It took Reesha less than thirty seconds to fully process what had happened, and by then she was arguing with her father about the decision. In the most dignified way she could of course. But no matter what she said, he insisted that Haven was the right choice.
Gritting her teeth, she finally accepted defeat in the argument and stood from her chair, plastering on a fake smile as the blood rushed in her ears. Her powers thrummed with her anger and it took all of her power not to start the room on fire. Haven couldn't be her future husband. She would rather choke on a spoon than marry him. All she could hear in her head was the words Haven had said when he was younger. Carroway's never lose. And she loathed that he was somehow right.
"Congratulations, Haven. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be." She hissed out, barely holding any politeness in her tone. "Father," Nodding to the King, she smoothed out her dress and started out of the office, her hands clenched in fists at her sides.
Of course, there was nowhere else for her to be, but the last place she wanted to be was in that office with them.
Haven watched her leave, not surprised. He hadn't expected her to like him at first, anyways. This would be a work in progress. Reesha had been like this ever since he left to train, but before, they had been probably best friends. The Carroways and Eyers had always been close - or at least, the children had. The adults were always stiff, so he didn't really know if they were friends or not.
He bowed to the king. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall do my utmost to live up to your expectations of me." He smiled warmly at the king.
The king returned Haven’s words with a proud smile, nodding to him. “I know you’ll do your best, as you always do. You and Reesha will be good together. I plan on publicly announcing your betrothal soon, meaning you’ll be spending much more time here at the palace while we arrange everything.” He stood after he spoke, holding out a hand for Haven to shake, “For now though, I will let you be on your way, Sir Carroway. Send your parents and brothers my warmest regards.”
Reesha stormed through the halls away from her father’s office, digging her nails into her palms until she couldn’t process anything other than the pain. It was her only attempt at keeping herself together until she reached the fenced in dirt circle that sat on the other side of the palace gardens. Only then did she release her grip, letting her powers build with her anger. Here, away from everyone, was one of the safest places for her to process her emotions, and Haven would be the only casualty if he decided to speak to her.
"Of course, Your Highness." Haven bowed again and left the study. There were only a few people around, all servants, and he didn't want to disturb them in their work. He had grown to appreciate the work they did when he was on the battlefield, and didn't have freshly washed sheets or clean floors or floors at all.
He smiled at one of them, a young man in a butler's uniform, and the young man blushed with pride.
Haven walked down the hall, not really going anywhere. He passed a window, and saw the vast expanse of the palace gardens. He spotted, at the very end, a certain blonde head in a ring of earth, standing there, almost trembling with anger. Even from this far away, he could tell how much she wanted to cause violence, pain.
And he was the cause of that.
No, he reminded himself, she's the cause of that. I tried to protect her, and all she did was think I was leaving her. This is her fault she hates me, not mine. And, with a roguish grin, he straightened his clothes, ran a hand through his hair, and walked outside, toward his future wife.
Haven couldn't be her husband. She refused to believe that eventually, she would have to marry the worm of a human that used to be her friend. And if she didn't, there was no way she would take the throne, leaving her in a frustrating predicament. She was supposed to be dealing with Amar, not him. And it was only because he had saved her life that Haven had swayed her father's decision.
Reesha let her anger over the situation build up quickly, channeling it into a carefully controlled ball of fire in her hand. She wanted to let it spread over herself, to make her burn with the same rage she felt, but she couldn't. She was wearing a dress she particularly liked, and burning the pale pink masterpiece would be disappointing. Plus with Haven most likely lurking around the palace, she didn't particularly want to waltz to her room wearing nothing but her underclothes.
Hissing in annoyance, she settled on forcing the flames to grow bigger before creeping up her arm, flickering like a living being. They stayed put on her arm when she threw the ball of fire towards the ground, watching as it burst apart, raging up into tall shoots even with no fuel from the burnt earth. Still, it wasn't enough to get her anger out and she brushed some of the flames onto her other arm, working her hands together like she was rolling a snowball to create an even larger ball of fire.
Haven could feel the heat even from several yards away. He couldn't see her yet, either, making it more of a big deal. His lips curled into a little, impressed smile. She had really improved in the years it had been since he'd seen her. The general in him wanted to find out what she could do, how she could help him win the wars that so often threatened their borders.
He shook his head. He shouldn't think about her that way.
Still…
Masking his footsteps, he made his way to the arena, where he leaned against a post and watched, arms crossed. The sheer amount of fire she was generating was incredible, and if he wasn't trying to keep up a face, he would have been slack-jawed in awe. As if was, his eyes sparkled in a way that was distinctly un-player-like, excited and awed and even a little proud.
He waited for her to notice his presence; if she hadn't already. She would probably try and attack him, and the thought made his blood run wild with the challenge. Yes, that's what she was… a challenge. A delicious challenge.
Reesha was almost too focused on her anger to realize she had an audience. But not quite. She felt the pair of eyes on her more than she felt the heat of the flames, burning holes into her back while she tried to ignore it. Gritting her teeth, she spun around, the flames not wavering for a moment. If anything, they grew bigger when she locked eyes with Haven.
