Ashen scoffed.

“...That’s what he claims. I don’t know what the truth is, but I do think a cunning old man like him could easily try and lie his way out of it. As I said, I lost consciousness when my body hit the sea... but my father sent men to find me, and kill me. His other sons, to be exact... Yassim said he saw me fall from another window of the castle. He went to find my father, but found him in a rage, yelling orders to either confirm my death... or finish the job. When he understood that his students were sent out to kill me, he rushed out of the castle to try and save me. According to him, they could see my body drifting... He claims he tried to stop them, and stood between me and their weapons. As their former teacher, it did make sense they were reluctant to shoot him. He stood there until my body disappeared across the waves, but more of my father’s men arrived before he could search for me, and he was taken and jailed.”

“I see... So you really d-don’t know if he d-did try to save you?”

Ashen shrugged. They were now slowly heading southeast, following some of the larger streets, but Cessilia thought she recognized the way to the Fish Market or at least its general direction. The smell of the sea was getting stronger around them too, and she could hear the waves, their sound growing from afar.

“No. Everyone else who was involved was either killed or fled god-knows-where away from here. He could very well be saying this to keep his head. I was reluctant to kill my former teacher, but... he keeps doing things that go against my will, and putting the little trust I have in him in jeopardy.”

“Like when you sent him t-to find you a... princess?”

Cessilia’s eyes were full of kindness, which made Ashen hesitate. He could see she already believed in the old Counselor’s upright character, but he didn’t think the same. In fact, when Yassim had come back with her, Ashen was even more furious. Although it was easy to make the link between his fake death and disappearance of two years in the Dragon Empire, how could Yassim have known about his tie with the Imperial Family? He hated that the Counselor had brought Cessilia, of all people. Not because he didn’t want to see her again, but because it made him worry about the old man’s intentions toward her. Despite his gentle smile and clear eyes, Yassim was harder to decipher than anybody else. He had begged Ashen to spare two of his former adopted brothers upon his return and even hid them, the same ones that had tried to kill him... And when he had tried to banish the old Counselor once and for all, he came back with the most unforeseen candidate of all. Thinking back now, it felt more and more like the Counselor had his own plans, and intended to use Cessilia against him.

“Just... don’t trust him,” he finally said. “Most of the time, I feel like that old man is just ready to do anything to save his neck... He is the only counselor that used to serve my father that I kept alive. Even the Clan Leaders are wary of him. Most of them don’t understand why I kept that cunning old man alive when I cleared out most of my father’s followers. Sometimes, I wonder the same. But I just... He did protect me from my father’s wrath a few times. He was also my brother’s teacher, and I know I owe him for being half of the King I am today.”

Cessilia smiled, and gently caressed the back of his hand with her thumb.

“It’s g-good that you are giving him the b-benefit of the doubt,” she said. “Maybe the C-Counselor just wants to stay alive, b-but... if he was really a b-bad person, I don’t think he would have t-traveled all the way to the Empire to ask me to c-come.”

“Don’t you think he did it to use you against me?”

Cessilia sighed. After years of being involved in political conflicts and war, it couldn’t be helped that the King was so doubtful of everyone’s intentions. Even more so for a man who had once been his father’s advisor too... However, Cessilia thought of herself as a pretty good judge of character, and she never felt any ill intent from the old Counselor. In fact, Yassim seemed to genuinely care for the King, enough to risk his own life to bring him a new potential wife... He could have been killed so many times on his way to and from the Empire.

“He d-didn’t know about our relationship, Ashen,” she muttered, gently grabbing his arm with her other hand to get closer. “...I think Yassim is just hoping t-to show you there are... other p-paths than the one you’ve t-taken.”

The King remained silent for a while. For some reason, he didn’t like Cessilia defending another man. After a while, he shook his head.

“...Let’s stop talking about the old man. We’re almost where I wanted to take you.”

“To t-take me?” she repeated, a bit surprised.

She hadn’t realized he had been purposely guiding their steps until now. Earlier, she had realized they were clearly headed toward the sea, but to her surprise, Ashen took her away from the port and the Fish Market, even farther east, to the end of the island that constituted the Inner Capital. For a while, it seemed like they were going to reach the coast, but, as they reached the last lines of houses, Ashen took her through smaller, narrower streets. She had never been to this neighborhood before, and the fact that they were headed to a destination he had picked made her heart flutter. The paths between the houses became so narrow that she had to let go of his arm, and while still holding hands, they went one behind the other through the little paths.

“Where are we g-going...?” she whispered, a bit excited.

“You’ll see.”

The smile on his face when he glanced over his shoulder made her heart skip a beat. Ashen didn’t smile often, but he was irresistible when he did. He was usually so serious, closed, and stern, his smile was even hard to imagine. Yet when he did, he suddenly seemed a lot younger, and so handsome that he made Cessilia blush instantly. He was like a young god in all his glory. She held his hand a bit tighter, and followed him with the excitement building up in her stomach.

Finally, they reached the very end of the coast, past the last deserted streets, gardens and trees, where there was nothing else other than the sea, for as far as their eyes could see. Because the waves were so quiet tonight, it felt beautiful, almost eerie, with the moon lighting up the shimmering surface of the water. Cessilia thought they’d admire the view, but to her surprise, Ashen kept pulling her along.

“Here,” he said.

