Who Cried Wolf

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Jenis had long since stowed Mace away into his stables. The minute the horse trotted into hits confines, it went straight to sleep without even a head wave in Jenis's direction.

"Sure, be mad at me for trying to stop a mad woman from destroying my castle." Jenis replied while carrying the writhing bag. Alfred was a clear mess. He hadn't stopped moving since Jenis saved him from the dark forest and probably was not going to stop until he was near his master. Speaking of which, Jenis was not too ecstatic about seeing what the woman had done to his castle. Every foot step he took to the entrance was a reluctant one. The guards posted on either side of the double doors never held an expression, so Jenis didn't even bother asking them. Instead, with a deep breath of anxiety, he pushed the door apart and braced himself.

The castle looked as if it had never been touched. There was not a case out of place, except for one that a maid was carrying to set on top of a podium. Jenis had only been absent for an hour and the tower had already begun to get back on its feet. He let out a relieving sigh and gave a tired look to the maid. She only pointed upstairs to his quarters. Jenis gripped the bag and took the stairs to his room two at a time. Once he reached the door, he peeled it open to see the princess sleeping silently on his bed. He wanted to to do something strange...push a strand of hair behind her ear. However, the ferret wiggled more in the bag. Jenis opened the bag, letting Alfred scatter onto the bed.

"I told you."he said, dropping the bag.​
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Ariana was fast asleep when Jenis entered, completely unaware of him as she rested. Alfred on the other hand was quite active. The furry creature had no trust in the prince at this point, after being bagged, tossed and left alone for hours before being bagged once more. Alfred would hold some grudges but he was more interested in being near his mistress at the moment. Once let out upon the bed he was right next to her, nuzzling his dirt covered head into the crock of her neck in an attempted to wake her up. The ferret was no fool, she must have done something to make the horrible man bring him back and he was greatful for it.

A small grumbled came out of the princess as she was slowly awakened by the nuzzling of her pet, she turned her away a bit but that did not work and Alfred just moved and nuzzled into her other cheek. She started to wake more and soon was batting the ferret away.

"Hmmm...stop...stop Alfred..." She mumbled lightly, half awake at the moment.

...

Ariana suddenly sat up, the ferret jumping back as she turned at look to see him sitting on the bed next to her.


"ALFRED!"


She quickly took the dirty ferret into her arms and smiled, hugging him close as he purred loudly. She was so glad to see him safe. He was a bit dirty though, probably had quite the adventure when he was away. She pulled him back and looked the ferret in the eyes as she spoke at him.

"Don't you EVER do that again, Alfred! You scared me blind! I thought I almost lost you again."

It was around this point that she noticed the Prince was watching her and she gave him a sparing glance. It was now the time she dreaded...thanking him for his kindness. She may have hated his guts but she wasn't a rude person."

"Thank you...for finding him." She said softly to him as she continued to pet and cuddle Alfred.


 
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"What a lovely reunion and boy do I hate to break up reunions, but after searching everywhere for him, I have to say that all my energy has failed me. If you don't mind..."he said before taking three or four steps towards her and the bed, spinning in a crescent circle, back plopping while he allowed all of the weight to leave his body. The bed grasped him in its cushion and silk sheets. Jenis was surprised that he had not fallen asleep on contact. He was dutifully exhausted. Ripping and running around Kalerin and all to make the princess happy and not a danger to Kalerin as a whole. The second she got the ferret back in her hands, she was transformed from a knife to a cupcake. Jenis wiped his face with one hand, his usual trademark when it came time for annoyance or exhaustion, and let his lips roll over his palm when Ariana thanked him.

"So kindness isn't a foreign language to you, it seems. Thank the Gods. I was fearing that we may need a linguist for you."he said, walking down his natural path of jerkery. Why? He had no clue. Why couldn't he suck up his pompous pride for a moment and relax when he was with the princess? He was always so uptight and preparing for comebacks of all sorts, even when she went as far as to thank him for recovering the ferret he banished! Now was not the time for him to attempt to peel apart why he was being the way he was. Jenis opened his eyes to a slit and looked to the ceiling.

