Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
Frog: Ok, next chapter will be up sooner, I promise. Sorry, I just get buisy sometimes, and I'm not supposed to write at school, so that takes away time I could spend doing it. I wanted to get it up yesterday, but some stuff came up. But I'm not going to give up on this story, don't worry. I wasn't sure if they would have Christmas, so I made them celebrate winter solstuce, or whatever it's called.
"What's going on here?" Danica asked curiously as she watched people bustle around the gathering room. Aisha stopped and smiled at her.
"Winter Solstuce is in just a few days! We're getting ready," she explained, "Want to help?"
Danica sighed a little, "I suppose I could."
"Excellent!" the dancer exclaimed, clasping her hands together, "Go over there and see Irene. She'll tell you what you can do."
The Avian Princess nodded, and headed in Irene's direction. The black-haired girl was looking through a box of decorations, so Danica coughed to get her attention, and her head snapped up.
"Oh, Danica!" she smiled happily, and stood up, "How are your lessons comming?"
"Not bad," she shrugged. Zane had taken over teaching her almost two weeks ago now, and she was learning quite a bit. He didn't push her to near exaustion either."
Irene nodded, "Zane says you're doing well..."
Danica sighed, "He says that, but he still hits me with his stick when he gets the chance."
The other girl just rolled her eyes, "That's Zane for you. Always bugging people. You wanted to help, right?"
"If there's anything I can do."
"There is. Could you take these to the entry hall," she instructed, handing her some decorations, "Vespera is there already. She was looking for these earlier today.
"Alright," Danica nodded and left.
When she arrived, she saw Vespera buisily decorating Aviran's table. He was standing off to the side, watching her work. Judging by the expression on his face, she guessed he wasn't exactly liking what she was doing either. Danica cocked her head at him slightly. For some reason the way he was standing was giving her a sense of de-ja-vu.
"Oh good! They found it!" Vespera's face lit up upon seeing the items Danica was holding. She hurried over, and relieved the Avian Princess of the decorations.
"Anything else I can do to help?" Danica asked, deciding she might as well try to make herself useful.
"Umm..." the red-haired girl looked at the stuff in her arms, "Help me hang this garland up, will you? I'd ask him but he doesn't want to."
"You don't like the holidays or something?" she asked him, eyebrow raised. He just shook his head.
"No. I just don't like Vespera's decorating," he sighed.
"Hey!" the smaller girl glared at him, and pouted. Danica sighed, smiling slightly, and started helping her.
"So..." Vespera began casually, "Do you like your new teacher?"
The Avian Princess gave her a look. She could tell by the other girl's tone and the look on her face what was being implied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aviran was giving Vespera a warning glare.
"What? I was just asking?" the red-haired girl frowned at them. Aviran just shook his head.
"We'll talk later," he sighed again.
"Umm...Danica?" came a quiet voice from the doorway. They turned to see Evalyn, her face bright red.
"Evalyn? Is something wrong?" Danica asked worriedly, walking over to her.
"I-I don't think so..." the other girl murmered, still partly hidden behind the door, "C-could I talk to you alone...maybe?"
The Avian Princess glanced over her shoulder, and Vespera nodded. So the two girls headed down the many hallways to the room they were staying in. Danica closed the door, and gave her friend an expectant, but gentle look.
"Are you alright?" she asked softly, sitting in a chair. Evalyn took a deep breath, and shifted her feet uneasily.
Then she started babbling at a mile a minute, "IwaswalkingandhelpingdecorateandIdidn'tseetherewasmistletoeandAilbhewasthereandthenhekissedmeandIdroppedstuffandpeoplewerewatchingandthenheleftand...and...Idon'tknowwhattodonow!!!" she was on the verge of tears by now. It took Danica a few seconds for it all to register.
"Wait so...to summarize, Ailbhe just kissed you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Her friend nodded her head vigorously.
"And I don't know what to do now," she repeated, looking a bit defeated.
Danica didn't know what to say. She had never been in such a situation before. She had known for quite some time that Ailbhe had his eye on her maid, but she didn't know anything like this would happen. Not that it was bad. Evalyn was free to love whoever she wanted, even her kidnapper.
"Do you have feelings for him?" Danica finally asked.
"I-I don't know..." the smaller girl sniffled a little, "I've never had...feelings for anyone before..."
"Do you think you do?"
Evalyn looked down in thought, since she wasn't sure at all. She knew she felt something him, but she wasn't sure if it was love or anything similar or not. And add in the fact that they had been kidnapped wasn't helping her think any clearer.
"Do you know how I can know for sure?" she asked quietly.
"No Evalyn," Danica sighed, "Maybe you should ask Charis or someone like that."
"Will you come with me?"
"What are friends for?" the Avian Princess smiled warmly as she stood up. Evalyn grinned back thankfully and they headed back to the gathering room.
The approached Charis slowly, because she was already buisy speaking to her son. The older woman looked up at them, and smiled gently.
"Done already?" she asked kindly.
"Yeah. Um...Evalyn needed to talk to you if you're not too buisy..." Danica began. Zane smirked slightly, and she guessed he must have an idea of what it was about. But that didn't mean he could stay, so she glared at him. He just shrugged, and sauntered away.
"Is something wrong?" Charis cocked her head once he was gone.
"Well...Ailbhe caught her under the mistletoe, but she's not sure she feels the same for him. And I...don'e know what to tell her..."
