Aurien's arrival did not so much disturb the air as bend it , the way heat bends the horizon. He crossed the threshold with measured steps, the faint gleam of his eyes meeting the second prince's with the precision of a blade sliding into its sheath. The prince smile was gracious , his words smooth, but there was an edge beneath them, an edge Aurien matched with a tilt of the head , a slow , deliberately study of the man before him.
Neither raised their voices , yet the corridors seemed to shrink around them, as though the walls themselves understood that power was being weighed in silence. Eliora stepped through the Palace threshold with measured caution, her slippers barely making a whisper against the cold marble. The heavy doors sealed shut behind her , mutting the world outside into nothingness.
Ahead two figures stood locked in a conversation that was too soft to be hostile and yet too precise to be friendly. Their words were wrapped in courtesy but sharpened like glass. They did not see her, not yet and she let the distance between them remain, her presence swallowed by the shadows stretching along the corridor.
Aurien's stance was still, his gaze fixed on the second prince, who held a rolled parchment in his gloved hands . Aurien's eyes narrowed with recognition flickered in it ." I have seen that before", he said , the words deceptively calm. "It was with her ". The second prince turned the scroll in his hand as if weighing its worth.
"You have a keen memory" , he replied . It's a likeliness of myself. Drawn by her own hand.... and given to me of her own will. Aurien's jaw tightened. " Strange . I never knew to waste her skill on such ..... trivial subject". The second prince's lips curved faintly, but the amusement in his eyes was colder than frost .
"Then perhaps you do not know her as well you believe. She has an eye on what is worth keeping". " And yet" , Aurien said, stepping a fraction closer , " what is kept for too long begins to spoil".
"Only if it wishes to leave ", the second prince encountered, tilting his head just enough to meet Aurien's gaze directly. "Eliora has remained here because she is at ease..... because she chooses to ".
"Or because you have made certain she does not see her choice clearly ", Aurien replied, his voice smooth but edge like drawn steel.
The prince's fingers tapped once against the scroll. " Careful. If you imply l have trapped her, you may find she is the one who closes the door behind you."
" Am only suggesting " , Aurien said , the faintest smile touching his lips " that you have kept her here long enough for others to question why " .
" Let them question" , the second prince murmured, stepping into Aurien's space without breaking his composure. " lt's changes nothing. She is here . With me."
For a long breath, the air between them was still and heavy , their words hanging like the scent of rain before the storm. It was like something unspoken, the two predators circling the same prey without claws drawn ... yet .
The moment cracked when a maid slipped into the hall, her head bowed. " My lord , your belongings have arrived " , she said to Aurien. Only then did both men glance past each other and noticed Eliora, still standing in the dim end of the corridor. The maid retreated and Aurien gave her a single searching look before turning away, leaving without another word . His footsteps faded into the silence, and Eliora moved forward until she stood before the second prince.
Both men , though only one remained watched her with a politeness that hid questions. " What is it you wish , my lady? " the second prince asked , his voice low , inviting. "Yes", Aurien echoed faintly from where he paused , near the door " what is it you seek?".
Eliora's eyes never touched Aurien. Instead, she kept them fixed on the second prince . "May we speak in private ?", she asked , her tone soft but deliberate. A pause. Then she added. "Without him". The second prince's smile deepened, a quiet chuckled slipping from his lips . " You haven't meet him yet , have you? ". He stepped aside. Gesturing faintly. "Eliora this is Aurien ".
Her expression did not shift. No flicker of interest , no recognition. Instead she reached the for the second prince's hand , curling her fingers around his and pulling him forward. Aurien did not follow. He simply stood , his gaze like ice against her back.
But as she took he first step past him the world bent. The corridor was no longer glided in candlelight, it was cast in shadow and firelight. The same walls but older , darker. A crown of black thorns pressed cold against her brow and dozen of bowed fingures knelt before her . Somewhere in the dark , a voice whispered : "You have returned ".
She blinked, and it was gone .
Her breath trembled as she thought, " lf this is the first time l've come here ... why do l remember leaving?" .