Beautiful, Beautiful

Happy Birthday

"You don't have to fight, Prince Crow." Her voice was low, but somehow her words had reached his ear. Crow instantly stopped and spun around. His eyes were dark. He was offended.

"Excuse me?" He took a step toward her then stopped as if second guessing himself.

"Sometimes, it's okay to surrender," Sun continued, unafraid. "The only way we can heal from pain is when we face it, not fight it."

"What do you know about pain?" His voice was low and raspy.

Sun allowed herself the courage to meet his intense gaze. To remember that under the hard exterior was a boy who was hurting.

"I know the pain of losing my mother," she began, her voice soft and reassuring. "I also know the pain of unrelenting loneliness, the kind that makes you go crazy. I think I can relate to you more than you know. I was also thirteen when it happened and not a day goes by without my thoughts of her.

"It never gets easier, does it? You just find ways to filter your thoughts. You learn how to compartmentalize your emotions, and the bad thoughts get shoved into a corner in the back of your mind. Eventually, you begin putting everything in that corner, even happy thoughts. Soon, you care about nothing because it all gets closed up."

Crow tilted his head back, he seemed exasperated. "Why are you here?"

"Well," Sun smiled. "You saved me from myself twice now. It's time I repay you for your kindness. I've come to cheer you up."

"Insufferable," Crow replied, but he'd visibly softened. With a sigh, he placed the war hammer back on the wall and met Sun where she stood. He leaned against the wall with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

Sun smiled up at him. "It's wise to remember the good things about her on the saddest days you face. Tell me what your mother was like."

It took Crow a while to answer, but eventually he said, "She was beautiful, with blonde hair and the sweetest smile. You remind me of her in ways, although she was much more tolerable."

Sun smacked his arm and laughed. The sight of it made Crow smile. "You even laugh like her."

"Well, she sounds like she was a lovely queen. My mother was also lovely, though she was a quiet, modest woman. But she loved in a fierce way. Her beauty lessened as she grew sick, but even then, my father's eyes never wavered." Sun met Crow's unfaltering stare, a gaze that reminded her of how her father stated at her mother. She looked away, sadness beginning to overwhelme her. "Oh, I haven't talked this much about her with an actual human being since she died.

"Once she was gone, my father took me to the woods to live alone. I had no one." Sun clutched her heart, feeling pain and abandonment rip through her chest. "I was utterly alone. I'm still alone."

Prince Crow lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. She hadn't even remembered looking away from him. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping away a tear. "I didn't mean to make this about me."

"No, I'm glad you did," Crow admitted, even though it seemed visibly hard for him. "Thank you."

"You know," Sun teased, feeling her sadness dissipate. "For a kidnapper, you aren't as horrible as I'd once thought. Misunderstood, perhaps. But not horrible."

"You know," Crow mocked, his lips curving into a flirtatious grin. "You look absolutely edible in purple."

"And there goes that." Sun rolled her eyes as she began walking away, but Prince Crow quickly reached out and took her arm. He pulled her close.

"Let me teach you how to defend yourself."

"What?" She wasn't excepting the sudden topic change.

"You should know how to protect yourself, you never know who might try to harm you, Sun."

"I saw how brutal you were while practicing with Prince Christian. I think I will decline."

Crow's eyes lowered. "Practice with me."

"No," Sun spat, her defiance delighting her. Crow growled, and the sound make her shiver in pleasure. What was he doing to her? Why did she like telling him no?

"We'll see about that." His smile was feline, but he let go of her. "Thanks for the birthday gift."

"But I didn't get you anything."

"You're smile was enough."

"I think I may puke on you, again," Sun teased.

"But I'm being very serious," Crow pouted, and the sight of his upturned lips made her heart ache. "I knew you'd be hell the moment I saw you."

Sun thought back to the prophesy and almost shuttered. Crow was right, hell marched behind her, an explosion waiting to happen. If he was smart, he'd run from her; if she was wise, she'd flee from the castle to never again emerge from the woods.

With a sigh, Sun backed away from Crow and bowed respectfully. "I believe it's time for me to go, now. Happy birthday, again."

She didn't wait for his response as she darted for the door.

Once she was in the hallway, she sighed heavily. Her experiences with Crow was always so intense and she needed a second to readjust before she went back to her room.

After several minutes of leaning against the wall, Sun made her way through the passageways. As she turned the corner, she ran into a figure and almost fell.

"Ah," a feminine voice chimed. "Just the person I was looking for."

"Princess Adel," Sun smiled, straightening her dress.

"Being a princess can be quite a bore. Lessons and lessons on so many unimportant things like, how to serve a dinner table. Would you like to know my answer? I told my advisor that the best way to set a dinner table is to politely demand the maids to do it. Can you believe that was the wrong answer?" Adel hissed. "To rid me of such misery, I thought how perfect it would be to invite you to tea." Adel's smile was stunning as she held a hand out for Sun. "Join me? I have lavander tea on the kettle and it's always so delightful in spring. I think you'd love it!"

"Sure," Sun smiled, wrapping her arm around Adel's. Anything to take her mind off of Crow. "Tea it is!"