His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 54: Polar Opposite
I heave a sigh as I hold the door open to the main palace, staring at the oaf of a Were I’d parted from less than a few minutes ago. After the cosy and joyous environment at the Guest Pavilion, returning to my palace and bed chamber seemed far too depressing. I turned around and left instantly.
In my clumsiness or maybe lack of awareness, I’d almost slammed into this beast of a man’s chest again. I didn’t know whether to be annoyed or suspicious because of the spike in my heartbeat.
With narrowed eyes, I stare at him, ignoring that little muscle in my chest. "What do you want?"
"I thought you were returning to your palace to rest?" He questions instead of answering me.
"No, I feel... restless." I wasn’t ready to face Soren yet. So, I planned on going to a spot I hadn’t been to in years. It was still a somewhat public place, so I felt confident about going there.
"What will you do instead?" Eryx starts following me inside. He probably knows now from Faidon’s reports that I rarely come to the main palace if I can help it.
"Skate," I reply simply, wrapping my arms around my waist both in the form of a self-hug to comfort myself and warm myself up. The dress Eryx provided was warm, and so was the shawl, but the events of today left me chilled to the bone.
"Skate?" He frowns and follows me still.
Does he not have Princely duties to get to? Men to scare? Fights to win? Or whatever it was he did in Sun and Fury.
"What do you mean?" He asks, pressing me further to answer him.
"Yes," I smirk when he looks at me cluelessly, opening the doors for me as we walk. "Ice skate."
"Ice... skate? What is this?"
I stop and stare at him. Eryx is serious. It baffles me, yet could it be that his lands are not cold enough during the winters to form snow and ice? What must that be like? I stare off for a moment, wondering about his lands even though very little was described in any books about the South.
"Do you ever have winters in Sun and Fury?" I ask and start walking again, leading him away from the palace and through an old, unused path.
It is dark, with only the light inside the palace casting a dim glow from afar, revealing some roots on the side of the garden walls that nobody goes to. Like veins, they stretch out, reaching for light that is rare here in these cold lands. The dying tree beside it only added to the number of reasons nobody comes to this corner, not when the rest of the palace has luscious gardens where nobles can meet for tea and gatherings.
Like the courtyard I frequent, this has also been discarded and forgotten about.
"Our winter lasts one month. We do not get ice where I am from," he states, and I stare at him, wondering more about this land.
"Only one month of winter..." I trail off in a whisper. "And your winter is not cold enough for ice!"
That sounded surreal. It was the polar opposite of Ice and Claws.
"And you have never heard of ice skating?" I question and pause when I realise there are probably activities I know nothing about from his kingdom.
When Eryx shakes his head, I take his hand without thinking and quicken my steps, exhilarated and smirked. "I will show you." I hope he falls flat on his face—no, make that his ass because I cannot deny I like looking at his face, even if he infuriates me most of the time.
Eryx narrows his eyes at me as though he can hear my inner thoughts, or maybe it is the wicked grin on my features. I shouldn’t be going here. I should be thinking of my next steps and what to do about Soren.
But I also need a break from all of that, leaving the politics, schemes, and assassination attempts back in the palace. Eryx allows me to lead the way, hand in hand, to where we can both escape, if only for a little while.
𓆩:*¨༺✧ ♛ ✧༻¨*:𓆪
Eryx stared at the iced-over lake and the makeshift boots with blades attached to them like it was the most bizarre thing he’d ever seen. I’d already fitted my boots on and sat up from the snow, dusting it off as I stepped onto the lake.
"Don’t!" Eryx reached out and then paused, realising I was not sinking. The ice was too thick to fall through. He stared in wonder at my feet as I started to casually rock from side to side, gliding along the ice backwards.
At night, the lake had torches lit aside it for those who did want to skate; sometimes, the fire flickered out from the gust of wind. But tonight, the wind was calm, and so the firelight danced along the dark navy ice. During the day, the lake was breathtaking. The waters were a light blue under the sun—if the sun was not hidden behind the clouds—with the backdrop of the trees and snowy mountains on one side and the palace on the other.
Like in those woods, I didn’t mind the darkness. Less people came at night because it was dark and cold, and the beauty of the day was gone. But the stars still reflected on the icy surface, and the quiet was welcome. Nobody was here tonight.
I close my eyes and let my head drop back, embracing the cold wind against my skin. My exhale is long, releasing all the tension in my muscles, my scrambled thoughts fading away. When there is no more air left to breathe out, I open my eyes and stare at the clear, starry night sky, feeling so little in the grand scheme of things.
Was the Moon Goddess staring down at me as I gazed at her?
The sound of something thump loudly made my eyes wander back to Eryx and a grin split across my face. He’d tried standing up with his skates on and was on his backside again. He swore in Solfyran and glared at the ground.
Trying to hide my smile I glided back to him, screeching to a halt, the gritty hiss of the blade spraying small shards across the lake.
"You just want to show off," Eryx grumbled, but those ethereal eyes sparkled as he gazed at me.
"Here." I held my hands out to him. "I’ll help you up."
