Episode 3 — Feelings and Old Friends

The general's words hung in the air between them.

Aadhira tilted her head slightly and studied him.

"Why do you care about love so much?" Her voice came out slow and curious. "I thought people like you did not even believe in it."

She stepped a little closer.

"And yet you seem different from the rest of them." She let out a soft laugh. "You say you have no lover. And yet you are rejecting a princess right now."

Pause.

"Do you not think that is a little strange?"

Before anyone around them could react, Edmund knelt down on one knee.

Thud.

"I apologize, Your Highness." His voice was calm and firm. "I meant no disrespect toward you."

He kept his head lowered. "But I cannot stand beside someone I do not love. And I cannot offer feelings that I do not have. That would not be fair to you."

Silence.

Aadhira blinked once.

Then smiled faintly.

(Oh. Interesting.)

intrigued

"So you want me to earn your feelings then?" she said, teasing.

"My apologies, Your Highness." He lifted his head and met her eyes steadily. "It is not about earning anything."

Pause.

"I simply do not wish to give my heart to anyone."

"My duty comes first. It has always come first." His voice did not waver. "And I intend to follow it until my death."

For a moment she said nothing.

(He is annoyingly straightforward.)

thinking

(And here I thought I was the unromantic one. Tsk.)

(A man like this. How completely interesting.)

She turned away lightly and waved her hand. "Very well."

She glanced back over her shoulder, a small smile still on her lips.

"I will see you again, Commander."

She walked away.

The moment she was out of earshot the whispers started.

"Did the princess just flirt with the general?"

"Why did the general hide his real rank from her at first?"

"Do you think she knew?"

Edmund stood quietly and let them whisper. His expression gave away nothing.

His assistant stepped forward and saluted.

(Serious)

"General. Why did you hide your identity from her? You always say you dislike deception."

Edmund's expression stayed flat. "She is from the imperial palace."

"There is no benefit in revealing yourself to someone you do not know." He turned away. "We are here for business. Nothing more than that."

The assistant hesitated. Then bowed and stepped back.

(Cold)

On the way back Aadhira stopped at the market.

She moved between the stalls slowly, picking out apples, mangoes, strawberries, and a small box of sweets that she knew her sister in law could not resist. She paid the vendor herself without calling any attendant to do it and tucked everything carefully into a cloth bag.

By the time the palace gates came into view her expression had completely softened.

She went straight to her sister in law's room and pushed the door open and hugged her before the woman could even stand up properly.

"Sister in law!"

Meera laughed in surprise. "Careful, careful."

Aadhira pulled back and placed the bag of fruits and sweets on the table beside her. "I brought everything you like."

Meera's eyes went warm. "You did not have to."

"I wanted to." Aadhira sat beside her and then paused for a moment.

(Say it. Just say it.)

hesitating

"Sister in law. I think I realized something today."

Meera looked at her, amused. "Oh? What is it?"

Aadhira looked away.

Her cheeks went slightly warm.

(Blush)

"I think I am in love."

Meera stared at her.

Then burst out laughing. "What?"

"Who is the man who stole my little sister's heart? Tell me everything right now."

Aadhira pressed her hands to her cheeks and looked at the ceiling. "He is a commander."

"A commander?" Meera's eyes went wide with surprise. Then she tilted her head and smiled. "Well. Love has no rank. Is he from our army?"

Aadhira shook her head slowly.

"He is English."

Pause.

Meera went quiet.

"But he is different," Aadhira said quickly, her voice softer now. "I tested him today. He stood up for the commoners. He scolded his own soldiers for collecting tax from people who had nothing. And when I asked him something bold he did not panic or flatter me. He just told me the truth."

She smiled quietly to herself.

"He is perfect."

Meera watched her face carefully.

(This is the first time she has ever looked at someone like this.)

surprised, moved

She reached over and squeezed Aadhira's hand gently. Said nothing. Just smiled.

That night when the lamps were low and the king and queen were settling to rest, Meera turned toward Rayan quietly.

"You know. I think your sister is in love."

Rayan turned his head. "What."

She told him everything.

By the time she finished Rayan sat up fully and brought his hand down flat on the mattress.

(Anger)

"That man dares to come near my sister? I will have him dragged to this palace and thrown straight into prison. Who does he think he is."

"Hey." Meera put a hand on his arm firmly. "He did not come near her."

Pause.

"She went near him."

Rayan opened his mouth. Closed it.

"She approached him herself," Meera continued calmly. "He actually rejected her."

Complete silence.

(Shock)

"He rejected her," Rayan repeated.

"Yes."

The king sat there for a long moment looking like a man who had just heard something his brain refused to process fully.

(What kind of man rejects my sister.)

disbelief

(I want to see this man.)

dark curiosity

Meera rested back against her pillow. "I want to see him too," she murmured thoughtfully. "What kind of man made her fall like that."

The king said nothing more.

But his expression stayed unsettled for a long time after the lamp went out.

The next morning a letter arrived at Aadhira's chamber.

The maid bowed and held it out with both hands. "Your Highness. This came from House Ardenvale."

Aadhira took it and unfolded it.

Read it once.

Then smiled. Soft and a little nostalgic.

(It has been a long time.)

warm

She sat down and wrote back immediately.

The following day a young man walked through the palace gates like he had done it a hundred times before, which he had.

Warm brown skin. Sharp hazel eyes that caught everything. Dark hair slightly loose at the edges. The kind of easy confidence that came not from arrogance but from someone who had simply never felt the need to perform for anyone.

His name was Kiran. Son of House Ardenvale, one of the oldest noble families in Varenhal. And Aadhira's closest friend since they were children too small to reach the palace windowsills.

He spotted her across the courtyard and his face broke into a wide grin.

"Princess," he called out lightly.

She turned.

And her whole expression brightened immediately.

"It has been a long time," he said, walking toward her. "I was starting to think you came all the way back from abroad just to forget I existed."

She laughed. A real one. "It has been a long time for me too, Kiran."

He stopped in front of her and tilted his head, eyes sparkling with familiar mischief.

"So then."

He grinned.

"Did you bring something for me?"

.

.

End of Episode 3

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