-Prior-
That evening, Prior packed her small travel bag. They wouldn't even have two full days, so she wouldn't need to bring much.
Earlier, she had been with Princess Evlina. She had looked so beautiful in her red dress. The contrast between them had become painfully clear to Prior once again.
"Of all times, Kashion's sister chooses now to travel to such a remote province!" Evlina had said. "But as long as you're back on time, I won't object. It won't do us much good for the negotiations, but she is Kashion's sister after all. I want to make a good impression."
Of course, Evlina was right — it wouldn't help with the negotiations. But who wanted to think about negotiations all the time?
Early the next morning, Prior stood at the hangar as arranged. She was tired, yet at the same time full of energy. Even if she would soon have to return to Saturn, no one could ever take the memory of Gelserkh away from her.
Kassia and Yina were already there, along with a tall, slender woman dressed entirely in black.
"This is Emi, my escort Hualin," Kassia introduced her. "She'll ensure our safety during the journey."
Emi and Prior exchanged a brief greeting.
So this was a Hualin, Prior thought.
Suddenly, another person entered the hangar.
It was Kashion.
Of course. That had to happen as well.
Prior tried to remain calm, even though her heart immediately began to beat faster.
He was carrying several bags. He glanced only briefly at Prior before stopping beside his sister.
"I have a few more gifts for Aunt Aliror," she heard him say.
Kassia replied something, but Prior wasn't close enough, and the hangar was too loud for her to hear.
-Kashion-
Kassia accepted the gifts.
"Thank you, Kassia."
She laughed softly. "I'm going to enjoy some pleasant time with your 'kind-of-friend.' And you make sure you use your time with your princess wisely and figure out what you want."
"I will," Kashion replied.
"Take good care of yourselves. And send my regards to everyone. … I wish I could come along."
Kassia smiled gently. "I believe you. When the negotiations are over, you absolutely need to get out of Lantian again, Kash."
Kashion nodded. But it wouldn't be the same.
He heard footsteps behind him, turned, and saw Tendol — Kassia's husband — approaching. At least he came to say goodbye, Kashion thought. Tendol was constantly busy, and Kashion felt he had far too little time for his family.
Kashion glanced toward Prior. She was staring at the floor.
He desperately wanted to speak to her, but he didn't know what he should say. He had deliberately waited until now with the gifts, just so he would have an excuse to come to the hangar.
Then an idea came to him.
But should he?
"It will be fine," he told himself.
-Prior-
Prior had noticed that someone else had arrived — a man she didn't really know. He walked straight to Kassia and gently stroked Yina's head. Surely Kassia's husband.
Prior lowered her gaze to the floor again and hoped they would depart soon. Suddenly, she felt someone approaching.
She looked up and found herself looking into Kashion's eyes. He didn't say anything at first — he simply looked at her.
Then he asked, "Which app do you use to play Cheqi?"
That was quite unexpected.
"Uh… CheqiMasterPro," she replied uncertainly.
He seemed pleased.
"Perfect. Me too." He pulled out his tab, typed something, and handed it to her.
"Enter your player name. You can play against each other through the app."
She hesitated before taking it. She could hardly believe he was simply placing something so personal into her hands. It almost felt as if he had touched her through it.
"Add Friend" was displayed on the screen, with a field below to enter a name.
Friend.
Prior nearly laughed. Were they friends?
For a moment, she considered entering a false name. But he would quickly notice, and that wouldn't be good. Besides, it wasn't much different whether she played against the AI or a real person.
Her eyes fell on his username.
"kashion233," she read aloud, looking at him questioningly. He shrugged.
"How creative," she blurted out, laughing — and instantly regretted it.
"And yours?" he asked.
She typed it in and handed the tab back to him.
"Oh, I see. FoxPriority," he said, lifting his eyebrows teasingly and laughing. This time, Prior shrugged.
"Have a good trip, FoxPriority. I look forward to beating you later." With that, he left without waiting for her reaction and stopped once more beside his sister.
Prior looked toward the family and watched as Kashion bent down to hug his niece. She didn't even notice that she had started smiling.
-Kashion-
It was harder for Kashion to say goodbye than he had expected — even if it was less than two days.
He wished his sister well once more, and as he had already turned away, she said quietly, "So, Prince Kashion actually hands over the tab he usually guards like a treasure."
He turned back. Kassia looked at him questioningly, almost challengingly.
But he didn't need to explain anything.
"See you in two days," he said simply and walked off.
He had slipped his tab into his pocket, but somehow it felt different now that it had been in Prior's hands.
-Prior-
At last, they boarded the travel-hover. Kassia sat with Yina on one side, and Prior on the other. Emi took a seat farther back, and Kassia explained that she would monitor the autopilot. Emi appeared quiet, observant.
Yina was tired and rested her head on Kassia's lap.
The hover had large, beautiful windows. Prior was already excited to see most of Tingdao from above and observe the changing landscapes.
After they had been flying — or rather gliding — for a short while, Prior could see Lantian in its full magnitude. She stared in amazement. The Great Tower truly was tall — even from above. And everything stretched across an enormous area.
She heard Kassia laugh softly and looked at her. Kassia was watching her with amused eyes — and that was when Prior realized that Kassia's eyes looked almost exactly like Kashion's. It felt as though he were looking at her. She almost felt watched by him.
"It's nice to see you so enthusiastic," Kassia said.
"Everything here is just so different from home," Prior replied.
"I can imagine. What do you miss most?" Kassia asked.
Prior thought for a moment. "My friends. And the moons," she laughed.
"And what do you like best here?" Kassia continued.
"Strawberries," Prior said enthusiastically. "They taste completely different from the ones on Saturn, and they're much bigger!"
Kassia's expression changed slightly; she became a bit more serious.
