Prince Ardian sat by the window, watching droplets of rain slide down the huge pane of glass, a window that was roughly the size of a pair of double doors. But it just blended into the backdrop of Ardian's grand room in the palace of Valedorn.

He watched two drops of rain slide down the window slowly, glowing silver in the moonlight, dribbling down the glass next to each other like they were in a race. Ardian was thoroughly disappointed when the drop he had been making an imaginary bet on didn't win the race.

You had one job, Ardian thought, but a knock on the large spruce door to his room had him sitting up, smoothing out the fabric of the navy blue tunic he was wearing, and running a hand through his smoky, cool-toned ash brown hair in the attempts to make himself look somewhat neat and presentable.

She's here.

...

It was no secret that rebellion was brewing in the edges of Valedorn. The Kingdom was falling apart at the edges, like a fraying tapestry slowly decaying over time. And as an outlawed tracker, a spy-to-hire, you got appointed for a job to investigate the conspiracies.

It wasn't a surprise, either - no, the real kicker was that the man (or, rather, boy) who hired you was the prince. The future king of Valedorn - the future, if Valedorn was even to have one in give or take 20 years.

But the pay you would receive was handsome, and you couldn't turn down a job - especially from the prince. So, at midnight, you sneaked into the palace, past the extensive crew of guards. How? Well, a girl has her ways.

By the time you slipped through corridors into the correct hallway, you were shivering slightly, clothing drenched from the late-night torrential downpours outside that you had to run through in order to get to the stupid prince's room.

Why must people always choose midnight as our meeting time? It's like people have no regard for my well-being. Even I need sleep sometimes. I'm not a vampire. You thought with a huff.

You used a solid gold rapper on a large spruce door, which, according to the layout of the castle design you got your fingers on, was supposed to be the one and only Ardian's room. Golden, floral patterns of vines and roses decorated the polished wood.

Then the door swung open. The prince stood in the doorframe, looking down at you because he was annoyingly tall. Or maybe you were just short. Whatever.

She thinks I'm annoyingly tall. Ardian thought as your own thoughts flooded through his head, reverberating through his skull. Why are her thoughts so loud??

Wordlessly, Ardian threw a high-colored long coat at you, noticing your shivering. You shrugged it on as he stepped aside, allowing you into the room. He flung the door shut behind you before walking in front of you, hands behind his back.

"You're a bit late, hm?" Ardian asked. You glanced at the clock ticking on the wall above the door. 12:01.

"One. Minute." You said through your teeth with a scowl. Ardian laughed quietly, and you noticed dimples in his cheeks. He coughed awkwardly, then looked down at you.

"Next time you need me for a job, gods forbid, don't send a pigeon. What are you feeding that thing, for one? I'm surprised it could even fly! And for two, it shat all over my window. You're so impractical." You said with a frown.

She looks pretty when she's glaring at me. Ardian thought as he looked down at you, feeling his heart pick up and chest tighten in a completely foreign way. He laughed it off, and watched as you almost laughed too, your lips twitching upwards, dangerously close to a smirk before you shoved the look off your face.