This had not been the plan. Aleron flashed Astra a concerned look, wondering if she would be alright with this unexpected development, but she shook her head at him. Who was she to deny a royal order?

The manservant called for a maid to take their luggage so that they could walk unencumbered, and then led them down a wide hallway. Astra hastily tidied her hair and smoothed out her tunic as they walked. The inside of the palace was even more opulent than the outside, and the finery around every corner was making her nervous.

The double doors leading to the throne room were more than triple her height. Astra found this unnecessary, especially when they were announced and she watched the knights on guard struggling to push them open, but held her tongue and followed Aleron inside.

Gold everywhere.

The hall was so golden that for a moment, Astra had to shut her eyes to stave off a wave of dizziness. The walls, floor, and pillars about the room were all gilded. Her feet continued forwards as she opened her eyes, following Aleron up the rich red carpet towards the dais at the far end of the room. From this distance, where she could stare without being rude, she observed the four people who were atop the platform.

There were two thrones, one placed directly in the center of the dais and the other, smaller throne slightly to one side. In the larger throne sat a figure that Astra could only call a beast of a man given his burly stature and cold gaze. A golden crown was placed atop his head, and his robes were richly embroidered in threads of gold and silver. His hair and beard were grey, his face weathered by age, but she could not call him old – not when the air of ferocity lingering about him made her uncomfortable enough to slide her gaze away.

Without a doubt, this man was the king.  

Standing behind the king’s throne was an equally muscular man with a scar across one eye. He had no hair, and from one ear dangled a long hooped earring. His eyes were menacingly cold, his expression no more welcoming than the monarch he served. In his hands was a greatsword that was almost as tall as he was, which he had planted against the ground as he rested both hands on the pommel. When he caught Astra looking, his eyes narrowed, and she hastily shifted her attention elsewhere.

They reached the foot of the dais, and Aleron pressed one hand to his chest in a salute as he dropped to his knees. Astra, taking her cue from him, knelt beside him, keeping her gaze low.

“Your majesty.” Aleron spoke first. “Crown Prince Corrin. I have returned.”

“Welcome back, Captain. You may rise.” At the king’s voice, Aleron obediently stood, and Astra, secretly observing him from the corner of her eye, did the same. “I see you have returned to us unharmed.”

Aleron bowed deeply. “My sincerest apologies for my prolonged absence, your majesty. My mission took me much longer than expected.”

“I see.” The king did not appear very interested in Astra at all as his gaze did not leave the knight. “And what manner of errand was it, that it would send you so far from our borders for so long?”

Aleron nearly bit his lip before realizing that such an action alone would be suspicious, and schooled his features into neutrality as he resisted the urge to look at Astra behind him. “His highness the Crown Prince tasked me with the retrieval of a Lyndran treasure, your majesty.”

“Oh?” the king’s gaze now turned to the man sitting in the smaller throne beside him. “Why had I not heard of such an errand, my son?”

With that pressing gaze no longer bearing down at her, Astra felt it safe to sneak a glance at the two people that she hadn’t gotten a proper look at yet.

Oh.

Though it was a little embarrassing to admit, Astra had to laugh at herself for the first thought she had when she looked at the man sitting on the smaller throne.

Pretty.

It might be shallow of her to judge the man's appearance first thing, but in her defense, she was a fine arts majour. Seeing an ideal model in front of her, her hands itched for her sketchbook and pencil.

It wasn't her fault, she reasoned. The Crown Prince was stunning.

Perhaps in some unknown homage to the royal emblem, his hair was dark with the slightest hint of purple, like a raven’s feathers, with long wispy bangs that fell into a pair of violet eyes framed by thick dark lashes. His build was solid, yet elegant enough that she wondered how on earth he was related to the grey-haired, gruff-looking, bear of a man that was the king. He was dressed in the same dark purple colour as his hair, with silver cufflinks and a black cape. Though his expression was taciturn, even cold, he did not look nearly as scary as his father.

However, the same could not be said of the man standing behind him.

