the whirling ways of stars that pass
a/n: sequel and outtakes of sorts to "stars are falling all for us" because I can't seem to let go of the idea of them being royals so here we are.
SUMMARY:
"What do you think of the princess, brother?"
"She's daring, that's what." Sir Kenny pops a grape in his mouth, "Too reckless, too wild."
"The complete antithesis of my son," the queen provides and her brother nods in agreement. Her brows furrow and she faces toward the sun setting in the horizon, turning everything soft and golden in its dying light.
Only to her brother and only on this balcony does the queen give voice to her worries.
"But," Kenny's lips quirk to a smile, "She complements him."
i. you fill my lungs with sweetness, and you fill my head with you.
"Petra is such an ugly name for a girl," he says as they practice their hand in painting. He loves having lessons in art for he is better at it than her.
"You're too ugly for a prince," she sticks her tongue out at him behind their instructor's back, because if he caught her doing so, she'd get another scolding.
"Oi!"
Their spine shoot straight and both turn to see Kenny leaning against the door frame, "That is not the way a future King and Queen should behave."
They look down at their paint streaked hands, ashamed of how they behaved. Kenny strides over to them and made them hold hands.
"Now, you are going to apologize to each other as all good kings and queens do."
Levi glares at his uncle before taking Petra's hand.
Kenny stifles a laugh as Levi mumbles an I'm sorry and as Petra, mischievous little devil that she is, runs her paint-covered hand over Levi's face.
"There! Now you look like a proper prince," Petra says cheekily and Kenny loses it.
A crack from a whip followed by a scream came drifting up from below. Levi swallows the fear in his throat and Petra reaches for his hand, neither moving, just staring down the dark steps that lead to the dungeons.
His eyes flicker to hers, "What if we got caught?"
"We won't. Trust me," she assures him and takes the first brave step down the long and dark staircase.
Despite the chill creeping up his spine, he follows her.
The descent down was dank and dreadful and the air reeks of mold, mildew, and rotten things. His stomach churns and he wanted to vomit.
Levi's heart pounds against his chest. Making hard decisions for his country is brave, easy even, he has been taught this ever since he can remember. But actually being brave? He hasn't given much thought about it until now.
Kings must be valiant he tells himself, keeps his eyes trained on their intertwined fingers as she leads him down, thinks of them conquering the world together and it calms him somehow.
Her presence gives him strength.
This is his first lesson in bravery and Petra is the one who teaches it to him.
They stop in front of the legendary cell, where a creature of the night lives; a grotesque monster with a misshapen head, mismatched eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and pointed nails that it uses to pick its teeth. It is said that it feeds on the blood of children and steals gold from the castle's treasury. Legend says that this creature is actually the son of a lord once favored in court who practiced the dark arts and worshiped false gods, and when his lady wife gave birth to a boy so horrible, so ugly that she chose to kill herself instead than nurse this wretched child. The lord couldn't accept the fact that he created this vile creature and so he left him and locked him up in this very cell.
They hear scratching from behind the door and Petra's heart thuds against her sternum.
"We should go," Levi whispers and tugs at her, his heart pounding louder than ever.
"No! I'm going to see what's in there," She says and tightens her hold on him.
And his fear is replaced by awe of this brave, reckless, scrawny little girl beside him. They step closer, Petra places her right palm flat against the wooden door, Levi follows suit with his left.
"On three," she says.
Levi looks into the eyes of this girl who has more guts than reason, "One."
"Two. Don't let go of me, okay?"
He nods, "Three."
They take a deep breath and pushes. Rats scurry past their feet and someone screams – whether it was him or her, he cannot tell.
She believes in ghosts.
He scoffs at her, "Don't be stupid. Ghosts aren't real."
"They are! I saw one in my room! She crept up behind me and told me to come with her, down in the crypts. She said she has something to tell me," she says as she watches him brush his horse's mane.
He shakes his head in disbelief. After the tragedy that happened in the dungeons, now she wants to go down the crypts.
"Well, if you're not coming with me, I'm going by myself," she huffs and turns on her heels, leaving him alone in the stables.