“I’ll give you five seconds to leave,” She ground out, trying to reign in her emotions before she did anything irreversible. Giving him a new set of burns did sound lovely, but if he wanted to save himself, it was fair that he would have the chance.
Letting her control of the flames slip slightly, she felt them grow larger. The ones snaking around her arms singing the edge of her dress sleeves. But before they could burn the dress to ashes, she took back control and forced them down. She would have plenty of time to wear out her control over the flames when Haven was gone.
Haven's face changed instantly from impressed to cocky. He straightened, unfolding his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "Five whole seconds? You're getting soft, Reesh. Before, you wouldn't hesitate to burn me." He made sure to use the nickname that he knew she hated, smirking a little bit at the end as well.
Without seemingly a care in the world, he moved into the ring, before stopping just ten feet away from the Princess. Even at this distance, he could feel the heat of her flames, and his lips quirked up. He held out his arms wide. "Come on, burn me. Let's see if you dare." His eyes glinted in a distinctly un-Haven-like way.
Calling her by her old nickname was the second to last straw, but holding out his arms wide, unchallengingly, that was what made her decide that he would never mess with her again. Pretending she was soft, or wouldn't hesitate to hurt him was going to backfire.
Reesha narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to her berothed, letting another ball of flame fling to life in her hand. Stopping several feet closer to him, she didn't wait to throw it square at his chest, testing his power, what his defense would be. The last time they had sparred, he may have had different moves, and the last thing she wanted was to hear him chide her for not reading his moves.
She watched him closely while pulling together another ball, knowing that he very well could be dangerous. Cocky act or not. At least her ring of fire was still flickering, making it harder to get close to her.
Haven simply stood there, his challenging grin on his face. He noted how she seemed to think about what she was going to do, and his lips curled even more. She, unlike him, actually thought her actions through. This action, this challenge, this danger… it was all completely spontaneous. And the adrenaline that was racing through him was something that he didn't regret at all.
The heat of her flames flickered toward him, causing sweat to drip down the back of his neck. He didn't move, didn't show that there was a weakness.
But wait. If he did, she might attack, and then he would be ready, and- You're thinking too much about this, he scolded himself. And wiped a trickle of sweat from his forehead, eyes momentarily darting away.
"For someone that's not fireproof, you're awfully close to catching fire." Reesha growled, a dangerous look on her face as she stepped one step closer, tossing her ball of flame from hand to hand. She could see the sweat gathering on Haven's forehead from the unbearable heat, and it simply made her more sure of her power in the situation. The heat was barely making her feel warm, even with the flames dancing around her arms.
Taking a few more long seconds to calculate whatever her betrothed was going to do, she decided that just acting was the best option. And so, she did just that. Starting out small, she held the ball of fire and separated a small portion of it from the rest, taking the section and tossing it towards him, watching the red-orange flames soar towards his stupid grin. If he wanted to keep his precious playboy face safe, he would have to step out of the way, either back out of the ring, or towards her circle of fire.
"I'm hot enough not to burn," Haven said, grinning. "You can't fight fire with fire."
The ball of flame came toward him, and he didn't spare it a glance, continuing to hold Reesha's gaze. But, just before it hit him, it completely vanished. Or, at least, that's what appeared to happen.
In reality, his position had been perfect for his power. Yes, shadow was weak against light, but the more light there was, the darker the shadow. There was never one without the other. (cough cough these two thickheaded idiots cough) He had simply called the shadows to swallow the flame, the ice-cold material of the dead quenching any heat. It was a trick that had taken years to learn, even more to master, and so he was glad it worked.
He raised an eyebrow like nothing had happened, as if to say, "What did I tell you?"
(These two are from a special breed of idiot)
Rolling her eyes at his stupid comment, she didn't even try responding. None of her brain cells needed to be wasted coming up with a response to him.
Triumph was clear on her face as she saw the fire near him, but she couldn't stop the confusion that came with the sudden disappearance of her fire. The last time they had fought, her fire was her strength. He had no power against it. Reesha knew they had both grown stronger in the years, but she wasn't expecting him to be able to counteract her so well.
Before he could catch her off guard, she pushed away her confusion and growing curiosity and readied herself once more. Her flames danced on the ground and on her, and she narrowed her eyes, watching carefully. If she couldn't hurt him with her fire, she would just have to find some new way to cause damage when he decided to attack.
(They really are. It fills me with joy XD.)
Shadows were the absence of light. It didn't make it easy to attack, which Haven often resented. But he had to do something. His shadows spread along the ground, dancing in between her flames, and started to leech away the heat at the base of her flames - which also happened to be the hottest part, making this 100 times harder than it had to be. It also didn't help that Reesha was incredibly strong, stronger than she had been before.
He kept his gaze even with hers, watching to see her reaction. Her previous reaction had been hilarious and satisfying, but he couldn't rely on her not picking up on his trick.
For the first few moments, Reesha was too stuck watching Haven to realize that some of her flames were dying down. He didn't move from his spot, and his eyes didn't stray from hers. Those two things kept her watching long enough for her fire circle to drop a fair amount.
