Princess Jemma stared in disbelief as her very own flesh and blood (royal blood no less), blatantly disrespected their father, the king. Jasper addressed their father by his first name, something a well-mannered child would never do, Jemma at least knew that. But then Jasper left with the words 'like you care anyways', and Jemma could have sworn she heard him finish with the remark, 'you never had'. It was bad enough that he entered with cruel words toward her but a royal should know better than to act so rudely, especially toward the king. What all had happened while she was gone, everything was topsy turvy. She watched her father sigh deeply and shake his head. "If I may father..." She began. 

"Yes, my daughter? I'm sorry you had to come home to things this way" He seemed to be apologizing for Jasper's rudeness as if he knew he was responsible for it. "Things have been quite different since your mother's passing..." King Mitus embraced his daughter, something she hadn't felt for many years, something she now found it hard to believe a king would do. "I could not be there for your brother as much as I wanted too, and he has become like the son I never wanted him to be" When he released her from his warm hug he rested his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes; he saw so much of his long lost queen in the bright blue pools. "I am very glad to have you back, Jemma, but I'm afraid I must ask something of you... if not for me than for Jasper" 

She had wanted to ask about her mother and her mother's death, but it seemed like it was too painful for him to talk about, the only way she would get the whole story was from someone else in the family who had actually witnessed it, Jasper. For now, all she could do was listen to what her father had to say, which was fine, she missed his voice, his scent, his warmth, everything about him. "Anything father, I'll do whatever you ask" The princess gave her king a smile, letting him know she meant what she said. So far so good, she was worried she wouldn't be able to survive amongst real royals since she had been away so long, but things seemed to be going alright for now. 

"Please, if you can, I want you to bring the Prince Jasper we once knew back. If he is to be king some day he cannot continue on the path he is on right now, you are his sister, he may be bitter about you leaving but deep down he still loves you very much. I believe that only you can help him see the that everything is not all bad. Can you do that for me?" 

"Yes of course" Jemma stood tall with confidence, though inside her emotions still stirred regarding her mother and Jasper hating her. 

"Now I will send a few of the maids to help you get settled into your room" He smiled at her but the smile did not reach his eyes, they still held sadness. "And one last thing, your mother had this made for you so that you could always have your brother close to your heart" The king took a golden heart locket out of his coat pocket and held it by the ends so she could see. It was too beautiful for words, Jemma bowed her head and held her hair so her father could clasp it onto her. 

"Thank you, father" With a polite and oddly loving curtsy the young girl hurried out of the throne room to her own room. Somehow she would have to think of a way to make the old Jasper come back. 
-----
A week had passed and Jasper had barely even looked in the Jemma's direction since she had been home. The young princess had had a few mishaps in the castle but for once (thanks to Rune) they did not involve her curse. She was caught practicing archery in the training yard intended for the knights, something she didn't know was off limits for a princess. Another time she tried to cook her own food which got her shooed out of the kitchen by the fat old castle cook. And even worse she was sent to her room to change because her tight, boyish looking clothes were of course, not appropriate for a young woman, she just couldn't help herself. It seemed that all this only made Jasper despise her more. And oddly enough, Rune never seemed to be around to help her, unbeknownst to her, he was trying to allow her to learn the rest of the royal ways on her own. 

That day, Jemma decided, would be her first attempt at melting Jasper's ice cold heart. He was where (she was told) he usually was, in the duel arena, training. She put on a somewhat comfortable black and gold, not as puffy as the other dresses, dress. It was one of her favorites, short sleeved and flowing, just how she thought all dresses should be. Carefully she hiked it up and headed into the arena. Peering inside she saw her brother, hacking and slashing at a training dummy with his knew blade, most likely taking out his frustrations on it. His strikes were a little sloppy and she could tell, she may not have known much about dueling, but she knew about sword play, and his technique needed a little work. It was obvious what the problem was, she knew her brother was left handed, but for some reason he wasn't using his left hand. Jemma crept over cautiously, "Jasper..?"