He hated carriages, hated their movement, hated Marlon for being far enough that they had to go on carriage. It made him feel sick. Besides. it wasn't like they had anything else to do. There was only so much you could do when you were copped up in a castle.
He missed his family. He wondered what they were doing. Were they looking for him? Did Germaine see him disappear? Had she learned not to call to someone who would never come back?
Well, he would come back, maybe if he put Riliane in a good enough mood, but that would take a while. So that day they were making a short visit to one of the parts of the Seelie realm, Marlon. Allen had almost forgotten what was like, to feel hot again. Summer was something he missed.
But aside from that, life wasn't bad, and that was something he hated. He would wake up, he would spend his day with Riliane, he would learn more about this world he was in. He would see the servants giving him distrusting looks. He would hear them comment about the Princess' 'new favorite', whatever that meant.
Aside from his problem with the carriage, he was in a good mood. The tailor had graciously given him his clothes back the day before. He had wasted no time putting on his grey pants, brown shirt, red hooded cloak. He had been distraught at the time, the news of his new place of residence still fresh in his mind.
It still hurt like fire, but he had gotten better at hiding it.
They were supposed to take the carriage back to Lucifenia. The only reason Allen wasn't complaining about the carriage was that he preferred to be somewhere he knew, with the faerie he knew. Not the Seelie Prince.
That was the way it was supposed to be, until Riliane stopped abruptly and smiled at him. He smiled back. He didn't know why.
"Let us play a game," the young monarch said, tilting her head to one side.
"A game," he frowned, admittedly intrigued. "What sort of game?"
The girl grinned.
"We'll see who makes it to the palace first, on foot."
He frowned more, making his distrust apparent. "You're fae. How do I know you won't, I don't know, fly or appear there the moment my back is turned?"
She didn't lose her smile. "Like you said, I'm fae. I don't lie, like humans do. I'll do the same as you."
He reluctantly conceded it. "What happens when one of us wins?"
"Ah, that is the question," she giggled. "You go one way, I go the other, and we'll see who arrives there the soonest."
"But what is the prize?" he demanded, trying to be bold and inflexible, because it was only answering a question.
"The path of pins, or the path of needles," she continued like she hadn't heard.
"Needles." He immediately said.
Riliane laughed softly. "Are you sure? No, my Allen, I think the path of pins will suit you better. I will take the path of needles. Now, let us see who will claim the prize."
"And the prize is…?" he said wryly.
"Run," said the princess.
In a blink, the girl was running with surprising grace, quick and hungry. The boy watched in amazement, and he ran as well, mind on that fae. It wasn't long until he realized he had little to no idea in what direction to go to. That made him slow down his steps, wandering somewhat aimlessly, knowing just the general direction.
He should have thought this better instead of just mindlessly agreeing, thinking of why would the princess ask such a thing. But it wasn't like he had played much back then. He was definitely taking his time maturing, or so the villagers said.
He walked on, admiring the views yet without stopping his feet from carrying him where he wanted to go. He had known the woods back home, had known his way around the village. It was high time he learned how to orientate himself in other, stranger places.
And as soon as he recognized something they had passed on their way there, nothing but sheer exhaustion would keep the boy in the red hood from tearing into the unknown, intending to win the game.
He arrived with the setting sun, and putting one foot in front of the other was as hard a task as it would be to move a mountain. His heart was as quick as the wings of a hummingbird. The sweat he was covered in coupled with the bitter weather made his final trek there quite difficult. Half a boy, half an ice statue, limbs unfeeling with cold.
He half dragged himself up the stairs, wanting to go to his room and sleep forever. As he trudged up what felt like the hundredth set of stairs, he was met with one of the maids, who had become acquainted with in his short time there.
Her eyes narrowed as they landed on Allen.
In his second day he had stared, awestruck, at her swirling red twintails, he had stared at the things that came out of her mouth.
She had said, we'll see how long you last. She had said, she's playing with you. You're aware of that, right? She had said, you're not the first mortal she has brought here.
Now he ignored her, just like he had ignored the villagers. He had plenty of things to occupy his time. He and the Princess would tell each other of their experiences, of their lives. She was teaching him how to read and write. He learned she was nearly fourteen, his age.
"The Princess is waiting for you in her room," Chartette said, looking at him up and down. Her lips curved into a smirk. "Mortals. Your bodies are so fragile."
"I-I can take c-care of myself. You do-don't need to worry."
The redhead rolled her eyes. "Oh, they're nice as roses until they've had their way with you. But once the bloom is gone... the beast comes out."
He walked past her. Jealously existed in everyone.
