Chapter Twenty-One: Fire

                                    

                                          


The first two weeks of my winter break were so uneventful that I started to wonder if I had entered paradise. Ever since the moment I stepped (more like fell) out of the carriage and onto the Academy grounds, I had been drowning is stress and worry. It got to the point that I was suffering from daily back, head, and chest pain due to the overwhelming amount of anxiety I was experiencing. So, instead of traveling or doing anything exciting during my four week winter vacation, I chose to laze about in bed all day while reading some romance novels that had been popular with commoners. 
                          
It was mid afternoon, and I was in bed finishing the last book of a mystery romance series that Elaine had recommended when I heard a knock on my door. 
                          
"Come in!" I grumbled, annoyed by the interruption. The book had just reached it's climax and things were starting to get steamy... What!? Don't look at me like that, how else is a young lady supposed to learn about the world!? 
                          
"Looks like you've been busy," Prince Philip said sarcastically as he entered my room. 
                          
"Why are you here?" 
                          
"It seems that my fiancé is excited to see me." The prince grinned. 
                          
"Is that all you have to say? Good, now leave." I snapped, eager to get back to my book. However, knowing the Prince, there was no way I would be able to focus on reading as long as he was here.
                          
"What are you reading?" He asked, plucked the book from my hands so he could read it aloud. 
                          
"Heavy breaths filled the room as the dark haired man trailed traced the woman's- WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CALLISTA?" The prince shouted, flustered. He tossed to book back to me, covering his face which had turned bright red. 
                          
"How could you read something so vulgar? Where are your manners, how could you disgrace the Ducal house of Sylvester like this?" 
                          
Oooooh, so the Prince was the shy type huh, this should be fun!
                          
"Have you not read anything like this before? If not you could always borrow it, I find that it can prove a great stress reliever if you know what I mean." I smirked with raised eyebrows. 
                          
"C-Callista, w-what are you saying? I have done nothing of the sort!" The Prince stammered. 
                          
"Hmmm, what do you mean by that, I never implied that you did anything. Anyways, it's not like its unnatural for a young man like you-"
                          
"That's enough, I'm leaving!" The Prince shouted, and I watched as he stormed out of the room with scarlet ears. After the door slammed shut, victory swelled in my chest as I picked up my book. Hopefully I would have a little while longer to read in peace while the prince recovered from his embarrassment. 
                          
Two hours later, there was another knock on my door, but this time it was Evelyn. She came to inform me that dinner was ready and that the crown prince would be joining us. 
                          
My father was working in the capital, so mother sat at the head of the table this time, giving me a stern look as I sat down. She was probably frustrated with the fact that I had ignored the crown prince; ahhh... I would definitely be in for a scolding later...
                          
Ryland sat beside the prince, awkwardly picking at his food. As the prince's personal knight, he was probably used to standing guard during meals, but my mother insisted that a young boy like him needed to eat properly. She wasn't wrong, I often worried about Ryland's health since he was always looking after the prince. He sure was a loyal guy. 
                          
Caden and Prince Philip dominated the conversation as they talked about the political standings of different families regarding the Cynth civil war. Prince Philip had come to the house in order to discuss the current state of the neutral party that was lead by both of our families. Right now, each of the three ducal houses were supporting separate groups involved with the Cynth war. Our ducal house remaining neutral, the Ludovic's siding with Cynth's prime minister, and the Delafontain's supporting Cynth's Queen. Duke Delefontaine had married the second princess of Sarchia, so it wasn't very surprising that he had chosen to support the same side as her home country. The only thing I knew about the family was that Duke and Duchess had a pair of twins named Ambrose and Adele, but they were only mentioned in passing during the game. They had turned fourteen this year, so the two would be attending the Academy during the next term. It was definitely going to be interesting with all three ducal houses being represented in the academy.