"It was no problem."he said, being sarcastic but giving her a short smile before he turned to her. "I would hate to lose something important as well."
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Ariana watched as the Prince turned and flopped onto the bed gracelessly, seemingly about to fall asleep in what he was wearing. She was paying more attention to Alfred though when he rudely replied to her thanks, returning it with a small glare. She didn't respond though, she was showing thanks and starting a fight right now would not be the right way to go about it. When he spoke again she was going to glare but stopped as he seemed to soften his tone from being sarcastic to understanding. This prince was acting very strange...Maybe it was his tired mind doing this.

"Alfred is very important...More than anyone will ever know, he was the last gift I ever received from my mother..." She explained softly as she continued to pet the purring rodent. "If it were not for Alfred, I would not be here today."

Her mind started to wander, back to her graduation at school and how she had received Alfred in a little box with holes in the side. It was strange but when she opened it, a much smaller version of Alfred popped out and scurried up her arm, startling her into dropping the box. It was an instant connection, him nuzzling into her cheek and making her giggle. He seemed to tiny back then, but then again, so was she. She was not the tall elegant woman she was today, far from it in fact. She made a move to stand, picking up her precious pet and taking him to the bathroom. She planned on cleaning him up once more, just a small bath for him really. Besides, it would not be nice to roll into dirty from his fur during the night, it would be better if he was cleaned now.

 
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He nodded to what she had said but made no strain to answer or console her. The exhaustion was finally beginning to seep in and Jenis was powerless to avoid it. The moment Ariana exited the bed, he felt the mattress shift under the loosened weight which only made Jenis slip farther into a blissful unconsciousness. He had no more words to tell her for fear that he may speak the wrong ones and throw the two of them back into the chaotic relationship they had before. Somehow, he found that he was making progress with her. Very slow progress but he was not going to complain on the degree. Jenis sighed and began nodding off, not caring whether she would make her usual amends to sleeping naked or if she was evening going to sleep in the same bed. Jenis just listened to the last thing she said and chuckled.

"I will change that."he said before he drifted off into nothing, tiny drops of blood oozing out from the bite marks that Alfred gave to him.



CHAPTER TWO: INTERNAL WARS

Things had not gotten better whatsoever. In fact, they got a lot worse.

Kalerin and Xore were now at each other's throats about not only the wheat bundles, but the attack on their 'sentry' guards instead. Turns out, the King and Queen gave no message to the archers to apprehend both Jenis and Ariana, but, when questioned, the archers claimed that they were forced to do so due to self-defense measures. When Jenis heard of the accusation, his face boiled into an angry red and he flipped a table in the grand hall over. Everyone, including his mother and father was shocked at his increased anger towards the Xorians, but it could not be helped.

As a matter of fact, Jenis's dominant personality was anger and frustration. All of the stress of being wedded soon, the war, and trying to maintain the kingdom while his mother and father were away on negotiations was keeping him on edge. He snapped at several maids over minuscule things and half the time, he just turned the other way when called upon. No one knew how to get through to him. On all costs, they just avoided him as much as he avoided everyone else. That way, no one was getting hurt.

Oddly, the only thing that kept his mind off of the stress of the castle was Ariana and Alfred. Ever since the falling out between him and her and the separation of her and Alfred, Jenis tried to make her content his main goal. If she ever had a spree like that again, Jenis would probably follow along with her in her tirade. However, as Prince of Kalerin, stability had to made. It was just hard to do that when you were on the verge of war.

Jenis sighed again while he flipped through the reports once again. Messengers and spies had been tossing parchments into the castle about Xorians most recent doings. They were going so far as to purposefully vandalize shops and managing to vanish in the nick of time. Kalerin did not have enough guards to make sure all stores were safe, so Jenis took it upon himself to find a chain. Pinpoint exactly what they were aiming for.

Unfortunately, in his opposite room, the only thing he pinpointed was the gradually swelling migraine.

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After being reunited with Alfred, Ariana's opinion on the prince had changed. Yes, he was still forcing her to marry him and yes she was still being watched very strictly by the guards but, though he had expressed such dislike for Alfred, he still saved him for her. So maybe his personality wasn't as bad as she made it out to be. However, as of late his attitude was very much irritating. He was snappy and tense and just generally unlikeable. The war seemed to be getting more out of control and those men that had tried to captured them claimed that it was them who had attacked.

