The Author's Will

38 | Icicle Eyes

　　 "You win again?!" The disappointed exclamation of a young white-haired girl resounded through the room, as she dramatically fell to the ground from her loss. Her soft white hair strewn across the plush carpet, as she wailed in frustration. "How can anyone be this good at every game they play? I bet you're cheating!"

Mikael leaned his head against his palm, his pale lashes framing those beautiful ocean-blue eyes as he smirked at the whining Irene in front of him. "Or maybe you're just trash." He snickered.

Two weeks had passed by, since Irene and Mikael began their alleged friendship. Ever since watching the meteor shower together, the young prince became increasingly less cold to her. Over the days, they spent much more time together than before, and Mikael would even wait for Irene after lessons ended, so that they could carry on with their routine of spending free time together.

Irene couldn't pinpoint when it happened, but Mikael started to open up a lot more to her. He was still a little mean, but she knew it was just his personality. He was the type to appear cruel on the outside, but was a soft person deep down. He would tease or make fun of her for being a dolt, or treat her like she was stupid, but she didn't mind it. Somehow, she found it enjoyable to deal with that kind of personality.

"Don't curse me with that pretty face!" Irene wailed, but quickly stood back up. "I'll beat you this time for sure!"

As Mikael fiddled with the black chess piece in his fingers, he gave her a look of apathy. "We've already played five rounds. It's getting boring since you're no good."

"What?! I'm not that bad!"

"You don't even last three minutes," the sighing prince replied as he placed the black king piece back on the board. "We can just do something else that you don't suck at."

Just as the two proceeded to tidy away the game, the door of the lounge opened widely with a thud, as a trio of excited children stepped in.

"Irene! Rayvis is busy so play with us!"

Two boys with amber eyes and a beautiful girl with long, hazel hair stood at the doorway, gazing exuberantly at Irene. But the moment they realised she wasn't alone, they froze in slight awe.

Ivan and Haren stared at Mikael wordlessly, realising he was the prince that their mother and the maids would often tell them about. A prince whose mother was a terrible woman that caused trouble amongst high society, and ended up being the culprit behind the late emperor's murder.

Meanwhile, Isabella slid into the room from behind, smiling at the sight of Mikael. The boy was as beautiful as a porcelain doll, but the expression he wore displayed total indifference to them.

Wait a second... Isabella and the Firventia twins? Irene swallowed, shocked by their sudden visit. She had been so occupied by the Prince in her home - she totally forgot about the other noble children who would come to visit every so often.

"Are you perhaps, Prince Mikael?" Isabella asked as she glided towards him, eyes sparkling up at the blonde-haired boy. She gazed at the prince with the same admiration anyone would, had they ignored his origins. Mikael was slightly taken aback by her reaction, glancing from her to Irene.

Wait a second... It was then Irene realised the gravity of the situation. Unknowingly, she had sparked a first encounter between two of the main characters of her original story - way earlier than it was supposed to happen. Mikael, the main villain - was now meeting Isabella at the age of nine instead of seventeen, which was bound to cause a huge change.

Irene bit her lip in slight contemplation. Because Isabella is close friends with me now, she'll also be seeing a lot of Mikael - who lives in my house.