"You're quite like your father in many ways," Professor Cornelieus' soft voice pulled her from the book she was reading, she snapped her head up so quickly she felt something in her neck almost pop and nearly stumbling to the ground as she tried to get to her feet, old habits telling her it was ruin to remain seated in the presence of someone so higher up than her, "Don't get up, it's alright." he added calmly placing his books down on his desk, "You look quite comfortable."

"I am." She responded bashfully, and she was curled up on the seat he had in his windows. Reading in the sunlight was much easier than a dim candle late at night. The professor smiled, moving to the table he had in the corner of his office, pouring himself a cup of tea. Alessandra stood and went to help him.

"Please you don't have to," Professor Cornelieus said, trying to usher her back to her seat.

"I want to," she said carefully, taking the cup from him, "It's the least I can do."

He didn't try to argue any further, following her back to his table and taking his seat, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She hesitated for a moment before settling into the other seat, "Did you know them?" She asked after a moment. "My parents."

"I did," he said calmly, "They worked here for many years."

"He was an architect," she questioned, "So I've been told."

"That's correct," he said before carefully taking a sip of his tea, "And a very good one at that. Your mother was a seamstress, a talented one. You're quite similar to them, your fathers talent and your mothers-"

"Eyes," Alessandra finished, "I have my mother's eyes, most people don't talk about her but somehow I've heard that."

The professor nodded, "Quite a lovely woman."

She nodded looking at the books scattered across his desk, "May I ask you something?"

"Of course." The professor said easily.

"Did you know their names?" She asked softly, "My parents? I never knew their names."

The professor looked pained, "I don't I'm sorry, I only knew them in passing."

"That's alright," she told him, trying hard to mask her disappointment, "Thank you."

"Why don't you try this next," he suggested after a long moment, offering her another book, "I'll admit it's rather elementary but it will help you to read better."

"Thank you," she told him honestly, thankful for the book and his change in subject. She went back to her seat and he went back to his tea and started shorting through the papers on his desk.

"Steph," Alessandra asks into the quiet of the night, their shared room empty for the moment. So her oldest friend took the opportunity to brush Alessandra's long dark hair. She never understood the obsession people had with her hair, as far back as she could remember she was being complimented on it. Even Caspian seemed intrigued, thinking about him brought her back as Steph hummed in response, "How were you able to tell, when you met him, that Bruno was genuine?"

It had taken her a few days since Caspian admitted his feelings to ask Steph for advice. Since she had little to no experience with men, outside of the few nobles and guards, she thought it best to ask someone who had at least some success. Bruno was Steph's sweetheart, at least that's what she called him, they'd been seeing each other for almost half a year, and though she wouldn't admit it, she was smitten with him.

Steph's hands slowed, "Les'?" She asked carefully, "Does this have anything to do with the nobleman you told me about weeks ago?"

"You weren't supposed to remember that?" She mumbled to herself.

"Gods, Les'," Steph gasped, hugging her from behind, "Have you seen him again?"

"Once or twice," she said trying to shrug her off, Steph was going to make fun of her, she was sure about it, "Nevermind, forget I said anything."

"I haven't even answered you yet."

"I know how you get."

"Hey," Steph said sternly, moving from behind Alessandra to sit by her side, "I know I jest with you, but I really care and I want to see you happy."

"Thank you," the younger woman sighed, "It's all just very new to me, too both of us, I'm sure."

Steph bit back a smile, "Well all relationships are different, when I met my Bruno he was brutish, cold, like any of the other guards, but he was sweet to me. That's how you know your special to them, like, when you walk into a room, does he smile like you're the one making him do so," her wistful smile turned impish, "Or does he look away because just the sight of you threatens to make him explode in his pants?"

Alessandra gasped, "Steph?"

"What? You're gorgeous my little Les' and any man would be blind not to see that." She nudged her shoulder affectionately, "But you should also think about how he makes you feel."

"What do you mean?"

