A sudden burst of bright light woke Saffron the following morning. Flinching, she shielded her eyes for a moment as they adjusted to the change. She could see Prince Ash's silhouette against the sunbeams streaming in through the window. She was surprised to see the numerous scars running down his back. It looked as if he had been badly injured at some point. Not quite enough to kill him, since he bore no rebirth markings on his wrists, but enough to deeply mark his skin.
"If you keep staring, we'll be late."
"Could you not wake me less harshly?" Saffron sighed, ignoring his comment.
"Of course, next time I'll just pour the hand basin over your face."
"The window is fine."
Saffron clambered out of bed and stretched, wincing at the pain in her back. She shrugged her arms out of her nightgown, making an effort to hold the front up with her arm, and glanced at her back in the mirror. The burns had definitely healed some.
"I'll bring the salve on the trip," Ash said from across the room.
Saffron turned to see him looking at her with his half-cold gaze. At least these recent acts of compassion reassured Saffron that he likely wouldn't go out of his way to physically harm her. She returned his gaze firmly.
"I need to change," She said.
"Well, you'd better be quick about it. We're leaving soon."
"Get out."
The Crown Prince smirked menacingly for a moment before he shook his head.
"Fine, I was going to bathe before we left anyway."
With that, Ash strode from the room, a towel draped over his shoulder. How he could walk through the halls in just his loincloth, Saffron would never know. Did he have no shame? With the prince gone, Saffron slipped out of her nightgown and took a moment to clean herself with the dampened washcloth. She grabbed a deep purple gown from the wardrobe along with two petticoats and slipped them on. She wondered if it was too much for their visit home, but she did not want to give Blossom any more reasons to snicker and make rude comments.
There was a knock at the door as Saffron put the final touches on her hair and makeup.
"You may enter," She called out.
Prince Blaze stepped into the room with two servants following him. The servants quickly collected the two cases and scurried off with them, leaving Blaze behind.
"Your highness, are you here to see me off?" Saffron asked, a smile on her face.
"Actually, I'll be accompanying you. Fifth brother and sixth brother will also be coming."
"Oh!" Saffron replied, slightly baffled, "I assumed it would just be me and the crown prince."
"Are you disappointed?" Blaze asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.
"Goodness, no. I'm incredibly relieved. It seems a lot less daunting now."
Blaze chuckled and shook his head.
"Anyway, if you're ready, I'll walk you to the carriages."
Saffron nodded, thanking him as she stood up. She followed after him, almost struggling to keep up with his long strides.
There were two carriages waiting at the front of the palace. Two large white horses pulled each one. As Saffron approached them with Blaze, she could hear the sound of bickering coming from the second carriage. Blaze rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Uri and Conley rarely get along when our father isn't here," Blaze told Saffron before turning his attention to the crown prince, who was striding across the courtyard, "Finally decided to show up?"
"I went to find my wife only to see that some scoundrel had abducted her," Prince Ash commented as he approached.
"She's your wife now, is she? You most definitely could have fooled me."
"You take your wisecracks and get in the carriage. Or would you prefer to walk?"
Prince Blaze gave an overexaggerated bow and turned to help Saffron get in. He grabbed her waist lightly and hoisted her up onto the step.
"Thank you, your highness," Saffron said, trying her best not to trip over her skirt as she clambered inside.
Saffron took a seat and sighed deeply. She hated carriage rides at home, but this carriage did not fly. The journey would take considerably longer, but she did not mind. At least she would not be sickened by the jerky motion. Prince Ash was next to get into the carriage. He glanced at Saffron for a moment, his expression blank. He paused for less than a second before taking the seat opposite her. Saffron rolled her eyes. He had been kind last night when he found out she was injured, and yet he was already back to his usual cold self.
"I didn't say you could get in this carriage. Go and sit with fifth and sixth brother." Ash barked suddenly.
Saffron turned to see Blaze climbing into the carriage. He snorted and shook his head in response.
"They bicker like children. I'm not about to endure that headache for the next six hours."
When Ash did not respond, Blaze hopped up into the carriage and took a seat next to Saffron. Ash's gaze was thunderous, but Blaze just grinned at him and gave a small wave. A servant closed the door and a few minutes later, the carriage began to move.
"I've never been to the Fae Kingdom, what's it like?" Blaze asked, attempting to break the silence.
"It's quite mountainous. When people have wings, it's easy to build at any height, since you don't need to worry about bridges or stairs." Saffron replied, offering a smile.
"Will we be able to get around?" Blaze asked curiously.
"The palace had adaptions made for me after I was born. You'll have no problem there, but if you venture out to town you might need some fae guards to accompany you and help fly you to anywhere inaccessible by foot. I'd offer to show you around, but I have rarely been allowed to leave the palace considering..." Saffron gestures weakly over her shoulders at her missing wings.
