The chirping of birds from the garden stopped as my boots crunched on the paved road. As I approached, she turned. Not her body, just her head.

  Full, red lips. A delicate nose. Above them, like jewels on a crown: two emeralds, sharp and alluring. The shy sun caught the amber of her braid, making it glow. Her smile was a dazzling flash of white in the shade of the parasol. "Saint Leonard, you finally came."

  I greeted her after a heartbeat of delay. Only with a stiff bow and a cold "Princess". She remained seated despite my arrival—a clear sign we wouldn't follow formal etiquette.

  The large parasol above the table gave delicate shadow, but it covered only half the table and the other seat. Princess remained in the sun.

  "Guards can stay there," she pointed left, at the hedge on the far end of the garden. Silas, who was a step behind me didn't move a bit. Maybe a dozen of steps separated me from her.

  I said, closing the distance between us, "Princess, my guard keeps me safe."

  When I was within our arm's reach, she whispered like conspirator.

  "Your guard only reminds you of the danger."

  I took a breath, ready to argue.

  She continued, with that low voice as if we were friends sharing a secret.

  "They make me nervous as well. I want the truly private meeting you promised me, without anyone eavesdropping."

  *She used my own words.*

  My shoulders tensed. I stood above her, casting a shadow across her legs. Her knees were pressed together under the long dress, angled toward me, her small slippers turned the other way. The fabric pulled over her womanly hips before falling loose again.

  She continued, "I was told you agreed he would 'keep his distance'?" She said it with a feigned intimacy that was more disarming than any command. Her intelligent eyes crinkled at the corners, as if she was sharing a private joke with me.

  "Silas, you'll have a good view from there, please go." My shadow nodded once and vanished into the hedgeline.

  Satisfied, she gracefully invited me to the table, pointing her delicate hand at the chair.

  There were only two cups with steaming contents and an elegant teapot. I sat in the chair, shadow gave relief. As I walked past her, the smell of rose soap and warm skin enveloped me.

  The tea was a pale amber. Almost the color of her hair. My hand, still a little unsteady from the hallucination, hovered over it.

  *Pythia warned me, stay vigilant.*

  *Althea reacted nervously, I sensed intruder.*

  *A traitor was in the Temple.*

  My throat was dry.

  "Althea, can you detect poison?" I whispered in my mother tongue.

  "When its effects start or if it has distinct smell or taste."

  *Not very reassuring.*

  "It's not poisoned, drink freely," Princess said amused.

  She pushed the cup of tea to me, leaning confidently over the table. The motion was slow and deliberate. It was an invasion of my space, made all the more daring by the fact she was still sitting. Her emerald green eyes were fixed on mine. Unwavering. Like she was trying to see my true self.

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  "I never said it was."

  Cup was warm. I inhaled the herbal aroma deeply keeping the cup close to my lips.

  Althea remained silent.

  *Could Althea protect me from poison?*

  I took a sip. Tea was hot, but pleasantly. Bittersweet. I looked at the Princess before me from above the cup.

  "What do you want, Princess?"

  She leaned back, relaxed. "I want," she sighed, her gaze drifting past me to the dark clouds repelled by the palace... "a peace of mind, a time where I can be just Ariadne and the world won't collapse during my absence."

  I set the teacup down. It clattered from the vibration.

  *What? This is not what I expected. Is this an act, or is she for real?*

  My back straightened, matching the high chair.

  "You-," I hesitated, "then this is not about betrothal?"

  Her laugh was a short burst of genuine amusement. Like my suspicion was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. She covered her mouth, her polite smile returning, but her eyes kept laughing.

  "You asked what I want, not what I need." She teased me.

  "My father sees you as a way to cement my legitimacy, Pythia sees you as our savior, and my uncle sees you as a weapon."

  My eyebrows shot up.

  *Wait, uncle? So Legatus Argus is her uncle? He's a royal serving the Temple? What a lovely family.*

  She leaned forward again, that same confident invasion of space. I held my eyes up, avoiding the temptation below her neck. Small table didn't give much space and I could smell her again.

  Roses.

  This time, she whispered like she was confessing. "Do you know what I see, Leonard?" Her eyes scanned my face, from my eyes, to my mouth, then back. "I see a man."

  "Princess," I started, but she jumped in, "Call me Ariadne." She slid her elbows onto the table, cupping her chin in her hands. The pose was one of disarming, almost childish curiosity, but her emerald eyes were alluring.

  "A man that demanded a 'truly private meeting' with the most sought woman in the kingdom, future Queen, that is me."

  I gulped, froze under her mesmerizing gaze.

  "So who are you, Leonard, and what do you want?"

  *Father.*

  *Husband.*

  *Yet, I didn't even remember my daughter's name until today.*

  My thoughts held a painful secret I didn't want to share. She was the first one to ask about me though, and I wanted to give her answer.

  "I'm just a man, who wants to go home, but needs the strength to survive before he finds a way back."

  *That's who I am.*

  She dropped the chin-in-hands pose and picked up her cup, her eyes watched me over the rim.

  "The Crucible, correct? It was wise to avoid the Ascension." The conspiratorial whisper returned. "My father holds the resources needed for the potions, so let's make a deal."

  "What kind of deal?" I asked, trying hard to hide suspicion.

  She took a sip, then leaned forward again. Her gaze locked with mine as she again dropped her voice to whisper. "I can't go empty handed to papa...

  "...so maybe I'll say all I could get from you for the resources..."

  "...was a meeting like this, once a week?"

  *Just more meetings like these and I have resources for my training secured.*

  *Gossip will spread like wildfire, but training is my immediate goal. The rest is a distraction.*

  My finger traced the golden rim of the white cup. Tea turned cold already.

  "I'll be training until total collapse. I can't promise every week," I said honestly, "but otherwise we have a deal."

  She reached out her hand to me over the table, and I grabbed it.

  Her skin was soft, and she held my hand a heartbeat longer than necessary.

  "Good," she said, her smile bright. "This was a good first step, Leonard. I'll have the resources delivered by tomorrow, maybe tonight if I catch papa."

  She finally released me, and I stood up. I gave a bow, this time less stiff, and walked away into intense sunlight warming up rough fabric of my robes quickly.

  Silas was waiting at the hedge, and he fell into step behind me.

  I didn't look back, but I could feel her eyes on me all the way to the door.

  *I got what I wanted.*

  *So why again I feel like I gave away far more in return?*

  We exited the garden, the Royal Guard shutting the tall wooden doors behind us. Door cut off the warmth, leaving only chilly air of the room and hellhound's odor.

  Pythia was gone, likely to the refreshment area. Evadne was waiting for me in the middle of the room, her arms crossed. The shadow guard was flanking her.

  Her face was not one of relief. It was an emotionless mask.

  "How did it go?" she asked the moment the door shut in a way that made me weary. Made me stop.

  I told her everything about the deal. The resources for a meeting once a week. Simple.

  Evadne's eyes closed, and she inhaled sharply through her nose. When she looked at me, her face was a picture of bitter disappointment.

  "A meeting," she said, like countdown.

  "Once a week."

  "Alone."

  She dropped to a whisper that felt more like an accusation. I heard it well despite the distance between us.

  "You entered a rivalry for Princess' hand."