-Prior-
They had arrived in front of Kashion's room. Prior stood with Yina in front of the door, waiting for the others to catch up.
Kashion opened the door and entered his room first. Yina let go of Prior's hand and immediately followed him inside, full of curiosity. Kassia and Lina also went in, but Prior remained outside for a moment, hesitating.
Kashion came back to the doorway and looked at her questioningly. Then he simply said, "Come," and Prior stepped inside.
From outside she had already seen a few things, but now she noticed far more details—especially how large the room was. It was very tastefully furnished. The colors were rather dark and rich, but not gloomy.
Her gaze wandered around the room a little, and she thought back to his room in Lakhal. It had been completely different. Here she didn't see the small wooden figures either. When she thought of them, she smiled again.
When her gaze finally fell on Kashion, she noticed that he was watching her with amusement.
Kassia and Lina had taken seats on a sofa, while Yina sat on the floor in the back corner of the room. That was when Prior noticed the clouded leopard.
She walked slowly over to Yina and sat down beside her. The clouded leopard was still quite small, and Prior looked at it with fascination. There were no clouded leopards on Saturn; only ordinary cats had been brought there. Its pattern was striking.
It seemed a little frightened, and when Yina tried to pet it, it lowered its head. Suddenly it hissed, and Yina said, "Oh," and stood up.
"She won't hurt you. She's just afraid," Prior heard Kashion say behind her.
Prior gently extended her hand toward the clouded leopard without touching it and waited.
After a few seconds the little leopard grew curious and came closer, sniffing her hand. Then it allowed her to pet it. She was delighted and laughed softly.
Yina came closer again and sat down on Prior's left side. Then Prior noticed that Kashion had knelt down on the floor beside her on her right.
-Kashion-
Kashion watched Prior with fascination. Sometimes she had such a calm warmth about her, and she had gained Luu's trust so quickly.
"She seems to like you," he said.
Prior turned her head toward him and smiled. Then she asked, "She? Is it a she?"
Kashion nodded.
"And does she have a name?" Prior asked.
"Luu," he replied quietly.
"Luu… that sounds beautiful," Prior said, petting the little leopard again.
Then Prior suddenly said, "I should go now."
She briefly stroked Yina's head and stood up. Kashion stood up as well.
He would have liked to ask her to stay longer, but he knew it would be pointless. Prior had her own obligations too.
She said goodbye to Lina and Kassia. He walked her to the door.
She turned and looked at him. "Thank you," she said.
He shook his head to show it was nothing.
"I'll go then," she said.
"See you later," Kashion replied.
She looked at him questioningly, but then it was as if there was a silent understanding between them, and she simply nodded.
Then she left. Kashion watched her for a moment as she walked down the hallway.
He then returned to Yina and sat down beside her.
"Shall we feed her?" he asked.
Yina nodded brightly. "Oh yes!"
-Prior-
As Prior walked down the corridor toward Princess Evlina, she felt a whirlwind of emotions inside her. She still felt a little nervous because of Kashion's closeness, yet at the same time she sensed a certain calm within herself. His presence and his gentle voice had something very soothing about them.
She smiled when she thought about his last words: "See you later."
She sighed. Slowly she felt as if she were caught in a whirlpool she could no longer escape.
Professor Keron and Talina were already with Evlina. Prior had the feeling they had been waiting for her.
But it really had only been a few minutes.
They sat down together at a table.
"How was the laboratory today?" Evlina asked.
Prior still felt a small trace of discomfort about not being allowed to join the excursion to the mountains. But since the time in the lab had been pleasant—and especially after Kashion had shown her the pictures—it no longer hurt.
It was almost as if Kashion had tended to that wound. By showing her the photos and expressing his wish that she would come next time, it almost felt as if she had been there with them.
Like a film playing in her mind, Prior remembered the moments when Kashion had been sitting beside her on the floor. When their knees had touched. When he had helped her up and she had briefly held his hand.
"Well, Prior?" Evlina asked impatiently.
Oh no. She had drifted so far into her thoughts that everyone was looking at her.
"Since she's smiling, it must have been wonderful," Professor Keron remarked.
She cleared her throat. "Um, yes. We conducted very interesting experiments. I believe the research results and technologies from Tingdao really are as promising as they have claimed. They could be of enormous benefit for Saturn—and actually for the whole world."
