– Prior –
When Prior arrived in her room, Talina was already getting ready for bed.
"So late today?" she asked.
"Yes, I still had something to take care of." Should she tell Talina about the game with Prince Kashion? Better not. That would probably seem strange.
Prior sat down on her bed and thought. She was sure she wanted to avoid Prince Kashion. She had to admit, the game with him had been exciting—but Prince Kashion was such a magnetic presence, and his voice so soft that it permeated everything like Aethereleum filling every corner of a room. At that comparison, she couldn't help but smile.
"You're smiling?" Talina asked.
"Yes, I was just thinking about something," Prior replied, leaving it at that.
She lightly slapped her forehead. She mustn't think about it. Not about him. She briefly considered what she could do to avoid him. She urgently needed some distance. Then she picked up her messenger and wrote to Princess Evlina:
"Princess, I've been thinking. It's probably better if I spend the next few days in the lab. Talina is the better speaker anyway."
It didn't take long for Evlina to reply: "Good idea. Let's do that."
Good. That was settled.
"I just texted Evlina. You can accompany her for the next few days, and I'll go to the lab," she told Talina.
Talina looked at her. "Next time, let's discuss that beforehand, please. I actually wanted to return to the lab too."
Talina was right. That hadn't been entirely fair. "Just for the next few days, okay?"
"All right," Talina said. "I'm going to sleep. Good night."
"Good night."
Prior was more of a night owl and couldn't understand how some people could sleep so early.
She got ready for bed as well and opened her tablet. But when she saw the Cheqi game, she naturally had to think of Prince Kashion. And the tension during the game. And the feeling when she had won. She smiled again, but closed the game. She couldn't play it now. She needed to direct her thoughts elsewhere.
So she searched for information about special landscapes in Tingdao. One in particular fascinated her: the Valley of a Hundred Waterfalls. It lay in Tingdao's westernmost province, Gelserkh, bordering Terland. The valley was surrounded by mountains, and water cascaded down them again and again. She read that you could hear it constantly while walking through the valley. And everything looked so vibrantly green—a fairytale kind of green. There was nothing like that on Saturn. As soon as she had the chance, she would go there.
She put the tablet aside and thought she might be able to sleep now—but immediately Kashion's voice echoed in her mind: "Play with me." She covered her ears. Then she put on her earphones and listened to some of her favorite songs. She also began reading reports about Terland and Ostrand.
– Kashion –
Kashion sat in his armchair and thoroughly studied all the Cheqi rules. He quickly found the Bear Rule. Prior had been absolutely right. She had played completely correctly. From now on, he would study more rules and not rely solely on the basic ones as he had over the past year. In between, he repeatedly practiced against the AI. Next time, he would not lose to Prior. She might not smile at him so triumphantly then—but perhaps she would look at him with admiration.
When Kashion thought about it, she was unusual. Surely any other woman would have tried to spend more time with him and flirt openly. Prior, on the other hand, seemed as if she wanted nothing to do with him. That gnawed at his pride.
But he must not let himself be distracted.
He remembered her note, stood up, and opened the drawer. But the note was no longer there. He checked the trash—but it had already been emptied. Unfortunate. Well, he needed to keep practicing Cheqi. So he sat back down and played until well past midnight—until shortly before dawn. This time, Cheqi didn't help against sleeplessness. It was the cause of it.
– Prior –
The next morning, Prior could barely get up. She was exhausted. She had kept hitting snooze on her alarm.
"Prior! Get up already!" she heard Talina call impatiently.
Prior turned off the alarm and stretched in bed. Fortunately, Talina always got up early and wasn't woken by Prior's alarm.
"I've already had breakfast and I'm heading to the princess. I don't think you need to come today. I'll excuse you," Talina said.
"Thank you. I couldn't fall asleep for ages and now I feel wrecked," Prior explained.
"Is there a lot on your mind?" Talina asked, looking concerned.
Prior just nodded.
"We'll figure it out. Don't overthink it. A new environment and new people can throw you off balance."
Yes. Some people can throw you off balance…
Talina left.
Prior picked up her messenger and considered writing to her friends. But she didn't quite know what to say. Something like: "Is it normal that the prince wanted to play Cheqi with me?" But then she remembered what he had told her. Evlina had mentioned that Prior played Cheqi and that no one else was suitable. So he had simply been looking for a playing partner. Nothing extraordinary.
