[kind of like an outdoor ball sorta thing?]

“Prince Jakobi Verrahou, everybody!”

A young man steps out onto the balcony, impatiently waiting for the ceremony to be over. He runs a hand through his dark locks, practically begging for the attention of some young ladies.

The applause he receives only makes him hate the ceremony even more. Until he catches the eye of a quite peculiar young maiden.

She’s crouched down at the grass, on the side of the plaza, her long pale yellow gown falling onto the mushy ground.

Jakobi looks over his shoulder at the Queen, slowing hinting down towards the courtyard as if to ask if he can wander.

Queen Marilyn nods her head subtly, stepping forward to announce the beginning of the ball.

“Now we all may mix and mingle,” she announces with a wink, pivoting on her heel to walk back into the large castle.

—————————

“Why hello,” Jakobi greets to the lady from before, “may I ask what is so fascinating in the grass over here?”

A pair of beautiful blue eyes meet his in an unexpected, but very… charming gaze.

The brunette looks at him for a second, as if to read the unspoken words. She rises to her feet, only to bend down at the knees in a curtsy.

“Hello, Your Majesty.”

She side-eyes the grass.

“I was simply admiring the beauty of nature,” the brunette explains, although her voice falters as she continues, “around my… housing, we don’t have much greenery. More like brownish rubble.”

“I thought all of housing was taken care of?” Jakobi mentions, more as a question to himself. _Was the Kingdom not doing their jobs?_

“Right… I guess I might be excluded from that,” the maiden comments, twisting her face so Jakobi can’t see her anymore.

“Isn’t it illegal to lie to a royal?” Jakobi points out, attempting to carry on the conversation.

The blue eyes meet his again. “I’m not lying—”

“You’re Princess Kaie.”

Jakobi didn’t mean to let that slip. He knows it’s Kaie, but he didn’t need to let her know he knows. The maiden’s eyes widen, and she starts to speak.

“Wh—what? How…?”

“Let’s not talk here, Kaie.”

Jakobi reaches for Kaie’s arm, gently pulling her into the castle corridors and leading her all the way down into a secret chamber.

Out of breath, Kaie shouts as Jakobi, “Why did you do that?”

“Do you want the Kingdom to know you’ve invaded? You won’t have a chance then!”

“Do you want me to have a chance?” Kaie comments, her nose upturned as she smiles a tiny bit.

“Everyone deserves one.”

“Our Kingdoms are at war, though, Jakobi.”

“Still.”

Jakobi turns around, striding over to a small table full of notebooks and pens. He gestures to an open book, motioning for Kaie to walk over and read it.

“My best friend was from Hunpa, you know, from the war? He died because he decided to give me a chance.”

He looks down, shifting as he smells Kaie’s perfume. _Lavender._

“This letter states he was heading to my Kingdom. We never killed anyone in the war… especially not from Hunpa,” Kaie replies bitterly, even though all Jakobi can think about is the lavender smell wafting through his nose.

Her shoulders tense as he opens his mouth.

“Kaie, listen,” Jakobi begins, fighting the urge to move closer to her. He barely knows her! “One, he never made it to your Kingdom, and two, I never thought you killed anyone.”

Kaie scoffs, a frown visible along her _beautiful_ face. “As if! Your Kingdom was the one who blamed us for the Fire!”

“Exactly. My Kingdom, not me. Remember how long ago that was? 16 years? I would have been two years old. You would have been as well.” Jakobi scowls.

“How do you know that?” Kaie asks, her hands edging across the notebook pages.

_How do I know that? _Jakobi hesitates at the question.

She looks up at him expectantly, her eyes so focused on him, it sends shivers down his spine.

“We…” Jakobi chokes on his words. How does he explain it with sounding like a creep? Or a kook? “Mother wanted me to research potential fiancée’s.”

“And I was one of them?”

“Maybe.”

“Why? Our Kingdoms hate each other.”

“We wanted a truce.”

“Ah, Mr. Crown Prince of Vera. Have to do everything for the people,” Kaie exaggerates, her hand waving dramatically in the air, before falling onto her hip. “Don’t you want to marry for love?”

“Love isn’t necessary when it comes to the throne, at least not up front.”

“Not up front?”

“You can earn love.”

Kaie shakes her head, a dry chuckle leaving her lips.

She leans forward, only about four inches away, when she places her arm on his shoulder.

“Now, ‘Your Majesty,’ why don’t you want to fall in love?”

I_ might be in love with that voice. It’s so gentle and sweet, strangely, considering the words._

__

“Love is a term opposite of business, ‘Your Royal Highness.’”

There’s a moment of silence for a second.

“Jakobi, who broke your heart?”

—————————

Not super proud of how this went, buuut, I like the characters, sooooo…