-Kashion-
The small welcoming party stood up again, as Crown Prince Rein of Feuerfelder was about to arrive.
Kashion was looking forward to seeing an old friend again. In fact, he was the only envoy he was truly happy about seeing—even though Kashion had not originally invited him.
The hover from Firefields landed. It was unmistakably marked with the country's crest: a black triangle with three flames on it.
Apart from Rein, only his servant Taner stepped out of the hover.
Rein was tall—taller than Kashion—with light blond hair and blue eyes. He also had a very athletic build. He grinned, paused for a moment, and let his gaze wander over the small group. Then he walked up to Kashion and hugged him. As he did, he whispered into his ear:
"Wow, your princess is really stunning! Lucky you!"
Kashion inwardly flinched for a moment, but he had no chance to respond, because Rein immediately turned to Evlina, bowed briefly, and said:
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess. Welcome to Earth. Firefields would also be honored to invite you."
Evlina smiled and replied politely,
"Thank you, Prince Rein. I'm also very pleased to meet you and would gladly accept your invitation if the opportunity arises."
After that, Rein greeted Kashion's parents. They had known him since he had been a little boy. He briefly hugged Ada but bowed to Tyron.
"Oren will show you to your accommodations," Kashion finally said, addressing Rein and Taner. "We'll see each other later."
Rein nodded and followed Oren together with Taner.
"How nice it is to see Prince Rein again," Ada said happily, clasping her hands together. "Now that we have some time, let's eat something together. I had something nice prepared for us."
Afterward, they followed Queen Ada into the royal family's dining room. They still had almost three hours before Mandach of Ostrand was expected to arrive.
Soon after that, his sister would return with Lina and Prior. Early that morning Kassia had written to him that they had already left—and that there would be a surprise for him. He was really curious.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had any real time yet to write to Prior or play with her. Should he quickly send her an invitation now?
He took out his tab and immediately saw the notification:
"FoxPriority has sent you an invitation."
His eyes widened, and he didn't even notice that he had started to smile. Except for the one time when she had first declined the game, she had never sent him an invitation herself. It was a small bright spot—and somehow it gave him strength.
He accepted the invitation immediately and saw that she had chosen White. A warm feeling spread through his chest. Now he had to wait until she made her move.
"Kashion, eat something. Surely the other matters can wait for now," Ada said with mild reproach.
Kashion nodded and put the tab away.
"At least it seems to be good news," Evlina remarked, who had taken a seat beside him. "It's the first time today that I've seen you truly smile."
Kashion felt almost caught but simply replied,
"It was indeed good news."
Evlina nodded and continued eating.
"You have to be careful with this Kashk Rutz," King Tyron said. "I've had some unpleasant experiences with him in the past."
Kashion nodded. He already knew that. He would have preferred it if his father had continued handling the negotiations. But aside from occasionally advising him, Tyron wanted little to do with it anymore. Perhaps he would attend one or two meetings, but he always insisted that it wasn't necessary now that Kashion was the regent.
-Prior-
Prior was relieved when, after waiting for quite a while, the notification finally appeared:
"kashion233 has accepted your invitation."
She had been afraid she might have been too pushy. But she was also relieved for him that he had found the time to at least look at his tab and accept the game.
Prior had chosen White and felt good about it. After all, she knew how stubborn he was about his color. And since he had once let her play with his color, she found it easier to accept.
Now she had to make the first move. It would probably take a while before Kashion could respond again.
Were all the envoys already there?
Prior looked out the window and noticed again how the landscapes of this vast country were gradually changing. Saturn didn't have so many different landscapes. Everything there also seemed much more controlled. Here on Earth, it was beautiful to see wild landscapes.
She took her messenger and opened the group chat with Nari and Eynara. She felt a little guilty because she hadn't written to them much since arriving on Earth. On the other hand, they hadn't written much either. They had been somewhat upset when Prior decided to accompany Evlina. They had simply felt abandoned by her.
"Hello, you two," she started typing. "I'm sorry I haven't really written in ages. How are you?"
It didn't take long before Nari replied.
"I'm doing well. At least you sent some photos from time to time—otherwise one might think you forgot about us."
Prior laughed. At least Nari wasn't truly angry.
"Are you writing with your family?" Lina asked.
Prior shook her head.
"With my two good friends from Saturn."
"You must miss them terribly," Lina said.
Prior nodded.
"Yes. It wasn't easy leaving them behind. And it's not even certain we'll ever see each other again. If Princess Evlina actually stays here, it might be that I stay here too."
"Oh yes, that must be difficult," Lina agreed.
"Maybe you'll stay even if Evlina doesn't," Kassia added.
Prior looked at her, but Kassia's expression remained neutral.
"Well… who knows," Prior replied. "It's nice to be somewhere else and leave your past behind."
Lina nodded vigorously.
"I understand that very well."
"I just feel guilty because I've barely written to my friends since arriving on Earth," Prior admitted.
"Good friends understand that," Kassia said.
That reassured Prior. Kassia was right. Friendships had their ups and downs, but she knew they would always be there for each other as best they could.
Another message appeared—this time from Eynara.
"Nice to hear from you. I'm doing well too. How about the three of us have a call sometime? Then you can tell us everything."
"Gladly," Prior wrote. "Not today anymore, but maybe tomorrow. I'll message you."
Nari and Eynara replied with thumbs-up emojis. Prior smiled.
"Everything okay?" Kassia asked.
Prior nodded.
"And is your family doing well?" Lina asked.
Prior froze for a moment. That was a topic she didn't want to talk about—or not yet.
She hesitated before answering,
"It's… complicated."
"I understand," Lina said.
"Family isn't always easy," Kassia added, and Prior was grateful.
"Our family was perfect," Lina began telling, "until my father died."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lina," Prior said softly, putting an arm around her.
"Thank you. It's alright. It was several years ago. It was an accident in space. An asteroid shower that appeared suddenly and didn't show up on the radar. He was… a support that we still miss often."
Prior hugged Lina a little tighter, and Lina looked at her gratefully.
"Let's talk about something positive instead," Lina said. "Otherwise our mood will be ruined by the time we arrive."
Kassia and Prior nodded.
"Do you already know what you're going to wear at the reception tonight?" Lina asked.
The reception… That really wasn't a positive topic for Prior. She wasn't looking forward to it at all and would have preferred not to attend.
"I'll wear my pink glitter dress!" Yina said, and everyone laughed.
"I don't want to stand out too much. I'll wear something simple and black," Kassia said.
Lina looked at Prior.
"Will you keep wearing the traditional dress?"
Prior thought about it.
"I'm not sure. At official events we usually discuss our clothing choices with the princess."
"Oh, that's a pity. Let's hope she allows it," Lina said with a wink. "I'll wear a light blue dress." Then she grinned. "There will be dancing too, right?"
Kassia nodded.
"There always is."
"Wonderful," Lina said dreamily, gazing out the window.
Prior smiled. Lina was surely thinking about Oren.
Suddenly Prior thought about Kashion again.
How ridiculous, she immediately told herself. But then she remembered the last banquet and the way Kashion had looked at her. Warmth spread through her, and she suddenly felt nervous. So much had changed since then. What would it be like this time?
Almost automatically she took out her tab and saw that kashion233 still hadn't made a move. She put the tab away again.
Then she felt her messenger vibrate.
It was a message from the princess.
"Prior, when you return, make sure to come to me with Talina as soon as possible. You'll be here soon, won't you?"
"How long do we still need?" Prior asked.
"About an hour," Emi replied.
"Thank you," Prior said and wrote back to Evlina:
"As you wish, Princess. We will arrive in about an hour. I will come to you as quickly as possible."