Heart Over Sword

Evanna was led through the hallways; she was quick to remove her hand from his and clasp them together in front of her. There was no haste in their stroll, which seemed to cause more attention to the pair; the prince had been stopped a few times about matters of the palace. Evanna noticed the hesitant glances and curious stares in her direction, but this was not unusual behaviour for her. If she was found wandering the halls in her palace with a man, servant, knight or nobleman, there would be a fair share of nobles gawking at her, watching, and waiting for any minor detail that could be turned into nonsensical gossip. If she were to wander the halls by herself, her every move had their attention, and if she were to slip up, then somehow there would be gossip. She was, after all, the king’s mistress’ daughter, princess or not; she did not have the same respect from the nobles as her sister.

Blinking her eyes, she refocused on the conversation between prince Arawn and another elf. All of it, of course, was spoken in Muranthian, to which Arawn spoke more freely, unaware of Evanna’s capability of understanding the language. As this was a well-kept secret, one she had hidden all her life, it was easy for Evanna to look lost and stare off in boredom.

However, this was not the case; even though it was particularly dull, which helped with her façade, she knew any small information given up about the palace could very well help her in escaping. Maybe there was a shortage of guards (unlikely) or some magnificent event occurred that caused the prince and his men to leave, the perfect time for her to sneak off. Evanna sighed as she spaced out at the possibilities.

"Shall we proceed?" The prince interrupted her dreams of escape. She glanced back at him to see the other men were gone; nodding her head, they continued their stroll. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Arawn watching her, but she ignored his staring, it was a little unnerving, but it was nothing she hadn’t dealt with before.

Evanna wondered why he was staring, though. Was there something on her face or in her hair? She did not fret; it would look weak if she showed signs of nervousness by him. She internally rolled her eyes; he could see right through her, already he had been making her nervous, and she couldn’t do anything but blush and stare.

With that thought, she came to another conclusion. Was Arawn scheming evil plans in that head of his? She narrowed her eyes at him, causing the prince to grin brightly at her, completely taking her by surprise, and from what she could tell of the other females in the halls, servant and noble, they too were surprised. They stopped what they were doing and stared at him.

His eyes flickered to the side, and immediately his face fell. The iciness frosted over his features like a mask, and once again, he looked unapproachable. Servants scattered out of his way as his footsteps quickened. Evanna did not mind the change in pace; it kept her from overthinking about his smile. However, one thought did slip out, making her blush. He looked otherworldly with that smile.

They approached some clear double doors that had gold plated leaves flourishing the edges. The guards by the doors opened them, and the pair walked through. They descended the white patio steps onto a path that led them through the gardens. With her back to the palace and overlooking hedges, bushes and beautiful plants she had never seen before, she found her shoulders relaxing. Her breathing became long as she closed her eyes and stopped for a moment to fully appreciate the sounds of nature and the sun kissing her skin.