It was only when she went to step forward that she realized that her circle had weakened. The flames seemed cold, and when she reached for the power in them, it took her much less strength to move them. Her eyes widened at the realization and she broke eye contact for a moment, hissing in frustration when she saw what was happening. It wasn't worth drawing out her strength to build up the flames again, but she did it anyway, making the remaining flames jump back to life, just to spite her old friend. Almost immediately she could feel more of her power leech away from her, but she ignored it. She hadn't trained for years to only be able to pull off a simple fire ring for a few minutes.
"Try again, Havey," She spat, using one of his many nicknames just to spite him.
Haven's shoulders tensed at her use of the nickname, the first sign of stress and anger he had shown to her since… well, since they had had that argument so many years ago. He did his best to hide it again, but he knew, perceptive as Reesha was, that she would have noticed.
He just smiled, hoping she'd forget, knowing she wouldn't, and rocked back on his heels, acting for all the world as if they were just having a polite conversation, and not trying to rip each other to shreds with their powers. "Must I try again, though? Why? What purpose is there to try again? Will I get something?"
Since the first time since Reesha had seen Haven in the capital, she hadn't seen him look tense. Only when she used one of his nicknames did his posture stiffen, one of his telltale signs of frustration. The action made her eyes light up with smug power. She still had ways to dig into his pride, and she loved it.
"Oh there's no reason for you to try again," She replied, only barely veiling her still steaming anger with a thin layer of manners, "You will get nothing but an injury to your pride and maybe a new black eye. It would go lovely with your rotten heart." Reesha promised herself that he would get much more than a black eye if he stayed around. She had more power than she had when they were young, more power than Haven would be aware of, and she wanted to use it.
"Please, darling, yours is the only rotten heart." Haven gave a carefree smile. "I don't actually have a heart, so it can't be rotten now, can it?"
He sensed her desire to go further, to use her power to obliterate him. He had more than half a mind to let her try, and was about to say so, when he sensed a presence watching. Right. He wasn't supposed to be powerful. He was supposed to be a playboy, nothing else. He couldn't risk his reputation.
He stepped back. "As much as I'd love to continue this, Reesha love, duty calls." He bowed low, mockery in every part of his act, although only those who knew him could tell, and turned to leave the ring.
She didn't even listen to his comeback, knowing that he would never turn down the challenge of fighting with her. All she could feel was her fire, begging to burn anything or anyone, including Haven.
Just as Reesha figured he would let loose his power, he stepped away, bowing in mock respect. The action alone made her anger soar, but she was also pissed that he actually backed away. "Do not call me love," She hissed, glaring daggers at him while he stepped away. He had more than enough nerve to walk away from her. She knew that. But she was sure as hell going to make him regret acting on his nerve and ruining her chance to rip him to shreds.
"Bastard." She spat, her flames growing ever taller before she pulled them in, very faintly controlling her annoyance and anger in a veil of calm, "I'll make sure you'll regret this later. Have fun Havey."
This time, Haven was waiting for the nickname, and the only reaction was the slight twitch of his fingers. "I'm sure you will, love. I'll be expecting your… revenge." He winked at her and moved out of the ring, where he found a messenger waiting. The poor kid looked terrified, and maybe even a little awed, that someone had stood up to the Princess, while she was on fire, no less, and made it out alive.
"Hey, kid," the white haired man said with an easy grin. "Who's the message for?"
"Y-you, Lord Carroway," the boy stammered, still staring up at him in admiration. He handed Haven a letter.
The contents were simple, and Haven sighed and rolled his eyes. "Naturally. I get to spend a lovely dinner with my family, instead of my lovely fiance. Really, Mom?" He raised his voice. "Later, Reesh! Don't miss me too much!"
"Oh I won't miss you," She called back, adding a very fake hint of sweetness to her tone, "I hope you choke on your food and end up dead." Reesha didn't bother to match her face to her tone, still glaring like she was going to strangle him herself. If they weren't in public, her words would be much worse, but seeing as there were several people wandering around outside, she did her best to keep it to small threats. Not that anyone would tell on her. She was the Princess after all, and it would be brushed off as either a lie or unimportant.
Still, she didn't want to push her luck. She barely reigned in her fire when her nickname was called, but she focused and calmed the flames, killing the ones that burned on her, and bringing the rest down until they dissappeared. Without a challenge, it wasn't worth wasting her anger. Reesha watched Haven and the servant boy walk off, leaving her alone in the ring, much to her annoyance.
(Do you have anything you'd like to add here? Or should we skip to the next scene?)
(Nope nothing to add! We can skip, do you have any ideas on what we go to? I can pull together a starter, if we figure out where we're starting up again)
(Hm… should we do an announcement ball, telling the nobles officially who Reesha is marrying? I think we should have a few more scenes, like maybe the wedding, before Haven leaves for the war again. What do you think?)
(we could do another ball, maybe it would be a good time to set up the start of the drama before he has to leave? Or we could wait to start things at/after the wedding? I'm good with anything Im just excited to see them interact again)