Levi throws the brush down, "Unbelievable!"
He finds her just outside the stables, arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face, "I knew you'd follow me."
"Shut up," is what he tells her.
Of course, I will follow you anywhere, is what he didn't tell her.
She befriends the servants easily and always, always disappears in the kitchens whenever it is time for their history lessons.
"It's boring! I'd rather learn about legends and lore than the reason why King Rod cheated on his wife," she tells him when he came to pick her up from her chambers – one of the rare occasions when she isn't giggling and gossiping with the servant's daughters in the kitchens.
"Because he spent too much time with the servants," he mutters, afraid that she might find another boy to bat her eyelashes to.
She's perched on a tree branch, arms outstretched, head tilted to the sky. She reminds him of a bird poised to flight and he finds himself thinking of a future without her should she spread her wings and fly away. He frowns at the stupid thought. She wouldn't leave him, would she?
"Get down from there!" he calls from below and wonders how on earth she got so high wearing a dress. And when she doesn't do anything, he said what any boy of his age would say: I can see up your skirts!
She gives out a yelp and presses down on her skirts in an attempt to hide her modesty, the sudden movement tips her unbalance and her foot slips.
And what he fears becomes reality - she falls.
And he isn't quick enough to catch her. She cries out as she lands, twisting an ankle.
"No more climbing," he carries her back to the castle on piggyback, feels her nod against his cheek, her tears falling on the collar of his coat.
That night, when the servants have bandaged her up and instructed her to remain in bed lest she injures herself more, he snuck into her chambers.
"I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't my intention for you to fall," his voice was soft, apologetic.
She stares at him with mournful eyes and turns her back to him. His heart clenches in his chest and he can't breathe.
Later, when he is back in his own chambers and on his bed, the awful thought of her leaving nags at the back of his mind and keeps him awake all night.
She spends too much time with the servants, which no longer surprises him, but this time, she spends them with a new stable boy named Gunther. It bothers him, as should be, considering that she is his future wife.
He finds them crouched together near the edge of the forest. He is a few paces away from them when the boy places a crown of roses on her hair and she giggles, a rabbit in her arms. The boy smiles at her, completely enthralled by Petra's laugh – who wouldn't be? She's thirteen, the most beautiful girl he has ever laid his eyes on, and she is his.
His face feels hot and he wants to vomit, wants to wipe the smile off the boy's face.
He wants to make him hurt and that is what he does.
Blood oozes down from the boy's nose and his knuckles sting and Petra is pushing him away.
"Levi, stop!"
The bunny scrambles and jumps from her arms and she shoves him with all her might. He stumbles back, falls hard on the grass covered earth. He blinks away the bitter tears that sting his eyes, the shock at her strength and his anger towards the boy and watches, painfully, as she dabs the blood from Gunther's nose and broken lip with the hem of her skirt.
"He's my friend! And now he won't ever speak to me because of you!" She snarls, eyes bright with rage.
"You were flirting with him," he seethes.
She rolls her eyes and turns her back to him, "What do you know about flirting?"
"I know enough!" he grabs her arm and swings her to face him, "and I forbid you from ever going to the stables again."
Her eyes blaze with defiance and she jerks her arm away from his grasp, bares her teeth at him, "You do not own me!"
This is the most angered, the most hurt he has made her and she reminds him of a she-wolf, ready to pounce and rip his throat open.
A week passes, in painful silence and longing glances.
They avoid each other, or rather, she avoids him. She doesn't seem to be bothered by this at all. He, on the other hand, can't sleep at night - guilt gnawing at the recesses of his mind.
This doesn't go unnoticed by the watchful eyes of the Queen of Sina. And she knows, somehow, that the rift between the young ones was caused by her son.
The Queen rubs her temples and lets out a sigh as her son finishes the story of how all this came to be.
"Apologize." She says with a ferocity he never thought his mother capable of and Levi suddenly fears for his life.
It's not a suggestion from his mother; it's an order from his Queen.
