A Love Stories Crossroad IC

Dante smiled wide seeing Ariana. She had changed into a beautiful green outfit matched with well fitting tights and ankle boots. The green color matched her skin flawlessly. He couldn't help but stare. Even as she spoke he couldn't pull his eyes from her. When she finally finished speaking he did however answer saying "I enjoyed it. It was nice and refreshing. That was the first bath I've had in three weeks. So needless to say I feel good. I forgot how soft my hair actually was!" He chuckled at this he had managed to get his hair nice and soft as it had been a while sense he had cleaned it. He always loved keeping his hair soft which actually made it look spiky. He ran his hand through his hair smiling softly saying "And yeah the doctor fixed me up. He couldn't stop staring at a particular scar though. Has he ever patched up people in war before?" He wanted to see if he had seen anything like his brand before. He had been a little freaked by it if he remembered correctly.
 
Nadia nodded her head, "Yes, it's to my understanding that he was one of the main doctors assisting our injured warriors from this past war. That's why he's so dependable and trustworthy; he knows how to keep cool even when looking the most gruesome of injuries in the face...at least, that's what I'm told. I wouldn't know too much about what he's able to stomach. I've only seen scars from my cousins, but I've never seen the true injuries from war, not before they've been patched up. My father has forbidden me from aiding the doctors and nurses in fixing up our fallen knights; the best I can do for them is visit and sing and try to make them feel as comfortable as possible."

She smiled sadly at the memories of the faithful knights that had gone to war in her and her father's name and had come back severely injured and even on the brink of death. Now was not the time to reminisce on such sad memories, though, so she just shook her head of the thoughts and lifted her eyes to Dante; "I'm glad you feel better, Dante," she said, her smile a little warmer as she become a little more comfortable around him, "I...I'm curious about you. Please, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself? I mean, we're going to be spending quite a long time together, hehe. It wouldn't do any good to be complete strangers to one another."
 
Dante smiled at her question before saying "Well, in my home land I used to enjoy the finer things such as playing piano. I loved to play. When I was 4 my mother started teaching me how to play the piano. We played all the time and i even surprised her sometimes by writing songs for her. If you want I could play for you sometime."

He smiled softly before thinking about his mother. She was a beatifull woman and he missed her alot. But he couldn't dwell on it. He quickly noticed he was no longer smiling nad forced a smile before saying "Something A lot of people don' know about me that You may not is that I've spent my last eight years fighting in the war. What they don't know is that I did it for my younger brothers. They were only 10 when the war started and I told My father I refused to let them fight. They were gong to finish there schooling's and stay as far from combat as possible. I was only twelve but I was more then ready. These last four years I've only been home four times. Each time my land was getting worse and worse. My brothers older and older. Last Time I saw them my Brother tim was 17 and he had his eye's on a local shop keep. He was really smitten with her. And Alexander oh don't get me started with him. He thinks he know's everything in the world because He read about it in a book!"

Dante chuckled thinking about his brother's complete opposites of each other. He couldn't help but smile about them. "Yes Alex he will get in the most heated debates with my father about economics and things like that, But he doesn't really know much about it. He doesn't have very much experience. What about you? Do You have any siblings?"
 
Nadia smiled and shook her head as a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes, "None, but I have...had quite a few cousins. There were ten; seven male cousins and three female cousins. They were always in the castle, playing and rough housing, the boys were. The girls, as you can probably guess, were more delicate and fragile as they had been raised to be. I never played with them much when I was younger because all they wanted to do was sew and play the harp or have tea time all day, ever day. My male cousins, though, they went exploring and on adventures! I followed them almost everywhere and they always included me, saying I was better than their sisters because I wasn't afraid to get my dress dirty...and I really wasn't. My caretaker, Laura, would always be so cross with me at the end of the day because I would come back to her covered in dirt. 'Young ladies don't romp around in the mud and make more work for their loyal caretakers!' she would say, but then I would go and do the same thing the next day and the whole cycle would start all over again, hahaha!"

That was the first real laugh she released in weeks and in the presence of a stranger. Talking about the happy moments in her childhood always made her feel so very bright and lively, but she soon caught herself and calmed down, not wanting the man across from her to think she was strange or unladylike, not when the fate of her kingdom hung in the balance.
 
