by A. W. Cross
He pursed his lips, and Claire saw the conflict in his eyes. “Everybody leaves. One way or the other.”
Claire narrowed the distance between them and placed her hands on his chest, where she hoped his heart was. “I’m here now. You aren’t lonely anymore. Unless you choose to be.”
His gloved finger stroked her cheek, but he didn’t say anything. Claire didn’t know if she should open up more or keep it to herself. It was too soon. She had no idea what he felt for her.
Averting her gaze, Claire turned around and sped across the ice to run away from him. Her arms moved back and forth to propel her faster. Pointless, since the prince caught up with her easily. His hands circled her waist, and he pushed her against his chest, sending a wave of heat up her spine that covered her cheeks in red. Still, she couldn’t deny that she’d done it on purpose. She knew that he would go after her. She would’ve been disappointed if he hadn’t.
“Grabbing is cheating,” she managed to say as she held on to his hands and didn’t try to escape. It felt nice. She hoped what was happening between them wasn’t her imagination, and the prince was growing as fond of her as she was of him. Something she hadn’t thought possible.
“What are you thinking?” His breath caressed her hair. “Your face became so serious all of a sudden.”
“Nothing worth sharing,” she said, turning around in his arms. “I told you it was safe to skate even if the weather is improving and the ice melting.”
“You should wait for me to test it next time.”
Claire nodded.
Releasing her from his embrace, he held on to her hand, and they glided in silence, side by side.
14
The days went by effortlessly for Claire since the snow began to melt. Game and book club nights were fun with William’s presence. The mornings were for long baths, snow-fighting battles with the fairies, and learning new, delicious recipes. Mother would be surprised by all the embroidery and sewing techniques she had learned from the fairies.
The afternoons were for ice skating, exploring the gardens with their eternal crystal plants, and talking with William about her home, her parents, and her dreams of traveling the world. He often gave her books with pictures of faraway lands with mythical creatures and breathtaking scenery. The books had details about the different species of fairies, dragons, flying horses, dryads, nature spirits, and gods that took animal shapes. William often showed her magical tricks which weren’t tricks since he had real magic that could transform water into beautiful ice flowers, floating clouds, and cloud-shaped animals. Spending time with him was exciting. He was filled with knowledge about history, art, music, and geography.
Even so, there were nights when she peeked from the window of her bedroom and felt nostalgic as she gazed at the small villages scattered along the valley. They seemed lively now that the snow was gone. The night chandeliers created a glowing effect that seemed to be a protective dome. She wondered how the subjects of the Diamond Kingdom felt. Did they still hate the prince? Were they celebrating each night? She often saw the fireworks illuminating the skies. She loved them. Some were loud and scary, but the bright and sparkling ones painted the sky with bursts of colorful ink that competed with the stars. When she was little, Father often bought her sparklers when they went to a festivity in the capital. She had fun running around with it. Myka was often with her since their parents were neighbors, and her friend looked after her like an older brother. Those were happy times. It wasn’t so cold all the time.
Raising her head from her folded arms resting on the balcony railing, Claire wondered if William had ever played with sparklers and saw fireworks up close. If memory served her right, the Diamond Kingdom would be celebrating the Summer Festival in two weeks. There would be music, fireworks, dancing, and street theater. She loved the jugglers, the clowns, and the mimes.
“What are you doing here?” Ming’s question startled Claire.
“Watching the valley,” Claire replied. She turned around to look at the fairy. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
“I always come for a walk at night to make sure that everything is locked and safe.”
“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” Claire asked.
Ming shrugged. “Aren’t you cold?”
“A bit, but this balcony has the best view. I can gaze at the dark sky filled with stars or at the valley filled with sparking chandelier lights.”
Ming landed on the railing. “Are you missing home?”
“A bit. How did you know?”
“You keep mentioning your mother while we are cooking and embroidering.”
“She used to send me letters to tell me how everybody was doing. The past few weeks, I haven’t received any news. I don’t know if I should be worried. Father would write if something was wrong. Maybe not writing means they are just busy.”
Ming paced the railing with careful steps. “The Regent would send word if something had happened.”
Claire sighed. “With the good weather, it seems there’s a party every night.”
“You saw the fireworks too?” Ming asked.
Claire nodded and puckered her lips with a pensive expression. “Should we organize another party and light fireworks too? Maybe invite the fairies again.”
Ming giggled, her crystalline laughter tingling in Claire’s ears. “That wouldn’t be wise. There’s too much snow around the mountain, the sound of the explosions could provoke an avalanche. We don’t want that, do we?”
Claire shook her head. “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.” She rubbed her forehead. “Maybe just sparklers. We could throw a party outside in the gardens and light sparklers of every color. Do you think William would like that?”
“You should ask him tomorrow,” Ming proposed. “You should go to bed now.”
Claire nodded and left to her bedroom.
The next day, she asked William while they were ice skating.
“It’s not safe,” he replied.
“Safe?” Claire found his reply odd. “Why not? Sparklers don’t make noise. They are pretty and fun.”
“No, it’s not safe to be out at night in the open,” William explained, grabbing her hand and spinning her around.
