It’d only been a few hours, but Rustam felt like he could sleep for a week. After they got back to the castle, his brothers had been summoned by their parents which left Rustam as the only person representing his family. And now, he found himself in the sitting room of the castle with the Archfiend prince and two of his guards, Galenova’s parents, his friends, and Sir Oren. Having someone’s attention on him for so long wasn’t something he used to. But Prince Phenex wanted to know everything about the dragon fight he’d been in the middle of and all about the other sightings of the Bronze Horror. After the assassination attempt, there had been few sightings of the legendary dragon after that, but no one could tell when he would appear.

Rustam was having a hard time keeping up with all the questions. Thankfully, Phenex’s female guard, Balamia, and Ignacia diverted his attention to Sir Oren and gave the Dwarven prince a chance to breathe. He stepped outside to catch his breath and collect himself. His blue eyes caught Galenova’s graceful form standing near the fountain close by, and he walked over to her.

She was fidgeting with her gold cuff and staring at the water. It was something she did when she felt a little anxious or overwhelmed. Rustam made sure to clear his throat to announce his approach so he wouldn’t catch her off guard. Her wings twitched a little and she turned around, smiling when she saw it was him. “Rustam! Are you well?”

“I’m fine. Just taking a moment to breathe before the next barrage of questions begins,” he jested as he stood next to her. “Needed a moment of silence?”

She nodded and looked back at the fountain. “Yes. A lot of conversations are happening and it was hard to hear myself think. Especially with my mother encouraging me to talk to Prince Phenex. He seems like quite the…talker.”

Rustam laughed heartily and shook his head. “He is. I was very surprised when he said he wanted to meet me. Most outsiders barely remember I exist.” Not that he was upset about this. It’d always been that way, and it hadn’t improved as he got older. The only thing that did improve was his father putting in more effort to include him in stuff with his brothers or making time for them to have one-on-one lessons or talks.

Galenova smiled at him before looking away. “I’m glad you’re getting some attention. Not many can say they got the full attention of the Archfiend prince.” Even though she felt bad that her friend was getting bombarded with questions, Galenova couldn’t help but feel grateful that Phenex’s attention wasn't on her. She didn’t want to deal with another proposal. Especially one from a prince who was over seven feet tall and from one of the most powerful families in all the realms. Rejecting him could have severe consequences, and that was something she didn't want to think too much about.

Rustam saw her fidgeting lessen. “I guess not many can. My family seems a little concerned that I have a demonic being following me around. Are your parents upset about that?”

“A little,” she admitted with a small smile. “I think they’re trying to marry me off so they can focus solely on my brother. The sooner I’m gone, the better. Sir Oren and Lady Brunhilda offered to take me in, but I don’t know if my parents will let me do that.” She would prefer that over living in her family’s home. It felt warmer and more welcoming. Plus, Ignacia’s grandparents never made her feel unwanted or called her behavior strange. She enjoyed being around them, even if Igy and Sir Oren got a little loud. It wasn’t unpleasant or too distracting.

The only one in her family who didn’t see her as strange was her younger brother. Galenova figured her being around him was another reason why they wanted to marry her off. She’d heard them talk about her “influencing” Llewellyn and their fear that he might be just like her. As far as she could tell, her brother was better adjusted to this life than she was. He rarely got nervous and had little to no trouble talking to everyone around him. If anything, Galenova wished she were more like him. Even when she was his age, she was far too shy to talk to anyone and when she did, she could barely keep up with the conversation.

“There you two are,” Daelyniel called out as he approached them. “Galenova, your mother is looking for you. I don’t know if you want to hide or run away, but Sir Oren and Igy are keeping her from coming out here.”

Galenova sighed heavily, and her shoulders and wings drooped. “I suppose I should go back inside. She’ll just find me and drag me back.” It wouldn’t have been the first time her mother did that. She lost count of how many times her mother found her when she snuck out.

Rustam offered his arm to her with a warm smile. “Shall we?”

She nodded and wrapped her arm around his. Her hands weren’t fidgeting so much, but they started to as they walked back to the sitting room to join the others. By the time Daelyniel opened the door, her hand was squeezing Rustam’s arm. Her grip got really tight when Prince Phenex approached them and looked straight into her eyes.

“Princess Galenova! Forgive me for not properly introducing myself earlier!” he said.

Too close. Very close. Please back away, sir. Galenova forced herself to smile and keep eye contact even though she wanted to put some space between them. “It’s okay. I understand you were very excited to meet Rustam.”

“And I’m excited to meet you!” Phenex grabbed her free hand. “I heard about how you stopped the assassination attempt when you were just a child, and stopped another not too long ago. Your strength and combat prowess are very impressive!”

Rustam felt her hand fidgeting with his sleeve.  Just as he was about to ask Prince Phenex to back up, the female guard grabbed Phenex’s shoulder and pulled him back.

