It was as if the mass of bodies that trailed behind the lone rider and his terrifying, yet alluring mount had become ensnared in a tidal wave that pushed itself towards the pair of figures that served as the lonely shore of the nonexistent beach. The mix of wargs, goblins, humans, and elves could not help themselves as they called out towards the austere form of the lonely rider as they called out towards the blonde-haired prince.

They were never too close, nor were they far enough away where they couldn’t simply reach out and touch the bloodied rags of cloth and shattered links of enchanted chainmail that hung limply off of Aurelius’ battered form. Yet despite the rapid firing of questions that flowed freely through the miserable atmosphere that lingered over the dark elven prince and the mythical beast that served as his steed, their curiosity went unanswered as the glistening hair of the lonesome prince covered his eyes. The glistening hair that covered the rolling sea of emotions that embroiled his face served as a means of blocking out the miserable state of emotions that were so abundant upon Aurelius’ dejected, yet undeniably alluring features.

And as the sullen prince continued to cast down his gaze upon his hands, watching his muddied and bloodstained fingers weave in and out of the wisps of red magical energy that weaved itself so brilliantly through the Unicorns midnight black mane, Iskra couldn’t help but feel mesmerized by what she now bore witness to.

‘Did it not go as you had thought?’ The love-struck girl asked in the back of her mind as she continued to watch her heroic prince stride through the rebuilt gates of Ruined Home. ‘Has your lonely return shown you the limits of what you can do?’

The raven-haired girl had only just arrived at the front of the pack of bodies that swarmed around the unusually busy entrance to the Ranislavian encampment, but from the barest amount of detail that the young girl had managed to convene from the sullen atmosphere surrounding the elven prince had proven itself to have been more than enough for the young girl.

‘I bet you had felt so happy to run off and track down a couple of trolls, didn’t you?’ Iskra’s emerald-like eyes lingered over the shadowed features of the princes’ morose stricken face. She took an excruciating amount of effort to etch the image of her heroic savior’s suffering in the deepest confines of her memories. She couldn’t help but feel elated that her one-sided love had failed in his goals.

To have him fail in such a spectacular manner however, meant that Aurelius was reeling from an invisible source of suffering where he was bound to lash out at those around him.

She found it surprising, but not at all concerning at how thrilled that had made her felt.

For the exiled daughter of nobility, this could only mean that her love for him was to be further deepened as she watched his internal strife poison the well of friendship and familial ties. For Iskra, this meant that their future of becoming a loving couple was beyond a doubt as the misery of her most cherished prince devolved into the type of fate that could only be sung in the darkest of legends.

‘Who will you lash out at first, I wonder.’ The pale-skinned girl quietly mused to herself as she silently envisioned the various figures of import to the suffering prince.

She didn't have to wait for very long as a familiar figure rocketed into the corner of her eye. Iskra watched with an elated expression as Velicion, elven sorceress and half-mother towards the dark elven prince forged a path through the mass of bodies. The lithe sorceress shouted towards her son as the elven concubine reached out with such ferocious speed that it would have taken even the most experienced of knights a moment to recover their senses.

Yet the audible shock that came from those around her as Aurelius shook off the bearlike grip of his mother without so much as a single word being uttered from his lips was all that could be said about the recently returned prince’s fragile state of mind.

Emotions both known and unknown to Iskra roiled through her heart and body as she watched with bated breath as a stupefied expression grew over the elven sorceress’ face. Shocked by the actions of her usually docile son, the lithe figure could do nothing more except to continue to call out towards the growingly distant prince. Iskra’s lips twitched in and out of a horrendous smile as she brought her hands over her mouth just in time before a muted fit of laughter escaped from her plush lips.

Iskra took no chances in allowing those around her to discover her true feelings regarding as to how much joy she felt from the elven princes’ act of defiance.

“How can someone feel so dejected, yet be so irresistible at the same time?” The girl whispered to no one in particular as she breathed heavily into the open palms of her hands.

Voices continued to call out towards the prince, drowning out the flustered girl's vices as her heart began to waver.

Zharatan appeared from the crowd next. His pack of nigh-indestructible bodyguards tightly packed around him as he waved down the dark elven prince. For his efforts, the blonde-haired rider looked towards the dwarven warlock before slowly leaning towards the top of the red-eyed unicorn’s head and whispered into its ear.

Obeying the commands of its master, the tyrannical fey creature halted in its tracks as it allowed its rider to dismount from atop of its back.

Iskra was too far away for her to hear what the white-bearded dwarf had said towards the love of her life, but the moment that the elven prince turned his back towards the stout warlock was the moment that the young girl’s breath grew heavier.

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Iskra’s entire body shivered in explicit delight as she watched the elven prince turn towards her as he guided the mythological creature towards the very spot where she stood.

Despite having the beautiful sea of silver that roiled in his eyes hidden beneath the shimmering locks of his golden blonde hair, Iskra could easily tell that their eyes were drawn towards one another. Locked in a state of their own mesmerizing tales as the solemn figure strode towards the human girl without a single misstep in his stride.

It didn’t take long for Aurelius to stand in front of the flustered girl, forcing the raven-haired teenager to lean slightly forward as her legs twitched excitedly over the other.

Iskra wasn’t sure how long it took for her to recover, but eventually, she was able to straighten out her back and stare upwards into the depths of silver that had first captivated her not all that long ago.