Claire laughed, but still managed to ask, “What could be that dangerous? Nothing happens here. There are no animals around. Just endless snow and crystal gardens.”
“Bats,” William replied. “Giant bats.”
Claire shook her head. “I’ve never seen one.”
“They only come out at night and have red eyes and sharp teeth. They will try to take you away, and you’ll have to call for me and scream: Oh, William, please, save me!”
She giggled with him playfully mimicking her in a distressed situation. Leaning closer, she asked, “Would you save me if that happened?”
“Of course. I would freeze them to death.”
Claire’s smile faded with the closeness between them. Sometimes, she felt shy for staring at him the way she did when he was smiling and talking sweetly at her. Did he know he made her heart beat faster when they were close like that? Had he noticed how she didn’t fear to touch him and felt sad when he did nothing to narrow the distance between their mouths?
“Would me being taken by giant bats upset you, my prince?” Claire wondered out loud.
“Winter would return in full force, Claire,” he replied with a serious expression that made her heart stop beating. Not of fear, though.
Her eyes lingered on his until she let go of his hands. “I’ll try to stay indoors, then.”
Smiling, she folded her hands behind her back and skated away from him until her heartbeat returned to normal.
The next days, before breakfast, Claire climbed one of the tallest towers of the palace and watched how spring was spreading all across the kingdom. The valley was blooming, and the meadows were green and full of life. Only the tallest mountains remained covered in snow. The palace was no exception. The sun didn’t seem able to melt the ice away. It didn’t matter. What m
attered was that the prince was happy, and hopefully, one day, he would grow to love her, and the curse would be broken forever.
William had changed from cold and unattainable to warm and caring. Her presence had lessened his loneliness. Yet she wondered what she had to do to win his heart. Would he even look at her that way? She wasn’t a noble or didn’t have magical powers like he did.
Once, she had been unwilling to go there and please the coldhearted prince. Now, she often wondered what would have happened if the Regent had chosen Deborah instead of her. She would probably have driven the prince mad and brought forth a blizzard. A chill ran down her spine with the idea of her village being covered in snow and everybody she held dear dying of starvation and cold.
Even if she was happy, she missed her home and family more each day. The Diamond Palace provided for her every need. However, all of it could not erase the need for contact with other humans. Skating outside the palace, walking through the gardens, and playing indoors was fun. But fun couldn’t replace all she missed and the ache in her heart.
As time passed, Claire gathered the courage to broach the subject with the prince. He was not social and liked the solitude of the palace. If she wanted to change his mind, that meant convincing him that traveling was a good idea.
“The dinner is excellent,” Claire decided to set the tone.
“Indeed, thanks to the fairies.” William beamed. “I think we should go for a walk and watch the stars tonight, do you care to join me?”
“Certainly.”
“The weather has been wonderful. The sky isn’t clouded, and the mist doesn’t hide the horizon. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. You’re a good company, Claire.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” She smiled with her eyes fixated on his handsome face. “I’m glad that my company has made you happy.”
William drank before continuing the conversation. “Do you enjoy staying here?”
“Yes.”
“Are you happy?”
Claire’s eyes adverted his, and she pursed her lips. Her fork played with the food on her plate.
“What’s wrong?” The prince’s question left her anxious.
“Prince William, he are friends, are we not?”
His eyes slightly narrowed. “Yes.”
“Then, might I request something of you.”
“Do you wish for a present or new fabric for the fairies to create beautiful dresses?”
“I have plenty of those. No. What I want is for us to do other activities. Something that might be of your liking even if it might be different.”
“What do you suggest? Did you write a new play? Perhaps you want me to play hide and seek with you and the fairies,” he tried to guess.
“No. Something different.” Claire paused to access his reaction before continuing. “I would like us to visit the capital,” she explained. “There’s plenty of fairs and parties happening this month. As the prince heir, people would be thrilled to see you. Maybe their happiness for the good weather will also improve your mood. You can’t stay locked up forever.”
The prince sighed. “So, you are not happy being at the palace?”
Claire paled. She didn’t mean to offend his hospitality. “Not at all, I have been taken care of by everyone. We have fun together, and I am so grateful that my presence has helped put winter on pause. It’s just that I miss my family and friends. I was hoping that I could see them if we visited the capital. You might not know this, but my mother is a talented seamstress. My father works in the mines. When I left my mother was ill. She claims that she’s better, but I’m worried. Plus, my best friend Myka has engaged to be wed. I don’t know if he married … The truth is that I miss everybody. My heart aches for being apart. Couldn’t we visit the capital for the festivities and return shortly after?”
The prince stared off into space. His features had turned into a mask looking out into the void. “Sorry, but I have to deny your request. The palace is your home now. We do not need to mingle with the commoners and take part in useless celebrations.”
“Having fun with others is not useless,” Claire blurted. “And I’m a commoner of the lowest rank. What did you mean about not mingling with those like me? Would you visit the noble class but reject the rest of your dedicated subjects like that?”
“Frankly, I rather not see anyone I don’t need to from beyond the palace. Please, finish your meal and move on,” the prince stated.