"When I'm with Bruno, he has a way of making me feel like I'm the only girl in the world, like there's parts of him I know he only shows me. I know it may sound silly."

"No it doesn't," she said with a smile, it was rare that Steph went into so much detail about Bruno even with Alessandra. "It sounds romantic."

"Never let him hear you talk about him like that." Steph teases.

"Yes because Bruno is so well known for his conversations." Steph wasn't kidding when she said that Bruno was brutish, in fact if Alessandra didn't know of their relationship she could be terrified for her friend. "His secret's safe with me."

"And yours with me." Steph said, hugging her from behind.

He wondered if that was her room, if she was in there right now, if he could see himself Caspian was sure he must have looked a sight, staring out one of the few windows in the Astronomy tower, squinting as if he'd be able to make out anything besides the lights flickering in the windows far below. Caspian had always preferred astronomy to many of his other lessons with his professor but since meeting Alessandra and learning of her affinity for the stars he had a deeper interest in the subject himself.

"Something on your mind, my prince?" His professor called from behind him, his way of letting him know that his brief break was over.

"No more than usual professor," Caspian defected, returning to his chair.

The professor looked sceptical but kept his comments to himself for now.

As the weeks pass, Alessandra splits her time between the Professor's study and Caspian's respectively. She often spends her brief lunch breaks in the professor's study, sometimes he's there and sometimes not, some days it's harder to sneak around Steph and her incessant questions and pleas for her to join her and Bruno for lunch.

But almost every night she finds herself in Caspian's study, sitting across from him not unlike how they often were in the kitchen, except there it's his papers and books that dominate the space. He tried to clear a space for her on the other side of the table but could never manage to keep it clear for very long. But it doesn't bother her, she quite likes reading with one of the books in her lap hunched over as her eyes trailed over familiar and unfamiliar words, her posture a stark contrast to the prince's.

Sometimes there's a book waiting there for her, those are the night's when Caspian has quite a bit of studying to do she he'd taken a moment to find one that she'd like before he became engulfed in his work. Others he waits until she gets there to choose a book, those night's he stands by her side in front of his book shelf explaining different titles, which ones are his favourite and which ones she might enjoy most. Those nights are amoung her favourites, he always stands close to her side, closer and closer each time like he's testing the waters to make sure that his proximity isn't a deterrent.

On this night Caspian had chosen a book for her, something about Archenland and a White Stag and its ability to grant wishes. It sounded foolish to her, but she enjoyed the pictures, the illustration of the animal was gorgeous. She filled it away in her memory to recreate her own depiction of it later.

"You seem to be enjoying that one." Caspian's voice pulled her from her reverie, she looked up to see that his quill had slowed and he was watching her with a soft smile.

Her cheeks warmed and she wondered how long he must have been looking at her and further what faces she pulled whilst she read. "I am." she answered, cursing herself for tying her hair back in a braid that morning, because right now she wanted to hide behind her hair. "It's quite charming, the idea of chasing an animal that could grant wishes. It also sounds exhausting."

"I take it that you'd sooner search the skies for a star to grant yours." Caspian teased, pulling a short laugh out of her. He wanted to hear more.

"Precisely," she smiled, biting her lip, "Exactly which ones though I'm not sure." She placed the book she was reading back onto the table and stood, Caspian watched her walk towards the window with that same look of admiration she always wore when talking about them, he longed to see it up close. So he got up from his seat, and joined her in the window mostly because the more he tried to read the less he understood, mainly because he felt the sudden desire to be closer to her.

"Tell me." She requested as he came by her side, referring to their previous conversation, and so he did. He'd never been more grateful for the late nights in the astronomy tower memorizing different constellations until right now. So much so that he didn't even have to look up at the stars along with her to tell her which ones were there. Instead his eyes never strayed from the side of her face, save for roaming down her neck and over her shoulders. Her long braid catching his eye more than once.

