Through The Storm

t w e n t y t w o

I rolled my eyes, pursing my lips to hide my smile. "We were just out on a stroll, Gwen, don't let your imagination run wild." I pushed past her into my chambers.

She shut the door behind me. "Hey, I didn't say anything! So, on a completely unrelated topic - he's so dreamy, isn't he? I'd love to take him on a stroll - in my wild imagination."

"Gwen!" I exclaimed, aghast. "He's our Prince. We can't talk about him like that... right?"

She raised her brows and scoffed. "Please, Ashryn. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single girl in the castle who didn't fancy him. Him being a Prince makes him even more dreamy, I suppose - because he's so unattainable and everything." She waved a hand in the air.

"Right." I tried to sound mildly curious, turning my back to her as I sifted through my closet for my loungewear. "What about his brother? Prince Faolan?"

"Ah, him." Her voice flattened. "Ironically, even though they're twins, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who fancied Prince Faolan. It's like... it's like the two of them are the moon. Fionn's always been the half that shines," Gwen said. She peeped over my shoulder to snatch a pair of my sandals. Slipping them onto her feet, she continued, "Faolan's the back half in the dark. Sulking and plotting, more often than not. And it doesn't help that he's... less exclusive. Too attainable, if you catch my drift."

I pulled a heavy, midnight blue knitted sweater over my head, grateful for the brief obscuring of my face. "Oh."

"I tell you, Ash," she went on, "if you ever find yourself around him, find some way to excuse yourself." She glanced in the mirror, combing out her silky black hair with her fingers. "The whispers in the kitchen... he's rumoured to be strange."

The door burst open and Blake ran in. "Hey guys!" he greeted. He was sweaty and smelled distinctly of horse. "Murphy let me ride on my own horse today! He had to speak to Prince Fionn urgently, so he let me roam the grounds myself. And Buttercup didn't give me any trouble at all!"

I forced a smile. "That's lovely, Blake. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks!" he yelled over his shoulder as he sped off to the bath.

"You don't like that he's out with Murphy all the time, do you?" Gwen noted.

"What?" I took my usual place on the windowsill and propped another tome onto my knees, a little too harshly. "That's not true. I think it's nice that Blake finally has an older male to spend time with."

She hopped into the armchair, angling her legs towards the fire. "Alright then. So I suppose we're not the kind of friends who tell each other everything."

"I-" I sighed. How could I tell her how much it bothered me? How could I admit how selfish I was to begrudge my brother his newfound freedom and happiness? I shook my head. "There's nothing to tell, Gwen. Just let it go."

She didn't push the subject and settled for a shrug. I was grateful for her silence.

I couldn't help thinking that it was easier, somehow, when my problems only stretched so far as survival in dire poverty.

"You look like you're going somewhere." I gestured towards her - my - sandals.

"I am." Gwen smiled slyly. "Next week is the big Annual Winter Fest; the kitchen staff are usually brought to their knees by the workload. So I'm working overtime this week. I'm hoping Adeline gives me fewer shifts so I can attend the Fest, not just serve in it!"

I swallowed my laugh. "That's quite an ambitious plan. I wish you all the best. Are you sure these are the right shoes for it? I find them impractically flimsy."