If she was able to contact her father, Xore would no longer exsist as far as she was concerened. However, Jenis would never allow that, he was to prideful to ask help from another kingdom and he also was probably paranoid about letting her contact her family again and let out that he was the kidnapper. Oh, she could only imagine the stress her father was going through, she had been gone for so long...She prayed for him every night and hoped that maybe one day they could be together again. That would have to wait though, right now she had other plans.

With an angry Jenis floating about, life in the castle was boring and strangely lonely. He was avoiding everyone, including her and though she didn't like his rude comments, they were a little missed. Also, a small part of her felt like she owed him something for taking the time to get Alfred. She did have one skill she could put to use, one that not many knew about in fact. Hopefully he'd be open to giving it a try. She made a light knock on the door to the room he was working in before opening the door slowly. Alfred had been left to rest in the bedroom, curled up on a small pillow and locked in to make sure a repeat of his last adventure.

"Excuse me...May I have a word?" She asked him simply as she stood in the door way, dressed in another long flowing gown that the women had provided.

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At the same time, a paper was thrown onto the far corner of the room and Jenis shoved his left hand in his locks of brown hair. He had recently gotten it trimmed to make him look a lot more professional but it did nothing for the scowl he wore. It made him look a slight bit handsomer, what with his jaw being clenched every so often. He was dressed in his usual forest green and white tux, but the tie was loosened up a tad to give him some air while he rummaged through the files. One of the door was closed, Jenis let the next balled up paper soar across the room. He took a moment to breath, elbows resting on his desk before closing his eyes, raising his head slowly, and looking up to her.​

"Yes, princess. I have all the time in the world."

Jenis made no move to return to his current work. He felt that if he did, he would only become enraged at the Xorian stupidity and lack of Kalerin intellect to supress it with. Instead, he kept his eyes to her, admiring that she was wearing brighter things for a change. He trained his maids well.

"Sit."he said, feeling bad about his first statement while he motioned to a chair in front of him. He didn't want her to take the gruffness in his voice the wrong way. The headache was getting to him, thats all.​
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Ariana kept a plain face as he had his little tantrum, eventually motioning for her to sit once he cooled down a bit. She did not blame him though, his kingdom was not in the best of states and it was on him to fix things while his parents tried to play nice. Apparently the two of them were not getting the message that they were not liked at all, no matter how diplomatic they tried to be. She took her seat in the hair elegantly, and looked at him as she started to speak softly.

"I've noticed you've been...tense, for a lack of a better term, and I wished to offer you some comfort. That is of course if you wish to accept it. It's not much, but it has calmed my father when he has raged so I am certain it will help you."

Her intentions were pure and simple. She would do him a kindness and consider them even before returning to her usually defensive and high walled attitude. However, a small part of her noticed the shortness of his hair and found him slightly more handsome than before. He looked better with short hair in her opinion...but she would never let him hear her say that.


 
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"Hit me with your best shot. I am open for anything you have."he said. It seemed that Ariana had a mutual interest in knowing why he was so uptight and snarky, more snarky than usual. Jenis had nothing to tell her about it. It was obvious hat Kalerin was going through some touchy things with Xore and Jenis purposefully kept the princess out of his affairs. He wanted nothing to do with her assistance on the matter. how would it seem to Kalerin if he took the help from Saypol and its princess? No, he would never stoop that low.

But the princess was there for a reason so Jenis at least had to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"I know I have been busy for the past few days and I can't apologize for it. You should not even be morally concerned with it. By far, you have been out of my hair and I have been out of yours. The fighting has come to a stop and you can flex what little freedom you believe you have, and yet, you think you can do something to help me get over this stress. Princess, I don't believe in miracles that much."he said simply, lying his chin on his hands and looking at her. The dress she was dappled in was gorgeous and fit every curve of her body splendidly.

No, Jenis. Let's not go there.
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"Well, Prince, I'm not much of a believer in miracles myself. However, I am a believer of remedies." She commented as she made a move to stand up slowly. "I am going far out of my comfort zone, as I'm sure you know, and I am doing so to offer you some comfort and maybe even a moment of peace. If it does not work I'll leave you be, but honestly, are you really going to turn a way a possible chance at some relief from the tenseness I'm sure you are suffering?"

