Note: No BETA. Edited Jan 2022.

An Eventful Summer With a Witch and a Prince

Chapter One

It's Intriguing, Who You Are Now

A blush.

Of all the weaknesses Will thought she possessed as leader of the Guardians of Infinity, a blush was pretty far down on that list.

Why him, of all people? Honestly, she would have been less confused if it was Blunk; at least he never threw her down a pit with a grumpy Caleb.

Maybe she was just seeing him out of his usual evil context? He was not wearing the traditional black robes of doom all villains wore according to their dress codes and bylaws. Or was looking at her in a mix of anger and indifference, like he was frustrated at the situation but could care less about who was actually causing it. He was not sending hoards of magical beast after her and her friends. Not bringing misery and pain to anybody. Not….

And that was the problem, she realized.

Will blamed Elyon. If the queen had kept him locked away, Phobos would just be fuming in his cell, whining about how no one ever dusted and room service was dreadful. Instead, he was sitting peacefully in one of the castle's many lush and thick garden courtyards.

The sun was shining on long pale hair, making it blend seamlessly into the pure white layered robes that draped loosely around his thin form. Vivid blue eyes were raised to the clear afternoon sky in quiet meditation, an eerie quiet flowing from him. Silencing all would be garden creatures around him and stilling even the rustle of leaves and grass.

There was something unapproachable about the fallen prince and, in a strange way, it was comforting. It reminded her of who he was and to keep a safe distance. Of what he did and what he will always try to do. Yet, as she watched from behind a pillar to a nearby marble arch way, she only found herself intrigued.

He did not know anyone was near, so why did he seem so reserved?

Elyon had given him free roam of most of the main castle a few months back, with his own set of personal guards to accompany him where he ventured. Near ten years in and out of various magical prisons did not change the prince like Elyon had hoped. She had thought, with her display of superior powers, him being locked away, and Metamoor thriving under her rule, it would make him more docile with the realities of his defeat. The young queen even entertained the idea of hiring psychiatrist from Earth to help 'reform' her brother, but that proved to be too messy to go through with. Instead, he stayed surprisingly upbeat for someone with their freedom taken away from them and living from jail cell to jail cell. Even as his subjects swore loyalty to the new queen for their freedom, as his magic was sealed away with newer and stronger spells, he stayed sarcastic and stubborn as ever.

Once Elyon realized that he still was not ageing, even with his powers bound, she felt the need to try and create some type of bond between them. So, she freed him from his prison and began to treat him like a 'brother'. Will remembered Caleb's constant irritation at his blatant disrespect towards Elyon and how the entire kingdom and personal council thought she was far too kind and was wary of her choice. Considering the out come of releasing him with a pardon when dealing with Nerissa, there was reasonable push back against releasing him again.

Will understood Elyon's problem. She was raised on Earth to believe taking a life was a last choice solution, and now she was a queen of a medieval land that, even in peaceful times, had more death than she could stomach.

Anything she did would seem tame by their standards.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Will wondered about her luck to have found the prince in the large, sprawling castle at all. Never bothering to fully roam the castle before, she tried to explore it once back when Elyon first came to power years ago, but found the palace to massive to explore completely in a short time. In fact, this was her first visit in over a year to not only the castle in Meridian, but Metamoor. Most of the other worldly troubles came from other planets now and, while she treasured her time on Earth, she greatly enjoyed planet hopping. It was normally Elyon visiting them to take a break from her royal duties and to attain some much needed Earthly provisions and catch up on social changes.

So finding the solemn prince at all was nothing but pure, dumb luck.

A strong gust of wind picked up, ruining the picturesque view, and reminding her that she was looking at a living person, not a flawless painting. The wind ruffled his clothes and picked up strands of pale locks, blowing them from his face and trailing them like banners of conquest over the vibrant gardens. Turning his head towards the breeze, the prince closed his eyes, enjoying the touch of the wind. His lips twitched.

"Phobos," Will whispered, shocked at the beauty of both the man before her and the scene he created with just the simple enjoyment of a warm summer breeze. In pure panic, she darted fully behind the pillar and, for good measure, turned herself invisible with a bit of borrowed air magic from the Heart of Kandrakar around her neck. She bit her lip as her heart demanded to be set free from her chest.

What's wrong? her inner voice teased.

Are you afraid of him?

That time she nearly laughed.