Blaze tapped his chin thoughtfully, seemingly trying to imagine her home. Saffron noticed Ash's scowl from the corner of her eye. She turned to look at him.
"Does my home displease you?" She asked.
"Did your father decide to make you a prisoner for your safety or his?" Ash asked.
The question caught Saffron off guard. She took a moment to think of her answer.
"It would be easy to assassinate me since I could never hope to outrun even a slow windspeed."
"The Fae Guard must be inept if they cannot even protect one princess," the Crown Prince commented, folding his arms.
"Brother, must you always frighten her?" Blaze asked, giving Saffron's arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Must you always touch my wife?" Ash retorted, eyeing the hand.
"You don't own her, nor did you want to marry her. She is still her own person. If she's uncomfortable she can tell me. We are friends, after all."
The air in the carriage filled with stony silence. Saffron turned her attention to the window quickly, watching the scenery go by. She felt as if the tension in the air would suffocate her. Letting her mind wander as the landscape changed, Saffron felt herself becoming tired. The stress of the past few days had not been alleviated by any amount of sleep. She felt as if she could sleep for a decade, and she would be more than happy to do so.
It was only when the carriage jolted and woke her, that Saffron found she had fallen asleep. She rubbed her eyes gently to clear the sleep from them. She blinked a few times as her senses came back to her. It was then that she realised she had been resting on Prince Blaze's shoulder. She rubbed the small spot of makeup from his jacket.
"Your highness, forgive me, I have dirtied your jacket," Saffron murmured sleepily.
"It's no problem," Blaze responded, offering her a large smile.
Saffron stretched her arms and glanced around the carriage. She noticed Prince Ash staring out of the window, his expression seemed murderous. What exactly had happened whilst she was asleep? Had they argued? Saffron was sure their talking would have woken her. She looked down at her lap in confusion for a moment before jerking her head up in surprise as the carriage came to a stop.
"How long was I asleep?" She asked, looking at Blaze in surprise.
"A long time," Blaze admitted, rubbing his shoulder sorely.
Saffron apologised again, her face red from embarrassment. She had slept through the entire journey.
It took them a few minutes to disembark from the carriage. Prince Ash left first, going to order the servants about. Blaze helped Saffron down from the carriage and turned to look at the palace in front of them.
"It's not quite as big as I imagined," he commented, resting his hands on his hips.
"We value quality over quantity in the Fae Kingdom," Saffron teased, a smirk on her lips.
"Cheeky," Blaze tutted, shaking his head and returning her smile.
It was then that Saffron spotted two figures flying out of the grand entrance. Her knees felt weak for a moment and she had to stop herself from running to meet them. Her father had sent Silver and Nanny Pine to greet them. It had only been a few days, but it felt like an eternity since she had seen them.
As Nanny Pine landed, she enveloped Saffron in a tight hug.
"My dear girl, you have had me so worried," she chided softly, brushing a hand over Saffron's hair.
"I have missed you. I did not even get to say goodbye, I am sorry," Saffron replied, wiping tears from her eyes.
Silver bowed deeply as the other three princes approached.
"Silver, please help the servants take our cases to our rooms," Saffron said, offering her guard a wide smile.
"Yes, my lady," Silver replied as he turned to go, he paused momentarily to ask, "Will you and the Crown Prince be sharing a room?".
Saffron opened her mouth to reply, but Prince Ash answered before she could speak.
"Yes. I am her husband, after all." He snapped, an impatient look on his face.
Saffron suppressed her scowl. She really would rather not share a room with him, but she knew it would only raise questions if they did not.
"Speak to the knight with some respect," Saffron told Ash, meeting his gaze with a firm and commanding expression.
Ash's lip twitched, almost as if he was amused, and he turned his attention back to his brothers.
Nanny Pine seemed surprised for a moment before her face flushed red. She bowed deeply.
"Forgive me, my lady. I thought this man was your husband," Nanny Pine said, glancing up at Prince Blaze.
Prince Blaze let out a hearty laugh, placing a hand on his chest as he did so. He took a breath to steady himself and held out his hand for her to shake. Nanny Pine took it hesitantly, shooting a nervous glance at Saffron.
"Prince Blaze, the second prince of the Phoenix kingdom," Blaze introduced himself.
"It's a pleasure you meet you, your highness."
"Come on, we haven't got all day," Prince Ash snapped at the two of them, striding forwards towards the entrance.
"Please forgive my husband, his patience is small to make space for that ego of his,"
Saffron's comment earned another round of hearty laughter from Prince Blaze as they followed after the Crown Prince.
It was strange. Although she was home again, Saffron could not shake the foreboding feeling that had rooted itself in the pit of her stomach. She tried her best to ignore it as they entered the palace. It was time to see her father.