Without even really thinking about it one of his hands rose and caught the end of it to begin gently unravelling it. She looked over at him curiously but didn't ask him to stop, so he continued and moved on the Alvara constellations. Except now he couldn't decide which was more mesmerizing, when she had her hair pulled back exposing her lovely features or when it fell forward, curtaining her, the inky stands begging for him to run his fingers through them. His words slowed to a halt as he reached out again to tuck some of the longer strands behind her ear. There, the perfect compromise.

Except now his body was moving, without his permission as it so often did in her presence as he leaned down pressing a soft kiss to the top of her cheek. When he leaned back she turned to him with a question in her eyes, he opened his mouth to apologise but she brought a hand up placing slender fingers against his lips.

"You missed." she said softly, so much so that he almost didn't hear her.

"What?" he mumbled around her fingers, he needed to be sure.

"You missed." she repeated with conviction as the hand near his mouth slid around to the side of his neck tugging him back down as she rose up to meet him in the middle pressing her lips fully against his.

He froze for a moment before his lips moved against hers, his hands rising to cup her cheeks, long fingers sliding back to tangle in her hair. Her hands slid down his chest to settle on his side and he couldn't suppress the shiver that it brought out of him, especially when she used her grip to pull him closer. That forced him to pull away to take a deep breath, the sound of their lips separating causing a stirring in his lower stomach.

His hands fell back to her waist tightening and pulling her closer, to where she was pressed right up against him, he was certain that she could feel the effect she was having in him pressing against her stomach but he couldn't find it in him to care. What he did care about was the fact that his neck was beginning to twinge a bit from the angle. So without thinking about it his arms tightened and he leaned back standing to his full height bringing her up with him.

She gasped at the change and he used the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, before he realized that her gasp may have been one of discomfort and he pulled back, opening his eyes. He tried to apologize but her arms tightened around his neck pulling him back in, perhaps it wasn't discomfort he heard in her gasp. He thinks he tries to ask her if she's alright but her incessant tongue sweeps it away. She tastes sweet, like moonlight and wine, and something heady that he can't describe but it was distinctly Alessandra. And though as lovely as kissing her was, it was getting a bit difficult to breathe, as interesting a way to go as that might be, he had no desire to lose out on what might become of this by suffocating as a result of merely kissing her.

Slowly he lowered her down to her feet, for now he'll withstand that discomfort in his neck, if only to feel the drag of her body along his as he set her down loosening his grip but not releasing her just yet. When he pulled back the first time she chased him, drawing him back in easily, the second time it was her who pulled back and he chased her, thankfully their kisses became less ravenous and more chaste. Soft pecks as they both worked to regain control of their breathing, which was being made exceptionally difficult by the fact that they kept breathing the same hot air as it twirled between them on every inhale and exhale. But for either of them to take a full proper breath would mean separating, which was a horrific thought.

She reached up brushing his hair back from where it had begun to fall forward, tucking it behind his ears, the shorter strands refusing to obey and he couldn't help but smile, it was normally he running his fingers through her hair, but he quite liked the feeling of her fingers in his scalp.

"Are you well?" He asked after at least their breathing had returned to normal, but he couldn't resist stealing one more kiss.

"More than.' She mumbled into his mouth.

"Was that," he paused to clear his throat, "Was that alright?"

Alessandra smiled, pecking his lips again, Caspian could be such a fool sometimes, "More than."

"Would it be alright if I did it again sometime?"

"Anytime you want."

Alessandra went back to her room almost in a daze, she felt like she was floating. Granted kissing a prince in his own chambers wasn't her smartest idea but it was her most gratifying. Thankfully she didn't have to avoid any parties on the way back, considering she felt like she was floating, admiring the flush she could still feel on her neck and cheeks.

Steph wasn't in her bed when she returned to their shared room so she didn't have to deal with her questions. She crawled into her bed in a daze, a stubborn smile on her face. She wondered what was going to come off this, she was well aware that already she was treading into dangerous territory but she feared that she was already in too deep. She sincerely hoped that Caspian was there to help her swim.