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I nodded my head. “Thank you. And one more thing, I don’t like being idle. Is there anything I can do to help around the Aeglire or with the people?”
He looked surprised. “You want to work? Despite not fully adjusting yet?”
Elves didn’t like idle hands, and neither did I. The boredom was already getting to me. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“I see,” he mused. “There might be something you can help with. I’ll have to think about it.”
“Thank you. It would help me feel like I’m useful and not just another mouth to feed.”
He rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “I will see what I can arrange.”
I smiled with relief. “I would like that.”
“If that is all, I should get back to my work.” His posture changed and authority sneaked back into his tone.
“Thank you. Is there something else you would like to know?”
A conflicted look passed over his face, and I could see he was debating with himself.
“Is there something you want to ask me?” I asked again.
“It’s nothing,” he said dismissively.
“Please, tell me,” I urged.
Clearing the air between us was important to me. Trust was essential in any relationship and I wanted to start on the right foot with him. That would help me in the long term.
He sighed and then relented. “Fine. I was wondering why you seemed so… distant.”
The question took me by surprise. Why did he even care?
I blinked. “Distant?”
“Yes. When we met, you looked at me with such… disdain. As if you couldn’t stand the sight of me. And then when we met again, you were so… cold. Formal. It’s as if you are holding yourself back.”
My first instinct was to be offended, but I quickly squashed it. He wasn’t wrong. I held myself back, and I knew it.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It’s not you. I’m just… not used to all of this yet. It wasn’t my intention. I was just… surprised.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Surprised?”
“Yes,” I said, searching for the right words. “It surprised me how different you are. From what I was expecting.”
He was silent for a moment, digesting my words. “And what were you expecting?”
What did the people of Midar expect was the real question he wanted to ask.
“Someone… someone not like you,” I admitted. “Someone who was more like… I don’t even know. I guess I was just expecting someone different.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw and I could see the anger flare in his eyes. But he quickly schooled his features.
“A prince,” he finally said. It wasn’t a question.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, I guess so.”
“You know, it’s not always easy being who people expect you to be,” he finally said. “Sometimes it’s hard living up to the expectations that others have for you.”
“It sounds like you would know a lot about that,” I whispered. “How about you? Is this what you expected?”
