Another hour passed while I sat leisurely knotting the stems of flowers and creating a cord I might place around the chestnut's neck. I'd decided earlier I might name it as well since Hael didn't seem to already have one for him. He usually beckoned his horse with a soft whistle or the gentle snapping of his fingers.
Unfortunately, the forest didn't have a way to preserve the other piles of flowers I had collected, so there was no way to store the most beautiful of the bunch to hang on a wall. Ever since I was a boy, I'd been indulgently fond of nature, and if the Earth's ravishing environment were the night sky, then the flowers dotting green forests and fields were the constellations.
The Hale flowers I would pick for Alora—comparing the green petals to his eyes and the delicate nature to his soul—had always been the loveliest because they were ethereal, and the treasure their velvety petals were reminded me of him. It had been far too long since I'd seen one, convincing me that perhaps Hales were native only to the outskirts of the kingdom, where nature flourished from the lack of buildings.
I'd had other hobbies in the castle. When I hadn't been working alongside my doctor, I'd been a creative, carving designs into large candles or playing with saturated paints across expansive canvases. I liked expressing my personality and pushing creativity and positive energy into the world. Art—whatever form it was—had always allowed me to do that. And I'd always had fun. Even if I'd been doing it alone.
My fingers worked leisurely to extend this lovely cord, for if I finished too early, I would be left with nothing else to pass the time. I remained quiet, even when Hael emerged from the forest to my right with an armful of thick branches for the fire. He set the wood down just out of reach from the fire's grasp and crouched to poke the flames.
His gaze slid to me.
My skin prickled like an icy breath had licked it through my clothing. That was what Hael's gaze was, winter's exhale sweeping me over and freezing me in place.
"What is that melody you're humming?" he asked, his words climbing quietly to my ear over the simmering pops of flames.
I considered him, my fingers pausing. I hadn't realized I had been humming my mother's song. "If I tell you, will you answer a question of mine?"
"Depends on what it is," he answered at length.
"How old are you?"
Lips twitching, his eyes flitted between mine contemplatively. "Twenty-six."
Older than me by three years… Was it a coincidence? "Really? I thought you were older."
The barest flicker of a smile touched his lips, amusement tickling his deliberately slow words. "Are you telling me I look old, Your Highness?"
His amusement rubbed off on me like stained fingers, encouraging a dawning smile of my own. "You seem older, is all I meant. But you look…"
"I look?" His brow stood, mischief detailing his jeweled gaze. And when I was too slow to respond, he finished for me. "Handsome? You can say it."
My following laugh surprised me, a sharp bark of noise so vigorous, it rumbled my chest with warmth and humor foreign to me. I didn't miss the way Hael preened like a swan spreading its wings for the first promise of rainfall of the season. And I ignored the cloying fondness that candied my heart at that.
I picked up a limp flower and threw it at him. "Youthful. I was going to say you look youthful. Although now that I am paying attention…I suppose you aren't that hard to look at."
A broad smile spread across Hael's face, showing me a constellation of bright teeth that sparkled with his eyes. Even the color darkening his cheeks glistened, freckles of glitter on his skin sparkling orange under the fire's influence. It was revitalizing and refreshing—a sip from the fountain of life steadying a stream of vigor in my blood while I witnessed how free and unrestrained he looked. As though, for this rare moment, he was genuinely happy. And it was happiness I had caused.
I'd caused it?
I felt my smile fall then after realizing how inappropriate it was. Hael might not have been the one to have killed my family, and it was true he helped little girls locate their families, and indeed he'd been the one to tend to my wounds, but none of that could erase the fact that he'd also killed two people in front of me.
Hael was not a person I could laugh with. He and I were still nothing more than a captor and his victim. And until I reached the bottom of who he was, I needed to keep him at length. For the sake of my own sensitive heart.
Upon the fall of my smile, Hael's countenance changed, his emotions seemingly entirely influenced by mine. The stars in his eyes burned out, and his face stiffened with impassiveness I could tell was a facade. He looked noticeably disappointed as he faced the fire again. Then, he stood and broadened his shoulders. "I'll catch some fish for dinner."
I brushed colorful petals from my lap and stood as well. "I'm feeling better now. I can fend for myself."
"Better is not healed." Hael's counter exited him sternly, including no room for discussion.
But surely, he must've known by now how stubborn I was. I stood taller. "Perhaps you just believe a Prince is too spoiled to catch his own dinner. Say what you mean, Hael. No need to make excuses."
Hael approached, stopping only when the tips of our shoes touched. And by his side, his hand flexed like he wanted to reach for me. I waited. Only to see if he would, despite my earlier declaration to keep him at a distance that wouldn't knot my heart.
