A/N: Minor Cursing
"You shouldn't be here."
Turning from his hunched position against the library desk, Kai nearly slammed his gangly frame into the person behind him. He caught a whiff of sugar and lilac, and a flash of mahogany curls. He turned back to the papers he was examining. "You know this is my library."
"Just because it happens to be your 'library' doesn't mean that you have to punish yourself by showing your constant dedication to it." He had barely flipped the page of the heavy textbook on herbs and cures before she had seated herself across from him, her own stack of books slammed onto the table. "But just in case you decided to go that route, I thought I'd come accompany you."
"Thank you for your concern, but I would just really like to be alone right now."
"It's probably not a good idea to be alone right now." Selene's voice had gone softer than usual, and Kai dared to sneak a look up at her face. Her brown doe eyes were wide with concern, and Kai felt a pang of resent. It wasn't her family. It was none of her business. And in fact, who had told her anyway?
Sharply, he rebutted, "You know, the more you make me disgruntled, the closer we are to quitting this whole alliance thing altogether, so if things go south, we'll all know who's fault it is."
The silence succeeding was heavy. Nevertheless, Kai continued to survey the entire room, anywhere but her. A sharp sigh drew him back to her sculpted visage.
"I'm sorry."
"He's my sick father, you know. It's none of your business." Kai lowered his head back down, but he couldn't resist continuing. "You know, you should probably leave, things are-"
"-I know how things are." Selene's voice had gone hard, cold in a matter of seconds. Her voice rose very suddenly. "I know what is happening. I know how you're feeling. I am trying to offer you comfort, Prince Kai." Her words were edged with steel, and it was suddenly painful for Kai to remain stoic. She continued, her voice nearly at a shout. "I've lost family too, Kai! I know what you're going through! And even if you don't want my comfort, at least don't treat me like a child. You don't get to tell me to leave, and you certainly don't get to order me around like a self-pitying douche. Grow up."
Kai risked a peek up, his heart pounding. Selene was half-standing, her palms pressed down hard on the wood grain. Her flawless features were flushed with various shades of scarlet, and her hair had been shook out of its coiffure.
At no other point in his life had Kai been so afraid.
She was the storm and the calm at the same time, blended together in a furious burst of sunlight and hope. It was painful to stare, but even more painful to look away. His gaze held hers evenly, copper-edged irises meeting solid chocolate ones.
At last, she looked away, straightening herself up completely. Sweeping her books off the desk once more, she barely spared him a glance as she strolled towards the door, walking rapidly towards the exit. "Good day, your highness."
"Wait!" Kai scrambled to his feet, and it was by sheer miracle (or by his long legs) that he managed to barricade the exit with his body before she made it there. "Wait, Selene, please."
She was less that two feet away from her escape, and less than a foot away from his face. She clutched her books to her chest, giving her the false appearance of a docile student. Kai highly doubted that she would hit him, political alliances and all, but he kept a tight grip on the door handle as a reassurance.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I. . ." The words trapped themselves in his throat as he looked into her eyes, the remaining patches of strawberry around her cheeks illuminating her defiant expression. She was radiating pure passion in that moment, anger and minor chagrin both contributing to her steely gaze.
"I'm sorry I said that. I just. . . it's difficult right now for me. . ." Kai faltered, and Selene moved again towards the door. "Wait! I just, I'm sorry, Selene, I-"
"You know, you've said 'I'm sorry' to me right now than I've said 'I'm sorry' in my entire life," Selene interrupted coldly. "Kai, I get it. I know why you're being distant. You don't have to explain."
Kai sighed, and carded his fingers through his dark hair. "Well," he started tentatively. He attempted a smile, although it obviously didn't thaw Selene's frozen visage. He made a quarter-turn, half-facing the library and half-facing Selene. "in that case, would you consider sitting down again?"
Selene merely stared at him, and Kai resisted the urge to slink back. Finally, she relented, stalking past him and slamming her books down. Kai winced at the sudden attack, but hurried towards the table. He dropped into his chair, avoiding eye contact with the princess. Stifling a yawn, he brushed a rogue hair out of his face and refocused his eyes back onto his reading.
Many variants can result in a nationwide anarchy. Factors such as environment and socioeconomic status may spur an individual to surge up against the government. Against all logic, citizens will always be dissatisfied with their representatives. In the past, however, it should be noted that the ultimate leaders are the ones that are the most likely to come under fire for actions often done by unruly politicians, despite having no hand in the matter. It is much easier to blame a king for a peasant's unhappiness than a peasant for a king's unhappiness.