If the burly man with the greatsword was the king’s guard, then this man must be the prince’s. At first glance, one might call him elderly, but the broad shoulders and corded muscles betrayed a level of physical strength that belied his age. He was carrying not one or two but three swords, two at his waist and one on his back, and was so expressionless and still that for a moment, Astra wondered if he was even breathing.

Then his dark eyes shifted to hers and she felt frozen and very small. The pressure from being in the presence of someone far stronger than she bore down on her, and she bit her lip. For some reason, she felt more affected by this unknown guard than she was by the king himself. 

However, the discomfort only lasted for a moment. Then the heavy feeling abated, and the sharp eyes fixed on her no longer carried hostility, only scrutiny. After debating for a moment, Astra dipped her head slightly at him.

The man did not react, but the dark eyes moved away from her and she inwardly let out the breath she’d been holding.

“I apologize, father,” the Crown Prince was saying. His voice was nice, too, smooth and elegant. “I had meant for the retrieval of the Lydran treasure to be a gift for you, a surprise. I did not expect that a small errand would turn into such a grave event.”

A grave event, indeed. In attempting to fulfill the Crown Prince's errand, Aleron had gone missing for nearly two years.

The king appraised his son’s face for a moment, but the crown prince’s rueful smile didn’t so much as twitch. Sighing, the king waved a hand. “You have better things to do than waste your time with frivolities, but I shall let it pass. Did you obtain the treasure, Captain?”

Aleron lowered his head, reaching into the folds of his cape and pulling something out with a flourish. “While I was not able to find the gift that his highness originally intended, I do have something for your majesty.” With open palms, he proferred up a small glass vial, filled with a bluish-white liquid that seemed to sparkle. "This is the extracted essense of a Lyndran icebloom. My delayed return was mainly due to a snowstorm I was caught in, but the incident bore fruit." Lyndran iceblooms were extremely rare, and their essence was said to give one long life and ward off illnesses. "A nearby settlement was kind enough to take me in. Their herbalist helped to extract the essence from the blossom."

The king, impatient with the long explanation, flicked his hand. A nearby manservant ran up, took the bottle from Aleron, and then reverently offered it to the king, who passed it to his guard. "I accept your gift, Captain," the monarch rumbled before impassive eyes finally came to rest on Astra. “And you, girl. Identify yourself.”

Aleron began to respond. “This young lady is -”

“His majesty was asking the girl. Not you, Captain.” The king’s guard spoke for the first time, in a heavily accented voice that sounded like cracking rocks. Astra pitied her ears as she realized that she was being deliberately put on the spot. She could sense Aleron’s panicked gaze on her, but she wasn't very worried. He had already laid the groundwork for her well enough.

Her voice betrayed none of her pounding heart. “My name is Astraea Luan, your esteemed majesty. I have lived within the mountains of Lyndra for most of my life. I found Captain Aleron buried in the snow after the snowstorm, and as repayment for saving his life, he agreed to bring me back to his home country, to experience the outside world.”

For a lie that she’d made up on the spot, it was impressive. Most importantly, it was believable. Aleron swallowed his relief to nod and look as though this was all information he’d known from the start. Astra was doing well. She’d even gone so far as to throw in the slightest hint of a Lyndran accent into her speech.

He’d forgotten how quick she was on her feet. "She was the one to care for me during my period of recovery," he added further support to her words with a quick interjection.

The king looked the girl up and down. “You are not Lyndran,” he pointed out.

“I am not, your majesty,” Astra agreed, ducking her head even lower. “I am originally from an island in the far east. My family were traveling merchants, but we were caught by an avalanche in the mountains when I was a child. I was saved by the very same settlement, where I then decided to stay.”

“I see.” The king glanced at his son. “And why has this thing been allowed into the palace?”

Astra's lips thinned, but she bit the inside of her cheek and kept still. This was not the sort of environment where she could blurt out the first thought that came to mind, and she had no desire to lose her head today.

“Captain Aleron explained to me that he owed this young woman his life and wanted to repay her by granting her wish,” the Crown Prince explained coolly. “And as I am still in need of a Lyndran tutor, I thought that asking a local would be the most efficient route.”