Dante tilted his head slightly looking at her before saying "Why do you do that? Why do you reign yourself in like that? Listen if there's one thing you need to know about me it's that when your with me, I don't judge you. I never judge people." He slowly stould up and held his arms out saying "I'm not going to hide who I really am. I'll laugh when I want to laugh and I'll dance when I want to dance! . . ." He slowly sat down again and set his hands in front of hims still smiling but softer now as he said "I can see it. You start to be yourself and then you pull back. You were beginning to have a fun time and then you just . . . pulled back. Just try and have some fun. I like that fun loving side of you. Try not to hide that." He smiled a little softer before taking a small bite of his green beans. He looked at her curiously for a moment before saying "Hey do you know how to cook?
 
"I do," Nadia responded, a little shaken by Dante's words and his confession to like her fun loving side, "I was always curious, at least that's what the maids and my caretaker said. I would often wander into the kitchen to see what the cooks were making, sometimes getting in the way. It got to the point where they finally started teaching me how to cook, said I might as well learn since I was always in the kitchen anyway."

She tore off a piece of her dinner roll and popped it in her mouth, her casual eating habits starting to show the more she became comfortable. That was another reason she liked her male cousins better than her female cousins when she was growing up. They were always harping on her about her table manners, about her manners in general, but her male cousins didn't care how she ate as long as she did. She looked at Dante quietly, swallowing her food down and lowering the roll to the plate.

"You are not what I expected," she suddenly stated, "I expected you to be cold and distant from me because of this arrangement, yet you are not. Are you not upset that you are basically being forced into a marriage with me?"
 
Dante smiled slightly before saying in a kind non hurt full tone. "All that has ever mattered to me was my brother's happiness and the safety of my people. I want them to grow up never knowing the true horrors of life. I want them to fall in love and marry the people they want to. My people are who I live for, every tear every bead of sweat, every drop of blood is for my homeland. So no I'm not mad to be doing this. I'm happy to. I'm helping to save my people as well as yours and end this senseless war. And If you don't mind me saying this, I'm even less bothered to be engaged to such a fun loving and beautiful girl such as yourself."

He smiled softly before taking a small bight of pot roast. He glanced back up at her for a short moment before saying "You know this is good, but I have a feeling your cooking is better."
 
"Maybe. I you continue being nice to me, I might make something for you one day," she responded, giggling a little.

They continued on with dinner, casually speaking to one another and getting to know just that much more about the person they were going to marry. Soon, after the dessert was eaten and the wine was finished, they decided to turn in for the night. Nadia decided to walk Dante back to his room, continuing their conversation from dinner as they strolled. They stopped in front of his bedroom door and faced each other, the princess smiling.

"Well, Dante, I wish you deep sleep and pleasant dreams. The one thing I can say about you after tonight...is that you're a good man and I'm honored to be engaged to you," she said, offering the man her hand, "Until tomorrow?"
 
Dante smiled leaning down and taking her hand in his before kissing it gently saying "Until tomorrow." He slowly leaned back before parting with Nadia. He stepped inside of his room and let out a small happy sigh. She was a rather interesting girl unlike what he was used to. She actually enjoyed the fun things. But he could tell she had some hurt in her. She obviously didn't quite care for his people, but why should she her people are at war with mine and my people had killed her's. He slowly walked over to his bed before stripping down and crawling under the sheets. His mind stayed locked on the image of the princess until he finally managed to fall asleep tired from the days events.
 
Nadia had awoken the next morning, surprisingly refreshed and well rested despite how mentally tired she had been the day before. She greeted the morning sun with a smile and a certain red haired prince on her mind as she dressed herself for the new day. She figured she might as well show Dante around the castle since he would be staying with them until the day of their wedding and it would do him good to know where a few key things were located. Hating the tight, fluffy dresses her cousins kept insisting she wear because they themselves wore them, she dressed herself in a loose yet form fitting red short skirt dress with the same ankle boots from the night before. She left her hair loose around her shoulders and left the room, heading to see if Dante was awake and hungry for breakfast.
 
