It was Syn's final moment at her home. The childhood she shared once with her father before she became a live-in servant of her step-family. She turned back before stepping up to the palace coach. Her cruel stepmother didn't come to the window, nor her stepsisters, the frozen and unfrozen one.
Syn saw her future prince waiting for her to arrive at the palace, he was so handsome.
He wrapped his hands gently on her face and assured her that her troubles were over, he would protect her forever. "It's just us, Syn, you and me. I promise to protect you. I love you."
"I love you, too, Crosby." Syn felt secure and safe, more than she even felt when her father was still alive.
Meanwhile, Yoaka was rising after her long night of spellcasting and binding. She too made promises, but darker ones. She felt Syn's presence in the palace and she knew it was as it was predicted long ago in the book of Faes. She must find her father and speak with him at once.
Meanwhile, Syn was exploring her new home when she noticed the flame was dwindling in the dining fireplace. "That will never do." She began to rearrange the delicate embers around what seemed like a lost cause but she re-awoke the fire, and it blazed. She stared into the fire; she always found her self watching the flickers and flame dance and wildly stab the air.
Crosby walked into the great dining hall and saw what Syn was doing. "Syn, we have someone to take care of that for the palace, there's no need to do it yourself- ever."
"I want to and it need to be breathed back to life. I don't mind at all."
Crosby took her by the hand and tried to explain why this wasn't what the future queen should do.
"It just is not how a queen acts."
"Well, good thing I'm not one, yet." Syn felt a bit shamed and began to realize the gravity of her situation. Would she ever be a real queen, not just by name, but by actions? "I feel like I should be myself, isn't that what you fell in love with in the first place?"
"We will speak after dining with my parents. I must tale my leae for archery practice. Why don't you raom the grounds- explore."
"I'll avoid fires and such, good day."
Syn retreated to her sleeping quarters instead of roaming. Her room was larger than her entire home she shared with her father. She felt out of place. Who was she? She thought about her situation before taking a nap.
Yoaka found her father engaged with a barrel of ale from the western sealands. Coastal wine did the trick when he needed to escape.
"Father."
"Yoaka, you frightened me. What is it?"
"I'm only looking into the promise you made me."
The king knew what she was talking about but avoided the answer. He had been dreading the day his son became betrothed because of Yoaka and that promise.
"Should I remind you? It seems only yesterday when you promised, father."
"No, now is not the time, they haven;t even married yet." The bell tolled declaring it was time for the evening meal. "We will discuss the arrangement at length after he has put it in her belly."
"Not 'it' father, HER."
Her. The king knew it was coming. Her.