The two said nothing towards one another for the longest time as they remained steadfast in their staring into each other’s eyes. For the silent couple, only the glimmer of their irises was allowed to speak for them as the crowd of people watched on with mixed emotions.

Aurelius’ embarrassed yet determined expression was in stark contrast to Iskra’s lustful desires that burned so eagerly upon her face. Yet it was the young prince who was the first to open his mouth to speak, his lips opening and closing with wracked nerves as he spoke in the lyrical tongue of his people, but the mesmerized young girl, whose emerald-like eyes glistened beneath the rays of the elven prince’s golden blonde hair, was unable to hear what he had said.

The powerful thumping of her heartbeat had long ago drowned out any noises that may have occurred from those around her and despite her desperate, silent pleas to listen to him and him alone, Iskra remained helpless as she continued to stare deeply into the limitless depths of the elven teenager’s black and silver eyes.

Unable to bear the captivated staring of the love-struck girl any further, Aurelius looked down towards the young girl’s hands in embarrassment and reached out to grasp her fingers between his. With an agonizingly gentle approach, his fingers graced the top of the teenaged human’s hand, forcing the human teenager to let out an eye-raising gasp as her mind finally came back to reality while her delicate fingers eagerly wrapped themselves around the inviting warmth of the elven prince’s own set of delicate looking fingers.

As the invisible hands of time continued to claw their way forward, forcing itself upwards upon a steep incline, Iskra’s racing heartbeat slowed to a steady beat, and the world around the raven-haired teenager continued to move at its regular pace. Indistinguishable voices called out to the pair of teenagers, but the mesmerized couple ignored their words as the flickering light that danced within their eyes was all that was needed to speak to one another.

“Take it,” Aurelius paused in his words as he swallowed back the misery that he had felt over the events of the last two weeks. For the exiled young girl, it felt as if it was the second time that he had truly spoken to the exiled human ever since they had first met. His words and tear strained eyes were filled with such strong emotions that they gripped at Iskra’s heart, forcing the young girl to reach out with her free hand and tug the top of her oversized shirt, twisting at the stale fabric between her delicate fingers as she took in the true meaning behind his words. “It’s yours if you want it.”

To Iskra, the elven prince had spoken with such certainty that it spoke volumes as to what it meant for the future of their currently one-sided relationship. 

For the first time since her imprisonment for the attempted murder on her ex-fiancé’s lover, Iskra couldn’t help herself as she smiled a smile that laid bare her truest of feelings. Her face beamed with such an unfiltered expression that it could blind even the most cold-hearted of individuals that bore witness to the ocean of emotions that enveloped the pair of uniquely awkward teenagers.

Slowly, Iskra nodded her head as she allowed the blonde-haired prince to guide her hand towards the neck of the black-maned unicorn. “I’d do anything for you.” Her voice came softly as she spoke in the Ranislavian language, not wanting to spoil a future surprise that she so desperately wished to spring upon the elven prince.

A commotion broke out in the corner of the young girl’s eyes, but the love-struck teenager ignored the odd occurrence as voices rang out to fetch some cold water. Iskra clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she couldn’t help but look towards a collapsed Velicion as the group of elves around her called for someone to bring a pitch of water.

Yet despite the hubbub that surrounded the elven sorceress, the pair of teenagers ignored the concerned cries as they continued to look at one another with an increasingly tyrannical atmosphere around them.

“Uh, yeah.” Aurelius mumbled as he scratched at the back of his head, diverting his gaze towards the mud-caked boots that he had been wearing day in and day out for past few weeks. The elven prince was still unused to the alluring emotions that surrounded the human girl, and he was unsure if he would ever grow used to receiving such a piercing stare from a member of the opposite sex. “Well-” The prince stuttered as he broke away from the couple’s handholding, leaving the raven-haired girls delicate fingers to slowly settle atop of the glistening fur of the sinister-looking unicorn. “See you.”

The fey creature snorted as it shook its head, giving little care to the heavy emotions that had enveloped its elven master the moment that he had stood in front of the curvaceous girl.

Iskra said nothing as she watched the dark elven prince slowly disappear into the depths of the battered encampment. She let out a loving sigh as she carefully rested her head over the creature’s powerful neck, taking in a deep breath of air as the glistening gold hair of her princely knight finally vanished from her sight.

“Girl!” Came Zharatan’s echoing voice as he attempted to break the teenager’s concentration. “I’ll give you an entire city’s worth in gold if you were to hand over that creature to me.”

Faint wisps of red magic danced in-between Iskra’s fingers as she lovingly scratched at the creature’s midnight black mane, ignoring the increasingly expensive payment that the demon-worshipping dwarf was offering to the young girl as a means to procure the rare fey creature.

As she continued to stand there, her youthful face slowly burying itself into the beast’s neck as wisps of ominous magic weaved itself in and out of the beast’s glimmering mane, Iskra let loose a poisonous smile as she dared to give a teasing kiss to the powerful creature’s flesh.

‘Oh Aurelius,’ A sultry tone sang throughout the depths of Iskra’s mind as she broke free from the mesmerized state that had dared to ensnare the love-stricken young girl for the past several moments. ‘You’ve managed to free yourself from one prison, but failed to realize the new walls that are being built around you.’

Taking a deep breath as she pulled herself away from the black-maned Unicorn, Iskra guided the creature towards the same path that the elven prince had taken.