She stepped around the desk slowly and eventually stood right next to him, her long curls draping over her shoulders and she looked down at his sitting form.

"I am not asking you for anything...other than your cooperation. Now, just sit back and let me do what I know will help you."

With that said, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, the other gliding to the the other side and taking that one as well. She rolled the muscles gently in her grip before digging her thumbs into the back of his neck and working the sore muscles there as well. Her hands were surprisingly skilled, gentle but firm to the tight muscles under his skin. She remained on his shoulder for awhile, the muscles so tense that it might have even strained it if he moved to fast.

 
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He was becoming fearful, of course. She was being too...nice. It was absolutely maddening, to see that side of her while he was vulnerable no less. The war had pulled his strings and smashed his buttons repeatedly that he was tense ever so often during the day, Ariana had picked a beautiful time to come and..."help" him. He was still tentative around her of course, for that was her nature. Never before did she say something so sincere and managed to have an unwavering expression behind it. Jenis clenched the side of his chair discreetly but his expression did not change at all. He only watched as he made her way behind him. That was when he jumped slightly at her touch.

"This isn't some type of assassination trick, is it?"he asked, feeling her hand float over his back. The touch was driving him mad. It was part fear, anxiety, and much needed comfort. A touch was something he hadn't experienced in a long time, but it was something desperately needed. If Ariana or even ALFRED had to give it to him, he would accept it with no remorse. Jenis closed his eyes when her fingers began to move in circles on the back of his neck. He could slowly feel the tightened muscles release their constricting hold and loosen and melt into one another.

"Oh Gods..."he breathed into the polished surface of his desk. Jenis had only one conclusion to why she was doing this torturous thing to him: she had found out what he had done to Alfred and was getting her revenge. But this revenge was so sweet, he didn't mind if it was or was not. All he wished was that if she did kill him to do it with her hands, because they were amazing.​
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"Trust me, if I was going to kill you you would be suffering from the very beginning and know it. Now hush and relax." She said smoothly as she continued to work out his tense muscles.

It was easy to see that her hands were exactly what the prince needed. His once straight and tense form was slowly relaxing and melting under her touch. She continued to rub his neck and shoulder gently, up and down and left to right. She dug into them in slow circles, making sure to really loosen him up. She knew he would thank her for this later, maybe even try and offer her something in return. If he did that, she would ask for her own room. She had been there long enough so the least he could do was allow her to have her own room, yes?

She started to move down his back, working over his spine with her talented fingers. She guided him to lean forward as she placed her other hand firmly on his lower back. Before he could think, she suddenly yanked him backwards as her other hand pressed into his spine. There was a long series of cracks and his spine popped at every possible joint. It would hurt for maybe a second until a wave of pure relaxation would hit him. Every tense muscle would not be loosen and relaxed, ready to take on the tasks that had once made them so tense.


"Now, isn't that better?" She asked as she stepped back and leaned forward a bit to look at him.
 
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"You...have been prac-practicing this, I presume? I don't think the maids here can w-work this wonder on anyone for that...that matter."he said, trying to speak through his moans and groans every time her fingers pressed deeper into his skin. Every so often he would moan and laugh at the same time. How embarrassing this is. She has me wrapped in her fingers and there is nothing I can do about it. The worse part is that I don't want her to stop. Jenis chuckled again when a deep breath of pleasure flicked off of his tongue when she made her way down his lower back.

"T-the teasing has to stop, my dear..."he whispered. So tempting it was to spin around and pin her to the desk in front of him. Oh, so tempting. But she would kill him. He had the brawn, yes, but she had the brains and would aim right for...Jenis clenched his legs together to stop himself from throbbing against the chair. Her hands were a poison that he wanted injected into his veins so that he could release his 'stress' all over h--

"OW DAMNIT!"he shouted when a sudden pain cracked through his spine. The sudden appearance of pain made all forms of annoyance seep back into his mind and body. Xore and the war were sneaking back up on him, and even his hatred for the princess blossomed again...before a pleasurable waterfall fell over his spine. Jenis let out ragged breaths, eyes wide and shaking before her released his white knuckled grip on the desk.

