Chapter 4

Crecylla requests breakfast outside today. She did need to get used to the brilliant sun outside after all. The sun rises as she enjoys her breakfast. Cyrus joins her after fifteen minutes, and he smiles softly at the girl still in her pyjamas. She apologizes for her informal attire. Cyrus shakes his head, it was alright, she was to rule over the land with him soon, she needed to be comfortable.

Cyrus loses himself in thought, and it isn't until Crecylla shakes him softly when he hazes back into reality. He bows softly for the inconvenience, and Crecylla only smiles. It was fine, she was glad that he was getting comfortable around her anyways. He nods and stares at his surroundings.

It was the palace field. They were seated in the middle of a bunch of flowers, and the marble table was cold compared to the weather. There was a rather large umbrella covering the two from any sun, but Crecylla seemed more invested in noting down the flowers around her.

Cyrus excuses himself and the girl curtsies. He had matters to attend to, specifically now that another kingdom had an adversary among them. There was no break in the royal life for him. He wanders off to his parents' meeting room to see if they had any insights who who they might be.

Rigel approaches Crecylla like a moth drawn to a flame. He's curious as to why she agreed to the marriage, but also set on persuading her out of it. After all, why would she need to intermingle with a kingdom that wasn't hers? Her kingdom wasn't getting anything out of the marriage, and neither side had broken the treaty for years. Was there a point in marrying the prince?

Crecylla's laugh is melodious when he asks her the questions. Why wouldn't she marry him? It wasn't like he was going to treat her badly or break her. She tells him that you don't need a reason to love someone, there was nothing wrong with falling for a stranger. Intermingling wasn't an issue, after all, it was just another arranged marriage. She'd much rather get married to someone her age than a duke that was significantly older than her.

Rigel pesters her more. He asks her if Cyrus loves her, does she love him? What would happen if the two every decided to get a divorce? Did she really think this through? What would happen if they realized that they had been keeping secrets? Would their relationship go downhill? Would she decide to forgive and forget? Did she have the strength to do that?

Crecylla blinks, and smiles amusedly. Even if they didn't love each other now, it would be natural that they'd fall in love over a course of time. Love never came overnight for anyone. She brushes the rest of his questions off, she hadn't started her wandering yet. She wanted to see if she could find the kitchen in the castle. She had been craving some Diana delicacies and she would be the only who could make it. She nods and heads off wandering for the day again.

Rigel watches the girl leave. Had she not taken into consideration anything that he said? How could she just naively think that the prince would fall for someone as simple minded as her? He had been in love with his half sister for the longest time, and had just left her when he found out that he was to be wed. He treated his sister like a toy, something he could get rid of when he pleased. Does the princess not fear being played? She really didn't belong in the palace life.

Crecylla hums to herself when she goes over the order of events from a few minutes prior. Rigel was confrontational, he attacked his target until he got into their head. Break them down mentally, and then take advantage of the situation. He sure had a lot of questions for her. She open the door to what she assumed was the kitchen, and was surprised to be met with the sight of Helios inside. There were light smudges of strawberry jam on his face, and he seemed to have been eating a pastry.

Helios freezes when he hears the door open slightly, did his parents decide that it was a good time for a snack? What would they say if they found out that he was eating something that he wasn't supposed to? He sighs in relief when he's met with a pair of ocean blue eyes. Crecylla laughs softly, and offers to wipe the crumbs from his face. He was like a child.

When Helios asks why Crecylla's in the kitchen, she can only offer an awkward smile. What does she tell him? That she was craving Dianese snacks? He seems to notice that she was there to bake, and he starts to glow. Crecylla is caught off guard when he asks if he could help, and she nods softly. Helios tells her to wait for a second, and he rushes off to change into a more adequate outfit. She takes a look at her own, and she smiles at the dress pants and ruffled shirt she wore. She ties her sleeves up and gets to work with the ingredients.

Helios makes his way back as quickly as possible, and he rushes to find the girl already starting. Her hands are delicate from being a princess, but the way she works is quick and efficient. She wastes no time in making the dough, and she lets it sit for an hour. So he makes himself of some use and talks with her. He's surprised to find that she was relatively free from a young age, and that her parents had taught her how to rule, but never pressured her into taking the crown. The pressure had only come these years since her sister was poisoned.

Crecylla's mood drops slightly when she talks about it but recovers when the timer rings. She claps her hands gently and asks if Helios wanted to help her fold the pastries. He nods, and tries his best to imitate her movements. By the time that the 2 finished, the oven is heated, and they place it in. She sets the timer to 2 hours, and cleans up the kitchen. She asks Helios if he had anyone he loved, or someone he wished to spend his life with.

Helios is shocked at the question. He never had any pressures to rule an empire, so he didn't really think about it. Perhaps he should start looking for one? Crecylla panics and apologizes, face red from embarrassment. She had spoken without thinking again, how embarrassing. Helios shakes his head in disagreement, it wasn't her fault. He had just never been asked the question before, and he wasn't sure if he had thought about it either. Crecylla hums, perhaps it would be better to let fate deal with his case.

Cyrus is interrupted in his study by the intoxicating smell of pastries. They don't smell as spicy as traditional Phoenician ones, they're more fragrant. So he lets himself take a break and wander to the kitchen. He's greeted with the sight of Crecylla mashing blueberries and Helios putting the excess berries back. He asks the two what they're up to. Crecylla smiles and lets him know that they were baking. She had been craving Dianese treats and so she decided to make some herself. Helios smiles at his brother cheekily, not missing the chance to tease him a bit. Cyrus requests that a servant send some to his study when they're finished. With that, he leaves.

When his figure disappears behind the door, Crecylla asks how come they didn't have any chefs on standby. Helios shakes his head and mentions that they were on their mandatory 5 hour break. They spend the rest of the two hours chatting away with their smoothies.

When the fresh smell of pastries floats through the palace halls, the king and queen decide to take a break as well. They were not expecting their future daughter in law to be cooking in a kitchen. They seemed to have panicked but a wave of relief washed over them when the girl shot them a warm smile. She enjoyed the time spent in the kitchen and hoped that they wouldn't mind.

The king and queen were surprised to find that Crecylla's baked treats were tasty. A light conversation was carried on while they ate, and Crecylla excused herself to send a handful of treats to Cyrus at his study. She bows, and heads off.

Cyrus is well aware of the scent that floats through the air and saying that he was hungry would be an understatement. Just as he was about to ring up a servant, Crecylla enters his study. The treats she holds in the plate surprises him and he smiles softly at her. He could get used to this.