Heir of Cinders [FADING EMBERS #1] - ON HOLD

13.2 - Matters of the Heart

The castle gardens were beautiful at that time of year, more than ever as the day of a very important event was looming in the horizon. In every tree, shrub, and flower bush, Faisuri could see the toil of the royal gardeners. Each hedge was pruned with a meticulous care akin to a mother's for her a children. The vast, sprawling lawns of grass were trimmed to a perfection, not a green blade rising higher than the rest. Yet for all the effort that the gardeners had put into every single plant in the gardens, none of them mattered save for the flowers. The flowers stole the show, enrapturing the eyes of all those that laid sight to them. They were dazzling in their chroma- the bright blues of the forget-me-nots, the pure whites of the lilies, and the roses red as Primeval Flames themselves. Compared to them, the trees, shrubs, and the bushes paled.

What was it that Faisuri had told Ida? Beauty does not equate to everything.

At that moment, she felt like it did. Standing next to this woman, from her luscious waves of dark chocolate to her perfect crescent of a waist, made Faisuri feel like the grass: insignificant. She knew for a fact that she was a beautiful woman. Many people, both men and women, had told her that countless of times and she had certainly taken the liberty of studying her features closely when the chance arose. Faisuri knew her strengths and her faults in both posture and facial complexion.

Yet for all the strengths she had, her flaws seemed much more prominent when she walked next to Meara. As they walked, Faisuri had stolen surreptitious glances at the brunette, trying to spot any faults that she might have. Anything to convince her that this woman was no immaculate sculpture of the gods- anythinggood she didn't have that Faisuri had.

There was none, of course, and it bothered her.

In one of her attempts to analyze the woman, Meara suddenly turned her own head towards her, almost taking Faisuri aback. Her eyes locked head-on with the taller lady's mesmerizing eyes. Dimples formed as her lips were drawn upwards.

"Lovely day outside, is it not?" she started. Those were the first words spoken since they stepped outside the shadow of the ceilings.

"Don't tell me you dragged me all the way out here just to tell me that, Lady- Meara," Faisuri laughed, catching herself at the very last moment. Out here in the gardens, between the two of them, they were no longer Lady Friell and Lady Raine. They were Meara and Faisuri.

"Perhaps," Meara murmured with a playful smirk. "Don't worry, there will be plenty of time to talk."

"Well, since we are talking right now, maybe you could spare a few words to tell me what all of this is about?"

Meara paused and looked away, her eyes falling onto the beautiful flowers. Gorgeous like herself, thought Faisuri. The bitter hate in her mind's voice almost surprised her. Almost.

"No reason in particular," she said, but the long sigh that followed indicated otherwise. Faisuri hung onto every word, never taking her own gaze off her. Meara finally returned her gaze, a slight smile gracing her features. "I'd just like to get to know you better, Faisuri, as Meara Friell. Not as Lady Friell and not when I am queen. Just me as I am right now."

No, that wasn't the truth. For all of her perfection, Meara's face was as easy to read as an open book. It hid no secrets, laying bare her true intentions and feelings. Finally something that Faisuri excelled in above the other, though she could find no joy in it. Was the ability to create masks for herself a good thing?

Faisuri decided not to press on her lie, letting it fly swiftly past with a casual chuckle. If this was the way they were going to do it, then so be it. As Meara herself had said, they had plenty of time to talk. She could afford to go slow, to subtly lure out the real reason she had arranged this private moment. Her arm was still linked into Meara's, swinging gently in tandem with their pace.