Dragon's Love with Dangerous Letters

Chapter 23

"Ok I think you're good for now."

Artemis nodded and breathed a sigh of relief from Sting's words. Training non-stop for a good hour could really wipe out someone who was new to magic the way Artemis was. She used her knees as support since she had nothing else to lean on and ran one hand through her chestnut colored hair. After all that Sting didn't seem one bit out of energy and even though he was used to magic unlike her it still didn't seem normal to the female.

"Prince Sting! Your father requests your presence in the throne room!"

"I'll be right there Orga!" The blonde replied before averting his gaze to Artemis again, "This might take me some time to get through depending on what my father wants so rest up while I'm gone."

He took a quick second to ruffle her hair before leaving; the contact he made with her caused her to flush slightly. After his figure disappeared she began making her way around the garden thinking a leisurely stroll would be nice. It wasn't long before she came a crossed the fountain she saw those girls huddling around earlier. She picked up the purple fabric of her dress and sat down on the fountain's edge while tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She gently dragged the tips of her fingers over the water's surface thinking about what she'd wish for just to have a little fun with the myth she over heard about the fountain. She tried thinking real hard about what it was she really wanted but with the same thing running through her head she couldn't help but to wish for just that.

"I want to meet Celestine."

It came out in one quick short breath as she smiled gently at her reflection in the water. Her eyes darted up from that reflection when she heard someone not too far off bump into one of the bushes. She saw that person's faint shadow, the quick glimpse of their face made her realize that the person was female, a female who looked an awful lot like those within her family. Quietly she stood from the fountain and followed after them only catching glimpses of the other girl's green dress or her brown hair.

"Rogue! Rogue!"

It seemed as if the girl was someone who knew Sting's "brother" well but she was in such a rush that Artemis had lost her around one of the flower bushes. The brunette sighed shrugging it off. She was probably just seeing things from her exhaustion that she needed to recover from her training, what were the odds of meeting someone who looked like family at a time like this anyway. She turned on her heel and decided to go back to the fountain to rest some more. She sat back down upon the fountain's ledge and looked up, her green orbs spotting the blonde dragon slayer in one of the windows with his father next to him. She pulled her eyebrows together and frowned slightly seeing the frustrated look on Sting's face as he ran a hand through his hair. It looked like his father was trying his best to relax his son but nothing that seemed to be said calmed the younger one down, it honestly just made him more infuriated. Sting's hands flew up in the air before she noticed him pointing a finger out the window, pointing a finger in her direction. Artemis rubbed her eyes quickly thinking that she was just seeing things once again but when she looked back up at the two her eyes locked with the sapphire ones Sting bared. She shifted her head to the side and hoped he didn't see her looking in fear of her being rude. Once again her childish curiosity bubbled up inside of her and she so craved to know what they were talking about if Sting was pointing at her, more importantly if they were talking to her at all. She heaved a small breath and stood from her seat on the fountain before turning and looking back at her reflection.

"Yeah I do and I know that you're the one that Natsu and Sting have fallen for."

Just like that all her stress came back and overwhelmed her just by remembering Wendy's words, that weird feeling she had towards Sting just washed away remembering that he wasn't the only one who had fallen for her. It was just so hard for her, to go from a poor girl who didn't have many guys to talk to in her life to a girl who is currently stuck in a sticky love triangle with two men from two different royal families. She felt guilty rejecting Natsu and remembering it now made it even worse. With Sting it was completely different, she felt something she didn't understand towards him but she knew nothing about him the way she knew Natsu. Just wanted to know why it was that she felt like something made Sting better than Natsu and it was making her head spin trying to pick it out.

"Just let it go Artemis, let it go." She muttered to herself.

"Let what go?"

Artemis spun around removing her hands from her head that she was clutching while trying to piece everything together. Behind her stood a woman obviously of the noble class with way she was dressed, either that or she was a part of the royal family too. Her hair was black and ran down to the lower part of her back, her olive toned eyes scanning over Artemis as if she were some kind of a threat to her.

"W-Who are you?" Artemis inquired.

"Minerva Orlando, a noble woman." The female replied and walked closer to the brunette, the not so friendly smile she had on turning upside down, "You're the little guest Sting brought home with him huh?"

"Y-Yes, I'm Artemis Elise. It's nice to meet you."

That was total lie. Artemis felt threatened just by looking at the woman. Her green eyes showed no friendliness what-so-ever and the frown she had upon her face seemed like she was trying to tell the brunette that she shouldn't be here even if sting was the one who dragged her out here to his kingdom. Minerva leaned down slightly being that she was a few inches taller than Artemis was and narrowed her eyes dangerously. Artemis backed away while sucking in a deep breath and tripping, landing on the edge of the fountain. A look of déjà-vu flashed a crossed Minerva's face before she stood up straight once more and put on her not-so-friendly smile again.

"Well it seems Prince Rogue isn't the only one who is fond of bringing maids from other kingdoms to the castle." She shrugged.

"Maid? I'm sorry but I'm not a maid Miner-"

"Lady Minerva that is, and so be it if you're not a maid. You're still a lower class woman either way and I don't seem to understand why Sting fraternizes with you anyway." Her hand was waved off to the side as she turned to walk away.

Her statement made Artemis's blood boil. Who was Minerva to say that Sting was wrong in conversing with her anyway and she also didn't like that Minerva was downgrading her just because she was of a lower class level than she was. It made Artemis so furious that she didn't even know what she was doing until she found herself standing and her mouth already open, "You can't just talk to me like that because you're of a higher class than I am!"

The darker haired female stopped walking and glared at the brunette over her shoulder. The look was so intense that Artemis froze with her eyes wide and a hand covering her mouth. Minerva spun around quicker than Artemis had ever seen anyone turn around before and found the noble woman staring down at her with her face mere inches from her own.

"What was that?" Minerva hissed lowly.

"I-I-U-Um-Sorry. . ."

"Minerva!"

The said female turned her head to the sound of the voice and Artemis had done the same to feel relief wash through her when she spotted Sting coming near them. He didn't look to happy, in truth he looked even more frustrated and angry than he had when she saw him up in the window with his father. Minerva backed away from Artemis and she noticed how a more pleasing look washed over the woman's face as she looked at Sting compared to when she was looking at the shorter female next to her.

"Sti-"

"Aren't you supposed to be in the ball room with the rest of the noble women?" The blonde questioned, a slight feeling of irritation dripping from his lips.

"Yes but-"

"Then get there and stay there like you're supposed to."

Minerva frowned deeply and stormed away not liking the tone Sting had used with her. Artemis flopped down onto the fountain's ledge once more feeling even more exhausted then she had when she finished her training. Sting sighed and walked closer to her while smoothing his gold locks down on the back of his head, a look of something that said "sorry" ran a crossed his face.

"Ignore her ok, she can be a rather, well, selfish and bratty. Anyway I have something else to attend to at the moment so you can have free roam of my side of the castle. I don't want you interrupting something that Rogue may be in if you were to wander into his area." Sting told her and pulled her up from her seat.

"W-Wait but what are you doing?" Artemis stuttered as she tried to keep her footing while being dragged along by Sting.

"It's nothing you need to be around for so like I said just wander my side of the castle for now, oh and Artemis," He said, the sound of her name capturing his attention even more, "Don't go near the ball room for awhile."