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“Come with me,” General Freya said solemnly.
“But my sister...”
“She is with the queen,” Freya replied. “Her majesty is angry, so any attempts to persuade her at this moment will be folly.”
She just gave Jade a hint and hoped that she would take it. Freya was relieved when Jade nodded.
“I will talk to her another time,” Jade said.
“Queen Eirlys ordered for you to leave this realm, fire prince,” Freya said. “But perhaps you should meet your brother before you leave.”
As much as Freya was hesitant to say it, it had to be said. Even knowing that Aeron would take his brother with him.
She will never see Zaeden again.
Jade’s hope for a happy reunion with her little sister didn’t happen, but there was another family reunion that goes better than the first, when Aeron meets his brother Zaeden again.
They found him in the dungeons. Unlike the dark and miserable conditions in the fire realm, the dungeons here were larger and brighter and furnished better. It looked like a normal room. The only signs of it being a prison were the thick iron bars and the frost soldier stationed outside.
They found Zaeden lounging on a comfortable-looking velvet sofa. Freya opened the cell door for them.
“Do my eyes deceive me?” Zaeden exclaimed as he rose from his seat. Aeron gave him a one-armed hug, but Zaeden pulled him into a bear hug.
Freya noticed the difference in their eyes. It was true then; she thought. The oldest brother didn’t have the distinct fire rim that the other fire princes had. She wondered why Aeron was different from his brothers.
“Has my beloved brother come to rescue me?” Zaeden asked.
“You don’t need rescuing, Zaeden,” Aeron replied. “But I wonder why you are still here?”
“Is this your brother?” Jade asked.
“And you brought a lovely friend!” Zaeden said good-naturedly. He looked at Aeron. “Or perhaps more than a friend?”
Aeron ignored the question. “Jade came to rescue her sister.”
“Her sister?”
“Her name is Kia,” Jade said. “The ice queen stole her from my family. She cast a spell to make me, my grandma, and anyone who knew her to forget about her.”
Zaeden blew a whistle. “Kia? Isn’t she the future ice queen?” he asked. “I wouldn’t want to be in your spot, Jade. I am sure that my brother is relieved that the queen didn’t choose me as her heir.”
Freya groaned internally. Jade looked like she was trying not to laugh.
Zaeden was like himself, even with his family present.
He was still horrible with jokes.
“Why are you lingering in the dungeons of the ice realm, Zaeden?” Aeron asked his brother. “What are you up to?”
Freya had been quiet until then, but she couldn’t resist anymore. “Is he a nuisance in the fire realm, too?” she asked.
“I am a delight, wherever I am,” Zaeden protested. “I see you met Freya,” he added, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “And you wonder why I am still here?”
“So, she is the reason for your stay in the ice realm, I presume?” Aeron asked.
His words shocked Freya, but Zaeden laughed. “Cinaed may have the cunning, but you have always been the most observant,” he said.
Freya wanted to ice blast Zaeden for his imprudence, but one of her soldiers interrupted her. He came to her side and whispered in her ears, “We caught another human.”
Another human? She sighed. At least it wasn’t another fire prince... There already were two too many princes causing her trouble, Zaeden especially.
Freya signalled her soldier to bring the prisoner in.
“I found him snooping around the palace,” the soldier said as he dragged the boy in.
He was tall, blond, with light brown eyes. As soon as the boy saw Jade, he grinned.
Jade gasped.
“Who is he?” Freya asked.
“Kyle. He is with us,” she said. “But he wasn’t supposed to be. I can’t believe you followed us!”
Kyle smiled sheepishly. “I couldn’t help it, Jade.”
Freya could tell by her expression that Kyle was in big trouble. Jade was furious with him.
“Am I sensing a love triangle?” Zaeden asked out of nowhere.
Jade sputtered. “No, definitely not a love triangle!”
Zaeden checks his brother’s expression, but it is unreadable. He then observes Kyle’s face. “Unrequited love, then? I am sorry, buddy.”
Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “Jade doesn’t feel the same, but to me, she will always be my first love.”
“A hopeless romantic,” Zaeden said, sighing. “Tragic, but beautiful.”
Freya rolled her eyes. “Are we expecting any other lovers to barge into our realm, uninvited?” she asked. She narrows her eyes, but they all shake their heads one by one.
“You just have to deal with the ones already here, my love,” Zaeden said, smiling.
It was one thing for him to flirt with her when they were alone, but doing it in front of others? Freya loses her temper. “Prince Zaeden, I will chop off your tongue for your impertinence!”