Afraid of Phobos? Her? That was insane to even think! After all these years, and with her full mastery of the Heart, she was sure she could go toe-to-toe with a fully powered Phobos and win. Although, pure power was never what made him dangerous, but his vast knowledge of magical spells, the rules that accompanied them, and talismans they could forge.

So right now she was just hiding to avoid any awkward conversations.

Yeah, that was it.

She was overreacting right now. So what if she blushed a little when she looked at him? Maybe the once great and feared prince of Meridian, who was once her great foe, was… handsome. Maybe even one of the most attractive men she had ever laid eyes on. But what did that really change? Nothing, right?

Will regained enough of her composure to peek out from behind the pillar. Prince Phobos was still sitting in the same spot and, seeing his guards were no where to be found, she felt confident no one heard her little slip of the tongue. It might be embarrass, the Light of Infinity calling out the prince's name so… fondly.

Will hurried away from the gardens and into the castle, before she could make anymore stupid slip-ups.

Still, as she left, the sight of his lips fighting a simple smile at the touch of the summer breeze was burned into her brain.

This was going to be a long vacation.

"That was quick," Cornelia mused lounging in Elyon's throne, dressed in an regal teal and white Meridian gown with her bare feet off one end. The tall blond was toying with Elyon's hair, who was sitting at the base, looking like she was the one the throne was fashioned for and not her shorter blond friend. "I thought aimless wandering took at least two hours, boss lady," she questioned with a flick of two of her long, impossibly elegant fingers in the air. A coy smile on her full lips.

"She was walking around, not shopping at an outlet store like some people," Irma said with a yawn, ruffling her own curly brunette hair as she stretched, back popping as her full chest heaved out. The water guardian was sitting at the side of the throne, dressed in light washed jeans and a white shirt that simply said 'hydration'. She had an Earth book in her hand that she was flipping idly through only to paused as Cornelia glared down at her.

"As if I would be caught dead at an outlet," Cornelia hotly defended with a scoff.

Irma looked back at her book and shrugged as sighed out, "RIP, daddy's charge card. May it one day live a simple life."

"Oh, did you find the gardens?" Taranee asked, interrupting the other two before they could fall into a small squabble. Her long, black braids were loose around her dark, bare shoulders, as the strap of her black spaghetti strapped dress had slipped down. She pushed her wire rim glasses up on her nose better, making her dark eyes more focused. She looked up from watching Hay-Lin draw the other three, a smile of greeting pulling her lips wide.

Hay-Lin looked up from her sketch book, long black hair laying across the pristine white marble floor. She wore a summer dress, with happy clouds scattered around it. She grinned up at Will and wishfully added, "The flowers should be in bloom, huh?" Even though it was summer, Elyon's magic made the land and plant's fertile, where they could enjoy fruiting all year round on the castle grounds.

"Did you need a maid to take you, Will?" Elyon offered, blue eyes both somehow the same color as her brother's but vastly different as she gazed at her cast of friends with a serene calm. She wore a simple white day dress, adorn with her royal crest and gold stitching. The queen's offer caused the two nearest her to poorly hide their snickers at Will's hopeless wandering.

Will looked away, not sure why she felt so guilty, and shifted side to side on her feet as she answered, "I found the garden courtyard you mentioned, Elyon. And, um, Prince Phobos."

Irma sat her book down, no longer pretending to try and read. "One of us was bound to run into princy," she pointed out with a thoughtful tap on her chin.

"Can you lock that monster up while we're here, Ellie? I wanted to enjoy my break without seeing his vile face," Cornelia said with a pout as she undid a flawless braid and began to braid the section of shimmering blond hair again.

"You know she can't," Hay-Lin gently said as she hugged her sketch pad and knees to her small chest. "If she wants him to trust her, after everything that's happened, she can't keep locking him back up."

Taranee gave a small nod. Agreeing with the line of thought but not with the actual execution of it. "I still think that rehabilitation is, sadly, hopeless for him. If there is one person who will never throw in the towel for world domination, it's Phobos. His ego and narcissism is almost text book."

"So how unpleasant was the conversation? Mind-numbing? Or just plain awkward?" Irma asked, far to excited.

Will shook her head, short red hair dancing in and out her vision, and clarified, "I didn't actually talk to him, guys. Didn't see the point. It's… Prince Phobos, you know?"

