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He stared down at our joined hands and then back up at me. The raw emotion in his eyes took my breath away. And at that moment, I saw him. Not the prince. Not the future king. But the man. The man who was fighting for his people. The man who was fighting for peace.
“You’re not the only one who’s dealing with culture shock,” he said. “I’m dealing with it, too. I’m Elvish. I grew up in a society that differs from yours. An arranged marriage is unprecedented. We are to be married, but we treat each other with suspicion and hostility. I constantly worry about your intentions. You confuse me with your strange customs. And I don’t know how to act around you half the time.”
“I don’t know how to act around you either,” I admitted. “We are at an impasse. We concluded there was a problem and that we needed to understand each other. But we haven’t come up with a solution.”
“I think the solution is staring us right in the face.”
I frowned. “And what might that be?”
“We need to trust each other.”
It was such a simple solution. But it was also the hardest thing to do. How could I trust him when he was the enemy? How could he trust me when he didn’t trust me? But if we didn’t trust each other, there was no hope for peace.
“That’s easier said than done,” I said.
Prince Maedras nodded his head in agreement. “To not repeat the mistakes of the past and to become staunch allies. We need to work together. The answer is simple.”
It was? How could we work together when we barely knew each other? And the answer was simple? I must have missed something.
“Enlighten me.”
He leaned back in his chair and regarded me. “We need to get to know each other. Are you willing to start over?”
I thought about it for a moment. It wouldn’t be easy. But if it means peace, I will try. “Yes,” I said. “I’m willing.”
He smiled then, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. He extended his hand, and I shook it. A simple gesture, but it felt like we were sealing a pact. A pact to build trust. A pact for peace.
“I shall add a seat in my office for you,” he said. “You shall be a part of my council and help me with the political decisions of the Aeglire.”
His words surprised me. This proved to me he was serious. Deadly serious. An offer like that did not come without a price.
“What do you want in return?” I asked.
“Your trust,” he said. “I want your trust, Thimsal.”
I stared at him for a moment before I nodded my head. It was a fair trade. And one that might save lives.
“Then we have a deal.”
He nodded his head in agreement. “For the sake of fully understanding each other. Why do you want to rush our marriage?”
The answer was obvious to me. But he was immortal. He couldn’t understand the urgency that I felt. “I’m mortal. My days are numbered. Ten maends is nothing to you, but Midarians only become 110 on average. I want to make the most of the time that I have.”
“A flower that blooms for but a moment is no less beautiful than one that blooms for eternity.”
His words took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to understand. But he did. He understood more than I could have ever imagined.
“My mortality doesn’t change the fact that I want to do as much good as I can in the time that I have,” I said.
He nodded his head in understanding. “Then we shall work together to make sure that your time is well spent.”
A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Maybe, just maybe, this was the beginning of something good. Something great even.
The beginning of a beautiful friendship.
A friendship that could change the world.
“And the lack of family at the wedding?” he asked.