To her surprise, she saw him go down some invisible trail past the coast, and realized there were stairs built into the rocks. They would have been impossible to see, if someone didn’t purposely stand almost at the edge and looked down to their right. The stairs had been very roughly cut too, so there weren’t two the same, and they had to go down slowly to avoid slipping. It would have been impossible to use it if the weather hadn’t been perfectly calm... Only on a night like this, with no wind and no rain, was it safe to go down. Cessilia had to hold up the hem of her dress, and Ashen went down very slowly too, holding her hand securely at each step she took.

They passed in front of little holes in the rock, some bigger than others, and before they got there, Cessilia had already guessed what kind of place they were headed to.

The cave wasn’t very large, but it was certainly beautiful. The stairs were taking an abrupt turn to the right, and there was a very small pathway inside, where they had to stay close to the wall on their right, while on their left, the sea waves gently came and went, filling a little river that went deeper inside. Despite the small entryway, there were other holes higher in the cave that the moonlight was shining through, illuminating the cave and its river in a gorgeous, blue-white light. For a while, she thought the river water was shimmery white, with dozens of little colored pieces at its bottom, until she looked closer. A bed of white seashells. The beautiful seashells were paving the entire river bed, along with pieces of blue or green frosted, smooth sea glass. Because the water depth was so shallow and the waves gentle, it looked like a shimmering mirror reflecting the moonlight in even more beautiful colors. Cessilia’s breath was taken away.

“It’s beautiful...” she muttered.

Surprised, Ashen suddenly stopped walking and turned to her. He was staring so intensely, Cessilia blushed helplessly.

“W-what...?”

“Just now, you... you didn’t stutter.”

She blushed even more, and lowered her head, nodding weakly.

“It happens... s-sometimes.”

Ashen smiled and closed the distance between them in a couple of steps.

“So you like it?”

“It’s a b-beautiful place.” Cessilia nodded. “How d-did you find it...?”

“My mother showed it to me and my brothers years ago. According to her, only a few young people knew of its existence when she was young... I guess most people living in the Capital now have no idea. It’s impossible to get here most of the time. It takes the perfect weather conditions that we rarely have here, and a low tide. We can only stay here for... perhaps two or three hours before this whole place gets filled by the sea again.”

Cessilia was amazed. This was such an ephemeral and beautiful place. To think this place possibly wouldn’t be available to anyone for a few days, before becoming such an enchanting place again...

Ashed smiled and turned around again, pulling her deeper into the cave. There were little holes going deeper, but they couldn’t be accessed by a human. The floor was humid, with a thin layer of half-dry sand, and some seashells forgotten by the tide scattered around them. Cessilia couldn’t help but try to avoid stepping on them on the rocky floor. Ashen took her to a little area that was about one step above the little river, dryer, and large enough, around the size of a small room. He took off his large, thick fur coat, and put it down on the floor for them to sit on it. He sat first, inviting Cessilia to join him. She sat shyly next to him, admiring the view they had on the little river and farther away past the cave entrance, on the large Eastern Sea.

He gently pressed his lips against her shoulder, before taking the back of her hands to his lips as well.

“I know it’s not as great as the wonders of the Dragon Empire, but... I wanted to show you the best of my world.”

“It’s t-truly amazing, Ashen. I love this p-place.”

To his surprise, Cessilia leaned in and initiated a kiss between them. The King answered her kiss, his breathing a bit unsteady. His lips against hers were trying to keep up, yet holding back a bit, as if he was afraid to lose control. He was frowning faintly, looking almost... in pain. Cessilia liked this restraint about him, though. She smiled, and while their lips parted, she caressed his cheek gently.

“Aren’t you... c-cold?” he muttered.

“You’re the one with a s-stutter now?” she chuckled.

The King blushed a little. He couldn’t hide his troubles, but the Princess found him even more charming when he was embarrassed and visibly torn inside. She smiled and put another quick peck on his lips. Then, she stared right into his eyes and putting her hands around his neck, she moved to sit across his lap, straddling him. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, but she had never felt so confident and bold. She smiled at him.

“...I’m never c-cold,” she said, a dash of pink on her cheeks.

His breath taken away, Ashen grabbed the Princess’ nape, and pulled her in for a wilder kiss.

The heat rapidly increased around them. Their damp and hot breathing and their wild kiss made any thought about the cold irrelevant. It was just the two of them, in their little world, kissing and caressing each other. The memory from that morning was rekindled in a matter of seconds, making them both lose their hesitation to indulge in some tender exchanges. Cessilia loved that he never wore a shirt, and left his torso bare for her to caress and touch. It was like a vast, warm, and soft land under her fingers.

He kept caressing her, but as he was hesitant to undress her, Cessilia took the first step, slowly undoing her leather belt and tossing it aside, taking her arms out of her sleeves, the dress naturally falling down to reveal her skin. Ashen’s breathing stopped for a second, and she saw him gasp very faintly, as if breath-taken.

“You’re... beautiful,” he muttered.

He wished he had words closer to the truth of what he was experiencing right then, but none seemed enough to describe the vision of the young goddess facing him. It was enough to make his heart wrench in pain. She was down on her knees, a bit higher than him, and he was admiring her from below, completely blown away by her mythical beauty. Her skin was glowing like cold gold under the moonlight, circled down by a myriad of her dark, walnut-brown curls. Cessilia’s striking green eyes had a more teal shade from the water reflected in them, and her lips were a bit purplish from the makeup that had been wiped off earlier. With only the nacre and seashell jewelry left, and the blue fabric streaming down her body, she was like a sea goddess, or a mermaid, who emerged from the sea to ravish his heart.