Ch. 10: Star Gazing

Prior to meeting the king and queen, Dantares sat Hayward down to get (most of) the truth out of him. He and the princess hadn't slept together, but they'd come close. They had enough alone time planned for the coming days, and they were likely to cross that line. This was, in Hayward's estimation, a terrible thing. Sleeping with princesses always caused trouble.

Dantares, however, wasn't quite so sure. "The Queen seems rather keen on seeing the two of you married. With that in mind, she might be willing to overlook some pre-marital mischief. More importantly, however, is the matter of purity. It is never so much sleeping with princesses as deflowering them that causes drama."

The old man paused. "Based on the way Elissa acted, it seemed unlikely that her virginity is at stake. That doesn't mean that sex wouldn't lead to trouble, but perhaps that the trouble wouldn't be as earth-shattering."

Hayward seemed more at ease with that answer, but he had to focus on other things than their vixen daughter. They had a meeting to attend.

Just as they finished their conversation, the king and queen sent a servant down to fetch both the prince and Dantares. They had one of the sitting rooms prepared as a meeting place. It had been arranged to seem official, but cozy. The meeting itself went as smoothly as one could've expected it to go. While it left none of them feeling like a treaty was just on the horizon, it did at least open a door for future conversation, and the possibility of things to be included was a treaty to be drawn up. The king leaned toward a fierce attempt at buying his way into a peaceful partnership. If jewels and gold would satisfy their king, he would give however many were necessary to ensure that the militarized kingdom did not come blasting down his gates.

The meeting hadn't been terribly interesting, but it did leave the Aasleaghans with a better idea of just how much the king was willing to do to avoid war. Hayward felt a little like he was negotiating a ransom, extorting payment in exchange for not making war. He resolved to build some degree of goodwill with the elves. It was wise for them to take the threat of war seriously, but he didn't want to leave them with the impression that every desert-dweller was a killer.

Dinner was a much less formal affair: the standard course of meat, cheese, and a vegetable or two, along with wine and water for the royals and their human guests. Elissa was already at the table by the time Hayward arrived and made polite conversation. Her mother wasn't even shoving them together. Either she had spies reporting they were getting along, or the treaty meeting had gone better than she'd assumed.

Hayward made a point of tracking her down again after dinner, however. "Your highness," he spoke with a nod when he found her. "I was thinking I might go look at the stars. Would you still like to join me?" He wasn't sure what she thought of the afternoon's indiscretions, and he wanted to give her the chance to politely decline if she wanted.

Elissa nodded, unsure of where this might take her. She'd calmed down a bit and had made sure not to drink a second glass of wine with dinner. That seemed to make her more willing to do things that were indeed terrible ideas. Her mind was no longer racing with lust. She just felt...like herself again. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a dangerous adventure.

"I'd like that very much," she responded honestly, a small smile on her face. The electric chemistry between them from earlier seemed to have dissipated. Not that she didn't still find him attractive. She did. Just... she didn't feel the need to jump his bones any longer. Perhaps kissing him had gotten some of it out of her system for the time being.

She's still interested. That's good.

It meant he hadn't completely blown it. She had proven to be pleasant company even before she kissed him. Surely he could simply relax and enjoy spending some time with her. Right?

As they started their ascent, he made a point of watching the stairs in front of him rather than watching her walk. That would help.

"About earlier..." she started, not really knowing what to say but feeling like maybe it should be addressed. "Did that end up counting as losing the bet?" She asked with a smile. At least it was a pleasant icebreaker and not a question of emotion or compromise. She felt a little less awkward even after having just asked.

"The bet? Oh, that," he chuckled and shook his head. "No—at least, not yet. Because I don't seem to have gotten in trouble. If you were refusing to speak to me again, or your father had found out and banished me, then I'd have certainly lost. But, so far... I appear to be safe."

As they reached the top of the stairs, he stepped ahead of her and held up a hand. "May I try?" he asked, not really waiting for permission before attempting to open the door. He tried to recreate the star-shaped pattern from memory and failed as the door refused to budge. "Hmm." He shut his eyes and tried to focus on what he'd seen her do, moving his hand again as he visualized it. No luck.

"Oh, come on, it was only a few hours ago!" He thought about it in his mind again, then opened his eyes and focused on his hand and on duplicating the motion as perfectly as he could. With a satisfying click, the lock released, and he opened the door. "There we go, finally," he muttered before walking inside.

She laughed at him and shook her head. "Third time's the charm?" She posed, entering the room, a little impressed he'd picked up on that so quickly. But only a little. She breezed past him, picking up the few pillows they had strewn across the floor and tossing them back into the center. Then she gently laid down on the pile and put her hands behind her head as before, staring up at the night sky.

It was beautiful, clear and quiet. The stars twinkled with all their brilliance through the clear ceiling. There was no sound around them except one another's breathing. It was so peaceful. She'd never shared this with anyone... not even her siblings. They had no idea she stole up here to stare at the night sky. It had been her own place of total tranquility. Sharing it with him seemed more intimate to her than anything they had done earlier that afternoon. That was instinct, primal desire... this... was special to her.