He seeks the stable boy immediately and it's as if a knife twists in his gut when the boy flinches at the sound of his voice.
Levi wasted no time and asked for the boy's forgiveness. He feels a weight being lifted off his chest when Gunther's shoulders relax and tells him I know where you're coming from and I forgive you.
And for the rest of his life, Levi would never forget that moment in the stables where he made his first friend outside political alliances and his duties as a future king.
She finds a letter on top of her pillow a week after they fight. She sits down on the edge of her bed and opens it.
Petra,
I behaved foolishly and acted as if my feelings mattered more and that yours did not. I allowed jealousy to govern my heart when I should've shunned it away. I should've trusted you more. I cannot even begin to describe the guilt and the shame that I feel every time I see you.
I have come to terms with the fact that you might never speak to me again and I apologize for the pain I've caused you and your friend. And I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me.
Levi.
Her hands tremble, tears sting her eyes and she tips her head back to prevent them from falling down on his letter and staining them.
My stupid prince. She chuckles despite the tears and falls back on her bed. She presses his letter to her chest, her heart full of forgiveness, full of gratitude, full of love.
ii. that's where she left me, left me right here. without protest, what's done is done.
Levi races through the undergrowth, trees and vegetation a blur of green in his periphery. Lightning flashes, charging the air with electricity.
He hears hooves and his name being called. He urges his horse faster as thunder rumbles overhead and the first drops of rain fall to the earth.
"Where are you going?" His uncle shouts, suddenly beside him.
"To Karanese!"
to Petra, to wherever she is.
"You don't know the way!" Kenny points out as the rain pours in earnest and as lightning briefly illuminates the sky and the sentinel trees around them.
"It doesn't matter!" His voice is pained and desperate over the sound of galloping hooves and crackling thunder.
Kenny's heart aches for his nephew, so lost and alone without the vibrant princess, but he grits his teeth, digs his heels into his horse's side and outruns the prince.
Levi's horse rears and almost throws him off. He slumps on his saddle. "Get out of my way, uncle. Please." His voice breaks and this is how Kenny knows that he is crying.
"No."
After the forest, after the rain, after months of silence, Levi moves on and buries the ghost of his childhood love in the grave.
And like all ghost, they never truly disappear.
When word of the defeat of the usurper to the Karanese crown got out, loyal houses to His Majesty King Ral wasted no time to offer their eldest sons or nephews or even grandsons as young as two summers old to his daughter and queen-to-be Petra Ral. All in hopes of marrying the princess and someday having someone of their bloodline sit on the Karanese throne. Some, for lack of sons to offer, offered the hands of their daughters.
Suitors upon suitors came to the Sunset Keep, the residence of the King, his family, and his court, bearing lavish gifts for the princess - from their family's most precious heirloom to expensive jewels to promises of loyalty and unwavering service to the crown.
One suitor, Sir Auruo of House Bossard, is keen on having her hand in marriage and would surprise her with gifts of songs he has written for her - something that she truly appreciates. It's not every day that someone writes a song about you and your beauty.
His voice is lovely and his skill with the harp is remarkable. It's almost as if angels were singing to her and not someone of this earth.
Auruo sinks to one knee and takes her hand in his, brushing his lips against her knuckles, "Petra, my sweet, marry me and I will write songs about you and our love for years to come."
"Sir, please, stand. You needn't kneel," she pulls him up, cradles his large hand in both of hers. In the late afternoon light, his eyes are golden.
"I am honored, sir, and I will consider your offer," she gives him a smile and he nods his goodbye, promising to visit her on the morrow. She knows it is cruel of her to get his hopes up but she can't find it in her heart to break his.
You can marry whoever you want. She recalls her father telling her.
The war is over, love. And we have won. We stood on our own. We no longer need Sina's army. The betrothal no longer stands.
She remembers the pain in her chest at her father's words. There has been peace in the kingdom for a year now but her heart knows nothing but longing for the love she left behind.
There is music and dancing in the Great Hall. His thoughts drift to memories of her unbidden and somehow, he knows that she would be alive in this moment. But he shakes the thought aside as soon as it came; there is no need to think of ghosts.
