Moonlight Beauty
1211 Words
Princess Moon
“It had a personal grudge.”
Veyra pointed her spoon at Nara. “To be fair, that broom was unpleasant.”
I smiled.
Nara leaned toward me. “He used to wake before everyone and finish half my chores so I could go to school.”
Ashen looked down at his bowl.
“Nara.”
“What? It’s true.”
“He does not like praise,” Veyra said. “It causes a rash.”
“It does not.”
“It causes emotional hives.”
I bit back a laugh.
Nara continued, softer now. “He would save the best food for me even when he had not eaten. He mended my clothes badly but with confidence. He learned how to braid hair from a kitchen maid because I cried the first day of school when mine looked messy.”
Ashen rubbed the back of his neck.
That nervous gesture again.
My chest warmed.
“He scared off boys who teased me,” Nara said. “Not by hitting them. He just stood there.”
Veyra sighed dreamily. “Ah, yes. The silent menace.”
“I was not menacing,” Ashen muttered.
“You froze a bucket beside one of them.”
“It was winter.”
“In the kitchen.”
“It was a drafty kitchen.”
Nara grinned. “The boy never teased me again.”
I looked at Ashen.
He still was not meeting my eyes.
That somehow made every story hurt more.
A boy who had lived like a servant and still made sure his sister went to school.
A boy who saved food instead of eating it.
A boy who learned braids because a little girl cried.
A boy who walked on a river for a pup and said nothing when the pack called him cursed.
One of a kind.
A unicorn in a world full of horses pretending their saddles were crowns.
“What?” Ashen asked quietly.
I realized I was staring.
Again.
“Nothing.”
Veyra snorted.
I kicked her lightly under the table.
She kicked back harder.
After dinner, Nara yawned into her sleeve and tried to pretend she had not.
Ashen noticed immediately.
“Bed.”
“I’m not tired.”
“You just yawned with your entire soul.”
“That was a breathing choice.”
“Bed.”
Veyra stood, stretching. “Excellent. The wolf-child and I will take the room next to yours. I require sleep after saving everyone repeatedly.”
“You slept in a tree yesterday,” Nara said.
“And it was emotionally unsupportive.”
Nara hugged Ashen quickly before heading upstairs with Veyra. He froze for half a second, then returned it carefully, like he still had to remind himself she was safe enough to hold.
When they disappeared, silence settled over the kitchen.
Ashen stood.
Then immediately began clearing plates.
Of course he did.
I rose too.
He looked startled. “You do not have to.”
“I know.”
“You are injured.”
“So are you.”
“I am used to it.”
The words left him casually.
Too casually.
I picked up two cups. “That is not the argument you think it is.”
He blinked.
Then looked away, almost smiling.
We worked side by side at the washbasin. The cabin had a pump that groaned when Ashen used it and water that came out cold enough to punish skin. He washed. I dried. For a while, the only sounds were running water, clinking dishes, and the fire settling low in the hearth.
Then I asked, “Do you ever relax?”
He laughed.
Not a polite laugh.
A genuine one.
Warm. Surprised. Beautiful.
My hands paused on the dishcloth.
There it was again.
That small piece of him no one had managed to kill.
“Is that funny?” I asked.
“A little.”
“Why?”
He glanced at me. “Because you asked as if relaxation is a place I could visit if I had better directions.”
“It can be.”
“For princesses, perhaps.”
“For stubborn wolves too.”
“Unproven.”
“You are avoiding the question.”
“Yes.”
“At least you admit it.”
His mouth curved.
Then he dipped his fingers into the basin and flicked water at me.
Cold drops hit my cheek.
I froze.
Ashen froze too, as if he had surprised himself.
I slowly turned my head toward him.
“Did you just splash me?”
His eyes widened slightly.
Then the corner of his mouth twitched.
“No.”
Water dripped down my cheek.
I wiped it with two fingers. “That was a terrible lie.”
“I am new to crime.”
“You are about to be new to consequences.”
I flicked water back.
It hit his chin.
For one heartbeat, we stared at each other.
Then he smiled.
And suddenly the kitchen was a battlefield.
He splashed me again. I grabbed a cup and scooped water from the basin. He dodged most of it, laughing under his breath, but enough hit his sweater to darken the fabric.
“Princess,” he warned.
“Moon,” I corrected, launching another handful.
He caught my wrist, but I twisted and splashed him with my other hand.
His shocked laugh filled the room.
Something in me lit up.
He looked younger when he laughed.
Not childish.
Free.
I wanted to bottle the sound and keep it somewhere safe.
He reached for the wet cloth.
“No,” I said.
His smile turned wicked.
I stepped back.
“Ashen.”
“You started this.”
“You splashed me first.”
“Allegedly.”
He flicked the cloth.
Water struck my neck.
I gasped.
“That is war.”
“It was already war.”
I lunged for the basin.
He caught my waist before I could dump the remaining water on him, but the floor was wet now. My borrowed shoe slipped. His foot slid too.
For one wild second, we both tried to recover.
Neither of us succeeded.
We went down together.
Ashen hit the floor first with a grunt, twisting at the last second so I landed on top of him instead of the boards.
The basin rocked but did not fall.
The fire crackled.
Water dripped from the counter.
I froze.
He froze.
My hands were braced against his chest. His hands had caught my waist. My hair fell forward, damp strands brushing his jaw.
He looked up at me.
No mask.
No glamour.
No lies.
Just Ashen.
Breathing hard.
Eyes dark with something he did not know how to hide.
My heartbeat thundered.
His fingers tightened slightly at my waist.
Not pushing me away.
Not yet.
I knew I should move.
I did not.
His gaze dropped to my mouth.
Mine dropped to his.
The room went very still.
Every part of me wanted to kiss him.
Every part of him looked like he wanted the same thing and feared what wanting meant.
So I stayed there, caught between his hands and my own reckless heart, waiting to see which of us would move first.
- Writer
