Prince Baron had been walking around the Penumbral Gardens for two hours, in search of the missing sister. His eyes had wandered and gazed in direction for any sight of her. He even searched every square inch of the Gardens for any trace of her. She was nowhere to be found. He practically walked in circles just to look over everything that he might have missed. Still, he came up empty-handed.
'A girl doesn't just disappear into thin air and leaves no trace. I don't understand why my eyes haven't found her yet.' the Prince thought to himself. He was getting a little frustrated with his eyes, considering they've never failed him before like this.
Prince Baron's eyes are capable of looking into one's soul, literally, and see if they have something to hide. What makes the Princes unique is they have one of their senses enhanced fully in order to protect themselves. Prince Auron had his voice enhanced, so if he commanded something, then it would be done. Prince Daron's hearing was enhanced, which meant he could literally hear what others were thinking in their minds and inside their deep thoughts. And, obviously, Prince Baron had his sight enhanced. His eyes could also see the aura within a person to know if they are good or evil. Even Witches had auras, so there shouldn't be any reason why he couldn't find her.
The orange cat could not find anything within the Penumbral Gardens, until he came across the tree encirclement. At first doubting the possibility, he made his way towards the circle of trees and looked for a specific branch that would be sticking out. He found no such branch. Now, further in confusion, he proceeded to open the circle. Waving both his hands into the air, a few of the trees vanished before him and allowed him passage. The cat walked in and was surprised to see the girl he was looking for inside the circle and beside the fountain. Rushing forward, he knelt down next to the girl and placed a hand on her back. She was still breathing.
Wondering what she was doing here, the cat shook her by the shoulders until she came to. Opening her eyes, Nora met the eyes of the cat she just bumped into. Sleep still evident in her eyes, she didn't have time to stand fully straight in order to bow before the Prince. Prince Baron just allowed her to lie on the grass as he stared into her eyes.
"Are you alright, Ms. Nora?" he asked, remembering her name from her sister. She looked at him a little groggy from sleep as she sighed.
"Yes, I just fell asleep. I'm sorry that I caused trouble, your highness." she responded. The Prince was taken aback by her answer.
"What makes you think you caused trouble?"
"Because I know a Prince, let alone anyone, would never bother with me if it wasn't for my sister." her response was shocking. Prince Baron didn't know what to make of her. She was truly being sincere, as it was evident by the power of his eyes. He helped her up onto her feet. A little dazed, she stumbled forward into his chest. It's as if she was drunk. 'She must've been in here for a very long time if she acting this way.' he thought.
"Let's get you out of here. Witches aren't meant to stay near the Heart Fountain for too long." he told her. The Prince didn't worry about her clutching his chest as he led her back to the castle. He gripped her left shoulder with his left hand as his right grabbed her right hand and guided her back. Usually, he'd never let a girl get close to him this way, but this girl was really tired.
As they reached the castle, Nora began to pull away. He didn't understand until he peeked into her soul again. She looked upset.
"I don't want to go back in there." she told him. She was fully awake by this time. The Prince was getting mixed signals from her.
"Why not? Is there something wrong?" he asked softly. She didn't answer as she looked to the floor. She really wasn't in the mood to go back in, and he wasn't about to summon a guard to watch her movements so as to not wander off again. Instead of pushing the matter, her just sighed.
"Come. I'll show you around. I, frankly, don't want to go back in there either." he told her. The brunette looked at the Prince in amazement. Him? Hate balls?
As he took her hand, he gently guided her away from the entrance and to another part outside the castle. Nora had a lot of questions racing through her mind as she was being guided away from the celebration. The pair walked past the Gardens and towards a big tree that stood behind the castle. The brunette saw that it was a lot bigger than the camphor tree she knew in Aromavale. It stood in the center of a few stone pathways that had staircases leading to the base of the tree. The Prince looked back to Nora and saw her expression. She looked awed by the tree, and everything else surrounding it.
The Prince started making his way down the stairs, letting go of her hand in the process. His hands were behind his back as he grew closer and closer to the tree, passing all three flights of stairs already. Nora watched him move as he sat on a stone wall that encircled the base of the tree. She never thought that she would be this close to a Prince, heir to the Kingdom of the Vale. Although, her mind wasn't set on flirting. She didn't want to be involved in love. The brunette saw the Prince's face looking at her as if patiently waiting to see what she would do. Since she didn't want to go back in that ballroom, she made her way down the stone stairs and joined the Prince on the stone wall. Lifting the sides of her dress, she sat down six inches to the right of the Prince. She felt comfortable under the tree's moonlit shade as much as she did in the circle of trees.