Dante had woken awhile ago and was now sitting on the edge of his bed thinking about his mother. He missed her so much, and only wished she was here to talk to him. As much as he liked this girl he didn't know if he loved her. He had only met her a day ago and was engaged before he ever met her. As he sat there he thought about everything that lead up to there engagement as his hand slowly worked it's way up to the branding on his chest. He never wanted Nadia to see that though. She still had her innocence and it was not his right to take that from her. He had no right to show her the cruelties of war. When He heard a knock on the door he without thinking said "Come in!" Not even considering it might be Nadia and that he was only wearing a pear of red silk pants, his dark red hair slicked back leaving his dark yellow eyes as the center piece to his face.
 
At the answer, Nadia opened the door, "Oh, good, you're awake. Would you like-"

She stopped mid-sentence, though, when she realized she had just walked in when Dante was partially dressed. She flinched and whipped around, facing the door again.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see anything!" she said in embarrassment, cupping her hands over the sides of her eyes so she didn't see anything by accident, "I just came to see if you were ready for breakfast."

She felt her cheeks heat up at the realization that he was half dressed. Sure, she had seen her cousins naked before...but those were her cousins. This was a completely different person, a man she met yesterday.
 
Dante had been shocked at first when it was Nadia who walked in but when she quickly spun around in shock he began laughing out loud. He couldn't help it. It was so adorable. He fell back onto the bed and held his left forearm up over his eyes as he slowly stopped luaghing. He then stood up not thinking about his scar's before saying "Babe, It's nothing you didn't see last night!"

He slowly walked up to er and patted her on the back before saying "Don't worry I have pants on."

She had easily lightened his mood. For some reason he couldn't help but smile at her. As he noticed her dress he slowly leaned back and touched the bottom frills of her dress before saying "Just so you know You look cute in this dress. I like it."

He smiled softly as He waited for her turn around hoping she would. He was after all only shirtless.
 
"You were wearing a shirt last night!" she retorted, jumping a little and blushing all the more when she felt him tug at the bottom of her skirt, "Should you be doing that? That's a bit flirty, you know."

She turned around and fluffed the skirts of her dress a bit, trying to collect herself after having reacted the way that she did and sighed to calm her hammering heart. In the next moment, she giggled at their early morning greeting to one another, and the hilarious situation they had ended up in, and shook her head. So far, she wasn't exactly hating having Dante around. She opened her eyes and looked up at him again, preparing to actually say 'good morning', but stopped cold when she saw the scar on his chest, the mark of the emblem of her kingdom.

"Dante...where did you get that?" she asked, her brow furrowing as she reached up to touch the scar, "Someone...branded you?"
 
Dante's Eyes shot open wide as she noticed his scar. He had been reckless. He hadn't wanted her to see that, ever. He looked down at her as she stared at his scar. He wanted to cover her eyes and yell don't loo but he was frozen in place as she reached up and touched the scar. He couldn't move. After a long silence he finally looked back up away from her saying "I. . . I didn't mean for you to see that. I . . . I was captured six years ago by some of your Father's men. They tortured me for two weeks straight before finally releasing me. But they left a brand on my body to remind me of what they'd done. I . . . I never wanted you to know. The people of your kingdom are good people. I can tell just by watching them. PLease don't judge them. That's the last thing I wanted."

He looked down at her for a moment seeing the hurt and pain in her face. He didn't know what to do. He slowly lifted His arms up and a moment later he pulled her into a hug saying "You listen to me. The people of your kingdom are kind and caring people, who were pushed into war just Like mine. They had no control over there circumstances. I was nothing more then a message to my father to them. That's why they dd that. So don't be mad at them. If You should be mad at anyone it should be me."

He wanted to comfort her with his words and remove the pain. He had only been sixteen when he got this scar, and over the last four years he came to forgive those men and he never hated them for what they did. War was a terrible thing that made people do terrible things to one another. He just wanted to hide that from her, He didn't want to see her cry or be in pain. It had nothing to do with his promise to her father now either. He just wanted to see that smile of her's it lit up his day just to see her genuinely smile.
 
'He...forgives them?' Nadia thought to herself incredulously, shifting her head to look up at the man. How could a man who had been tortured for two weeks at the age of sixteen...be so forgiving after being branded with the mark of his enemy.

Now she really was confused by him and wondering what kind of man he truly was. Even the knights that had come back from the war, some missing parts of their body and others unable to even move anything below their neck, were angry and distraught by the effects of the battles. They were not as forgiving as Dante was...nor were they this protective of strangers like he was towards her. He didn't want her to see that brand...but why? She figured he would have thrown that in her face, debased her people, call them barbarians for what they did to him. He didn't, though; instead, he comforted her in her own moment of shock at the cruelty. Her father could not have known about this; it must have been done in secret. The men that served under her father, if they ever caught an enemy, they were not to be tortured in such a way, but held as prisoners of war. Her father would not condone such senseless torture.