He didn't. Reach for me.
Instead, he studied me for a moment too long. "I have neither a net nor rod. You would need to use your bare hands. It won't be easy."
"Surely it isn't hard, either," I countered with a dose of pride.
And I could not have been any more wrong.
I stood in the lake, my pants sloppily rolled just below my knees while the dark, sparkling water lapped at my sensitive calves from the ripples I caused with my novice and chaotic movements. Every time a fish reached my squinting vision, I approached it carefully. I was even successful with my dives, managing to touch a few of them, but I had underestimated how slippery they were and much too energetic with their will to flee from me. They always managed to slip out of my hands.
By the time the seventh fish squirmed free from my hold, humiliation burned roses across my cheeks and ears.
I dared to look over at Hael, who stood nonchalantly in the water just a few feet away, his expression smug and delighted as he climbed the world just for having proved me wrong. The moon caressed his face favorably, highlighting the prominent bridge of his nose and the elegant curve of his lips.
"You seem to be struggling, Your Highness. Maybe if you beg, I'll come over and aid you." He bit his lip, intending to restrain the arrogant grin that slipped through anyway, broad and sparkling and sprinkling more color across his cheeks.
I stared at him, fascinated by how much younger he looked with a genuine, delighted smile centering a feverish flush. But just as quickly as I realized I adored it, I indignantly decided to despise it because it had come at my expense. I felt childish with my need to get back at him.
I held his gaze for another moment, and his brow raised smugly as he awaited my next move. Rolling my eyes, I looked at the water, my lips fighting a smug smile of my own. Deviously, I hunched my shoulders and clutched my stomach, groaning softly as though in pain. I staggered on my feet, my expression tightening.
The water pushed, ripples approaching me as Hael hurriedly came to my aid. His hand pressed against my lower back while the other coiled tenderly around my upper arm. "Are you alright?" he asked frantically, worry the steps his words climbed. He began to tug on me. "Lean on me. I'll bring you to shore."
It took everything in me not to laugh at his concern. I sneakily dipped my hand into the water, cupped it, and sent my sweetest smile before delivering a frigid wave across his face, affecting those perfectly rebellious strands curling around his eyes.
Hael released me, looking wide-eyed as I grinned at him.
"My apologies. My hand slipped," I said as casually as possible, despite the threat of laughter festering in my chest.
Stars collided, and Hael's expression turned dangerously playful. I attempted to flee when I saw his cupped hands dip into the water, but I had been too slow. Hael splashed a waterfall across my back, the weight of it knocking me onto my hands and knees in the shallow depth as catastrophic laughter poured out of me.
He came behind me and made a mess of me with heavy splashes until I was drenched in enjoyment and fun, the weight of my hair steadily growing heavier. We played like that for a while, laughter bubbling out of us both as we drenched each other in handfuls of water. If I could have caught a fish, I might have even tossed it at him just to see him flail to catch it. Eventually, the fun became too much when shivers tickled my wet skin.
I was stuck on my rear, leaning back on my hands as he approached, and I waved a trembling hand as he leaned over me. "Please…enough," I managed to say through diffusing laughter. "Is it fair to take advantage of an injured man like this?"
"So you are injured when it's convenient for you," he stated with a humored chuckle. "I didn't know my Prince was a master manipulator. Or have I made my strings too visible for you to pull on?" He gazed at me with a fond and unrestrained smile, his cheeks darkening with delight like they'd been bitten.
I didn't miss how he'd called me his Prince. His friend. Or how I liked it.
I was breathless while staring up at him, our over-exerted pants mingling in the short space between us. He watched me watch him, and I smiled. My hair was pasted sloppily against my face, water dripping onto my lashes. The same was true for him. Hesitantly, I reached forward and pushed a wet lock of hair away from his eye to see the soft mole that resided there.
He looked too innocent with it. Too kind. Too familiar.
I tucked that same lock of hair behind his ear and let my hand linger there. When I returned my eyes to Hael's, I was astonished by the amount of color spreading like wildfire beneath his. His eyes were…blushing. Affectionate and so decadently fond, and all because I had touched him.
Willingly. I had touched Hael willingly. Startled by what that meant, I dropped my hand quickly, the splash of water masking the sound of my panicked swallow.
Hael noticed me retreating, and the disappointment marring his features was a dagger pressing into my heart. But there was something else in his eyes. Something understanding.
He pulled away before I needed to ask him to and inspected himself quietly. "I'm already soaked. Leave the fishing to me while you dry off."
I was certain I was more soaked than him, but I merely nodded and stood anyway, walking regretfully over to the fire I'd made.