The king frowned slightly, but as his gaze turned back to the noirette, who hunched her shoulders slightly to seem smaller, he suddenly let out a sigh as though he could no longer be bothered to care about the proceedings. “Do as you wish, then. Now get out. I tire of this discussion.”

“Then, your majesty, we will take our leave.” Aleron bowed, and turned on his heel as Astra hurried to copy him, unintentionally channeling the image of a country bumpkin even harder. She wasn't sure if she was breathing properly until the doors to the audience hall had closed behind them, and she immediately blew out a long breath and placed a hand on her chest, feeling the thrum of her frantic heartbeat beneath her skin.

“Are you alright?” Aleron asked her, concerned, leaning over her like he wasn’t sure if he should offer her his arm or pat her back.

“I’m fine,” Astra replied after she had gotten her breathing under control. “Just… that was a little scary.” She’d thought she was mentally prepared enough to deal with royals, but as expected, she was out of her depth here.

“Let’s get you somewhere you can rest first,” Aleron decided, beginning to gently usher her down the stairs.

The manservant who had shown them in was waiting at the bottom again, and with another cheerful “Please allow me to escort you!” he began to lead them down one of the side corridors.

Aleron trailed after, but his brow furrowed slightly as the servant continued to lead them around several corners and up a narrow flight of stairs. His slow pace, as though he were deliberately stalling, was suspicious. “Excuse me, are we not going to the barracks?” he began, but the servant glanced back at them and put a finger to his lips. Aleron, sensing something else was going on, immediately shut his mouth. Astra, behind him, was curious but knew better than to ask.

The servant led them down several more hallways before he finally stopped before a thick oaken door at the end of one such corridor. “Please go inside,” he told them. “His highness is expecting you.”

Royals again? Astra thought in exasperation, but there was no time to complain. Aleron had already pushed open the door and was gesturing for her to enter first. Surprisingly, he did not seem worried this time despite their being thrown into yet another royal audience, and was smiling at her in a reassuring manner. Reluctantly, Astra walked through the doorway, standing to one side to let Aleron in after her.

As the door slowly swung shut behind them, she looked around the space.

It was open and roomy, the curtains parted to let the noon sunlight through, illuminating a number of curious implements and weapons displayed on the walls. They were standing in a study of some sort, with an adjourning doorway through which she could see a large bed and a bookshelf stuffed with thick tomes.

Before them was a large, polished desk stacked with documents, and behind the polished desk sat the Crown Prince.

“Your highness.” Aleron bowed at the waist as he approached the desk.

“Welcome back, Captain. I apologize for the unexpected summons.” The prince’s gaze, which had been fixed on Aleron, shifted to Astra. He was sitting with his hands folded in front of his face, so she could only see his amethyst eyes. “And to the young miss, I hope that you were not too perplexed. My father can be an enigma at times.”

“I'm fine, your highness…” Astra sensed something behind her, and turned to look before raising a brow.

At some point, the prince’s guard had appeared to stand in front of the door they had just entered from. He had not made a single noise in doing so, but to find him suddenly so close was startling. Recalling their interaction in the throne room, Astra dipped her head at him again. The man didn’t so much as blink.

“Astraea Luan…”

Astra turned when she heard the Crown Prince saying her name. Violet eyes met hers, and he lowered his hands to reveal that the corners of his mouth were quirked upwards into a mysterious smile.

The Crown Prince directed his next words at Aleron.

“This is the girl from another world that you spoke of?”

---------

Author's Note: 

Hello everyone, it's Cerianica (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

I've decided to finally try posting some of my writings. I've been writing for a very long time, but I've never published my work before. I hope you all enjoyed it. (シ_ _)シ

This story was originally one that I was writing with my close childhood friend, but over the years as I continued to write more on my own, somehow a story that was Astraea-specific emerged by itself and became longer and longer... at this point I have most of the plot thought out, so look forward to it! :D

This is only the first chapter, but I hope everyone liked it. I'll do my best to meet my reader's expectations. 

See you in the next chapter!