PRINCESS OF ASKR ;

Alright, Sharena, calm down. Breathe. Don’t jump, don’t squeal, don’t run away in embarrassment in a weak attempt to hide excitement and your red face. You can do it. Stay calm and cool. Yeah. Emphasis on cool. That’s important.

Those words echoed in the girl’s mind over and over again as she stood before the Summoner, her heart racing like crazy as she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger with a sheepish smile, unable to avert her gaze even for a second so that she could gather her thoughts. Sharena could see enthusiasm shining in the young man’s eyes, and such eagerness was making her heart flutter. Goodness, she wasn’t dreaming, was she? It was all for real, right?

Whoever put it up there... thank you.

Not a word needed to be spoken, the princess took a step forward and placed her small hands on Kiran’s shoulders, gently pulling him into an embrace — at this moment, everything else could wait and time itself froze as there were only the two of them in the little festive world of theirs — and pressing her lips against his, slowly and carefuly at first, yet her confidence was building up with each passing second of a moment that almost felt like an eternity. And if they didn’t need to breathe, she wouldn’t let go of him. Ever. And who cared what Alfonse was going to say if he found out? Her brother didn’t have to know so much in the first place.

@heroismdriven

      “Ah! Princess Sharena! You caught me at a good time! Just about done wrapping up some things up!” He hands waved at the scribes that he had organized neatly on the size. He readjusts himself on the seat so that he is facing towards the blonde.     While Kiran could say that he had been adapting well in the few months this campaign has begun. It didn’t make it any less comforting knowing that he was playing a balancing against with people’s lives. A few victories doesn’t make him, Nor did it make Askr conqueror’s of quelling rebellions. The danger was very real. For him and everyone else in this army. He pushed such worrisome thoughts for now.     “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Weeeell...”

The princess met his question with a wide smile. Some time had passed since Kiran joined them — a young man from a different, distant world she had never heard of before. Perhaps, it was the mysterious aura that surrounded the Summoner and the place he came from that made him seem so interesting in Sharena’s eyes, or maybe it was just her friendly nature, yet, despite Alfonse’s warnings, she just couldn’t help but seek Kiran’s company. Giggling at the thoughts she was just about to share, she had taken the liberty to enter the room and look around before turning her gaze back to the Summoner, arms folded in front of her chest as she was not willing to take no for an answer to her upcoming suggestion.

She remembered it like it was yesterday. The day before their battle against Veronica... the day when she went against Alfonse’s warning not to get too close to their allies and the Summoner in particular. Unlike her brother, Sharena wasn’t opposed to the idea of befriending them, yet even she could neither predict nor control what came out of it — since their first meeting, Kiran had gone a long way, becoming a strong and confident young man despite all his insecurities, a man she could trust with her life and rely on as they fought side by side as equals and friends... which wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t, and this simple truth came to her mind a few months ago.

The Princess of Askr knew that she probably wasn’t allowed to feel the way she did, yet the harder she tried to pretend that nothing had changed, the stronger her feelings grew, so when it became clear that she could not ignore them anymore, she decided to face them, and to hell with the consequences. It was quite like her, wasn’t it? To come face-to-face with what was on her mind, just the way she did on the battlefield, facing her enemies... although it was obviously not the best comparison she could think of.

So, before the battle, she confessed.

Sharena couldn’t even dare hope for reciprocation, just letting him know would be enough... or so she convinced herself in case it all went horribly wrong. It was going to be a tought fight, and if anything happened to them, at least there would be no regrets left. But, much to her surprise and overwhelming joy, it didn’t, and even now, she still couldn’t believe that it was all real. She was afraid that, if she blinked, she would wake up and all of this would be gone.

But the warmth of his arms, the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her — all of it was so real that, for a moment, the rest of the world simply ceased to exist. Her branch of the army returned a few days ago, and Sharena spent all those days waiting as patiently as she could, looking at the horizon for hours, mistaking any even remotely loud sound for that of horses’ hooves marching through the fields, and with each passing day, lack of clarity became more and more terrifying. And then...