| proximity; |
(*) As the sailors prepared the ship for docking, the main deck was a flurry of commotion but the princess retreated to the bow and eyed the approaching kingdom. A squad of guards awaited her arrival and she assumed that they were tasked to personally escort her inside the palace gates. She could not blame them; the current state of war had rendered everyone wary of Suryans, but she had come not to conquer but to negotiate.
The entire situation had put Hikari off; has her father succumbed that far into his sickness that he was now warming up to the idea of diplomacy? The fact that he had chosen her, out of all his other fireborn children, confused her even more. Again, the only reason she could come up with was his sickness otherwise how could someone who had been practically ignoring her all her life give her so much responsibility all of a sudden?
She’s pulled out of her thoughts when a sailor arrived at her side to escort her down the plank leading to the docks. Eyes were on her as she took the last few steps on the blank and it was as if everyone held their breath when she finally stepped onto Elvian soil. The tension was palpable as a bigger audience gathered to watch her but she paid no mind to this. Instead, her thoughts drift to vague memory of a much warmer welcome when she had visited the country of Elv last.
The face that greeted her once the guards parted enough for her to see his face was once that tugged further at her childhood memories. His stature could only be that of a royal’s and this was proved right when the guards had bowed before him. He offered her a smile and reached out a hand to her, an unexpected gesture especially since she was of his enemy’s kin.
Just who exactly was this young man?