“Then you have to cut my heart to pieces, too,” Zaeden said with a sigh. “My heart is the real culprit; my tongue only follows its lead.”
Freya couldn’t take it anymore. She moved to the furthest corner, away from Zaeden.
Zaeden tried to follow her, but stopped reluctantly when his brother shook his head.
Freya breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to leave just yet.
Luckily, she could still listen in to what the others were discussing from her corner of the room.
Jade was busy giving Kyle a piece of her mind. “How did you get here?” she asked, fuming. “How dare you risk your life like that, after you promised!”
“I didn’t exactly promise that, Jade... and I might have stolen a snowboard to get here,” Kyle said.
“A snowboard?” Zaeden asked.
“One of Callahan’s inventions,” Kyle said with a knowing expression.
“Ooh, I haven’t seen that one yet,” Zaeden replied eagerly.
“You know Callahan?” Aeron asked his brother, surprised.
“Well, I had to know him if I wanted to work with him,” Zaeden said, shrugging.
“You are the spy he was talking about?” Jade asked, surprised.
It wasn’t just Aeron and Jade that were surprised by Zaeden’s revelation. Freya looked at him with a murderous expression.
He is a spy, Freya thought. Is that why he stays here?
Her heart sank a little. Had Zaeden been lying to her all this time?
Had he been using her?
“How did you meet the rebels?” Jade asked. She hadn’t noticed Freya’s expression.
“Callahan sent me a message,” Zaeden said. “I got curious about his cause.”
Freya thought that with her around, he might stop answering their questions, but Zaeden didn’t mind her listening in. In fact, he was basking in all the attention.
“What made you join them?” Jade asked.
“Callahan seduced me with lofty ideals, his brilliant inventions... and his stormy grey eyes,” Zaeden said.
Jade choked back a laugh.
“Seduced?” Freya asked, irritated. “You don’t know the meaning of the word.”
Zaeden grinned. “You speak from experience?”
Freya growled. “When I seduce you, fire prince, you will beg for mercy.”
She glared at him. If looks could kill, Zaeden would have been dead there and then.
Freya left the room, frustrated and furious. It was only when she reached the palace garden did she stop to breathe.
She realized too late what she said to Zaeden... in front of everyone, no less.
What did I just do? Freya thought in horror. What possessed me to say that to Zaeden?
———
Freya stormed out of the room and didn't look back. She was so angry that she even forgot to lock the cell behind her. They were all shocked by what she said, but Zaeden was most of all.
Zaeden gaped, his mouth open. “What just happened?”
Kyle whistled. “I think Freya just promised you a very good time,” he said.
“Why did she react like that?” Zaeden asked in a daze. “What did I say?”
“I think it was after you said you were working with the rebels,” Jade said.
Zaeden was over the initial shock. “So, you think she got jealous of Callahan?”
“That is not what I meant...”
“I wonder what Callahan will think about this affair?” Zaeden asked, returning to normal.
“Callahan will probably start by researching the tumultuous history of it first,” Kyle said. “You should send him a warning before Freya finds him and kills him.”
“I think Callahan will be fine. It’s me I am worried about,” Zaeden said. “What do you think she meant I will beg for mercy?”
“Use your imagination, buddy,” Kyle said. “Or just wait to find out.”
“I think I am going to die,” Zaeden said dramatically.
“I am sorry,” Kyle said. “It was nice knowing you.”
Jade was trying hard not to smile. “Didn’t you want this, Zaeden?”
“Yes,” Zaeden said. “It is just happening too quickly.”
Aeron, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke. “I am sure that Freya feels the same as you do.”
Zaeden looked at his brother, puzzled.
Kyle took Zaeden to one side, away so that Aeron and Jade couldn’t listen. “Freya looked upset. I think you should go after her,” Kyle said. “I know I am not an expert on love, but I thought I would share my thoughts.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Zaeden said. “I would trust your instinct over any self-professed expert on love. Us hopeless romantics have to stick together.”
Kyle smiled. “Yes, we do.”
Zaeden made his way towards the exit, but the frost soldier stationed there stopped him.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“I am going to find Freya. I need to talk to her,” Zaeden said.
“You can’t leave.”
“Why not?” Zaeden asked.
“You are a prisoner,” the soldier replied.
“If I am a prisoner, then why did Freya leave the cell open?” Zaeden asked.
“That was probably a mistake...”
“Are you saying that general Freya made a mistake?” Zaeden asked.
“That is not what I meant,” the soldier said, flustered. “You still can’t leave.”
“What will you do if I do?”
“I will inform Queen Eirlys immediately,” the soldier said.
