-Kashion-
When Kashion woke up the next morning, his thoughts immediately returned to the previous evening. He smiled, stretched his arms, and then his gaze fell on a small bundle beside him. His smile widened. Luu had moved closer from his feet and was now lying at his side. He stroked her, and she began to stretch as well.
Then he picked up his tab and quickly wrote a message in CheqiMasterPro. After that, he got up, gave Luu some food, and freshened up.
-Prior-
Prior had eventually fallen asleep, but she hadn't slept well. When she woke up, she still felt tired. She stretched in her bed while Talina was already up and moving around.
"About time," Talina remarked.
Prior nodded and briefly picked up her tab. Then she noticed that pictures of Kashion were still open and quickly closed them. How embarrassing.
But she had also received a message.
kashion233
Good morning! Did you sleep well?
Immediately she felt that flutter in her stomach again, a little wave of excitement.
"Prior, you should start getting ready. The princess is probably already waiting," Talina urged.
"Yeah, yeah, right away," Prior replied with a yawn, quickly typed a response, and got ready.
-Kashion-
Kashion saw that Prior had replied.
FoxPriority
Good morning. So-so.
FoxPriority
And you?
Oh. Then she probably hadn't slept very well.
He asked her, "Didn't sleep well?"
Then he heard his messenger vibrate. A message from Rein, asking what he planned to do today.
"I'm not exactly sure yet," Kashion replied.
Rein answered almost immediately:
"Something with the princess, right? What hasn't she seen yet?"
Kashion thought for a moment. If he did something with the princess, there was a good chance Prior might be there too. But what could he suggest?
They could drive into the mountains not far from Lantian. Prior would probably like that. He suggested it to Rein.
-Prior-
Prior and Talina were already on their way to the princess.
She still didn't know what exactly she should answer Kashion.
When they arrived, they saw Oren, who had apparently just delivered a message.
Prior looked at him questioningly.
He smiled. "Looks like we're going to the mountains today."
The mountains? Prior was excited about that. She had read that there were several small mountains near Lantian.
Oren said goodbye and headed toward Kashion's room.
When Prior and Talina entered the princess's room, Prior said cheerfully,
"I heard we're going to the mountains today!"
Evlina nodded. "Exactly. Prince Kashion suggested it, and Crown Prince Rein will join us. But for you, Prior, it would probably be best if you go to the laboratory today. Maybe you can gather some important information before tomorrow's meeting."
Prior swallowed. It felt like a small shock.
"Wouldn't it be better if I went to the lab instead?" Talina suggested. "It's been a while since I've been there."
Evlina shook her head. "Prior should go. I want you with me today." Then, turning to Prior, she added, "You can go right away. I'd like an update this evening."
Prior nodded and said goodbye.
Talina looked confused.
Prior hurried back to their room. Suddenly she felt so excluded. As if the others were going to have fun while she was the one who had to work.
She took her lab coat and packed her small bag.
Suddenly she received a message on her messenger. From Kassia:
"Hello dear Prior. Are you feeling better today? Yina, Lina, and I would love to see you today. Do you have time?"
It touched her, and the tears that had begun to form quickly dried.
She replied:
"Unfortunately I have to go to the lab, but I could meet this evening."
Kassia wrote back:
"All right. We'll be waiting for you at 6 p.m. in the palace café, if that works for you."
Prior answered:
"Gladly. See you later. I'm looking forward to it."
Then she picked up her tab again and wrote a reply to Kashion:
"Yes, I didn't sleep very well."
And then she added, a little stubbornly:
"I hope you enjoy the mountains today."
After that, she set off for the laboratory.
-Kashion-
Kashion read Prior's reply in disbelief.
She hoped he would enjoy the mountains?
He answered immediately:
"Aren't you coming with us?"
He kept looking at his tab, but no reply came.
Oren was in his room.
"Oren, didn't you see Prior earlier?" Kashion asked.
"Yes," he replied. "She seemed happy when I told her we were going to the mountains."
"How strange," Kashion said. "I have the feeling she won't come with us. Ask Talina what's going on when you see her."
Oren nodded. "I think it's also time to leave."
Then he set off to pick up the princess. They were supposed to meet Rein and Taner in the hangar.
-Prior-
On the way to the laboratory, Prior felt discouraged again and thought that all the hope she had started to feel had been pointless after all. Kashion was spending the day with Evlina. She simply didn't belong there.
When she arrived in front of the laboratory building, she sent a few messages to Nari and Eynara. She told them everything that had happened the day before after they had talked, and what had happened that morning.
Finally she wrote:
"My stupid thoughts were completely pointless. Someone like Prince Kashion could never like me."
It didn't take long before Eynara replied:
"Wait a moment. To me it sounds completely different. It was the princess who didn't want you there. I'm sure he would have liked it. Don't jump straight to the worst conclusion!"
Prior then remembered Kashion's message and quickly took out her tab.
"Aren't you coming with us?" he had asked.
