The long travel from Nerea to Adehane was finally over. King George and Prince Isaac waited at the entrance of the castle alongside their guards as the carriage of the Nerean royals stopped in front of them. In the carriage, Ingrid watched with what felt like her heart in her mouth as the cousin she never met came closer towards them. 

He caught her eye, and immediately his eyes looked cold and calculating, as if she truly was an enemy he had to vanquish. His eyes were the coldest she had ever seen. She groaned before reminding herself to force a smile. Was this really supposed to be the person she had to seduce enough to betray? 

Her father then was escorted out of the carriage, and she followed. She could feel all eyes were on her the second she stepped out into the sun. Once again, she wished more than anything to just be wearing the usual shirt and pants she always wore back at home. The dress made for her felt like it was constricting her every movement. She did her best to hide her discomfort with as genuine a smile as she could muster, but with the way the prince glared at her, she felt like she had just committed a heinous crime. 

King Nicolas bowed his head to his brother, and Ingrid managed a cursty--it was awkward, but it was the best she could do in the tight, stiff dress. The king of Adehane, King George, bowed back to his brother, and they shook hands. 

"Welcome to Adehane, Nicolas. And to you, Princess Ingrid," King George said amicably. "Allow me to introduce my son, Prince Isaac," he added, gesturing at his son by his side. King Nicolas shook Isaac's hand, and then he gestured to Ingrid. "Allow me to present as well my daughter, the Princess Ingrid," King Nicolas said. 

Ingrid and Isaac looked at one another once more, and Ingrid felt the sudden urge to punch him in the face. He was tall, lanky, and had these sharp eyes and a sharp nose and sharp lips--everything about him was sharp. Still, she forced a smile so big her mouth hurt, and she curtsied once again. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, speaking through her teeth, gripping hard on her dress. Her father looked at her with a warning look, clearing his throat to signal to her to be more genuine.

Just looking at her, Isaac could already tell that her smile wasn't genuine. The stress lines on her face, the way her hand slightly fidgeted against her dress, the way even her lips seemed to shake with the amount of effort she had to put in to ignore her discomfort--he could see through her as easily as if she was glass. Still, he put on a smile just as genuine as hers--which is, not at all--and said: "It is lovely to see you, Princess Ingrid. They call you the warrior of Nerea, right?" he asked her. He held out a hand to her. "If I may?"

Ingrid hated to admit it, but she loved it when people acknowledged her strength in the battle field. "Huh," she thought. "he may not be as idiotic as I thought." Her ego stroked, she felt less annoyed at his face and held out a a hand. 

He took it and kissed it lightly. "Look at these two, in good terms already," King Nicolas said rather teasingly. At this, Ingrid realized once again the situation, and roughly pulled her hand back, hiding it behind her. 

 "It's cold outside, shall we all go in and have a nice lunch?" King George interjected. He was smiling, but deep inside he was laughing at his brother-- "Oh you've gone fat, and your wife can't be bothered to even join you. You're so easy to break, I can already tell!" 

 "Of course! Let us all go in. You must tour me around," King Nicolas said cheerfully, but inside he thought: "dirty old castle, rusting armor, weak looking son. Victory is ours!" All four of them concealed their true emotions for each other, putting on layer after layer of indifference. 

"After you," Isaac offered to Ingrid, gesturing a hand out to the entrance. He held out his arm for her to take. Instead, Ingrid completely ignored it and followed her father. 

Shortly after the Nerean royals arrived, a banquet was arranged to celebrate their arrival. Nobles around Adehane and musicians from abroad were hired, and soon enough the large banquet hall was filled with the loud sounds of music, laughing, cheering, and of course the smell of delicious foods and delicacies found only in Adehane. Suckling pig, piles upon piles of meat, potatoes, fruits, and the like covered all the large wooden tables. 

The two royal families were placed in different levels on the stage at the front of the dining hall, the hosts higher than them. King Nicolas looked content and happy on the inside, but he had often leaned down to Ingrid to express his displeasure over being seated lower than his brother.

 Ingrid ached to just grab the food like she always did, or to tie her hair up or to wear pants, but she felt the whole world's eyes were on her, so she forced herself to eat slowly and properly. From time to time she glanced at Isaac, who was completely quiet throughout as his father and her father toasted to one another--toasts that were clearly trying to cover up for ulterior motives, as if the two hadn't just been at a bloody war a few years earlier.

They feasted and ate to their heart's content until the sun began to set. By this time, both kings looked red in the face and tipsy from the wine. King George leaned down on his son, who did his best to hide his discomfort at the heavy weight his father put down on him. An arm around Isaac, he raised his goblet and loudly announced, "The two future newlyweds must spend more time together. Nicolas, what do you say about Isaac bringing your girl around for a tour of the castle?"

King Nicolas, already tipsy on wine himself, said: "Of course! this girl of mine, she looks bored out of her mind already! Ingrid!" he called out, though Ingrid was right next to him. Ingrid lightly jabbed her father's stomach with her elbow. "Papa, I'm right here! What is it?" she asked informally, looking annoyed. 

 "Why don't you take a walk around the palace with your cousin?" King Nicolas asked, his voice slurring slightly. Ingrid quickly shook her head. "No! of course no---" King Nicolas glared at her, his eyes saying: "If you say no, you can't do any riding for a week." He spoke as if for a second he wasn't at all drunk. Ingrid stopped shaking her head and took a deep breath. "Fine. Alright," she grumbled, her eyes darkening with the thought of spending any more time with the prince.

The two stepped away from their seats and stood facing each other. Ingrid scowled at him, and Isaac, though not looking any more pleased, held a hand out to her. For some reason, she couldn't read his eyes, but she could feel they were still icy cold. 