"True," Irma agreed, still smiling. "Most likely he'll just say some snide comment about how we'll never truly defeat him and then mope around about said defeat. No fun, really. Dude needs to lighten up."

Fun? Was Prince Phobos ever fun? What an peculiar thought.

Will walked to sit with Hay-Lin and Taranee, as she thought back to the encounter. Or, well, lack of encounter.

What would he say if she talked to the ageless prince? The man had not seen her in years. She was already living a rather boring adult life on Earth, already twenty-four. She finally aged enough that even her guardian counterpart was older and shared all physical traits as her human form.

Why did that matter? That she was older? That he was… the same?

That they finally seemed to be on equal footing with the other?

Will could not get rid of the uneasiness in her as a pair of ageless blue eyes watched the world drift peacefully by.

The next morning, Will sat in front of the vanity in her spacious guestroom. Candlelight was still something she was not use to, with the flickering flame hurting her eyes as she strained to see, so she used magic to light her room instead. The Heart happily gave her a few balls of pinkish white energy to float around her room, lighting the rich wood furniture and soft linens in the warm glow. It was midsummer, so the sun was already rising in the early hour.

She hated the oppressive quiet, but all her electronics were back on Earth, as they detested being disconnected from the wifi signals, as they all claimed it made it hard to 'think'. Not wanting them to be uncomfortable, she left them all on her home planet.

Humming a soft song to break the endless silence, the young woman stared at her image in the mirror. She sometimes felt she looked the same as she did as an awkward teen. But now she carried herself different, more confident with features that once made her embarrassed. Thick eyebrows and rusty red hair once made her the butt of endless jokes, but was now, oddly, envied by others her age as they went well with her rich brown eyes and tan complexion. She was still an active swimmer, so her body was fit, with her hips and breast filling out enough to give her appealing curves with her flat stomach and lean muscles.

Will combed through her chin-length hair and wondered, not for the first time, if she should grow it out.

Why… was she so aware of her looks that morning? So aware of the way her shorts rode up her thighs and her shirt exposed her midriff a times.

Maybe she was just stalling? As she was holding back the urge to return to the same green courtyard from yesterday. Last night, she had decided to talk to the infamous Prince Phobos. Mainly to see if he had changed and if what Elyon was trying to do was working. There were a lot of people across the magic realms that held open scepticism at the queen's sudden choice, as she did not council Kandrakar's elders when she made it. And the leader of the Guardians was among that worried group.

Will stood, dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans shorts, a plain green t-shirt, and cozy brown flip-flops. The people of Metamoor found the guardian's Earth clothes to be very inappropriate to wear, too tight or too short. For the most part, they did try to wear more coverings to help keep the gossiping low, as no one dared say it out loud to them, only whispered and laughed. Yet, spending the next several weeks on Metamoor during the middle of summer made Will not really care what people thought, as damn, she was hot and she was wearing shorts. Simple as that.

Will went down to breakfast once the sun was fully up. It was held in the queen's private dining area. A small room with good natural lighting and a table that could only seat sixteen guest. Most spots stayed empty, as their group often came and went with no set schedule, with Elyon sometimes working from her spot and prolonging her stay.

The first to sit down, a thought entered her mind that made her heart weirdly skip. Would Prince Phobos attend breakfast? Their visit to the castle started a few days ago, with no trace of the prince at any point. Now that she actually seen he was free to explore, she wondered what activities he participated in, if any.

The cooks had already brought Will some fruit to hold her over, as she had arrived so early. Will suggested bringing more out for her friends, as they would be arriving soon, but they assured her the main food was about to be served.

The other girls arrived in two staggered groups with Matt and Caleb next. As they were trailed by Elyon and Raythor, it seemed unlikely Phobos was showing up to pal around with them.

"Oh, is princy not joining us?" Irma asked, as if she was the mind reader of the magic group.

"No," Caleb loudly grumbled, dark eyes narrowed in annoyance. "He finds our manners deplorable and cannot tolerate it," he sarcastically called. He wearing a flattering tunic that conveyed him as a member of the inner royal council.

"Ooo, Will!" Hay-Lin called as she changed seats and plopped down next to her. "Where did you get that? It smells so sweet!"

The cooks had given her a strange, crunchy Meridian fruit that looked like a cluster of pink grapes held together with honey. It indeed had a sweet taste like Hay-Lin had surmised.