The wine has a hint of cinnamon and orange zest and its warmth blossoms like a flower in his chest. He has drunk before but this is the first time he grabs hold of the prettiest girl in the room full of nobles and the nouveau riche.
She giggles and bats her lashes at him as he leads her away from the merriment.
He presses her against the wall and crushes his lips to hers, the moment they came to a dimly lit hallway. It's clumsy and urgent and wrong.
It tastes like betrayal.
Her hair is the color of the midday sun, not the soft orange hue of the sunset and her eyes are the color of the sea during a storm, grey and wrong. All this is wrong.
Bile rises up in his throat, he breaks the kiss.
Judging from the angle of their shadows, Gunther presumes that it's close to midday. He picks up a stone from the bank of the lake, feels its smoothness with the pad of his thumb and flicks. The stone sails across the water and comes in contact with the surface – once, twice, three times – before disappearing beneath the surface.
Levi does the same and Gunther's eyes widen as the stone that Levi threw bounced five times on the surface of the water before sinking below.
"Impressive." Gunther comments and Levi shrugs.
It's autumn in Sina and the trees surrounding the lake appear as if they are on fire under the glare of the midday sun. The color of the falling leaves remind Gunther of the fiery hair of a fiery friend he once had all those years ago.
"I miss her." He blurts out all of a sudden, prompting Levi to look at him with a quizzical look.
"She was my first friend here, you know? No one ever comes to the stables because of the smell but she liked it there. She loved the horses. Hell, she probably loves everything. Even the nasty ones, even the ones she shouldn't love. She's got a kind heart, that one. I think that's what I like about her the most." He picks up another stone, turns it over and over in his palm.
He looks over at Levi, at his prince who once knocked him to the ground because of jealousy, and hands him the stone. "Do you think about her?"
Levi does not answer. He pulls his arm back and throws the stone to the lake, making an awful plop before sinking.
It's autumn and the palace grounds are covered under a multitude of rough, dried up leaves in varying shades of gold and orange.
Petra's hands are folded behind her back as she and Auruo walk in the garden.
The trees are preparing for winter and she is preparing to break his heart.
Auruo turns to her then with a smile on his face, and before he can ask her hand for marriage once more, she squared her shoulders and blurted an apology.
It made her heart shatter into a million pieces to see the smile on his face fall. It's better this way than have him hope for nothing.
Petra takes his hands in hers, her voice gentle and sincere, "You've been such a good friend, sir. But I cannot agree to marry you. My heart longs for the love I left behind in Sina."
He is silent for a time and Petra fears that she has lost a friend. But her mind wanders to what her cousin Erd had said: If he truly is your friend, he would respect your choice. And if he reacts in a unfavorably, then he was never a friend of yours. He only befriended you for your claim.
He chuckles then, to Petra's utter surprise, and she blinks up at him. "What are you waiting for, princess? Get your pretty little self back to Sina or risk losing this love of yours to another."
Petra laughs and throws her arms around his neck. It took him a second before wrapping his own around her and returning her embrace.
iii. i watch you spin around in your highest heels, you are the best one of the best ones.
She is always in his dreams and now that she's back, he can't quite discern fantasy from reality. He has also developed a habit of reaching for her hand whenever they are together, which is most of the time if truth be told, just to be certain that she is real and not some image conjured by his lovesick mind and for fear of losing her again.
He reaches for her hand now as the sun set over the horizon, bathing them in its soft golden light.
"Why haven't I've seen you smile before?" She cocks her head at him and the look on her face reminds him of a curious little bird.
"You haven't?" His brows knit together as he pulls her toward him.
"I haven't." She flattens her palms against his chest, feels the steady beating of his heart against her fingertips.
He snakes his arms around her waist and rests his forehead on hers. "Well, there's always a first for everything."
Levi's lips curve to a smile as her hands ran up his chest and his neck before entangling her fingers in his hair, at the base of his head. She returns his smile and his heart soars.
Together again, he thinks. Two hearts beating as one.