At that moment she had been so stubborn and sad that she hadn't answered.
Finally she wrote:
"Unfortunately not. The princess sent me to the lab."
Then she went inside.
-Kashion-
They were still sitting in the hover. Oren had asked Talina about Prior, and Kashion had heard that she had gone to the laboratory. That stung. Did she prefer going to the lab and seeing Tin over going to the mountains with him?
Rein was talking with Evlina, so Kashion briefly picked up his tab. He had a message from FoxPriority.
He read it immediately. So that was it. Evlina had sent her to the lab.
Kashion suddenly felt powerless. He considered asking whether she had time in the evening, but he didn't want to pressure her either. He would have to come up with something.
"Kashion, always working," Rein commented.
Kashion put his tab away. "My apologies," he said.
Evlina, who was sitting between him and Rein, replied,
"No problem. We're not there yet. As long as you can leave everything else behind once we arrive." She looked at him and smiled. "I'm glad we can finally spend more time together again."
Kashion swallowed, but before he could respond, Rein spoke first.
"Exactly. And don't forget that I'm here now as well. I promise you, Princess, with me around things certainly won't be boring."
Rein laughed, and Evlina joined in.
-Prior-
As soon as she entered Lab 1, Yin greeted her warmly.
"Nice to see you again!" she said, hugging Prior.
A moment later Professor Nara arrived.
"Hello Prior, are you feeling better today?"
Yin widened her eyes and touched Prior's forehead.
"Were you sick?"
Prior shook her head.
"Thank you, Nara, I'm feeling better today. Yesterday I was just a bit overwhelmed."
Tin also came over when he noticed her.
"You left so suddenly yesterday. I hope you're doing okay."
Prior nodded. "Everything's fine." She wasn't sure if that was really true—her emotions felt anything but fine—but what else could she say?
"Today you can look over my shoulder a bit," Nara said. "I'm running some experiments on the explosiveness of Aethereleum under pressure or heat. We're also testing how it interacts with different materials."
Prior nodded. "I'd love to. Later I might ask all of you a few questions so I can prepare for tomorrow's meeting."
"Of course," Tin said.
Then everyone got to work, and Prior followed Nara into a small room where they could safely conduct experiments.
The experiments were somewhat different from the ones they had done on Saturn back then. But research was advancing steadily.
Suddenly Prior had an idea.
"Nara, tell me something. The effective frequency we discovered recently—if we used it in propulsion systems and incorporated something like dysprosium in the drive generators, do you think that could increase the thrust even further?"
Nara looked very thoughtful.
"How did you come up with that? Especially dysprosium… it's so rare. But now that I think about it… theoretically it could increase the thrust quite significantly."
Prior smiled. "That sounds promising."
"But how did you even think of something like that?" Nara asked.
"I read a few reports yesterday and also came across deposits of rare earth elements," Prior explained.
Nara nodded. "That idea is worth keeping in mind. I'll check whether we have enough dysprosium for experiments."
Prior nodded happily.
She might not be in the mountains, but the laboratory was anything but boring. And despite all the different electrical voltages around her, she felt much more relaxed again.
-Kashion-
Once they arrived in the mountains, the small group hiked up to a summit. They had parked the hover on a ridge and decided to walk the rest of the way. From there, they would have a beautiful view of Lantian, the palace, and the surrounding landscape. You could even see Moon Lake from that spot.
Kashion, Rein, and Evlina walked ahead, followed by Talina, Oren, and Taner, who were also carrying a few things for a picnic.
Kashion thought back to the picnic at Moon Lake. Back then, he had only had eyes for Evlina—or at least he had believed so. But now, thinking back on it, he had to admit that Prior had already caught his attention back then, even if unintentionally. He chuckled softly.
"What's so funny?" Evlina asked. More and more, she seemed to seek his company rather than Rein's.
Kashion shook his head. "I just realized something."
Evlina looked at him questioningly.
"It's a bit like in a game of Cheqi," Kashion explained. "Sometimes you think you have to play one piece, and you overlook the piece that's actually the right one."
"I don't understand anything about Cheqi," Evlina replied.
"Don't worry about it, Princess. I don't understand it either," Rein said, giving Evlina a wink. She rolled her eyes.
Soon they reached the top, and Talina, Oren, and Taner spread out a large picnic blanket so everyone could sit down. A gentle breeze was blowing, but the sky was clear and blue. Kashion loved this view. The palace looked so small within the vast world.
It reminded him that there was more than just life and work inside the palace. At the same time, seeing the vast land and the people who lived in it reminded him of his responsibilities.
He took out his messenger and snapped a few photos—of Lantian, Moon Lake, and the palace.
Then Evlina took out her messenger as well and said, "Let's take a picture together." She moved closer to Kashion so that Rein was partly blocked from view.
But Kashion reached out his hand, grabbed Rein, and pulled him into the middle.
"Rein obviously belongs in the picture too," he said.
Evlina didn't say anything, but she took the selfie with Rein standing between them.