"...Dammit, Ariana..."he said, breathing heavily still. "A warning would have been...oh this feels amazing. Thank you. I am in your debt for the moment."he said, scattering the papers off the desk.​
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Ariana could not help but let out a laugh as he yelled in pain, only to crumble into a wave of relaxed pleasure. She was so skilled after all, she knew exactly what to do and when to do it. She moved over to the desk and took a seat on the corner as he basically laid across it, letting his freshly relaxed muscles have a moment. Now that he was in her debt, it was time for her to strike.

"Well, if I warned you your muscles would have tensed up again, and we couldn't have that now could we? Also, now that you are in my dept, I do have one small little request...it's nothing very big I promise you..."
She cooed to him sweetly as she sat there. "You see...I was thinking that since I've been here for so long, and since I've been behaving mostly, I might be able to have my own room now. I mean, it is either that or you allow me to write a letter to my father, either one is acceptable to me."

Though her original intentions were just to get a separate room, she also decided to throw in a possible chance to contact her father and kingdom. Also, compared to each other, Jenis would have no choice but give into the lesser of the evils and allow her her own room, least he face two separate wars with two separate kingdoms. Of course, if he denied her anything, she could also play keep away. If he was a smart man, he'd ask her to give him more back rubs. If she withheld that from him then she might be able to break him and get what she wanted. It was a weak plan in all honesty but it was the best she could come up with that didn't involve killing him brutally or climbing out the firth story window on a rope made of knotted sheets...

 
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Jenis listened to her proposition while he was still recovering from the attack and pleasure effect. It was a combination of sweet bliss he had not felt in...well...ever! This was the first he had been maliciously pleased and he savored every ticking of the clock. Of course, that was all ruined when the princess spoke up through his dense vision and daydream of laying in his bed for hours on end in deep relaxation. She was purring through her teeth and Jenis knew before she even spoke about it that she wanted something for her efforts. Sneaky little snake. She had him right where she wanted him. In her debt.

"I suppose your behavior has been brighter than it were when things started between us. Not immensely colorful but less tyrannous than before. I am not sure if that goes with saying that you are free from my grasp, however. You are one tricky little sphinx, I must say."he said, darting his brown eyes over to her. "You set that up, my dear, and quite beautifully I may add." Now it was Jenis's time to stall. Both propositions were not suitable in the exact time of his life. For starters, if she wrote to that short-tempered father of her's, his head would be on a spiked pole for all of Saypol to see. Jenis rubbed his Adam's Apple and peeled his eyes away from Ariana.

On the other hand, he did not know if he could emotionally go a night without her. As terrifyingly frightening as it was to perceive, Jenis was beginning to develop a sense of security when her bare body was near his own. There was a warmth he looked forward too each night after they argued and spat at one another. The smallest thing he had was now being sweetly asked to vanish.

"I suppose I have no other choice. I'd rather know where you are than fear for you gone."he said, simply picking the papers back up and scanning over the messages, hoping she did not read into his last sentence.​
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Ariana just grinned as Jenis commented on her set up. She wasn't the princess of Saypol just because her father was king. She had the sharpest mind easily in this whole castle, the only competition being the prince...Though she had just proven that she could best him as well. She continued to wait there, sitting on the corner of his desk as he debated his choices. It took a bit, but once it was said she smiled more and hopped up from her spot.

"I'm glad we could work things out...And don't fear for me, I'll just be in whatever room you give me. That isn't going to be to hard on you. Or have you come to enjoy my company in your bed, Prince?"
She teased him as she made her way over towards the door.

She didn't think much of his last words, she was more focused on her victory over the smart ass Prince. It was about time she won a battle! Also, she would finally have the peace of her own room! She was one step closer to securing her own freedom and return to her father at last. A small part of her started to wonder what he was doing. It had nearly been a month since she was taken. He should have at least gotten some type of lead by now...She didn't think about it too deeply though, her father did have other duties. Maybe he had given her rescue over to a general to deal with and the man was making sure not to cross any lines...

 
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"Enough with the tempting, Ariana. I am never too stressed to kidnap."he said. His voice was the only thing in the room when she eventually left him sitting there mulling over his own papers. He was glad to know that the massage technique had also loosened his mind, allowing him to actually read through the messages and not skim over them and assume they were all just heresy. He was the prince of Kalerin and one of the only hopes to make the war between Kalerin and Xore lacking bloodshed.