“Back up,” she ordered. “You’re hovering over them again, you idiot.” Almost everyone in the room balked at the insult and wondered why the prince would allow her and the other guards to treat him as such.

The Archfiend prince quickly bowed to them. “My apologies! I was so excited to meet Rustam that I forgot about everything else. But I’m amazed to meet the princess who’s known for defending herself and others. There aren’t many who can’t even lift a finger to do that much.”

“Gal is very strong! It’s like she becomes a different person when she fights!” Ignacia exclaimed. She ran up and hugged her friend’s other arm. “I can only dream of using water magic the way she does. So graceful and effortless! Did Rustam tell you she’d mastered the water whip when she was twelve? She used it to keep the assassin away from us when we were kids!”

Rustam nodded with a proud smile and put his hand over hers to reassure her. “She’s very talented and powerful. Everything Igy said is true.”

“And she’s one of the fastest flyers around!” Daelyniel revealed with a grin. “We even put some armor on her to slow her down, and she still outflew the guards.”

Phenex’s eyebrow arched in curiosity. The young Nymph princess was looking down and avoiding everyone’s eyes except Rustam’s. She would take some glances at him, and he would smile reassuringly at her, but she didn't keep eye contact for too long. But he saw her small smile. “Oh really? Maybe we’ll have a little competition? Talorobas, the guard you first met, is the fastest Archfiend in the realms. Only myself, Caelin, Balamia, and Veparei have come close to defeating him. I think he only lets Caelin win sometimes because he’s his mate.”

“Prince Phenex, perhaps you and Galenova would like to spend some time together?” Galenova’s mother suggested. “Maybe go on a flight together?”

Rustam saw a strange look appear on Phenex’s face, it seemed like amusement, but it disappeared shortly. The demonic prince smiled at the Nymph couple. “Maybe later. I would like to know more about her and the others first. And I don't want to go too far since the king and queen of the Eastern Leaflet are coming. Shouldn’t they be here soon?”

Prince Lennoxir stood up. “Y-yes, sir. He should be here later tonight. Did you need to speak to him about something important?”

“Nothing of great importance. But I do need to speak to Lady Brunhilda for a moment,” Phenex replied with a bow and looked at Ignacia. “Can you bring me to your grandmother?”

Ignacia nodded eagerly. “Sure! Follow me!” She released Galenova’s arm and led the Archfiends out of the room with her grandfather.

“Rustam. Daelyniel. Can you give us a moment with our daughter?” Galenova’s mother asked with a forced smile.

Rustam felt his friend’s grip tighten even more he felt her nails digging into her arm, but he had to leave. He gave her hand a small squeeze of encouragement before letting her go. “Yes, Princess Zara.” He and Daelyniel stepped out into the courtyard. As soon as the door closed, both of them heard the king and queen raising their voices.

Daelyniel sighed wearily and his wings twitched in irritation as they walked to the fountain. “I don’t know why they’re in such a rush to get rid of her.”

“I don’t know either. Galenova thinks they’re afraid of her "influencing" her brother too much,” Rustam stated as he looked up at the evening sky. “Which is nonsense. She’s the one who’s been teaching him everything, and they should be grateful she’s strong enough to defend herself and others.”

The Pixie chuckled humorlessly. “Not all societies are like the Dwarves, Rustam. The Nymphs still have a very archaic view of their women. Be seductive and elegant. Outgoing, but mysterious. Galenova is elegant, but she’s not seductive or outgoing. Not an insult. That's just not who she is. Her personality shines when she's around people she's comfortable with. And her combat skills are far above what most Nymph ladies know. Like Prince Phenex said, most can't even lift a finger to defend themselves. So in Nymph society, very few men will have an interest in her.”

The Dwarven prince sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Is there anything we can do?”

“You could marry her,” Daelyniel suggested. He kept himself from laughing when he saw his cousin’s eyes go wide and choke on air. “I take it you don’t want to?”

“W-Why would you make such a suggestion?” Rustam asked.

Daelyniel shrugged. “Why not? Igy and I agree to marry each other if we’re not married by the time she turns forty. Better to be married to your best friend than some stranger.

Rustam couldn’t disagree with that. “I suppose…though I’m curious why my parents summoned my brothers as soon as we got back. Do you think something’s wrong?”

“Let’s hope not. I’d like to enjoy the rest of my time here before returning home,” Daelyniel stated.

Rustam had a feeling something was amiss, but he hoped that he was wrong. Like his cousin, he wanted to enjoy this time away from his home while he could.

A special shoutout to iHateFridays and Narwhal! They have blessed us with fanart of Ignacia and Rustam for my birthday (which was Sunday XD). Thank you so much iHF and Narwhal! I love them! <3

Art by Narwhal

Art by iHateFridays