Junar 1st
The first day of halcyon
The feeling of the sun beaming against his skin was such a natural feeling. Henry relished in it as he lied on the grass with his eyes closed.
This was his kind of weather. It made sense he'd been born in it. Yet the thought made him wrinkle his nose. He would turn twenty-one in a month and seven days. If he were the Prince of Aristol, he'd be eligible for his coronation. Elouise still had to wait another year. Considering how well she'd been handling the People's Word (which her father had been allowing her to do on her own per her request), she was more than ready for the crown.
"I think... I think I've got it!" Ivy chirped.
Henry peeked an eye open and winced as he stared right into the sunlight. He rolled over onto his stomach and blinked a few times until his cousin came into view. She sat on a bed of wildflowers and held up the flower crown she'd been troubling herself with for a while.
"There you go," he praised. "I told you it was simple."
Ivy delicately placed the crown atop her head and smiled. "It's always simple for those who've been making them for years."
"I learned as a child so I could make them for Elouise."
Ivy put her hands on her chest and gaped at him. "That's the sweetest thing. Are you in love with her?"
"I believe I was when I was younger... or whatever being in love means for a child. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She still is one of the most beautiful."
"One of?" Ivy wiggled her eyebrows. "Who else is included?"
Henry felt his cheeks become hot, and he swallowed hard. "Women are simply beautiful." She tossed flowers at him, and he closed his eyes again, feeling a few of them land in his hair. He smiled at her until he noticed the light slowly dwindle from her eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing at all." She suddenly giggled again and turned her head. She wasn't as horrible of a liar as Elouise was, but Henry didn't press her.
He picked a flower out of his hair and watched it drop into the grass. Then he flinched when he felt Ivy place something else on his head.
She grinned down at him. "I made you one!"
Henry sat up and readjusted the crown.
Ivy gave him a nod of approval. "A crown fit for a prince!" She tapped her chin and puckered her lips. "Maybe I should also make one for Eldon. His knighting ceremony is in just a few days." As she started questioning to herself which colors would go best for Eldon, Henry lost himself in his thoughts.
Love was such a complicated word. Although he loved many, he didn't think he would ever fall in love.
No, that wasn't it.
He couldn't believe anyone would ever fall in love with him. And that didn't matter, anyway. He felt fine standing by and watching his friends be happy. That made him happy, too.
Henry sighed and removed the crown from his head. He ran his forefinger along the ties Ivy had done to keep the flowers together. He remembered the first time he made a crown for Elouise. He'd done so in secret to surprise her. After he finished, he went searching for her.
Elouise, months away from turning seven, was perched on the edge of the fountain and singing some song her mother had made up for her a few weeks prior. Henry had started to run toward her, eager to show her what he'd made for her. And he tripped on a crack on the cobble, falling forward.
When he looked up, he shielded his eyes from the sun. Then Elouise moved a little to the right, blocking the sun's rays for Henry, and Henry couldn't stop staring at the beautiful glow outlining her.
And he swore she would be the only one for him. Because his heart wouldn't quit racing, and his stomach tingled.
She finished her song shortly after and told him she didn't appreciate him gawking at her. He said nothing. So, she stuck her tongue out at him and hopped off the fountain. He finally blinked hard, got to his feet, and handed her the crown. And her smile lit up her face brighter than the sun ever could.
However, the truth was... Henry merely wanted to be in love with her. She had always been his best friend, after all. It felt safe to love her in such a way.
They had never looked at each other the way she looked at Eldon, and the way Eldon looked right back at her. And he was happy for them. He only worried how long it would take them to say anything about it to each other. But other than that, he felt fine with how things were.
Well, how else was he supposed to feel?
---
When Henry returned to his bedchamber later that day, he spotted something on his pillow. He glanced around at first, and when he didn't see anything else out of the ordinary, he approached his bed. Then he stiffened when he realized it was an origami heart.
"Haven," he mouthed, reaching for it.
After the prolonged silence and lack of sightings (he'd asked the market guards to keep an eye out for him), Henry had told himself to give up hope. He'd made himself believe she had truly left. But now this?
Eagerly, he unfolded the heart and held his breath as he read the words scribbled across the parchment: Behind the town at sunset.
Henry gazed out the window. There was about an hour left before evening. He hid the letter under his pillow and decided to freshen up first with a bath.
After dinner, he made an excuse that he felt exhausted and wished to rest early. Although his friends stared after him and Ivy looked about ready to leap from her seat, he managed to slip away. Fortunately, the guards let him through as well. They trusted him, he realized. To them, he was more than a mere guest at the castle now. And he smiled to himself as he headed into the town.
The streets were lonelier at this hour. No music played and hardly any chatter or laughter, but Henry still walked past plenty of people who bowed or curtsied to him.
He found Haven in the very same spot he had when they had sneaked in the gold. Except, this time, she paced beside the large townhouse.
Her back was to him when he spoke up. "You're still around." He'd almost meant it as a question, like he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she was actually here.
Haven spun around, her frazzled expression brightening. Then she grinned wickedly. "Hank."
"Where have you been?"
"None of your concern."
"Haven..."
"I'm here now, Hank." Her smile slowly faded as she closed the space between them. "But I won't be for long."
Henry furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"I'm being hunted." She rolled her eyes. "Every Interloper knows my face and is seeking me out." Then she waved her hand. "I'll spare you the details of how many of them I've had to kill in the past month."
