Luke was not thrilled with the prospect of coming out of the freezing water only to be exposed to the frigid autumn air. Therefore, when the princess elect made her way to the shore, he was content to stay behind crouching and use the water as a blanket against the wind. The flesh under his skin shivered involuntarily in an attempt to generate heat. But even with his mind preoccupied with the icy water and his poorly planned impromptu trip, Luke didn’t fail to notice the smoothness of her skin as water droplets slid down the small of her back. Her complexion glowed under the diminishing light of the sun.

It would be a blatant lie to say that Rhiane Black was just an average woman in terms of her looks. She was, in all sense of the word, beautiful. From the flowing locks that crowned her head and framed the face that would make any man look twice to the perfectly placed curves of her body, nobody sane would claim that she was otherwise. Even his royal snobbishness, Prince Alessandro, was enchanted by her presence at that moment. Then she turned her attention to him and the crown prince had to look away feigning disinterest. 

That was the thing with Rhiane. When she opened her mouth to speak it was more often than not that the words begged to argue. He wanted to stay submerged in the water until his fingertips were wrinkly, but the farmer girl did have a point. “Language,” he chided gently unwittingly imitating the tone the queen would use when he cursed in front of her. Then one corner of his lips slightly curved upwards. Intentional or not, she said what she said, and he was taking it at face value. The prince rose to his full height, ignoring the cold, and headed towards his scantly-clothed fiancée. “No matter how dashing -- Are you flirting with me, Ms. Black?” Stubborn as he was, he placed emphasis on ‘Ms. Black’ if only to illustrate how her threats were powerless against his willfulness. 

Out of the water at last, he traced the path she took, stepping on her footsteps printed on the moist sand until he was standing in front of her and she would be forced to crane her neck to look him in the eyes. He had taken off his shirt but kept on his pants whose material was clinging to his skin like ice. Droplets of sea water was on the tips of his disheveled hair and was sprinkled all over his torso. His eyes narrowed at her face, but the amusement failed to leave. “Reserve the flirting for later.” He looked her over with a judgmental, not at all smoldering, glance then added, “And the seduction tactic too. Let’s get going before I have to carry you again.”

They were both cold. Much as he would enjoy teasing her, it wouldn’t be as fun as when he was warm and could enunciate the words properly instead of stuttering because his teeth were chattering. The crown prince led the way to the base of the formation where the angle was soft enough for them to climb without encountering any major issues. They could walk up most of the way, but there were one or two obstacles wherein they had to be on their hands and knees. Luke asked Rhiane to go first, instructing her from behind, so that he served as her safety net in case either her ankle or her clumsiness would fail her. They were following the easiest path back up the rock formation. There was a route that he had tried only once, because of the very real danger that he might plunge to his death. He thought of bringing it up as a challenge, but then due to both their competitive spirits, one of them might end up actually falling off the rock face. 

They reached the top just as the sun was seemingly sinking into the sea.