Nadia lifted her hand to the brand again, lightly tracing the raised skin and shaking her head, pressing her ear against his chest, "We are doing the right thing...by ending this war with our marriage."

She looked up at him, sadness still shimmering, but it was slowly being covered by the determination in her eyes, "My people are good and I believe yours are as well, but as you said, war makes people...do things they would never normally do. Let's do our best together...to make sure that things liket his," she touched his scar, "never happens again...to anyone."
 
She was trully a remarkable woman. She was understanding, and she was kind hearted. He listened to her intently as she placed her hand to his scar, and keeping his right hand at the small of her back he brought his left hand up to take the hand cupped over his scar in his as he said "Thank you. Thank you for being willing to accept the things I've done, but more so for forgiving your people. They are what makes your kingdom what it is, and to let the actions of a few men shape your view of the whole well, I'd never forgive myself if I caused that. SO here is to us. May we prosper and flourish in this time of peace, and may our kingdom's grow to forgive one another."

He stared down at her for a moment before leaning down toward her before pressing his lips gently to her forehead. He didn't know why he did it, but it just felt comfortable. It felt right, he only hoped she felt the same. As his lips parted with her forehead he leaned back stepping a little away from her still holding her hand in his not wanting them to part before saying "I'm sorry I started this morning off to such a bad start. Was there something you wanted of me?"
 
She looked down at their clasped hands, her eyes shimmering gently as she shook her head, "I just came to see if you would like to join me for breakfast and to offer my services by giving you a tour of the castle."

Nadia lifted her gaze to his, her eyes flickering to the emblem on his chest before she locked her eyes onto his face, "I want you to be as comfortable here as possible...and to trust me as much as possible...as I'm sure to trust you."

She smiled at him, the place on her forehead where he kissed her beginning to tingle with the remaining warmth radiating there. His eyes as he looked at her were gentle and she shivered almost in delight as her previous reservations about the prince slowly diminished, being replaced with the truth that he was a kind hearted, strong-willed, forgiving man that would rule powerfully and kindly as king...as her king. Her chest began to feel warm at her own thoughts and she put her hand over her heart when she felt it skip a beat unexpectedly, the young woman not fully realizing how her feelings for him were slowly changing, so slowly that not even she was fully aware of it.
 
Dante smiled softly before saying "I'd Love a tour. What Say we grab some apples and eat while we walk, Unless of course, That's Too unladylike for you." He smiled softly as he teased her before saying "I do however need to change so You can watch I don't care But I thought I'd Just Give You a Heads Up." He smiled at her until she left and then He promptly changed into a pear of white black pants and a white t-shirt before putting on a nice long red Trench Coat. He quickly stepped outside after finishing saying "Sorry for the Wait. Now, Where do we begin . . ." He smiled softly down at her as he crossed his arms. Simply glad to be out of his bedroom and on the go.
 
"Well, we might as well begin with the kitchen to grab some fruits," she stated, pointing in the direction they would be going before starting off that way," Make sure you pay attention because I may not always be here to play seeing eye-dog."

She laughed a little bit as they made their way down the long corridor, conversing easily with one another along the way. A right and two lefts later, Nadia and Dante found themselves in the kitchen where the chef and help were just beginning to make breakfast for the royal family and the other servants. They greeted Nadia warmly as she came in, some even engulfing her in hugs as she laughed easily with them. They looked at Dante a little nervously, but nonetheless gave him polite smiles and bows out of respect. Nadia grabbed an apple and tossed it to Dante before grabbing an orange for herself.

"Okay, as you can see, this is the kitchen," she said, flourishing her arms out in presentation, "And Basam is the master chef as well as my culinary teacher."

A big jolly looking man with snow white hair, a black moustache, and laughing brown eyes let loose a mighty chuckle as he nodded, "Aye, the wee lass wouldn't ever leave the kitchen when instructed, so I took her under me wing and taught her everything I know.

"Which isn't a lot."

"Hey!"

Nadia laughed at Basam's indignant cry, turning to give him her most innocent look.
 
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