"Oh, Haven." Henry's shoulders slumped. "I feel responsible for this."
Haven chuckled. "Why?"
"If I hadn't asked you to come meet me that night and if I hadn't borrowed one of Udolf's horses, he wouldn't have found you."
"Be quiet, Hank. It would've happened, anyway. And I believe Udolf when he says he wasn't going to kill me. He's an ass, but he knows he can't get rid of me."
Henry swallowed hard, recalling what Udolf had said about them and their past. He couldn't imagine them together, especially after witnessing Haven's reaction when he'd asked her if she and Udolf were romantically involved.
He didn't understand why he cared to know more about it. Still, he asked, "Did you... did you ever love him?" Haven groaned, rolling her eyes again, so Henry added, "I said it wasn't my business. However, you and him... I suppose I—"
"Stop. Like I told you, it was a long time ago. What happened between us was meaningless. I never loved him." She sounded disgusted by the thought of it.
"Was he the one who hurt you?" Henry gestured to his mouth. The mark on the corner of her lip had faded by now, yet the image of it stayed burned into his memory.
Haven snorted. "No. It was because of him, though."
He stared blankly at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
She folded her arms across her chest. "Well, after saving you from an inevitable death, I left to inform him that you were all safe. That's when a man—one of his people—pushed his way through the guards. He was furious that his daughter was ill, and Udolf hadn't bothered to go see her yet, which is something Udolf's father would've done without being asked. Udolf apologized, admitting he had no idea about the young girl's illness. The man was provoked, so I stepped in-between them and tried to tell him to calm down. Then he just threw his punch at me and left."
Henry took a step back, stunned. "Did, did Udolf do anything?"
"On Udolf's order, the man was captured and imprisoned on his way out, so I suppose. Wait, why are we still discussing this?"
Henry eyed her warily. Haven seemed unfazed by what she'd told him, and he found it typical of her. So, he decided to move on from the subject.
He then asked, "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"I'm leaving," she said bluntly.
"Where are you going?"
"I got into contact with a few of my past clients. There is a lovely opportunity for me in Rerum Memoria, and you know how wealthy that little kingdom is."
And how far away...
Henry pursed his lips, hoping his blatant disappointment wasn't obvious to her. "You've asked me here to say goodbye, then."
Haven feigned a pout. "Please don't be too upset, Hank. You should feel honored to have gotten to spend any time with me at all." She then turned and walked a few feet away where a leather satchel and hat were placed against the building. She snatched the hat and put it on before picking up the bag and slinging the strap over her shoulder.
When she stepped beneath the moonlight again, Henry realized it was his satchel. He gaped at it, except he wasn't necessarily surprised she'd kept it instead of burning it like he'd requested her to.
Haven pointed her index finger at him. "Well, I'm no expert at goodbyes, so..." she dropped her hand and shrugged. "Don't do anything I wouldn't?"
Henry chuckled. "I can do just about anything, then?"
She laughed in return. "Of all the things in Aristol, Hank, you might seriously be the only part I'll miss about it." She turned on her heel... and she lingered.
Henry stared hard at her, wondering if there was anything else he could say to her. He wanted to ask if he would see her again. How pathetic, though.
Eventually, Haven let out a frustrated huff and rushed back to him.
"Fuck it," she said, reaching up and grabbing his face. "I can't leave without doing this." Then she pulled him down and pressed her mouth against his.
Henry widened his eyes and felt every muscle tense. But when she forcefully parted his lips, he allowed himself to relax. He closed his eyes and returned the intensity of her passion.
He moved his hands to her hips, letting them rest there. Her arms went around his neck, and his mind began to yell at him, demanding to know what he was doing and why. Instead, he focused on the way his pulse steadily increased, and how it made his knees weak and his stomach flutter. He focused on her sweet taste, her lips—as soft as they'd always appeared to be—and how she pushed herself up against him.
Haven broke away slightly, sighing and tilting her head the other way. Then she kissed him again with a feverish need. Henry's skin felt cold, or perhaps it burned. He couldn't tell the difference right now. He moved his hands up higher, gripping her waist gently and prompting her to smile against his mouth and pull back. Even as she did, he remained there with his eyes closed for a few seconds, waiting for his senses to come back.
Her responding giggle made him look at her.
"Not bad," she teased, removing one of her arms from his neck and playfully pinching his chin.
Henry's lips tingled, and his mind was clouded. He couldn't speak. She moved away from him, dropping her other arm and his hands from her body.
All at once, realization hit him, and his chest ached. "Don't go."
"No, don't do that to me. I have to go, Hank," she told him, nodding. "And it's not just because of the Interlopers. I have to do this for me. If I decide to come back, maybe I'll be fortunate enough to meet with you again." She leaned up, going for a kiss on the cheek. He quickly turned his head, and their lips brushed instead.
She stayed like that, whispering, "Goodbye, Hank. Take care of yourself." And she turned away.
"Take care of that adorable savior, too," she called over her shoulder. "She's a special one. Oh!" Haven paused, reaching into her pocket. She tossed whatever she took out at him.
He leaned forward and narrowly caught it in his hands with a clap. Then he checked and found that it was Elouise's pearl ring.
Haven resumed walking. "And congratulate Eldon for me."
"I will," Henry called back, securely putting the ring in the pocket of his trousers.
And he merely stood there, watching as Haven disappeared in the shadows of the street. He brought his fingers up to his mouth and smiled.