Not every story begins with a palace or a prince, but sometimes the finest beginnings happen in the woods, surrounded by trees. It's not the most traditional, and sometimes it almost feels like the old women's tale of a woman who meets a prince, surrounded by small men. Dwarves in this case.
Yet there are no dwarves, and the meeting is somewhat anti-climatic, all things considered. When he first lays eyes on her, Shirayuki is not asleep, nor can he really see her. She's wearing a hood to cover up that beautiful red hair of hers, and she's rightly cautious. And so is he.
When your best friend at about twelve years old betrays you and tries to kill you, because you're a prince, strangers are not your friends. But Shirayuki isn't the sort to really back down from a punch or a sword or whatever, she's strong willed and that in itself is persuasive.
Love takes a while to bloom, but Zen's positive that after Shirayuki hurts her hand to prove that she doesn't carry poisons instead of medicine, she patches him up with the same amount of ease that she'd patched herself up with seconds ago, and maybe that's what began to do his heart in.
The way she stood up to him, unafraid, but also the way in which she cared for him. It was simple; it's not like she saw him as more than a stranger and a patient at that time. Just, perhaps there was something there, a little small, but beginning. Or maybe Zen's heart is pretty easily swayed.
Maybe a strong, nurturing woman is the type that slips so easily inside his heart, without even trying to, but he doesn't know, and perhaps will never know if it was just something about Shirayuki in particular, or if it's something that he's drawn to in people like her. He's never met anyone like her before, and though Garack's a strong woman and a smart one, she's older, and he's never felt any pull towards her.
It's a Shirayuki pull, a hint that maybe his smitten-ness will grow into something a bit more full, a bit more rounded out, a bit more complex, and a bit more loving. Right now, it's attraction, and a gaze that's hard to pull away. Right now, it's finding beauty in a new voice, discovering red and green are the best colors in the world. Or at least apple red like her hair, and forest green like her eyes.
It's hard to look away; it's like being spell bound all over again. Like, finding out a secret, and being so bottled up with it, that excitement makes you almost launch into the sky. It's so hard to not smile when she's talking. Zen's mesmerized, and while he may not connect the dots with this warm feeling in his chest, others around him see it. Kiki and Mitsuhide trade amused smiles and talk quietly where Zen can't hear them.
It's far too soon to tell where all of this might lead.