CLEVER AS THE DEVIL

“i thought you of all people would know better. but no matter. i have no need for venison.” his tone said otherwise; he was still irritated at having been cheated of his kill. otherwise he would have thought running into selena good fortune, as he’d been thinking of the family lately, and the future of it, something in which she would play a not inconsiderable part. “what have you been getting up to as of late? other than scaring away deer, i mean. wedding plans? murder? i hope you aren’t hiding any decapitated heads in that dress.”

“ gods, selena, ” she groaned, unimpressed and annoyed. what was the point in having two friends if one of them was going to constantly disappoint her? with her arms crossed, sienna knew this wasn’t a joke, as much as she wanted it to be. “ why in the hell would you apologize to daniel? that pathetic excuse for a prince deserves nothing of the sort, especially from you. did you do it for magnus? we can have his death arranged, just say the word. i’m sure octavius would even help. ”

“No…no this is only a break” He said smiling and pushing some of her hair behind her ear and pulling her towards him to kiss her again. He had almost forgotten how much he really did like kissing her and who knows when he’d get a chance to do it again.

selena didn’t protest when he pulled her closer and she smiled into the kiss at first. she liked how close they had gotten over the past weeks even if the thought of her developing feelings for the prince once more scared her.  still, she returned the kiss almost lovingly. that didn’t last long though when selena decided to bite down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

He laughed when he saw her fall, maybe the first time ever that he had seen her fall actually, he took this as an opportunity to run towards her and attack her, sadly however the snow seemed to be too much for him as well and fell down next to her “My weakness, white cold powder.”

when magnus landed in the snow next to her not a moment later she nudged him with her shoulder, teasingly.  selena barely felt the cold now and she couldn’t quite remember the last time she’d had this much fun.. especially with magnus. with a grin she lifted herself up with one arm, only to lean down again and press a soft kiss to the prince’s lips. ‘’ does that mean i win?’’ 

“One snowball is enough to start a war, don’t you know that?” He said laughing “I don’t think burying yourself in the snow will give you an advantage.” He remained where he was a place where he could stand but had a lot of snow to pick up as well.

selena bent down to pick up a handful of snow and began packing it tight into the perfect snowball. ‘’ if a war is what you want, then that’s what you’ll get.’’ the lady turned around to go hurry to find a tree to take cover behind when she tripped over her own feet, landing in the snow. lucky for her it was deep enough to soften her fall.

“Oh I doubt that.” He responded, his tone snarky and his pace quick, desperate to get away from her. Daniel made no effort to hide the fact that he wasn’t buying her act. He rolled his eyes and sighed, stopping mid step and pivoting to face her. “Fine, but first you have to apologize.” He responded, crossing his arm and raising his brows at her, his eyes holding an glint of mischief. He was all drama as he continued, in moments like these his most flamboyant movements flourished “Right here, in front of all these people.” He was effectively putting on quite a show in the busy hallway, littered with guests of the castle. A woman a few feet away began whispering to another, presumably already feeding the rumor mill of the courts. A bit of public humiliation was the least Selena deserved for the years of being awful to him. If she was willing to do it then Daniel was willing to give her a second chance, but he knew her and her pride and he doubted she’d be willing to do it. 

apologize? no, that was just something selena didn’t do. she didn’t even apologize to magnus after screaming at him for literally no reason. how could she humiliate herself like this then? the lady clenched her jaw at his words, noticing the people around them who suddenly seemed all too interested in their conversation. she couldn’t even give them a deadly stare because it was too embarrassing. & did he really have to be this dramatic about it? apologizing to daniel ..she must truly love magnus.  and knowing how much he must be enjoying seeing her like this, it only made selena despise him even more. but still, the lady gritted her teeth and forced herself to look up at the prince again. ‘’ daniel, i am ... ‘’ she took a deep breath. ‘’ i’m so sorry for the way i treated you in the past.’’ every word made selena want to throw up, made her imagine the many ways she could kill him. ‘’ i apologize sincerely for my actions and i hope we can move past our differences. ‘’ 

it was enough to draw a laugh even from cesar. “i prefer the term honest.” the insulated boredom of their condition, the more and more it felt like a jailer’s cell, clearly it was driving him mad. he looked at the woman. “i know nothing of the snows, ma’am, but i hope you have not just condemned yourself to a life of insanity.“

‘‘ honest you are indeed.’‘ selena didn’t know how long blizzards usually lasted in general or in norden, but she really hoped it would be over soon. the lady then couldn’t help but chuckle at his last words, nodding in agreement. ‘’ i fear you may be right about that.’’