yes! Don't you know how to knock?!"
      Leon held out his hand, taking the one on her chest. "I'm sorry the soup was just really hot, and I didn't bring a potholder because they were all in the wash because I got food all- oh god I'm rambling."
     Her breathing slowed, and the coolness again returned. "It's-It's okay, just knock next time."
    
     Daya looked down, aware that her hand still rested comfortably in his. "Leon, um-"
      He followed her gaze. "Oh! Sorry, I-I just forgot I was holding your hand," the Faye king loosened his grip, "I mean, it's so tiny I-"
      "It is not!"
      "Is too!"
      Daya looked down at her hands. "I'll have you know that they're statistically average!"
     "Unlike the rest of you."
     "What did you say?" Daya faced him, squinting her eyes. Leon was taller than her, much taller, but she resolved that such a trivial thing would not stop her.
     "Uh, nothing, nothing!' His face turned to the color a cherry blossom would in the middle of spring. "Your, ahem, soup's getting cold."
     "You're lucky I'm hungry."

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     The ice continued to bite at her, as it began to riddle her body. Fashad wasn't this cold, was it? Daya's father had commented on it's temperature only once, saying that it was "a little cooler;" but yet again, she wasn't anywhere near that.

     Daya was freezing.

     "You okay?" He looked at her tentatively, eyes drooping with concern.
     "Oh, I'm fine, just cold." She turned back to her soup, which, was fit to rival the best Daya had ever been served. Or, she was just hungry; the princess was too preoccupied to decide which.
     
      Daya had already maneuvered the ebony blankets around her, but every movement dissolved any warmth they managed to provide. Each trip from bowl to tounge introduced her to the bitter cold all over again; the dish's warmth almost mocked her.

     "Here," Leon tugged his black hoodie over his head, revealing yet another layer: burgundy cotton. "Take it."
     "N-No thanks, I think I'll be fine." Daya pushed the garment away, her eyes stinging. For a split second, she found herself in a bed much like this one, and next to a man not at all sharing the bed's familiarity. A red sweatshirt much too big for the princess swaddled her form. But she didn't care.

     Daya was happy then, but the light from it grew cold, weak, never to be experienced again.

     It was gone, yet she still remained.

     But was she, Daya Adele Savech: Heir to the Kingdom of Quishea', to live like this? Was sitting her new acting, and silence her new voice?

     No.

     For a princess's destiny is painted in her people's stars, and even when the last falls, it shall never see the pit of her sorrows.

     Maybe, her destiny had changed, or it had been this way all along; but whatever happened, it hovered in her hands. And all Daya had to do was send it to the stars, to the light.

     She had to let go.

     Her voice wavered, struggling for every syllable: "I-I'm sorry I just-"
     "No, no you don't have to-"
      "But Leon, the thing is I want to; I want to do this, everything, for me, for Quishea'. I know my father, I know how persistent he is. I know at the end of the day it'll be me and you at the altar. I just know. But what I don't know is- is"
     "Shhh.. Hey, hey, don't cry," Warmth replaced the ice surrounding her. Daya didn't know how she got there, but she didn't care enough to fight it. Leon's arms weren't home, but a step towards destiny.

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     Thank you so much for reading! 💜 What do you think about Daya's decision?