Dusk

There was a green quilted picnic blanket which she had always kept draped over the back of the couch in the living room. It had made the trip across the country from her midwestern home, only to fall into relative misuse. It didn't even fit in with the local scenery of the coastal town; little moose and bear silhouettes alternated direction in rows across the quilt. But it had never really fit in at home either—she'd grown up in the suburbs, after all.

Having spread it out on the sand tonight, she waited in the cove as the sun hovered low over the horizon. For the first time, they had planned this meeting. His father was away, visiting one of the other kingdoms for the sake of negotiations, leaving him to his own devices. He could leave the kingdom before dark, for once.

She traced the curved backs of the printed bears with her finger, waiting for him. Secretly, she hoped he would ask about the pattern on the blanket, just as an excuse to tell him something nice about nature on the surface. Based on how he had spoken about the world so far, it seemed like he would be most open to the concept of surface wildlife. Plus, it might open him up to speak more about the general atmosphere in Atlantis. She wondered if there were more unheard of creatures, like the sea dragon, living below the surface.

Before there was even any pink in the sky, he had appeared in the shallows. She had been excited to actually watch the sunset with him—something she doubted he'd ever really seen firsthand—but hadn't realized how handsome he would look in a new light. The sun had sunk low enough to turn everything a warm shade of gold, which deepened the vibrancy of his golden armor. She rose to meet him at the shore, marveling at the hints of rosy light on his face, which made his complexion glow. As she approached him, he beamed, and she was unable to stop a matching smile from breaking across her face.

"Your armor matches the sunset," she said at last, sliding her hands into his. Even though she was standing on a slightly higher piece of the beach than him, she still had to tilt her chin upwards to look at his face. His eyes were deep blue in the last shreds of daylight, with flecks of silvery-grey breaking up the vibrant color. She hadn't been able to see the silver flecks nearly as well in the moonlight.

"I'm glad I dressed appropriately. I wasn't sure what to expect," he replied sheepishly, looking away for a moment.

"I just hope you're not too uncomfortable in it. I'd imagine it weighs a bit more on land," she replied. They ambled along the beach, making their way towards the picnic blanket.

"Nothing I can't handle." He replied. "I'm used to wearing armor."

"Is it more of a fashion thing, or a military preparedness thing?"

"The latter…my father is not a very fashion-minded person." he laughed.

"I see," she smiled, glad to hear some levity in his voice for once. "You have a nice sense of style, though," she said. He shook his head.

"It's just something I can control about my life," he replied. "Some variation is always nice." The pair walked in silence for a few moments before settling on the blanket. They had taken a roundabout way across the short cove's beach and back, which gave the sun more time to sink. It had touched the horizon now. Paying more attention to his relaxed expression than to the sunset, she absorbed the scene quietly. Her hand rested near his on the blanket, but she hesitated to bridge that gap. He was entranced by the sunset; she didn't want to interrupt that. Once the sun had disappeared, he seemed to return to her.

"What did you think?" she asked at last.

"You get to see that every day?"

"Yeah," she looked back at the pinkish-purple ring of the horizon. "It's not always this nice, though. Today was a really good one."

"In Atlantis the lighting just changes color once it's nighttime. It just gets a little darker." He sighed.

"Maybe you could find a way to add some color to it? Some warmth?"

"You mean when I'm king?" he laughed. "I'll probably have bigger problems to deal with then."

"That's no reason to ignore the little things." She spoke without thinking much about whether or not she should. She hoped that he wouldn't think she was pretentious for offering her opinion in such a quippy format. "I mean, obviously it's not crucial to survival, but…"

"No, you're right. There's no reason not to improve daily life." He was quiet for a moment. "I guess I tend to assume everything worth changing happens on a large scale."

"That makes sense though; being king is a big-picture sort of task," she said. "I don't know anything about royalty, though."

"Don't worry, I'm aware," he squeezed her hand as she laughed.

"You don't meet a prince everyday!" she said, feigning insult. "How am I supposed to know anything about court politics?"

"I'm glad that you don't," he admitted. "I feel like a different person around you."

"Is that a good thing, though?" she asked, tilting her head a little. He broke eye contact with her for a moment to think, looking at the blanket.

"I think so." He said. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." She nodded, although he was still looking away from her. "I'm enjoying it at the moment."

"I'm glad," she said. His eyes drifted back up to hers. "I'm enjoying it too." They were quiet again for a few moments, and she began to trace the bears with her free hand again.

"By the way," he spoke again, breaking the silence. "What is the print on this blanket supposed to be?"