To Melt A Frozen Heart | ONC 2024

Chapter 8 | A Thaw In The Tension

Settling in to eat, the three of us said nothing for a while. That was until I looked up. Wrynn was clearly trying to communicate something to Cassian without me noticing – he couldn't have been more obvious if he had tried.

The king merely glared in Wrynn's direction. Wrynn raised his eyebrows. The king sighed – I glanced to him.

What was going on?

Cassian held my gaze. "Aurelia... I had been meaning to ask you. Would you accompany me for a turnabout the palace gardens today?"

I almost spit out my drink.

Trying not to let my shock show, I levelled a cool gaze at him. Blue eyes stared right back at me.

"Me... walk with you, Cassian? I thought that to spend the day in my company would be 'insufferable' as you put it. In fact, you described me as coarse—"

Cassian held up a hand to stop me.

Wrynn shot him a look and if I didn't know better, I'd have said he kicked Cassian under the table. But no... surely these two wouldn't engage in such juvenile behaviour as that.

The king's hand lowered, and he adjusted his position in his seat, leaning forward as if he were genuinely interested in a conversation as opposed to grudgingly acknowledging the other person's words. His expression softened.

"I- You will forgive me, Aurelia. I was not thinking. I have been very tired of late. I did not mean what I said."

His silvery hair hung low into his face as he regarded me. I studied him. There were a lot of missing pieces here. Obviously, I knew that Cassian was only being nice because, for whatever reason, Wrynn had convinced him that he needed to be.

But Cassian didn't know that and neither did Wrynn – at least, I hoped.

A walk could be a good way to sneak some more information out of Cassian. Get him talking – although, that wouldn't be easy.

"Very well." I nodded at him.

He sat back. "Good. I shall send for you. You are free to return to your quarters until then."

Finishing the last of my meal, I excused myself from the table.

I rose. Cassian and Wrynn stayed seated. Out of sight, on the staircase, I paused. Waiting.

And then I heard Cassian mutter, "This is not going to work."

***

This is not going to work.

The words of the king echoed in my mind as I made the long walk back to my bedroom. What wasn't going to work?

The words hadn't been meant for my ears, clearly, and yet they refused to leave my mind.

Why was it so important for me to be here and to like Cassian?

I figured it was unlikely that I would ever come to like Cassian. We seemed so different. What with his incessant rudeness both to me and to his staff. The only time when he'd been nice had been when Wrynn had forced him to be.

Acquaintances maybe we could be... but how was I ever to love him, my future husband, if I couldn't even bring myself to like him?

***

I had not long sat alone in my rooms, watching snow gently fall from grey skies, when there was a knock on the open door.

"Princess?" It was Florence's voice.

I turned. She stood in the doorway watching me, hair once again hidden beneath her grey cap. I distantly wondered if it was long like mine or if she kept it short.