"The palace library as well. And the colors and landscapes here — from what I've seen so far. And the air. It feels different."
Kassia smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I hope the people here suit your taste as well."
Prior nodded. "Definitely."
Kassia rummaged through her bag and pulled out an embroidery set.
"Oh, you embroider?" Prior asked.
Kassia nodded. "It's a pleasant pastime."
"I embroider occasionally too," Prior said with a smile.
She turned back to the window, watching as they moved farther and farther away from Lantian.
-Kashion-
Kashion was on his way to the palace gardens with Oren. He would meet Evlina there.
They planned to play badminton in the morning, while the temperatures were still pleasant.
When they arrived at the agreed spot, there was no sign of her yet.
He took out his tab and opened CheqiMasterPro. He sent FoxPriority a game invitation.
The good thing about CheqiMasterPro was that you didn't have to play simultaneously. A match could last for hours or even days.
He didn't know when — or if — Prior would accept the invitation. But he also thought she probably wouldn't invite him first. From what he had seen of her so far, she would likely be staring wide-eyed out of the window instead.
Still, maybe at some point she would feel like playing a match.
"Sorry for being late!" Evlina said as she arrived. She was wearing a sports outfit, her hair tied back in a ponytail. Talina followed behind her.
"No problem," Kashion replied, putting his tab away.
"We're playing on the same team, aren't we?" Evlina asked.
"We can," Kashion answered.
He positioned himself beside Evlina, while Oren and Talina stood on the opposite side.
Kashion was impressed—Evlina was an excellent player and didn't seem to tire at all.
However, whenever she went for the shuttlecock, she came very close to him, and it felt as though she touched him whenever possible. He usually tried to step aside, though he didn't always manage to.
After the first game, they took a short break. They sat down at a table in the garden and had something to drink. Kashion picked up his tab. FoxPriority hadn't accepted the invitation yet.
"Important messages?" Evlina asked.
"Unfortunately not," Kashion replied.
"You play very well," he added after a moment. "I'm quite surprised."
Evlina grinned. "So do you. It's really fun playing with you. Prince Kashion, I must say, I'm so glad that we—"
"Shall we play another round?" he interrupted.
She looked at him in surprise. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.
Kashion felt sorry. She hadn't done anything wrong. It was his problem. He just had the feeling he wouldn't be able to endure much longer.
"No, you didn't do anything wrong at all. Your father—and all of Saturn—can be proud to have such a princess," he said soothingly, and he meant it.
"But I feel like… Oh well. Let's play another round," she said, picking up her racket and standing.
Kashion stood as well and followed her. Oren and Talina followed too.
– Prior –
After more than an hour of travel, Prior finally saw the famous karst landscape. The hills were much rounder than those on Saturn. The green shimmered vividly fresh, although some patches already seemed sun-scorched. It would surely be beautiful down there, standing by the lake among the hills.
It was so quiet in the hover. Yina was asleep. Kassia was focused on her embroidery, and Emi was reading something on her tab.
Eventually, Prior picked up her own tab. She had new messages—from CheqiMasterPro.
The first: "kashion233 has added you as a friend."
And then: "kashion233 has invited you to a game."
"Tss!" Prior muttered. Already? Still, she couldn't help smiling.
Kassia glanced at her questioningly, but Prior said nothing.
Then she clicked "Accept Invitation." She laughed softly. Of course Kashion had chosen black. She made her first move with the white tree at the edge of the board.
"What are you playing?" Kassia asked.
"Cheqi," Prior answered briefly.
"Ah, like my brother," Kassia said. "Are you playing against an AI?"
Oh, what was she supposed to say to that?
"Usually."
"Usually?"
Kassia could be so persistent.
"Your brother invited me to a game," Prior finally admitted.
"Oh really?" Kassia replied.
Prior almost felt as if she were doing something forbidden. "Evlina told him that I play Cheqi too."
"That's nice," Kassia said. "I hope you beat him often. That would probably do him good." She laughed.
That relieved Prior. So Kassia didn't see anything wrong with it. "I'll try my best."
"That's the spirit!" Kassia gave her a thumbs-up.
They both laughed.
– Kashion –
When the game was over and they had said their goodbyes, Oren accompanied Kashion to his room.
They were supposed to freshen up before his mother's garden picnic.
"Well, I have to say, your princess truly shines in everything. She's really fit," Oren enthused.
Your princess. As if it were inevitable.
"She did seem a bit down at the end, though. Even though you won all the games. You're a good team," Oren added with a wink.
Kashion picked up his tab, and his heart beat faster when he saw two new notifications:
"FoxPriority has accepted your invitation."
"FoxPriority has made a move."
Kashion smiled.
"Good news?" Oren asked.
Kashion nodded but set the tab aside for the moment.
"Oren, you are my friend," he began.
Oren looked surprised. "Yes, Your Highness?"
Kashion sat down. Oren sat opposite him.
"Tell me—do you think the agreement would still go through without a marriage?" Kashion asked.
Oren looked at him suspiciously. "What are you implying? Kashion, why would you hesitate? Someone who shines like the sun has entered your life. Who is that fortunate? And it's not only about you—it's about the people of Tingdao. What's going on?"
"Nothing," Kashion replied. He didn't want to say more.
"You will do what is right," Oren said.
Yes, that was the plan. But it felt as though there was no longer a right choice. And the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to reopen the door to the little boy inside him. It was as if Prior held the key.
"I'm going to shower," Oren said. "And if you don't want to be late, you should freshen up too." With that, he left.
Kashion picked up his tab again, smiled when he saw the name FoxPriority, and made his first move with the black tree in the center.
He sighed. "Duty calls," he murmured to himself, set the tab down, and went into the bathroom.