The two figures sat quietly under the tree as the wind blew across the sky and moved the tree's branches in an unknown dance. Neither thinking what the other was thinking, since Nora's powers were still very weak and the Prince decided to give her privacy, they didn't know how to start a conversation with each other. The brunette played with her fingers as the Prince slouched forward and placed his elbows on his knees while bracing his head with grasped hands. Nora saw that he looked deep in thought. The silence went on, for a few more minutes, until a low growl was heard. Both the figures looked at the source, since it was obvious. Nora's stomach had let out a growl from being empty. Going red in the face, she gently rubbed the back of her head. The Prince just looked at her until he raised his right hand and looked up. His index finger pointing straight up began to rotate in a clockwise motion until it stopped with a flick of his wrist. Opening the palm of his hand, she looked up to see what he was doing. That's when she saw an apple fall into his hand perfectly. It was ripe and very fresh considering how red it was. The Prince offered it to her with the extension of his arm. She looked at it, then him, and back to the fruit.
"T-Thank you." she said softly, gently taking the fruit out of his hand with both of hers.
"You're welcome." he told her, as he returned to thinking. The brunette looked at him sympathetically. He was really different from all the rumors she had heard while inside the ballroom. She softly bit into the apple, its juices traveling in her mouth as she smiled from how sweet it was. It was a perfect fruit to chew on. She thought she wouldn't be able to encounter any of the Princes like this. Not since all the girls with fancy dresses were sucking up to them.
She noticed that she had eaten a third of the apple, and she was already full. She looked at it, knowing she didn't want to throw something as good as this away. So, she would offer it to the Prince. However, she was a little shy to be this close to him. And, she didn't want to intrude on his thought process.
Sucking up her fear, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Craning his head, he looked up at her and then the apple. She extended the apple to him. He looked again in confusion.
"I-I feel full already, and I caught glimpses of you in the ballroom. And, I know you never ate anything since girls were in front of you." she clearly stated. He realized that she was being kind towards him. The Prince was hungry, although he would never mention that around other people. And, he would've made two apples fall from this tree, but he knew that one was enough for her, since he didn't count himself on being hungry. Sighing softly, he held his hand out and she gently placed the apple back in his palm.
"Thank you." he told her. Nora also noticed that he never smiled. Something must've been bugging him. The Prince took a big bite out of the apple in his hand, and the skin disappeared into his mouth. She sighed as she adjusted herself in her seat. She looked up into the leaves of the giant tree. They released small amounts of moonlight to pass in between them until they reappeared in different parts. They were just like twinkling stars.
Nora didn't know what else to do. It's as if she was stalling time with being silent. But, she also didn't want to be rude to the Prince at the same time. She didn't know what to do. Her mind was filled with a flurry of thoughts on what to do. Finally, the silence was broken.
"Tell me about yourself. Who are you exactly?" the Prince suggested. She turned to look at him, realizing he had just finished the apple. He placed the core into the soil and buried it. His gloves didn't have dirt on them, though. Thinking back to his question, she decided to answer.
"Well, as you might know, my name is Nora. I'm the daughter of a minstrel and a gardener. My life has been a bit bumpy for me as I gain something and lose something every year. As you already know, I'm a witch. My powers are Molecular Speed and Empathy, although they've been pretty weak since I had lost a love and have never been the same. I'm practically an open from there on forth." she explained. He was a bit bewildered.
"There's not much about me that might interest you." she continued. He sighed, realizing she was going nowhere with her history. So, he asked a simple question.
"Just where do you come from?" the Prince asked.
"I come from Aromavale, along with my sister." she asked. He allowed his eyes to grow a little wide.
"I know that Vale very well, although my mind is still blurry on many of my memories." he looked down.
"What do you mean?" she asked. He looked away. And soon, a conversation started to spark.
"I mean, my mind is blank. I have partial amnesia."
"Partial amnesia? How is that possible?"
"I don't know. I've never known about many things. Things in my past just decided to remain hidden from me. All I remember is waking up on a shoreline, where I was found by Queen Maria."
Nora gasped. He didn't remember a lot about the past.
"Apparently, when the Queen found me, I was already a cat, in a military uniform. I assumed that I was in a terrible battle. She brought me back to the castle, where the King's physicians analyzed me. They said that I should be a human since the King is the only one who knows how perform transmutations on people. Queen Maria decided to keep me in their family line since she knew the King was planning to make future heirs as cats too. So, basically, I became a Prince due to a miscalculation." he explained. She didn't know what to say. Nora was listening to every word.
"What happened after?" she asked. She sounded a little too pushy and mentally scolded herself. The Prince sighed at her.
"Meet me back here a few minutes before noon. I'll tell you the rest tomorrow." he said to her. With that, he stood up and waved his left hand in front of his face until snapping it to the side. He dissolved into a flurry and disappeared into thin air.
The brunette didn't know what just happened. One second, the Prince is visible and the next he is gone. She felt as if she was told off. But, he wanted her to meet back under this tree. It was a little strange for a Prince to be behaving this way. Standing up, she made her way up the stairs and back to the ballroom. She decided that she was going to do as the Prince told her and meet him again. She didn't realize until she said it that it made her flush with embarrassment. "He's so cool."