If the presence of the female guards was not enough clue to guess that the princess elect might have let go of several hours of sleep in favor of the warm pools, the voices drifting from the natural spring convinced Luke that he was in the right place no matter how bad the timing. The light, melodious sound of her laughter fluttered in the air as if carried by the streams of smoke casually escaping the surface of the water. It made Luke pause with one hand against the smoked glass of the sliding door. Either the farmer had finally snapped or she was sharing the night with someone else. No, she was enjoying the night with someone other than him. It was treason.

It could have been treason, except that living their own separate lives was his idea. He had drawn the line the first night that they met when he told her to stay out of his business and she agreed provided that he would do the same for her. Who she wished to spend the time he stole from their tight schedule with was up to her, as much as it was up to him if he wanted to warm his bed with pretty noblemen’s daughters. Or perhaps a warm shower and a fine bottle of wine would help take the edges off before he returned to his temporary office to dive back into the intricacies of politics and economics. 

The prince sealed the crack between the sliding doors, determined to tend to the kingdom’s demands, when an insistent beeping resounded from one of the benches. His shirt and pants lay discarded on the bench, burying the communication device which was curled on itself. The outline pulsed a soft golden light. Luke picked it up, flattened the display, then picked up the call from his younger sister. 

“Hello, Luke,” greeted a very cheery Callista. “Hey! Turn the camera back on. You look exceptionally handsome under the dim yellowish lighting. And besides, I miss my big brother.” She was whining and pouting the way she had always done since she was a kid. Despite the image of a polished lady that the media projected her to be, there was a certain childlikeness that the public was not allowed to see. 

“No. I’m about to take my robe off.”

The princess made a sound between disgust and dismay, but she did let go of the topic. Luke sat on the bench, watching his sister from the softly glowing screen. “I need to talk to Rhiane. She got me this.” The camera’s vision was filled with the basket and the multitude of products that Rhiane must have bought form the locals that morning after their argument. The princess happily showed the items one after the other, telling his brother how thoughtful her soon to be sister-in-law was and how lucky he was to have been engaged to Rhiane. If only she knew the kind of torture of having Rhiane in his life. 

He wished he could tell his sister about it – about how his mind was in conflict with itself, how his nature was rebelling against his logic, and how much he would give to be the one she would choose to laugh with under the stars even when her stubbornness frustrates the hell out of him. But he just snorted, as if none of what she said was true. “Bribery is a crime, Callie. Do not trade your soul for a bag of goodies.” 

The princess rolled her eyes dramatically. “Please let me just talk to her.”

Luke’s initial thought was to say no, then reason that he was busy with the paper that Callie had asked him to look at, if only to guilt her into taking back her request. But there was something to gain in indulging the princess. “A minute,” he said with a dramatic sigh.
Long strides brought him quickly back to the sliding doors. He pressed a panel-like switch that automatically slid the door open. The cold autumn breeze from the mountain caressed his cheek and the exposed skin of his hands and feet. Just by the dramatic drop in temperature between the waiting room and the outdoor, he wanted to run and take refuge in the hot water of the spring. Yet, poise held him in place and prevented him from acting like a panicked little boy. One foot ahead of the other, he crossed the short threshold as his bare feet were greeted by the smooth pebbles surrounding the pool. His robe was tossed carelessly to the side before he allowed himself to dip into the warm water, allowed his tensed muscles to relax.

She was talking about a ring, but what surprised him more was that she was alone. Well, technically. He recognized the device sitting not far from Rhiane as a surveillance camera. Tobias asked something about Rhiane’s ring, and the latter asked to be promised about a proposal. 

“Rhiane,” her name rang in the night sky before Tobias could respond. It was half an accusation and half a plea. He waded through the water and the steam to her corner of the pool and then handed over the comms device. His back was purposefully placed between her and the camera’s lens. “Callie wants to talk to you.”

“I just want to thank her,” Callie’s voice excitedly spilled out of the receiver even though it was not on speaker mode. She raved about how she was touched by the gesture even though they had not yet spent time together as sisters, that Luke was always around her so they could not talk girl-to-girl. Because she grew up with three brothers and a mother who barely had time for her children, a sister was what she had always wished to have. Now that Rhiane was almost part of their family, the princess was more than thrilled. 

Luke listened to the conversation with a bored expression. Casually, he leaned against the edge of the pool, arms crossed about his chest, enough so that the device was smothered with the image of his glorious back.