It was awfully obvious to Kai that his textbook read like a pompous twelve-year-old trying to enter the world of politics. "It is much easier to blame a king for a peasant's unhappiness than a peasant for a king's unhappiness"? Wasn't that a given? Apparently not. The book had been published sometime in the Second Era. Perhaps the candidates back then had needed a reminder of how much the people hated them.
"You're making a face."
Kai's head snapped up, and his eyes met Selene's again. "Uh, yeah, I mean," he stammered. He exhaled, giggling slightly as he did. Selene's eyebrows knit together in evident perplexity. "It's just this book, I mean-"
"-can I see?" He shrugged, sliding the book across the table. As she read, Kai noticed the way that Selene seemed to become completely engrossed in the chapter, flipping pages as she went along. Her head seemed to slowly tilt more and more as her eyebrows were raised higher and higher, eventually culminating in a small "wow."
"That's a mouthful," Selene agreed, pushing the book back to Kai. She rested her elbows on the table, letting her face fall onto her upturned palms. "They actually force you to read that when you're heir?"
"Well, no. I had a tutor until I was eighteen, and he was the one who really taught me about policies and being fair to the citizens and stuff like that." Kai explained.
"Our system's like that too. Elissa's been my tutor for most of my life, and I don't think she's going to quit until she's absolutely sure I can go out into the world without accidentally burning everything in my path." Selene leaned forward even more, and Kai was astutely aware how close their faces were. He could just lean forward just a little more, close the gap-
"-so if you don't need to read it and you're obviously bored to death by it, why do you force yourself to?" Selene asked softly, her eyes still staring at his face, pensive.
"I don't know, I mean, there's nothing spe-" Kai stopped, and he flitted back to the worn pages of the heavy textbook. It was there that he finally saw the notes scribbled in the margin, the letters matching his spiky signatures perfectly.
His fingers froze, and he felt l himself slumping back and moving forward, simultaneously shocked and enthralled. Trembling, he ran his fingertips against the swirling ink, the coarseness of the paper prodding his skin. He was all too aware of Selene watching him, her sculpted eyebrows knitted together in obvious concern. He struggled to keep his eyes on the page, torn between facing the princess and reading the emperor's words.
Royalty, it seemed, would never leave Kai alone.
Rikan's words were hasty, probably jotted down in the few minutes before his lesson in order to prove that he had finished his work. Like father, like son. Kai had done his assignments hurriedly as well, and he almost smiled as he imagined a teenage version of his father attempting to talk his way out of lessons.
Follow the people, they know best.
Too large letters to fill the margins.
Is the EU a democracy? A monarchy? A parliamentary monarchy?
Mindless filler questions that Kai knew his father could answer on his first try.
But the last enter Kai met was starkly different from the others, and he held his breath as he reread it, over and over again.
It was a doodle of two stick figures, one with scribbled long hair and another with a tuft of equally messy hair defying gravity by standing straight up. Both were smiling and holding hands. Both wore cartoon crowns, the simple three-pointed ones. Rikan's same messy handwriting continued next to the picture.
Elaine. Elaine. Elaine. Elaine. Elaine.
Elaine. His mother's name.
The picture was dated February 8th, 107 T.E.
Two month before Kai's birthday.
He hadn't realized he was sobbing until he felt Selene's arms gently slip around his chest, and he was eased off of the chair and onto the floor, one hand gripping Selene's arm and the other his father's textbook. He took great gulping breaths, his tears falling fast. Selene's arms tightened around him, and her head pressed against his back. "It's okay," she mumbled. "Everything's going to be alright."
"He loved her," Kai whispered in response, his voice jagged. He didn't know how much Selene understood, and he couldn't stop all of the memories that sped back into his mind. His father, carrying him back to bed while his mother laughed at Kai's futile protests. His mother, teaching him about the difference between the different flowers in her garden, and how to tell clusters of snapdragons apart from lavender and hydrangeas. His mother, lying face up in her delicate shroud, while the fires slowly engulfed her small frame.
Rikan, his shaking almost invisible to everyone except Kai.
Selene clutched him to her chest, running her fingers against his. "The pain will pass."
He had run out of tears, letting the salty-bitter liquid drip down into his lap. In between heaving breaths, he turned to look at the princess. Her cold facade had completely crumbled, and she hadn't let go of him. Her eyes were agleam with something Kai could not identify.
"Will it?" He eked out, once his coughing had subsided.
She drew her lips together, folding the rosy halves into her mouth before she exhaled and answered. "No," she admitted, shaking her head. "It won't."
Kai didn't know how long they stayed that way, curled together on the wooden panels of the library floor, rocking back and forth.
In honor of my fantastic mood because B&N FINALLY DELIVERED LADY MIDNIGHT TO ME.