How To Make The Ice Prince Fall

Katherine s.u.c.k.e.d in a cold breath, but the princess wasn't finished yet.

"Did you think you could win his heart with time?" A melancholic smile lifted a corner of her mouth. "You can't win what doesn't exist anymore. He lost his heart to the darkness. Some might call him a heartless monster. Anyway, what is taken away can't be brought back just because we want to. You understand?"

Something about the princess' explanation made Katherine run a shiver down her back. She couldn't bring the man the princess described in agreement with the one she knew. Nathaniel might be cold, but no heartless monster. She saw him loose his composure when mourning for his aunt. A monster wouldn't mourn for twenty years, wouldn't help an homeless girl like her and certainly wouldn't pull her out of her dark thoughts with a hand kiss.

However, it might be true that... Nathaniel didn't have a place for her in his heart. Not for love at least. Honestly, she always wondered what could be the reason for his restrain. But if the princess said he lost his heart, maybe he loved someone before. She wondered how he had lost this person.

Another person might have given up if she was told that she had no chance and realized her beloved might love someone else. Alas, in Katherine's case it only ignited her fighting spirit. Her hands clenched into the fabric of her dress.

If she had any doubts about pursuing the earl further, they were cleared now. Nathaniel wasn't a monster and even if he lost his heart to someone before, she would fight to get it back. Because he obviously was not happy with the way it was right now. Whoever he loved wasn't good for him, no, it was slowly killing him inside. In a low voice that only she herself could hear, she muttered: "I will not give up!"

The princess might be a good person, but her assessment of Nathaniel was wrong. She might have collected more information about him than Katherine to the extent that she even knew his secret, but as a person, she didn't understand him at all.

Though Katherine wanted to tell her just that, she realized that now was not the right time to offend the princess. She had not enough backing, and the princess obviously knew some things about Nathaniel. She had to find out what it was first.

When Katherine raised her head, her inner decision could not be seen on her face, her thoughts a mystery. "Thank you for your kind advice. However, there are still some things I don't understand. Who did he lose his heart to? What happened for him to be this way?"

While Katherine was talking, the princess suddenly rubbed her temple, distracted. Her eyes wandered over the oleander bushes as if searching for something.

When Katherine turned her head, a man in his early twenties stepped onto the path between the bushes, walking in their direction. He was tall, had inky black hair and the same grey eyes as the princess. Confidence and steadfastness radiated from his board shoulders and strong, steady steps. Nonetheless, when he neared them, Katherine noticed a light grey tint on his tanned skin, as if he was sick.

"Milady", said the man as he halted beside the table and nodded lightly in Katherine's direction. His voice was deep and cool like a lake. "I need to discuss something with my sister. Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

Hastily, Katherine stood up and curtsied. As the royal family only had two princes, the one before her could only be the crown prince. She had to say, the first impression alone was enough to beat prince Aston a hundred times. He might not be as handsome but invoked a sense of reliability one wished to find in a future king. "Of course not, your highness."

"You can wait to the side, it won't take long.", the crown prince assured, but his sister had a different opinion.

"No, please don't wait for me.", she said and again rubbed her temples. "I think I need to lay down for a bit afterwards. I'm not feeling so good."

"Then I will take my leave", Katherine agreed reluctantly. She wished she could have asked more about Nathaniel. "Get well soon, your highness."

After another deep curtsy, she gestured at Hazel and the two of them left the winter garden.

.

Nathaniel was beat when he returned from his meeting with lord Orvet in the afternoon. The chief of Helgrind jail had circled around all his attempts to inquire about the abnormalities in prison. He was a hard nut to crack, very shrewd and experienced. But even experienced people would make mistakes with time. One thing was for sure: lord Orvet was deeply involved in the disappearances.

Closing the door to his chambers, Nathaniel let loose of the yawn that was fighting to escape his c.h.e.s.t for an hour already. Since the sword practice with Aston in the morning, his limbs were arching. He took it as a sign of his recovery.

If not for the bodily disadvantage, Nathaniel doubted he would have lost two of the five matches against his brother. Not that Aston was a bad fighter - quite the contrary, he was very good - but not comparable with a veteran who fought in the battlefield several times.

Before he met Katherine, Nathaniel didn't dare to use his magic often, afraid that the side-effects would kill him or someone innocent. So, when the king had send him to the frontlines in the past, he would use a sword to kill the enemies. That even got him a nickname he wasn't very proud of.

Now with Katherine, using magic would be so much more convenient... not that he planned to repeat the massacre at Hymirhall. Not at all. The screaming faces of the soldiers were like pictures freshly carved on the inside of his lids, visible whenever he closed his eyes. Knowing that it would've only killed more people if he let them go didn't help much.

He sat down on his desk, unwilling to go to sleep before dinner. There was still so much to do around here. Each delay might cost lives. The lives of innocent women and children. Even if they didn't die... they might still be labeled as monsters afterwards. He had an inkling as to what the organization wanted to do to them.

.

The dinner was about to start, but time ticked by and the earl didn't show up. Standing at the top of the staircase, Katherine was worried and a bit annoyed. Was he avoiding her again? She knew he didn't want to eat with her, but dinner was a joint occasion for all residents here. She doubted he would let them doubt their relationship by making her show up alone.

After another few minutes, she decided to go look for him. As before, the palace guards stood in front of his door, telling her that he was most likely still inside. She wondered what had held him up. Maybe he was caught up in the work for the king. But whatever it was, he shouldn't do it on the risk of his health.