He had almost shouted that last sentence, and when he realized that, his eyes went to the side, where the nearest window was. No one seemed to have heard, though. Luckily, the walls and tinted windows were thick, and with the raging storm above them, most of his words were blown away by the wind.
Cessilia was the only one there to hear him, but the Princess’ expression remained as cold and still as a statue. It wasn’t as if she didn’t listen; she simply didn’t care what he had to say. She kept ignoring him, putting that invisible but thick wall between them. This vision broke Ashen.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” he muttered.
She turned her eyes back to him, and for a second, his heart was filled with hope that she’d talk, finally, but his hope was cut short. Cessilia stared blankly, and suddenly, the vision of her expression when he had told her to shut up hit him like a slap. He had done this. She had tried to talk, and he had dismissed her, twice. Now, he was willing to talk, but she didn’t want to anymore. He was reaping what he sowed, and it was those cold, green eyes on him.
It wouldn’t have been so hard to endure if she hadn’t looked so beautiful in that instant. She was like a goddess under the rain and storm, not fearing him, not allowing him anything. She seemed so fragile and so small in front of him, yet he knew he had already lost to her. He couldn’t win, not when he loved her so much, so painfully. Not when she had that cold mix of anger and resentment in her eyes. Not when he was the one who had broken that bridge she had desperately tried to build between them, after all this time. It was his fault.
“Cessilia, I’m sorry,” he muttered, stepping closer.
She backed against the wall, and a faint dash of pink appeared on her cheeks. She was suddenly desperate to avoid his gaze, but she couldn’t hide her reactions well. There was still something between them, something that made them warm despite the cold and driving rain.
“Cessi, I’m really sorry.”
Her lower lip twitched, and for a second, with all those drops running down her face, it looked as if she was crying. Perhaps she really was, but it was hard to tell. Ashen took a deep breath and leaned down to kiss her.
It was a passionate, almost forceful kiss. However, for the first two or three seconds, Cessilia didn’t resist it. She responded to it, even. In that very brief moment, the passion between them ignited like a burning fire. Their lips acted on their own, left to their own desires. It wasn’t like the innocent kiss of their younger years. This one was full of passion, thirst, and even some rage. They didn’t breathe, just kissing wildly for the handful of seconds it lasted.
Cessilia brutally snapped out of it. So brutally, she slapped him with the back of her hand, furious and glaring at him for kissing her like that. She was angry he had dared to take her by surprise, and angrier she hadn’t resisted it earlier.
Shaken up, Ashen was brutally slapped back to reality. He took a step back, and his fingers touched his cheek, feeling the two small cuts. Cessilia’s scales had scratched him. It was involuntary, and in fact, he didn’t care at all for that injury. He was much more hurt by how violently she was rejecting him, and glaring at him. This made him angry too.
“You just felt that too! You don’t hate me, Cessilia, you still love me, so why do you do this to me?! What do I have to do for you to speak, and be honest!”
He was running out of patience, but so was the Princess. Using her two hands, she pushed him off of her, finally putting some distance between their bodies. She looked really upset this time, and kept her hands up between them, as if to prevent him from coming near again.
“Cessilia!”
“D-don’t ever d-do th-that again,” she painfully muttered with a hoarse voice.
Despite what she said, hearing her speak to him again brought a wave of relief to Ashen. He nodded faintly, but he knew she really was angry. He had rarely seen her angry before, but Cessilia was almost as scary as her father when she was mad, and he’d rather not do that to her again.
If he had hoped they could talk again, he was mistaken. She pushed him away from her and began to move to walk back inside, keeping her hands wrapped around herself. She visibly didn’t dare to touch his fur cape around her, although she wouldn’t take it off either.
“Cessilia!” he insisted, dying to grab her wrist again and have her stay there.
She stopped her steps, but she was already turned away from him, leaving Ashen to stare at her back again.
“I meant it,” he continued. “I’m sorry. And I’m not mad at you. ...Can we talk? Not here, but...”
Cessilia turned her head, just enough that he could see her eye glaring at him between her drenched locks.
“We’ll t-talk when you’re d-done feeling sorry j-just for yourself.”
Those words took Ashen by surprise, and he didn’t react to it fast enough to prevent her from leaving again. He wanted to call her again and quickly tried to think of something to say.
“Your scales.”
Cessilia stopped again, just a couple of steps away from the door. This time, though, she didn’t look back. Ashen took a deep breath.
“...They weren’t black before. Cece’s scales weren’t dark. ...Cessilia, what happened to your dragon?”
He saw her shoulders quickly rise from her breathing, but it might have been due to the storm and the wind blowing against her body. She was hesitating, but before Cessilia could answer, the door she was trying to get to slowly opened.
Jisel’s appearance cut their conversation short. His mistress stood there, carrying an umbrella and a towel, glancing at the two of them. Despite Cessilia glaring at her, the redhead kept her usual mischievous smile on, unphased. Then, Cessilia directed her glare at Ashen and stormed off, angrily walking past his mistress.
Cessilia walked back into the hall drenched, upset, and very disturbed.
Luckily, another number was going on in the middle of the banquet, and despite the storm raging, no one seemed to notice her but Yassim, who hurried to her from a few steps away, visibly worried.
“My lady!” he whispered. “You’re completely drenched! Are you alright?”
“Cessi, what the heck?” Tessa appeared behind him. “You were outside in that storm?”
For a few seconds, she couldn’t speak, completely disoriented. Her head felt a bit dizzy, and she just shook it, her voice too tight to speak. During that time, Yassim’s eye fell on the fur cloak on her shoulders, and he glanced toward the throne, where the King was also coming back to his seat. Just like the Princess, he was drenched and sat quietly with a sullen expression.
“Yassim, is there a room where we can take a break?” Tessa muttered. “I think Cessi could use a break... and a dry towel or two.”
“No.”
Cessilia pushed her cousin’s hand away and directed her eyes to the center of the banquet hall, where another one of the candidates was bowing to the crowd.
“Yassim, p-please introduce me. I want t-to do my p-performance now.”
“Are you sure, my lady?” Yassim asked, a bit worried. “You’re completely drenched.”
“Yes. N-now.”