"I didn't sleep well and got here early, so they gave me this," Will explained with a shrug as she held out the fruit to Hay-Lin. The dark haired woman snapped a piece off and popped it in her mouth.

"Oh, it's really good!"

"It's called a fortune fruit," Caleb said as he sat to the left of Elyon, who as at the head, with Raythor on her right. "They are actually quite hard to grow, as the trees need to be steeped in magic for years for the flowers to buds. The first harvest is said to bestow year round good luck." The frown on his face didn't match the tone of the information. "No one told us they were ready," he said as he glanced up at the door leading to the kitchen.

Irma reached over the table and messily broke off a large chunk.

"Hey!" Will yelled at her pawing at her food.

Irma broke the piece into three's and gave a chunk to Cornelia and Taranee. Seeing defeat, Will broke off a chunk and handed it to Matt, who had sat on her other side.

"Uh, thanks," he said as he took the piece, hand lingering a bit too long on hers.

Will broke the last chunk in three and tossed the last pieces to Elyon, Caleb and Raythor, who all caught it with surprise.

"There, now we all have the same good fortune," Will grinned.

Later that summer, unknown to them all, that good fortune would be desperately needed.

Eventually, breakfast was served and the group ate with various pockets of conversations. As Matt was sitting next to her, Will tried her hardest to focus on anything but him.

Listening to Raythor talk, there was a lot of unrest in the kingdom. Apparently, it consisted of the same issues that Elyon's mother, Queen Weira, had to deal with decades ago; the Lurdens were causing problems. Or, at least, were making Galhot, Escanors, Passlings, Merfolk, and all half-breeds uncomfortable and uneasy.

They were not the smartest breed of creatures and tended to be harmless when not organized into an army. They were rumored to have once lived naturally underground but, after the Infinite City was build, they were forced above into the swamps. After the defeat of Phobos, many Lurdens were detained in camps and prisons for their crimes. Slowly, they were being released. Yet, Elyon's make over of Metamoor with her powers meant there weren't many swamps left for them to live in. No one wanted a Lurden living in their city or town, or anywhere they could be seen, really.

Listening, if this was the same way the Lurdens were treated before, Will imagined all Prince Phobos had to do to gain their loyalty was give them a place to live and some food. Looking back, that was actually true

Elyon seemed to understand this too, and was adamant about treating the Lurdens with kindness, as they had shown remorse as a people for what they did. So many large, wealthy land owners were obligated to take in a certain number of Lurdens while the kingdom looked for a permanent fix. Which, of course, pissed a lot of people off.

The first to leave breakfast, Will found herself walking through the endless halls wondering, not for the first time, what allowed Prince Phobos to rise to power.

Following the faint pull of the Heart, Will looked up and saw she had made it back to the courtyard from yesterday. A few people greeted her as she stood at the archway that led to the outside, summer sunlight basking the marble and stone in light and heat. A few girls, dressed as maids, rushed from a section that held a small, thick garden, giggling and laughing as they passed her.

After several long, agonizing minutes, she was left alone to venture back into the courtyard. Slowly, she entered the inner garden and spotted a vine covered, marble pillar not that far away. Beautiful trees and bushes lined the walkway and various, alien flowers bloomed all around.

Everything was so perfect. Elyon's magic did wonders for the foliage and everything was brimming with life. Insects and small animals scurried under foot across warming stone, making Will watch each step she took.

And, then suddenly, he was there.

She steeled herself, preparing for the oncoming unpleasant exchange that was bound to happen. Yet, she couldn't say a word.

Phobos looked the same as yesterday, same clothes and grooming choices, but now that the shock of finding him had wore off, he actually looked… different?

His face seemed older. She remembered him being able to pass for a teen, as that was around the age range he stopped ageing in. But it seemed impossible that the man before her could ever be mistaken for a boy.

Hard jaw line and broad shoulders, all mixed in with a frame that seemed looming even while he sat. His goatee had not a single hair out of place along with his perfectly sculpted eyebrows. Some features were deceivingly delicate; the pull of his lips, the arch of his cold eyes, the curl of long fingers against his own clothes, the fine bridge of his nose, the softness of his pale skin.

"Here again?" a voice, cold and detached, seem to question the wind, breaking her free of her thoughts. "Are you going to speak this time?" Icy blue eyes turned lazily to her. There was nothing readable in them as they bore into her honey brown ones. "Or just hide like the hopeless coward you are?"