He stretched his back hearing a crack before feeling a small twinge of relaxed tension son afterwords. Not as deep and sensual as Ariana's trick, but a small bit of an aftertaste of her medicine. Jenis was surprised she would take it that far. He had maids and massage therapists. Of course, he was Prince of Kalerin! She could have ordered some woman off of the dusty city road to massage his back while she barked out orders. Instead, she took it upon herself to ease his pain and suffering, of course, most likely doing it to get what she wanted.

But that wasn't enough, was it?

Jenis flipped through the pages again and stopped. He had about enough of the war and paperwork and worrying over his parents. The time for R&R was then and now. Jenis stood up and left the papers on the desk, walking out of the office and out to the courtyard for some air.
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Ariana had made her way out into the court yard after leaving Jenis to his work, having collected Alfred along the way so that they two of them could celebrate a little with a game. She set Alfred down and grabbed a small stick, one big enough for Alfred to carry. She waved it in front of him to gather the ferret's attention and smiled as he suddenly became twitchy, his body tensing to show he was ready to play. She tossed the stick across the court yard and he went right after it, sliding a bit as he gabbed it off the ground and turned at the same time.

He trotted back over to her and she took the stick again, repeating the toss and watching him run after it. She was rather content at the moment with herself. She had been able to help the prince and return him for his kindness while also pulling one over him and getting her own room, which was a step closer to her freedom. Now it was time for her to plan out how she would go about escaping. She'd have to wander around a lot more and also figure out guard schedules and such. But it was worth it if it meant returning to her father and her people once again.

Alfred returned to her once again and was panting at her feet, she just laughed a little and took the stick once more, throwing it out for Alfred to catch once more.

 
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The days were becoming a tad bit better since the incident with Alfred. At least he was with Ariana. They were not at each other's throats all 24 hours of the day, but they were still not on good terms. Good terms would be having a smile from them in the morning or some other form of a friendly gesture. Ariana had not yet made it to that point. She was obviously still upset about the kidnapping in general when Jenis had completely gotten over it. Time and time again he had shown her that he would not hurt her in the slightest or even make her feel as if she was not a princess. The entire castle bowed to her every whim and need and the marriage proposal hadn't even been done yet! That s just how Kalerin worked. The people put their trust in the king, queen, and prince of the land; they believed that they looked out for their best interest at heart. Princess Ariana had gotten close to Jenis, there was bo doubt about that, so the people naturally looked up to her as well.


But still...over and over again, I keep hearing about that father of hers.
Jenis was still roaming around the courtyard that had bust into colors during the change in season. The grand garden was coming along just fine and the hues from the flora accencutated the water from the falls very beautifuly. This was the time where Jenis had begun to sttle himself down in his head. He was a prince so, naturally, having leisure time to himself was an ovious factor. There were just so many other problems working against him an Ariana was the cause of 89% of them. A flash of white zipped past his eyes and snapped him from hios reverie.


Speak of the...


"You just can not seem to stay away from me. This is so flattering. Unless, you want something else."he asked with a raised eyebrow. Alfred was zooming back and forth through the yard, chasing after a small stick that Ariana tossed and teased him with. Teasing. Her specialty.
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Ariana was still determined to live that castle, if not for her pride as the princess of Saypol then to at last return to her father and be reunited with him once again. A small seed of doubt rested in her chest though. It had been so long since she had seen him and through his yelling for her return was the last thing she heard, she wondered if she was even a priority at the moment. Her kingdom hadn't been going through much. There were no wars and commerce was perfectly fine. She was starting to question if her father was really trying. She was quick to shove the doubt away though, her father must have had a good reason to not save her yet. Maybe it was the threat of war between Jenis's country and the Xore? Certainly father didn't want to get caught in any piety fights of other countries...That must have been it.

Alfred returned once more with the stick, his long tail wagging behind him as he held it in his jaws. She took it from him and threw it again, watching the white fur ball dash off into the courtyard to retrieve it. He darted right passed the Prince and then back to Ariana, the princess looking at Jenis for a moment before taking the stick and throwing it out into the yard again. If he wanted to be in his court yard that was fine, it was his castle after all. Just as long as he didn't try anything funny...She tossed the stick once more after Alfred brought it back, watching as he flew after in like a dog on the hunt.