Heart Over Sword

"You know what WOULD make me very happy, Evanna?" His deep voice took on a tone that sent a shiver down her spine. She did not bother answering; it was a rhetorical question. "If you told me why you took my gem and how I could acquire it back."

Evanna shrunk slightly by the iciness in Arawn's voice, but she hid her trepidation by turning her head and glancing away from the prince. She wished at that moment, her hair was down like it usually was in such settings; it was easier to hide behind, but not today, it seemed. From now on, she would make sure to have it down because the prince was not going to stop his line of questioning, and she was not going to tell him what he needed to know.

With her head turned, she could still feel his icy gaze on the back of her head, causing her to shiver. The prince slammed his hand atop the surface of the wall shooting ice along it. Evanna immediately pulled her hands back and stared at the ice forming before turning to look at the prince wide-eyed.

"Oh good, I have your attention," Arawn said flippantly with his face as stoic as ever.

Evanna narrowed her eyes, "If you wanted my attention, you need only ask."

"I should not need to ask. We are walking through my gardens. I should have all of your attention," Arawn snapped back, taking a step towards her, one she did not step away from.

Evanna took a deep breath in, and instead of answering his question from before, she asked her own, "Rina told me about these gifts the elves have," she began and watched his face darken even further. But she continued, "how does it work?"

Arawn took another step closer to her making Evanna feel uncomfortable once again by his close proximity. She wanted to take a step back, but it would either cause him to become somewhat moody, from what she had observed so far about him, or he would continue relentlessly until she stopped. Instead, she tilted her chin up. His lips twitched into a smile, but it was gone within a flash, making Evanna wonder if she imagined it. 

"Rina should not have discussed with you about such matters," He drawled and tilted his head to the side, his eyes still focused on her, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.

Evanna suddenly felt worried about her handmaid; she hoped the servant was not in trouble. In fact, the princess felt terrible for the she-elf. Rina must have the most challenging job looking after the prince's 'plaything'. One false move, and her handmaiden might lose a limb!

"Evanna," Her gaze refocused back on the prince along with her attention, "how old are you?"

The question threw her mind off balance. How random and rude, it was true what she replied to the king when he asked of her age, but after looking back at Arawn's no nonsense expression, she reluctantly replied, "I am seventeen, your highness."

His brows raised up in surprise, "You are seventeen and chose this life for yourself?"

His accusatory tone made her poorly defend herself. "I am eighteen soon.." She muttered; the year didn't make much of a difference, which the prince confirmed when she saw his brow arch. Now that her mind was on her age, she realised she didn't actually know when her birthday was, it was lost on her, the days had merged into one, for all she knew, her birthday had been and gone. However, something at the back of her mind made her think otherwise.

"Come, let us walk to the pergola." He began to walk to the right among the low hedges and bushes.

Evanna followed obediently, yet with the prince slightly ahead, she could not help herself from scanning her surroundings, though it was useless. This part of the palace was stunning, but there seemed to be nowhere she could escape. Unless she counted climbing down the wall to the rock and jumping into the river. The same river that would lead her within ten seconds down a waterfall to her death.

Shaking her head, she let her eyes land on Arawn's back. His lean figure stood tall, his strides long and self-assured. The only two servant's working in the garden quickly darted their glances away from him and not so subtly moved away.

Once they passed through a floral archway, Evanna looked on to see a small pond to the side with a water feature she wished to inspect at a closer distance, but the grass surrounding it showed no signs of any footprints. Sadly, it seemed she was not allowed to stand on the grass. Sighing, she turned her head once more to the pathway that leads through the lush raised plant bushes and to a pergola with vines and flowers wrapping around its white wooden beams. Beneath it sat a cushioned bench and a coffee table, and to the side was a swing set meant for two.

Arawn walked towards the bench while Evanna eyed the swing set with purple flowers hanging atop and tumbling down in waves. But she reluctantly moved away from it and sat where the prince gestured to, next to him.

As she elegantly sat down, Arawn's eyes never left her face while she openly looked around in awe. If it were not for her imprisonment, she would genuinely appreciate and adore these gardens. They sat in a garden within a garden, the tall hedges provided privacy, and the only entry was through the floral archway. Without realising it, she sighed with content and leaned back into the cushion.

Evanna did not realise how long her eyes were closed for until a few moments later, but she opened them to find a tea set on the coffee table. Evanna looked to the prince and saw the smirk plastering on his face. But instead of his teasing, he gestured to the drink. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at it as she raised the cup to her lips.

"There would be no point in poisoning you." Evanna stilled the cup, letting the warm contents flow down her throat. "Where would be the fun in that? Now, how did a lady such as yourself start to sword fight? Was there a motivation behind this?"