Claire tried to eat and settle into defeat. But his words kept needling at her. He was not even willing to give the outside world a chance. “I think if you make an effort maybe...”
The prince slammed a fist on the table. “I said no. Now eat your dinner and stop pestering me!”
“We can go skating later as planned,” he added once calm.
Claire sat there for a moment, frozen in fear. The look on the prince’s face was ghastly and contradicted everything that made her like him in the first place. His inconsideration made her sick to her stomach. Tears prickled her eyes.
“Are you that careless about my happiness?”
“No, of course not,” he answered.
“Haven’t I done everything to please you?”
“Yes …”
“Then why did you answer me without even, for a moment, considering my feelings?”
His sadness transpired in his tone of voice. “People hate me, Claire. It’s my fault that they can’t leave the kingdom and live in an endless winter.”
“But the winter is gone. The snow is melting …”
He raised his hand for her to listen. “Did you like me when you first arrived here or did you blame me for everything bad that was happening?”
Claire looked at her plate. She didn’t know what to say. “They don’t know you like I do. You need to let them see who you are. Maybe …”
“I tried that,” he said. “I tried everything. I can’t face them again. It will make me fall into depression, and all this happiness that you make me feel … will end.”
Tears fell down her cheeks when she faced him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to pressure you.”
He nodded. “I regret yelling at you. Please forgive me.”
“What if we just go and meet my parents?”
He clenched his teeth. “We aren’t leaving the palace.”
Her throat hurt with the unforeseen sadness gnawing at her heart with his refusal. Cleaning her tears with the napkin, she controlled her emotions by inhaling deeply.
“Excuse me, but I have lost my appetite.” She rose. “I will go to my room and rest.”
“Be sure to return so that we gaze at the stars later,” the prince replied.
“My apologies but I have no wish to go out,” Claire stated. “Or play,” she added when the fairies protested. “Goodnight.”
Her feet marched all the way to the bedroom. Grabbing her mother’s letters, she flung herself upon the bed and started bawling.
What had started to become a dream come true was a nightmare. She wasn’t being treated as a friend and love interest but his prisoner. The prince only allowed her to do things in the palace and under his thumb. He had dismissed her need to see her family and didn’t even blink at the sight of her tears. Maybe she made him happy—like a joker in a fair would make people happy—but he didn’t look at her as his equal or as a love connection. She had been a fool for falling for him.
As far as she was concerned, becoming his queen was the last thing she wanted. She was done trying to melt his heart. All she wished for was to return home.
15
The prince sat in an armchair in the tallest tower deep within the palace grounds. His mind swam with memories of everything that had transpired so far. The curse had put his kingdom at risk and closed him off from others.
He had lost all hope for the past years that someone could make him feel love again. Until Claire arrived and turned his life upside down. She had been his whole world for the past months. Why couldn’t he be h
ers?
His sigh echoed inside the largest room in the palace with a large ceiling and a huge window that opened to the dark night. The icy wind entered and howled across the room, but cold never bothered him. Not even before he was cursed. His magical powers were connected to water and ice.
William leaned forward and entwined his fingers together. He didn’t often go to that part of the palace. He’d rather stay in the library reading and meditating or inside his bedroom. That night was special to him. He could only shift once a year.
In his true form, he felt reborn. The rest of the year, he was a cursed dragon stuck in a human body unable to shift or touch anyone with his bare hands. Only true love could restore all his powers and break his curse. He no longer believed that true love existed. Not after so many failed attempts. Still, Claire had been able to touch his heart and make him feel something. She had breached the walls he had built around his heart with her smile, kind soul, and playful nature. She was also stubborn and beautiful. The way he got lost in her eyes and how his skin tingled when they touched was nothing like he had ever felt before. Even if he shouldn’t, he found himself looking for her, longing to hold her and listen to her talk about her day and her dreams. She was curious and smart. Playful and serious when she had to be. And he’d broken her heart and made her cry.
He had denied her only request since she arrived at the palace. But how could he explain to her that the witch was lurking and only waiting for a chance to do something terrible because Edana knew that Claire was making him happy? She had shown uninvited to the palace, ready to ruin their night and the ball. He had managed to send her away. Edana wasn’t a match for the number of fairies inside his palace. Yet she had managed to rattle him that night and put a dent in his happiness.
William had hoped to spend the night of his birthday with Claire. Even if that meant losing the chance to shift into a dragon that year. The night hadn’t gone as planned, and Claire was now mad at him and locked in her room.
Since he was alone that night, he might as well find some solace in turning into a dragon and soaring through the dark skies while experiencing the rush of adrenaline that flying gave him. Yet shifting meant an unwanted visit from the red dragon witch queen, Edana. Every year on his birthday, she showed up with the same proposal. All this strife started because she couldn’t accept rejection or recover from heartbreak. His denial and her sick obsession for him released a raging fire of revenge. A war between both kingdoms and only brought more sorrow to the innocents caught in the middle. His father died in battle. His dear mother was murdered with a diamond dagger through the heart. No one rejected Edana and didn’t live to regret the decision.