"Shall we?" he asked her, holding out a hand. Ingrid looked him up and down as if scanning him. He was bony and stiff, brittle--too weak. She wanted to say no, to ignore him, but her father and her uncle watched. "You don't need to love him, just do this and get it over with," she thought to herself. "Yes, thank you," she said finally, forcing another smile, and took his hand.

They walked to the west wing of the palace, where a large glass door opened up to one of the castle's many famous gardens. The air smelled sweet like roses, and even as they were relatively far from the banquet hall, they could still hear the loud cheers and music. Ingrid let go of Isaac's hand and looked up at the sky, her breath caught in her neck.

Back at home, she rarely ever saw more than three stars out in the sky. Since mining was what Nerea was known for, all the pollution meant the sky was hardly ever clear. But here, it was a different story. The sky was filled with more stars than she could count. They all shone brightly down at her like a billion diamonds sewn into the velvet sky. 

Isaac watched her silently as she stared into the sky. Had she never seen stars? he thought to himself. Her eyes seemed to fill with them. He walked until he stood next to her. "Have you never seen these many stars before, my lady?" he asked politely. 

Ingrid shook her head, still not looking away. "I never have. I didn't even know there were these many stars in the sky," she said, her eyes full of wonder. For a moment, looking at her, Isaac felt as if the anger and frustration she wore as a mask all day seemed to fall off ever so slightly to reveal...what was it?

"If you do decide to stay here, I'd love to stargaze with you," he added as well. He didn't know if he meant it, or he just wanted to see how she'd react. Sure enough, saying such things seemed to crack the glass around her once again. She was crashing back to the reality that she was here, in her enemy's den, in a false agreement. 

Ingrid looked at him, and she couldn't help it anymore. She stepped away from him. "Alright, cut the chase. No one's here to see," she said frankly. "You're my enemy. You, your father, and your whole kingdom have been at war with us for years. This ISN'T just something we pretend to be okay with, got that?"

"Pardon?" he asked. Why was she talking as if he never even knew that? "Well, an alliance is being built, and it seems like you enjoy wars too much, my lady" he replied calmly, making sure to not let her see any weakness. Oh, so she wants to play the tough role again? he thought to himself.

"Me? Enjoy wars?" she scoffed, folding her arms across her chest defensively. "You're the one who orchestrated the last one, and you were only 13. Who's the one obsessed with wars now?" she snapped back. There was no way to escape the truth. At an age where many children were still playing around with friends or are too focused on studying, Isaac was the brains against his father's entire operation against Nerea. What kind of person would ever be okay with planning out how people die at age 13? She looked him over once more, no longer bothering to hide the disgust in her face.

"I helped my father plan the offensive to defend us and all our soldiers against your people," he fought back, scowling back at her. "You talk a lot for someone who was also brandishing a sword and riding alongside your father in battle," he argued back, hitting her harder with the facts. Ingrid blushed in anger. It was true that she rode alongside her father in the battlefield, but at the very least she actually showed up to fight. All he ever did was stay back and watch from afar. While she fought hard everyday, he only rested and didn't have a single cut to his body, while simultaneously ordering death upon hundreds. 

"Oh and just because you weren't in the battle itself, it makes you any better? When you still technically led thousands of soldiers to die?" she laughed and shook her head. "At least I can carry a sword and actually fight with one. You're too weak to even BE in battle." She spat the words out, hoping their venom would hit him just as hard.

"Strength isn't always physical. All you ever know is that kind of strength, not this kind," he snapped back, tapping the side of his forehead. Ingrid looked like she was slapped, and with a huff turned away, her arms crossed. "Talking with you is like talking to a little baby," she argued back, her face burning up in anger. Who does this guy think he is, insinuating she wasn't smart?

"And why are you even doing this? Don't you want peace? Because I do," he added, stepping closer to her. 

"Peace? Of course I want peace. But this is all just completely ridiculous," Ingrid ranted, sighing. "And even if strength doesn't come physically, it seems like you'll only be content with fighting from a distance. And I can't have that," she added. Shaking her head, she walked away from him, back into the castle.

"Why are you acting like this? Wasn't the ceasefire enough for you? Or do you want even more trouble?" Isaac called back at her, his hand growing into a fist. Why was she so hard to talk to? It was like talking to a wall, he thought in disgust.

"I'd rather put broken shards of glass into my eyes than speak with you again. I can't stand men who try to make themselves appear smarter than everyone else," Ingrid fought back as she walked away. She paused for a second, turned around to face him, and added: "And for your information, I can have my own tour of the kingdom, thank you very much!" she added confidently. She stuck her tongue out at him, and then continued to walk back to the banquet hall.

Isaac groaned, feeling like he had to take care of a stubborn dog. He quickly followed after her and blocked her way. "You're still a guest, and the way you're acting right now makes me very uncomfortable with you going around this castle," he pointed out. 

Ingrid pouted at him. "Awwww, so I make YOU uncomfortable? Boo hoo, that's TOOOOO bad." She then forcefully shoved him by the shoulder, pushing him away, before quickly running off back inside.

"I can't believe she was the warrior of Nerea. She's just a kid," he muttered angrily underneath his breath, glaring at her as she entered the banquet hall. As soon as she entered, loud roars and cheers for her erupted through the crowd. He rolled his eyes and with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped, walked into his own personal library. There in the dark, he sank into his favorite armchair and stared at the moon.

"Now this is annoying," he muttered, sighing. He stared out at the night sky until his eyes felt heavy, and welcomed sleep as the whole castle continued to burn with life.