“Then I will save you the trouble,” Zaeden said. “The ice queen wants me to leave. She will be glad when I do. I am not even a prisoner... more like an uninvited guest that won’t go away.”
“But...”
“But what?” Zaeden asked, getting frustrated. “Freya left the cell open, so she didn’t think of me as a threat. It makes no difference to the queen whether I stay or go. You will waste her time and probably enrage her if you go ask.”
The soldier looked like he was torn about what to do.
“Well?” Zaeden asked impatiently.
“General Freya headed towards the royal garden. If you go anywhere else, I will arrest you and bring you back to the dungeon.”
“Thank you,” Zaeden said, relieved. “What’s your name?”
“Finn.”
“Was that so hard, Finn?” Zaeden gave him a grin. He then ran towards where Freya went earlier.
Finn yelled after him. “Only go to the garden and nowhere else.”
Odd fellow, Finn thought to himself. But the general has been nicer since the fire prince came to our realm...
What if general Freya returns to how she was?
He shudders.
I hope they make up again; Finn wishes fervently.
———
Freya was in a hidden corner of the royal garden, near the greenhouse they built together. Zaeden had never seen her this upset.
She was sitting alone on a bench, her face covered by her hands. Freya didn’t look angry. She looked heartbroken.
Zaeden felt a pang in his heart at seeing her sorrow, and knowing that he was the reason behind it.
“Freya?”
Freya wiped her tears. “Why are you here?” she asked. “If you are leaving with your brother, you should just go. You don’t need to say anything to me.”
“I came to apologize to you, Freya,” Zaeden said. “I should have told you the truth.”
“About what?” Freya asked angrily. “Like how you are working for the rebels?”
“Yes, that...”
Freya couldn’t believe his nerve. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure how to bring it up,” Zaeden said.
“You were having trouble talking?” Freya asked in disbelief.
“I thought you already knew,” Zaeden said.
Freya rose from her bench and folded her arms. “You are an idiot.”
Zaeden opened his mouth, then closed it again, smiling. “Well, you got me there...”
“I just called you an idiot.”
“I can’t fight with the truth. No point denying it.”
“You agree you are an idiot?” Freya asked, perplexed.
“I am the biggest idiot you will come across in your life,” he said, grinning. “Can you forgive me?”
Freya paused. No... Zaeden won’t get away with his charm this time, she thought.
He betrayed her.
“Freya... say something. Tell me you forgive me.”
She hated the way her heart felt when Zaeden said her name. “Don’t say my name. You made a fool out of me!” Freya exclaimed. “That is what you wanted, didn’t you? Is that why you came here?”
“I didn’t come to fool anyone,” Zaeden said. “My purpose was to convince the queen to make peace.”
Freya was finding it harder and harder to believe him. “Queen Eirlys will never agree.”
“Queen Eirlys might not agree, but I know who the new heir is, and we can try to convince her,” Zaeden said. “I could have gone back to the rebels with that information, and it would have been enough for Callahan.”
“Well, you have what you want. You can leave.”
“I can’t leave, Freya.”
“Why not? What is stopping you?” Freya asked.
Zaeden looked at her once. He raised his hand and started melting the snow on the ground.
He formed a giant heart around them. “My heart is stopping me,” he said. “Guess who is in it?”
Freya looked into his eyes. “That was horrible.”
Zaeden smiled. “I agree. Completely terrible.”
Freya couldn’t stop her smile.
“Let me try again,” Zaeden said, serious. “I can’t leave because I have fallen in love with you.”
Freya stopped breathing. She wasn’t sure she heard right. “What did you say?”
He stepped closer. “I love you, Freya.”
She was stunned. “We can’t... we are from different realms, who are at war with one another.”
“I don’t care,” Zaeden said. “I don’t care for a war where the kings and queens have long forgotten what they are fighting for. I just want to be with you, Freya.”
Freya took a step back. “I can’t betray my queen,” she said. “I am not a traitor.”
“But you will betray your heart?” Zaeden said. “You will deny our love?”
No, she couldn’t. Freya stayed quiet. “I.. I don’t know what to think anymore.”
She couldn’t tell him she loved him. Once she said the words, there would be no turning back.
Zaeden seemed to understand. “I am not asking you to go against your queen. I just want you to be with me.” He took her hands in his. “We could run away, Freya.”
“If they find out, they will kill us,” Freya said.
“We will find a way to make it together. I know we can,” Zaeden said. “Please say you will think about it.”
Freya looked into his eyes and saw only love.
She loved Zaeden with all her heart. She would do anything for him.
“I will consider it,” she heard herself say.