Lia and Phineas

Lia sighed. That didn't went how she wanted. Nivall shook a bit by the negative feelings of the royals. "I - I am really sorry but it looks like the hunt is over. We can just try to look for them or return to the castle. When Hinn sensed a bird he won't rest until he got it. Or until the sun is setting again. Niflyss hate to spend the night outside." She looked over to Phineas and Lyor. "I am really sorry, I guess you can imagine way better things to do on your free days."

She petted Nivall's neckfur to calm herself and him down. He started trotting towards Lyor to snuggle on to him - one way of Niflyss to feel better again. Lia looked up. Phineas was almost as close as the evening before. She didn't know what to do and she hoped that it wouldn't end like the last night again.

Phineas looked at the queen before him and chuckled "you know what," he started "I am sure Cornelius will be able to manage and we shouldn't let this ruin our day, why don't we just take a ride through these woods? I am not used to such views, seen as in my country there's mostly sand and vulcanos, would you mind to show me around the area a bit?" he did a slight tilt with his head and smiled genuinely at Lia. "Look, I know we started off on the wrong foot last night," He was back to scratching the back of his head in an uneasy manner his eyes cast to the ground "but I'd still like to get to know you, princess" he grinned at her, that familiar spark back in his eyes. "How about a race? I am pretty sure that our trusty companions can pack quite the speed" he pet Loyr's side at that.

Lia raised an eyebrow. "I bet he won't be happy when he comes back but well why not? But don't come back crying if you get fully lost for the day because we left you behind!"

With that she placed her hand on Nivall's herth and the large Niflyss started running joyful while letting his tongue fly in the wind.

Phineas grinned and put his own hand on lyors herth and went after Lia, he surely wasn't used to such a speed, but the adrenaline it gave him made him laugh our loud. It was easy to work together with lyors he reacted fast and soon they caught up to Lia. As Phineas came face to face with her he gave her an energetic grin and then made a mocking yawning motion before urging his niflyss on to go faster outpacing the Queen .

They quick catched up and the riders had a neck to neck race until Lia gave Nivall a secret sign to slow down just a bit so Phineas would think that he was faster again.

Nivall got just slow enough that he could jump into the bushes without making a ruckus. They were just a few meters away from Phineas and Lyor and the forest was still so dark and foggy that you could just see everything in a dreamy atmosphere. Lia had a plan.

When Phineas looked behind himself the next time Lia was gone, shit, he didn't notice he'd gone THAT fast. he halted Lyor and made him turn around, deciding to wait for a few minutes in case the queen would follow up, after she didn't he turned lyor around, deciding to follow the direction back from which he came.

Quickly Lia and Nivall jumped out of the bushes onto the path. The queen put two fingers into her mouth and blew a loud and shrieking whistle. When Phineas turned around she sticked her tongue out, turned around and commanded Nivall to run fast deeper into the woods.

She laughed out loud when she heard the sound of Lyor's feet following them.

A little race later they all arrived on a small glade with a tiny pond and fancy garden furniture made out of white metal.

Phineas came to a hold shortly after Lia. "You really had me fooled there, princess" he laughed and then looked around the place. "come here often?" he asked her, a brow lifted, making the question sound more than an attempt to flirt than a normal question.

Lia got off of Nivall and pettet his herth carefully. "Well, yes. When the weather is nice I like to come here with the Niflyss. They often wander around while I drink some tea. Its' really peaceful here don't you-" ,She stopped mid-sentence and looked around, "oh. I guess this must be really lame right? She layed her head in her hand. "I feel really, really old now. But since we're already here..."

She took a small bag from Nivall's saddle and put it on the table. "Want some tea?" Lia smiled awkwardly.

Phineas couldn't help but chuckle at that, "Don't worry about it, as young and adventurous as I seem" with that he combed his hand through his hair dramatically "I do enjoy a break here and there, and there's nothing wrong with a cup of tea" he shrugs before getting off of Lyor. "Need any help setting up?" he asks rolling up his sleeves.

"I'm not that old yet." She winked at him and began putting dishware on the table. "Tea was and is still very important in Karrakar. The winters are cold and alcohol isn't always the best drink to keep you warm. What do you drink in your country?" Lia took some cake and cookies on a large plate.

Phineas took a seat at one of the chairs "we drink coffee or meltdown chocolate, in the cold nights, otherwise we make do with water and different fruit juices over the day" he chuckles. "My younger sister especially enjoy Watermelon juice" he smiles fondly while thinking of home

Lia took a seat as well and poured him and herself some herbal tea. "Sounds nice. We don't have much exciting fruit over here. Just apples, pears and so on." She chuckled a bit. "But Hemni bakes a mad apple pie." Lia handed a piece of Hemni's pie to Phineas. "Hemni is my faithful cook. She is one hell of a girl. She's Ugo's wife. They are happily married for over 40 years now." The queen took a sip of her tea. "I know them my whole life. They've always been madly in love." She smiled a bit and mumbled. "Must be great."

Phineas blows at his own tea in thought and takes a sip. "That's true " he agrees "not many get this chance in their lives " he gazes into space for a moment before asking. "what about your parents, do you think they had a good marriage?"