He walked back a floor, knocking on the door with a snow-cold hand, and entered when instructed to come in. He found her peeling an apple while sitting on one of the chairs, not a hair out of place. She didn't look very fatigued, either. He wondered for how long she had been there. The Princess motioned to the bed, and he went to sit on it so he was facing her.
"Y-You called for m-me, my L-Lady?" he couldn't stop his teeth from chattering. His whole body was shivering. This better be quick, he wanted to go to his room and bury himself in blankets.
Riliane smiled, and he felt better, just a little. His teeth stopped chattering, at least.
"Finally, you're here. I thought you had gotten lost," she sighed, throwing him an apple slice. He caught it with stiff fingers, putting as much as he could in his mouth. The taste was heavenly.
Idly, Allen wondered what she would want in return for winning the game.
The briefly contented feeling the apple had given him vanished as he tensed. He couldn't help it. She already had arranged it so he couldn't leave, what more could she take from him? Maybe he was getting worked up over nothing, but she was a fae. They didn't tie themselves to humans' moral code.
Howling interrupted his thoughts, making his hair stand on end more than it already was.
Riliane smiled indulgently at him. "I would have thought you knew of them in your homeland. I love the company of wolves. Look out of the window and you'll see them."
He did, managing to make out shadowy, four-legged shaped against the white ground. "Poor creatures. It's freezing cold out there. No wonder they howl so," he mused inanely, hoping she would forget about the game. He was surely lucky he hadn't encountered any of such animals on his way there, he would have been their dinner otherwise. Then he wanted to laugh, he was nobody's meat.
He heard her stepping near to where he was. "They know how to ward off the cold. Are you sorry for them?"
"Yes," He said. "And for you, too."
Another step. "For me?"
"Yes," he said again. "You have everything people could dream of. You can do anything you wish, just by giving an order, it will come true. Make me that food, don't open up the gates, fetch me that book, make you stay forever," he sighed, staring dully at the window, outside which the wolves roamed.
"You and I are the same," his lips quirked into a humorless smile. "I can't stand being alone. Being alone is lonely. Being alone is painful." He sighed. "Perhaps… You did win the game…"
She was quiet for a while, gazing at him. Then she took a step forward, stopping abruptly. "Are you afraid?"
That snapped him out of his reverie. "It wouldn't do me good to be afraid." He bluffed with a frown, staring right into her. "Ah, what big eyes you have."
"All the better to see you with," she took a step closer and sat with him, much too close, her eyes not the icy chips they usually were. They were... He couldn't describe it.
Allen wasn't fazed. "They say seeing is believing, but I'd never swear to it."
Her hands came up to fiddle with the knots that tied his hood together. His shivering began anew, her skin soft and icy even against his freezing skin. He stood, petrified, before her. "You'll catch your death if you continue to be in these clothes," she noted, already beginning to untie the little bow. "Do you want to take it off?"
He moved his head once, meaning just 'no', as if that would change anything. The Princess finished untying the knot, pulling him up into a standing position, removing the cloak from his shoulders. He was left in only his shirt, his trembling worsening.
Allen accepted the cloth deposited on his arms. He wished he could have worn it a little longer. "What should I do with it?"
Her eyes had never strayed from him. "Throw it to the floor, you won't need it again."
He stood there for a few moments. That cloak had been a gift from his family, he wasn't going to part with it so easily. "I'll ask Kayo if she can patch it up later," he muttered, his breath a visible mist.
With trembling hands, he let the red cloth fall to the floor. Yes, she had made him stay without giving him a choice, but he was being treated greatly by the Princess. Which he shouldn't be, given that he was of a much lower status than her. He was allowed to stay in the castle, and he would have never thought Riliane would go to such lengths to ensure he wasn't cold, even more so when she couldn't feel it.
She even took his coat for him, how polite of her.
Allen managed to give her a trembling smile. "They say the Princess of Lucifer is a lady," he shrugged. "And as it turns out, they're right; a fine young lady."
Riliane smiled back, taking his freezing hands in hers. "Ladies always keep their promises," she tilted her head, "Do gentlemen keep their promises too?"
Allen blinked, thrown off by the sudden change of topic. "Whatever you mean?"
The girl's eyes widened a fraction. "Can't you remember, you forgetful boy?" she giggled, leaning towards him. "Indeed, I won the game. So now, you owe me."
His grin melted away, apprehension forming a tight knot in his belly. "What do you want?"
"A kiss," she said simply, making him reel back. Her grip on his hands tightened. "Will you be honorable and pay me… or not?" she smiled again.
He just stared, wracking his brain with ways to make her stop. "Levia above, what big teeth you have!"
Her smile widened. "All the better to eat you with."