Abella smiled to herself. The Crown Prince’s expression the whole time said only two things: ‘What was her name again?’ and ‘get lost’. He didn’t seem like an easy person to read, but his irritation was easy to find. Abella stopped a servant and asked, “excuse me, could you please fetch me a medical kit?”

“Lady Abella, of course.” The servant bowed, flustered, and rushed off. She returned not long after and held it out to Abella as she said, “here it is, Lady Abella. I apologize for taking so long.”

“Not at all,” Abella smiled and took the medical kit from the servant. She headed straight back to the Crown Prince’s office and entered through the door which she had left open. Once again, he was engulfed in his work, and Abella giggled from the door.

“What is so amusing?” he looked up and glared. Unfazed, Abella smiled, “nothing at all. Anyways, I’ve brought the medical kit.”

The Crown Prince’s hand twitched. She was speaking informally to him – something no one other than the Emperor himself and his mother dared to do to him. Abella approached the Crown Prince and placed it down on the desk. The Crown Prince reluctantly stretched his arm out for Abella to treat it, but stopped when he heard her say in a teasing tone, “oh, did you think I would treat you myself?”

The Crown Prince turned to look at Abella’s smiling face, embarrassment blooming in him like a flower. “Of course not.”

“Sure you didn’t.” Abella smirked.

“I really did not—” the Crown Prince was becoming increasingly agitated as he stood up suddenly, slamming his hands down on the desk.

“That’s quite the temper you have there, Your Highness.” Abella mockingly feigned a thoughtful expression. “How scary – imagine how fearful your poor subjects would be if they saw you with such a frightful temper. I merely prodded you a little and you exploded.”

The Crown Prince flinched, sitting back down with a slightly guilty expression. “Just get lost,” he murmured.

“Alright, I will take my leave. But don’t work until too late, Your Highness,” Abella curtsied and left the study.

~~~

Without the girl there, the room felt strangely empty. It felt a couple degrees colder, too. She was warm – like sunshine. Her smiles weren’t always sincere, but they were still so bright and cheerful that it lit up the room around her.

Dietrich felt a little strange inside. She had told him to not work until too late – she had shown concern for him. When was the last time someone had been concerned about him? His father the Emperor had never – only his mother had. But his mother was gone – she had succumbed to an illness when Dietrich was seven. He clearly remembered that day as he held his mother’s bony, frail hand by her beside, tears streaming down his face, and her croaky yet warm voice that told him to ‘live well’ just before she died.

Unable to help it, Dietrich glanced over at the medical box on the edge of his desk. Quickly looking back at his work, he shook his head. Treat his wounds? The small little scrapes on him that would heal soon? Why would he bother? He was far too busy. But… she had told him to treat his wounds, or at least get them checked by a doctor. Wait. Why exactly did he care for what she had to say?

Finally fed up with his internal conflict, he called over a servant and said, “fetch me the doctor.”

The servant bowed and quickly scurried off. Soon, the doctor came over and asked with a respectful tone and shaking hands, “Y-Your Highness, what can I d-do for you?”

“Treat my wounds,” Dietrich commanded, holding out an arm and letting the doctor scurry over to inspect him. Hurriedly, the doctor treated each wound, disinfecting the scratches and bandaging the deeper gashes.

“I-I am done, Y-Y-Your Highness.” The doctor bowed.

“Good. Now leave.” Dietrich demanded, and the doctor left quickly. As soon as the door was shut, Dietrich sighed and rested his arm over his eyes as he tilted his head back. Why did he waste all that time to treat such trivial wounds? Some rude, uneducated girl had stormed in and basically demanded him to treat his wounds – she should have been beheaded for showing such rudeness to royalty, especially to him. But Dietrich couldn’t kill her – he needed her magic abilities for when it came to the true battle for the throne. And… he could imagine her being beheaded. If anything, he hated the mere idea of it.

Deciding that he could no longer focus, Dietrich abandoned his work and headed back to his room. He glanced to the open glass door to the balcony of his room as soon as he entered – had it been open before? One of the Empress’s spies must have come again, Dietrich thought as he approached the balcony to close the door. She must have made it this obvious on purpose to make me come after her. How stupid does she think I am?

Just as Dietrich was about to shut the door, he saw someone down in the Imperial Gardens. People weren’t allowed there, and guards stood at the entrance, so who was it? Going to the edge of the balcony, he looked down and saw long, blonde hair swaying in the wind. A girl in a nightgown… the girl. His so-called fiancée. It was so cold outside – what was she doing there in  a thin nightgown? She would surely catch a cold.

Leaping down from the balcony, Dietrich approached the girl from behind. She was sitting on the grass under a tree, looking up at the sky. She seemed to notice Dietrich’s presence, but didn’t say anything about it. Taking off his cloak, he wrapped it around her and she looked at up him in surprise.

“You will catch a cold,” Dietrich said as he sat down beside him.

“I’ll be fine, Your Highness.” The girl didn’t so much as glance at him. “And may I tell you something?”

“Sure,” Dietrich replied.

“Abella,” she said.

“What?”

“My name is Abella,” she giggled.

“What makes you think that I do not know your name?” Dietrich asked, even though he knew she was spot on.

“It’s easy to tell, Your Highness. It’s written all over your face,” Abella smiled and turned to face him finally. “You’re quite entertaining.”

“Am I merely a source of amusement for you?” Dietrich asked.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. Perhaps I am a source of amusement for you, Your Highness.” Abella replied, turning back to look up at the night sky.

“What is that meant to mean?” Dietrich asked, confused.

“Nothing,” Abella replied, her smile still there.

“It is clearly not ‘nothing’,” Dietrich said sharply.

“No. It’s nothing, nothing you should concern yourself with anyways,” Abella replied. Dietrich sighed. She was a strangely stubborn girl who always managed to have the last word. “The sky is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”

Dietrich looked up at the night sky and said, “but there are no stars.”

“How narrow-minded, Your Highness. I fear for the Empire to one day have an Emperor as narrow-minded as you,” Abella closed her eyes with a smile as Dietrich scowled from the insult. “It’s because there are no stars that the moon shines brighter.” Like me, in a way.

“Are you always such a riddling person?” Dietrich sighed loudly.

“Perhaps.” Abella stood up suddenly and as Dietrich was about to get up too, Abella threw down his cloak over him. “Also, I don’t catch colds.”

And then she turned and walked away.