"Oh is that all?" she chuckled softly, "Let's go discuss this in my room, shall we? You're welcome to come too, Danica."
So they followed the older woman. It was about the same size as Zane's, though maybe a bit bigger. Charis sat on a couch and motioned for Evalyn to join her. Danica sat on a nearby chair, listening.
"You poor naive girls," Charis crooned, chuckling again, "It really isn't as complicated as you think."
She then went into a simple explanation, and quizzed Evalyn on some things. And by the looks of things, the girl had greater feelings for Ailbhe than she realized.
But Danica was getting mildly disturbed. The more she lisened to Charis, the more she began to think she may be falling for Zane. She had come to trust him alot more, and he did have a certain charm. He was also quite handsom, and had much more personality than anyone that had tried to court her in the past. She felt surprisingly safe with him, and he was a decent enough gentleman. She also just liked him, who he was. But she knew she couldn't have such thoughts and feelings, and that they must be ignored at all costs.
"So...now what do I do?" Evalyn asked curiously, her eyes sparkling a little at the thought of being in love with someone.
"Charis clicked her tounge scoldingly, and waved her finger, "Everyone's differant. You'll find your own way. Just do what feels right to you."
"O-ok. I'll try," the small girl bowed a little after standing up, "Thank you."
"Happy to help! Now I need to get back to the decorating. I think I have a job you ladies could do if you still want to help."
"We don't mind," Danica nodded. Charis gave them a motherly smile, and they headed to the gathering room once more.
Once there, Charis showed them some holiday pillows that were damaged and needed repair. Apparently some mice had gotten into the decorations during the year. Danica had done very little sewing before, but she quickly got the hang of it.
"You almost done?" Zane asked boredly. She glanced up from her work to see him leaning against the wall next to her. She glared at him, and gestured to the pile of pillows that still needed to be fixed.
"No. Why?" she snorted, returning to her work.
"We need to train. You're late," he answered simply.
"But I'm buisy helping," she retorted.
"Evalyn can handle it. She's good at sewing," he nodded at her maid who was watching them curiously and then looked away, blushing, "Unlike you," he muttered.
"Thanks," Danica rolled her eyes. Zane waited a moment for her to finish what she was working on, and then grabbed her wrist, dragging her to her feet. She tried to protest, but he silenced her.
"Danica, I am a very dedicated teacher. It is time for training now, so that's what we are going to do," he instructed, leaving little room for argument.
"It's alright, milady," Evalyn smiled, "It's not hard for me. You go ahead and train."
So she basically had no other choice but to follow him to the training area. There was more snow on the ground now, and it was getting quite cold. Danica sighed heavily, and grabbed her stick.
"You ready?" he smiled, grabbing his own and taking a fighting stance.
"I suppose," Danica nodded, copying him. They trained for awhile before Zane decided to give her a little break. She sat on the bench, breathing heavily. He had been teaching her a new trick, so it was harder than usual.
"Here," he handed her a water flask. She gave him a brief, but thankful smile before sipping daintily from it. He was still staring at her, but she was almost used to it by now.
She gasped in surprise when he reached over, and gently took hold of her hair, and held it up. She looked at him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. After a moment he put her hair back, and looked at her thoughtfully.
"What were you doing?" she asked slowly. He shrugged casually.
"Just wondering what your hair would look like up. But I think I prefer it down," he explained, smirking playfully. She just gave him a glare.
"What? I do," he continued, "And you also look very good in white."
This time she looked away, trying to hide her creeping blush. She turned from his as much as she could while still sitting on the bench. Zane was still smirking, and leaned his head over her shoulder.
"I would think a princess wouldn't be so shy about recieving compliments," he stated softly, his breath tickling her ear, before he slid a bit closer to her. She shuddered, and knew she should stop him, but there was a more daring, curious part of her the won over the logical one, and she didn't move. So when he recieved no negative response, he lightly kissed the back of her jaw bone, and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
Danica couldn't help but feel relaxed in his embrace, even though she was fighting with all the willpower she had left. She felt warm and secure for the first time in a long time, but her head was screaming at her. She jumped a little when the door to the training area opened.
"Zane, your sister..." Adelina's face went pale when she saw the two of them.
"My sister..." Zane prodded, giving her a very blank, if not dull look as he sat up staight, still holding Danica close.
"Sh-she needs to talk to you about something. She sounded urgent," the white-haired girl quickly regained her composure.
"Alright," he sighed, standing. He then turned to Danica and smiled warmly, "If there's time later, we'll continue your training. But you should probably head inside for now.
He brushed his hand against her cheek affectionatly, before leaving, giving Adelina a nod (like with most people that worked under him) on his way out.
The other girl watched him go, looking completly numb, before giving a Danica a hateful look. She then huffed, leaving a faint cloud in the cold air, and slammed the door. The Avian Princess sat there for a moment as what had happened finally began to registure in her whirling mind.
She then stood slowly, and began to head to the door, her mind racing. As she got inside, her pace started to quicken. She knew she couldn't fall in love with Zane. She had her country to think about. She reached the room she was staying in, and closed the door, panting as panic began to take hold of her. She had escape from this place...
Frog: I hope you all liked this chapter. It was a little strange I think. The next chapter will hopefully be up by Sunday if not sooner. I already have more than half of it written on paper. Please reveiw, and also please vote for the pairing in the other Kiesha'ra I want to write. I'm not going to start it until this is over, don't worry. Bye!