Lia takes another sip. "Yes I think so. It is said that frostlings don't fall in love often but when they do they fall deeply. My mom was heartbroken when my father died. She wasn't the same again after she heard the news. And I was too little to understand. A few years after my mom... After I killed her I met an Nkharr who told me that Nkahrr's souls return to their home Planet after they die to be reborn. If we only had known that sooner some things might've turned out different." She looks up. "Oh my that was really depressing, I'm sorry. What about you? Do you believe in real love?"

Phineas placed down his cup and thought for a minute. "I actually think that love is a fleeting thing, you see people handle it as if it is something to throw away so i don't really believe in true love per se." He made a pause thinking again " But, I do believe that if you put enough care and work into it, like you would do with a small plant, that it can grow into something more , bloom into something precious. Something where both partners can trust each other and can work together towards their future." He catches himself and what he said for a minute and blushes a bit. " I mean," he says " that's probably what my parents would say" he lies quickly and still blushing he takes a sip of the tea and a bite of the cake looking at anywhere but the queen .

She poured herself some tea and offered Phineas some as well. "That's a nice and intelligent thought. You don't have to be embarassed." Then she places her cup on the table and looks at him.

"I'll be honest with you, Phineas. I ruined my life and my kingdom because I was very foolish and spoiled. I still believe in true love but only because I was able to experience it. I will marry you because it's the best for our both kingdoms. But... I don't want to ruin your life as well. I'll stay by your side and I'll do what I can to be a good wife for you. But if the day comes that you will find true love I won't stay in your way."

A few moments pass and Lia takes another sip of her tea. She wanted to say this since Phineas arrived the day before, she didn't want to build this new relationship on lies.

Phineas gazed Off into the distance for a while. For a moment he had forgotten that the queen has had another totally different life from this before, and already had someone she loved. It felt a bit defeating since he didn't know if he would actually ever find that kind of love for himself. sure, he lived his girls in a way, but that didnt feel like the kind of true love that was described in so many of angeline's romance novels. He shook his head trying to get rid of that thought and smiled at Lia " we will see" was all he answered with a shrug and took another bite of the pie. "This pie is really good though, I hope you can bring hemni and her husband along when we travel back to my homeland, I'd like to see what she can do with our fruits "

Lia exhaled. She was glad that she could get this off of her chest.

"Oh, definitely. I bet Hemni would love it! She likes to try new things. In the time when I was away she worked in a bakery at the harbor where she got fruit from all over the planet from time to time. Unfortunately I couldn't try the cakes and pies she made back then but I hope she still remembers the recipies."

The queen watched the Niflyss playing catch for a short while. "I think we should head home again. Maybe Cornelius and Hinns are already back." She stood up and started putting the teacups into her bag again.

Phineas gave her an honest smile and gave a small nod "of course" he helped her pack away the dishes by handing them to her and for a brief moment their fingertips touched. Phineas breath briefly caught in his throat before he awkwardly coughed, blushing slightly and went to lyor. "Well let's head home then" he stopped "well.. your home" he smiled

Lia also smiled. "Oh it will soon be also your home. Well.. one of your homes." She laughed a bit as she mounted on Nivall. "Let's get going."

As the royals and their Niflyss arrived at the castle again they found Ugo sitting on a little stool snoring. The queen came down from Nivall's back and walked him over to her old butler. "Ugo, we are back again. Has Cornelius already arrived with his Niflyss?" As soon as she started talking Ugo stood up and opened the door for her. "I am deeply sorry my queen but it seems like you missed him for just a few minutes. He talked about riding over to the prince's homeland again to deliver the contracts. He took Hinns because he saw that he's faster than his horse. He will be back again this evening."

Phineas brought lyor back to his place in the stable and took off the saddle before giving his herth a good rub eliciting a happy sound from him.
He then went back to Lia and Ugo. "Well I guess I will retreat for a while to change my attire for the evening, I am sure Cornelius will be back for dinner " he gave Ugo a polite nod and took a bow towards the queen "that is, if you're ok with it, I don't want you to miss me too much while I am gone " he added playfully, grinning at the queen .

"Oh don't worry, dear. If you don't get lost in the corridors I won't have to miss you for that long." She laughed and started brushing Nivall as Phineas left the stable to change.

Later that evening Lia and Phineas met at the dining room again. She was dressed in a dark blue sheath dress with a light blue flower pattern. Her hair was braided into a bun and she wore a collier with deep blue sapphires on her neck. When Phineas arrived she turned around from the fireplace and walked towards him. "Oh you really kept me waiting, I almost missed you."

Phineas strode towards her a grin on his Face, he took her hand in his and gave it a light kiss "only almost ? I am heartbroken " he joked placing one hand over his forehead in a fainting manner and the other hand with hers still in it against his chest.

Lia chuckled. "Yes. Almost. Come on, we won't let Hemni's dinner get cold. I heard you didn't like the..." she pushed him lightly away and left a little ice flower just where her hand was seconds ago. "...cold." She walked past him and as she did that her hand moved from his chest over his shoulder leaving a cold trail before she went to her seat where Ugo already poured her some wine that was just perfect for the pheasant that Hinns managed to catch along with some forest birds and quails.

She sat down and raised a glass. "Cheers, darling." Lia winked at Phineas.