She then spoke about the frequency tests, the condensation research, and also things she had observed in petroleum synthesis research.
Talina and Evlina understood less about it than Professor Keron. He seemed quite impressed.
"That sounds good. If Tingdao truly remains our main trading partner, it will be beneficial for both sides," Evlina finally said.
"If?" Talina asked.
Evlina nodded. "We must remain realistic. In the next sessions we will see what is best for Saturn. We must not let sympathy guide our decisions." As she said that, she looked especially at Prior.
Prior nodded briefly. Yes, she should think above all about what was valuable for Saturn. But she couldn't deny that Tingdao had grown dear to her.
"But if you marry—" Talina began.
"We're not discussing that now," Evlina interrupted. "We'll see what the next weeks bring."
Prior noticed the firmness and coolness in Evlina's tone. She also didn't seem as happy as she had a few days earlier.
Suddenly Prior felt like a traitor. Should she tell Evlina what had happened over the last few days?
She looked at Evlina, and Evlina looked back at her. But of course not now, not while Talina and Keron were present. Finally Evlina smiled.
"Is there anything else we need to discuss regarding the other realms?" she asked.
They discussed once again the advantages of Terland and Ostrand. It mainly concerned petroleum.
"I think Firefields shouldn't be underestimated either," Prior said.
"In what way?" Evlina asked.
"I'm not certain. It's just an idea. Yesterday I read some reports and came across an article mentioning possible deposits of rare earth elements in Firefields," Prior explained.
"Rare earth elements?" Professor Keron asked curiously.
Prior nodded. "It wasn't very detailed. But I looked at the maps and the history, and I thought it's quite possible that there could be a larger deposit there. Today in the laboratory we also talked about what it would mean if we could use dysprosium."
"But these are still only your theories?" Professor Keron asked.
Prior nodded again. "Yes. But I think it's good to consider every possibility."
"Very good," Evlina said. "We'll keep it in mind. What exactly is dysprosium?"
Prior explained, "It's a metal. It can stabilize magnetic fields at extreme temperatures. Normal metals quickly lose their magnetic properties in those conditions. With dysprosium, we could maintain magnetic fields much more reliably. The gas would condense more controllably, and we could generate even more thrust for propulsion systems. At the very least we could save Aethereleum that way. That would be extremely important for us—and also interesting for our magnetic field systems."
Professor Keron nodded approvingly, and Evlina replied, "We'll see. But it certainly doesn't sound insignificant."
The session would begin the next morning, so they didn't stay up too late.
Prior had considered speaking to Evlina alone. But she couldn't bring herself to do it yet and wasn't even sure what everything meant herself. She wanted to sort out her own thoughts and feelings first.
She returned to her room with Talina.
Talina immediately began getting ready for bed, and Prior soon lay down as well.
She took her messenger and told Nari and Eynara about her day.
Nari replied:
"How sweet! The prince surely would have liked you to be there in the mountains. Good that you could still see each other later."
And Eynara wrote:
"See? I told you so. I'm so curious how this will continue."
Prior smiled. She was curious too.
Then she took her tab and saw that kashion233 had made another move. She thought of his words: "See you later."
She made a move as well, and shortly afterward a message appeared.
kashion233
And? Did everything go well afterward?
FoxPriority
Yes, thank you.
kashion233
Then tomorrow the negotiations can finally really begin.
kashion233
I'll be glad when it's over.
FoxPriority
I can imagine.
kashion233
You'll definitely be there, right?
Her stomach fluttered again. The negotiations would surely be exhausting and nerve-racking—and now there was this entirely different kind of excitement as well.
FoxPriority
Yes.
kashion233
Then there will at least be a a bright spot.
A ray of hope? She stared at the message. She felt her face grow warm. A ray of hope—for him. She smiled.
Since she didn't know what to reply, she changed the subject.
FoxPriority
How is Luu?
-Kashion-
Kashion smiled. He had almost been certain she would change the subject.
He was sitting in his chair, and Luu had curled up along the backrest beside him, touching his left arm.
kashion233
She's sleeping next to me right now. We fed her earlier and played with her a little. Now she's tired again.
FoxPriority
She's cute. I think I should go to sleep soon too.
kashion233
Good night, Prior.
kashion233
See you tomorrow.
FoxPriority
Good night.