It's inevitable
It's a fact that we're gonna get down to it...
---
Angel walked with her head down through the palace corridors, wandering with no particular destination in mind. Her mind was elsewhere anyway.
Her heart jumped when she ran right into something. Looking up to identify the object, the young woman was stunned to see none other than the focus of her thoughts standing before her. "...Hi."
"Hi."
Tearing her eyes away from his, she stepped around him and resumed her earlier pace. Immobilized by something he could not identify, Gavin watched her leave helplessly. Idiot, a voice in the back of his mind shouted.
I know, I know... but what can I say? It was a stupid promise, since it's more than I could ever handle... The crown prince of Byrista sighed heavily and started heading toward the dining hall once again.
* * *
"Hey, Gavin," Diandre's voice sounded behind him hours later, snapping him out of a doze he had fallen into while going over the latest data on the enemy forces.
"Hi," he yawned.
His sister chuckled as she pulled up a chair and sat next to him. "Fell asleep, huh?"
"Yeah," he admitted, stifling another yawn.
"Have you not been sleeping well?"
"Not really... there's a lot of stuff on my mind."
"Like what? Maybe it'll be less heavy if you share," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.
He grinned lopsidedly at her. "That's a new way to order me to tell you what I'm thinking about?"
"Order?"
"Okay, maybe it's more like 'forcefully request' or something."
Diandre mulled that over for a moment. "That works, I suppose."
"Well, I'm so glad to have that cleared up."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Anyway... what's up?"
"Oh... just been thinking about that promise I made Angel. The one about helping her find her past and stuff."
"Not easy, is it?"
"No, it's not... I'm so busy, and I don't even know where to start, anyway. And I think she's really been banking on me doing something, or so it seems. The longer this goes on, the stranger she acts around me... and the more uncomfortable I feel around her."
"Do you like her?"
Gavin arched an eyebrow. "Haven't you learned anything from your diplomacy tutor?"
"Of course I have, but why would I use those skills on family?" she bantered, grinning impishly.
Her brother raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win." His face sobered. "But... I don't know. I care about her and stuff, but it's not a matter of 'like,' I think."
"Ah. You should talk to her about it."
"It's not that easy..."
"Actually, it is. The hard part is the whole setting up a time to meet and actually doing it. Once you start talking... it should be better."
"Should?"
"The odds are for it. There's always an off chance that something bad will come from it, but will it get any better if you sit back and do nothing?"
"Good point."
Diandre stood. "Go for it, bro. Frankly, I'm getting tired of watching the way you two act around each other."
Gavin blinked. "Like I said..."
"And like I said, I don't use that stuff on family members." She smiled at him before walking out the door. "Good luck."
"Thank you."
* * *
After dinner that evening, Gavin approached Angel. He had hardly eaten, since butterflies filled his stomach. This is Angel we're talking about, he reminded himself. She's not the Emperor or anything. For some reason, however, this train of thought did little to calm his nerves.
The young woman looked up at him with a mix of apprehension and curiosity as he came up. "What is it?"
"Uh... can we talk?"
She blinked. "Sure."
"Somewhere... alone."
Her agreement was slower in coming this time. "All right..."
Gavin nodded and headed out of the room, motioning Angel to follow.