War of Hearts

01 ~ Blossom

The sky was a black tranquility married to a poetry of stars. It was the softness that called body and brain to rest and let the heart go to its steady rhythm. Night came as a reward of sorts, a restfulness about to calm the soul.

Ever Angel, the heir to the throne of Angelic was walking unusually slowly as if her brain was struggling to direct her legs to take the next step.

Ever's mind is distracted by the council meeting which was going to happen in the capital within two days. All the members of the royal family were supposed to meet after thousand long years. In the capital all the Angel children were required to find their life partners. Ever was highly worried about finding a life partner within such a small period of time. Ever was never a type of girl who fell for boys, all she cared about were the stories Julian wrote for her and the time spent with her family and Julian. They were her life, they were her everything.

The cold onshore breeze blew right through Ever's pink, sleeveless silk dress. She bowed her head to one side, patting her eyelashes as they weighed down with mascara.

It was the type of coldness that would seep into your bones, as if your heart was a door left ajar for the icy wind, slamming only to open again.

"Ever. Ev" She heard her sister, Elizabeth's voice from behind her.

"I figured you might be out here taking a stroll with your best friend, 'the cold'." Elizabeth's hair flowed down her back like a brownish black ink. Her eyes were foxlike and had an icy greyish green hue like the early sprouts of plants in the snow.

Elizabeth continued without waiting for Ever to respond, "Everyone's searching you in the palace, luckily Julian suggested that you might have gone for a walk," she paused and walked closer to Ever.

Ever hugged herself with her hands, not being able to bear the unbearable cold.

Elizabeth continued, "Now don't tell me you're afraid of getting married and you've decided to run away."

Ever observed Elizabeth as if she was an enemy. She noticed that her sister was in her fighting gear, "Why are you in your gear?"

"I just came from the battle arena," She paused and gave Ever an amused look.

"You didn't answer my question." Elizabeth said.

She was an express train when speaking; sometimes people found it difficult to understand her but Ever never faced any difficulty. Ever took ahold of Elizabeth's hand and then noticed it was plastered due to a wound.

She spoke looking into Elizabeth's eyes, "Eli, after the council I'll have to marry a guy who I know nothing about and take control of a land which is unknown to me. After all of that I'll never get to live the life I want to live."

Elizabeth cut her off by taking her hand back from Ever, "What's the life you want to live? Huh? All you do is read books and spend time with Julian talking nonsense about those books," She placed her hands on Ever's shoulders and continued, "You are a queen. You were born to be a queen. That is what you are. Be what you are. Don't push yourself to be someone you're not destined to be."

Ever stared at her sister, silently, not knowing how to respond.

Elizabeth grinned, "I don't understand why you don't want to get married. Besides, I'm super excited to be a married woman."

Ever laughed lightly, gazing at her sister who had never grown up and who would never grow up.

Elizabeth continued, pulling herself closer to her sister, "Why do you hate men? And what is so special about Julian for him to be the only man you keep company with. Do you," She paused and smiled like a baby, "love him?"