She questioned just why she was sharing it with him. He disarmed her in ways she didn't like and couldn't understand. And yet... something about him felt comforting. Something about him already felt like someone she'd known a long time, not only a few days. He made her comfortable, and while part of her hated that, another part relished it.

He followed her to the pile of pillows and stretched out as well. Rather than laying down next to her, he was a more respectful distance away, just out of arm's reach, present but not so close that they'd have to work to keep their hands off of each other. Hayward took the silence as a hint and said nothing for a while, instead taking in the view. They were the same stars that he used to navigate in the desert and, though slightly warped by the crystal ceiling, they felt familiar.

It was one of the few things that didn't feel like an unfamiliar experience. Sleeping out under the stars was a regular thing for him. He rarely bothered with a tent, as it rained so infrequently in the desert. He could understand how the tower helped by raising them above the trees. This way, they could see the entire sky, but back home, there were no obstacles to interrupt the view. It would have been an exaggeration to say that it felt like home, but it at least felt very comfortable.

The silence was pleasant as well. It wasn't an angry silence, the aftermath of a fight that left each party refusing to speak to the other. Nor was it an awkward silence where neither knew what to say, despite feeling as though they should say something. Instead, it was almost heartwarming; Elissa was comfortable enough with him to be there and not feel like they needed to make conversation.

He sighed contentedly. "This is really lovely," he said, and didn't even try to sneak in a compliment.

"It really is..." she responded with a genuine smile. "You know, I've never been up here with someone. With anyone. I normally come to be alone, but...it's not so bad..." she mused, still looking upward, then turning her head to look at him. The sky was bright, but without lamplight the room was still quite dark. His handsome features, rugged and hard, almost looked softer by moonlight.

She noted the distance between them. He was actually trying to be respectful, and it was rather adorable. This was quite a change from earlier in the day, and she found both sides to be equally interesting. If only this more polite version of himself existed, she would've tired of him quickly. However, his many facets kept her guessing, and she loved a mystery.

"Not so bad," he repeated with a soft chuckle. "Why, I'm not sure I've ever received such a heartfelt compliment, Elissa. Thank you." He grabbed a pillow and tossed it up toward the crystal ceiling so it would bounce off and fall toward her. "So... where are we going hunting tomorrow?"

She caught the pillow, giving him a sideward glance before putting it back down. "In the hills, not quite as densely packed as the forest we traveled through to get here, but there are plenty of wild boar, deer, and similar game in that area. It shouldn't take too terribly long to find a suitable catch..." Of course it was more for fun than necessity. It wasn't as if they needed it for dinner, but it most likely would be prepared for them just to celebrate a successful hunt.

"Are you skilled with a bow? Or do you just wrestle game with your bare hands?" She teased, but she knew very little about his hunting skills; except that he was quite fast and strong.

Hayward chuckled. "Both, whatever's necessary. I'm an Aasleaghan soldier. If you can think of a way to kill something, I'm probably good at it. Desert creatures, though... well, they tend to be fast, and wary. Getting close enough to shoot with a bow is difficult. So sometimes we just have to track and pursue game until it collapses." He frowned. "That probably won't work here. Easier to sneak up on things, harder to track them."

He turned to look at her. "How well does a bow work for hunting boar? I've always found that they needed something more effective to bring them down, like a spear or an axe."

"Fairly well. Better if you have diamond tipped arrows." She laughed. "It takes quite a few with normal arrows, but I have taken it down in one shot with a diamond tip. Don't worry. Those aren't common. My father had them made especially for me oh my eighteenth birthday. I only own three." She was waiting on him to say something about their excessive use of stones in everything, but for the particular purpose... they were quite useful and not at all decorative.

She was right. It struck him as excessive to use a diamond as an arrowhead, regardless of how common they were. Still, for her to make use of such a thing at all, she would have to be an expert bowman, and he respected that.

"If you're very nice to me, I might let you shoot one." She winked, the words coming out a bit more sexually than she had intended. She really was just trying to be playful, but it somehow always came out as flirty. Damn him for being attractive.

The sly smile returned as he turned his head to look at her. "Probably best that I don't, as I might be too afraid of breaking such a... precious gem," he replied, as if the arrows were delicate creations. Of course, that probably wasn't what he was talking about, given the way he was looking at her.

After a moment, he turned to look up at the sky again. "Besides, unless the weight is the same, they'll fly differently and there's no way I'll hit anything with them." He glanced back at her, the suggestive glimmer returning to his eyes. "There are better ways to kill a boar. I'm quite skilled with a spear, after all."

"They're nearly impossible to break..." she responded, speaking mostly about the arrows. "Besides, I have used them before. It's not like you're taking something precious out for the first time..." Now she wasn't talking about the arrows. Well, it was true she had used them plenty, but it wasn't her true meaning. "And you may just have to show me those spear skills..."