Still, she typed a short message to Nari:
"How are you? Guess what—yesterday I got to play Cheqi against someone here in the palace and I won. So all my effort paid off :)"
Then she freshened up and headed to the lab.
– Kashion –
When Oren entered Kashion's room, an immediate "Oh" escaped him.
"Oh?" Kashion replied.
"Didn't sleep well? You look pretty tired."
"Not badly—just little. I studied a lot," Kashion said, smiling at the end.
"Studied?"
"Mhm. I'll soon be a Cheqi master," Kashion joked.
Oren rolled his eyes. "There are surely more important things at the moment."
"I know, I know. I also read the financial reports. I think today we should mainly discuss the quantity of delivery Evlina proposed. I don't think it will work like that. Terland won't go along with it."
"I think so too. Good point. And we should clarify that before the others arrive."
Kashion was already formally dressed—this time in a blue suit. Then his gaze fell on the bowl of strawberries. It was empty now.
"I hope I didn't offend Princess Evlina yesterday with the strawberries. As far as I remember, she liked… I think it was plums. Oren, quickly get some plums and those little plum cookies and bring them," Kashion said.
Oren nodded and left immediately. They still had enough time.
When Oren returned with the plums and tried to hand them to Kashion, he made a dismissive gesture. "You give them to the princess."
Oren looked slightly surprised but nodded.
In the meeting hall, Kashion greeted everyone. He saw Oren give the plums to Evlina and heard him say, "From Prince Kashion." She beamed at him and he smiled back. At least he had corrected yesterday's mistake.
They began negotiating delivery quantities. But Evlina was not easily persuaded and demanded significantly more raw materials from Earth in return. That wasn't easy either. Tingdao depended heavily on neighboring realms. Saturn, meanwhile, meticulously controlled its gas reserves—the artificial rock layer had been built around the original gas layer. Stability was essential. Kashion didn't always fully understand these details either.
That day, they still reached no final result.
– Prior –
Things in the lab were not always easy or satisfying. Prior often wasn't given deep insight and felt as though she was only allowed to scratch the surface. But she understood: Tingdao could not reveal secrets before a final agreement.
Still, even at the surface level, she was repeatedly amazed at how advanced everything was. Aethereleum was a Saturn gas, but precisely for that reason, research on Earth was conducted in very different areas. Tin showed her some results from concentration research.
"I can't go into too much detail—yet—but we've developed methods to alter the concentration in a way that allows us to save immense volume," Tin explained.
"That wouldn't be bad for some areas on Saturn either," Prior replied.
Tin nodded.
– Kashion –
Shortly before the meeting ended, Kashion received a message from his mother:
"Come to dinner after the meeting and bring Evlina. No objections."
He sighed. That was the last thing he wanted.
Later, he went to Evlina and said, "Please accompany me to my parents. We'll dine together."
Evlina began to beam again after having looked much more serious during negotiations.
"Very gladly," she said. "Right away?"
Kashion nodded.
After dismissing the others, they set off together.
Suddenly Evlina stopped, turned toward him, and looked at him. There was something uncertain—almost vulnerable—in her gaze.
"Prince Kashion, you don't resent me for not agreeing to everything during negotiations, do you?"
Kashion shook his head. "Of course I understand you. I think of my country as you think of yours. It speaks well of you that you do."
She smiled again. "It's nice when someone understands the burdens one carries."
Kashion smiled back. "Yes," he said briefly. But he didn't just want someone who understood burdens—he wanted someone who helped carry them. Did that person have to bear the same burdens, or could she help him in other ways? he wondered.
They continued and arrived at his parents'.
Queen Ada was still completely charmed by Princess Evlina. Rarely had she looked at someone so warmly.
The dinner was relaxed and informal. Evlina told stories about her family and childhood anecdotes. Everyone laughed repeatedly.
But Prince Kashion's thoughts kept drifting. He laughed when appropriate, but inwardly he calculated moves. I must make sure from the beginning that the Bears cannot protect the Fox, he thought, mentally running through scenarios.
"Kashion," his mother suddenly said. "Have you thought of the next destination you could visit with Evlina?"
Both women looked at him expectantly.
He sighed. "I think for now it's better to focus on the negotiations. Everything else can wait." For him, it was the best excuse to preserve a bit of freedom.
He saw both women slowly stop smiling. Evlina looked surprised—and a little disappointed.
Queen Ada nodded eventually. "Yes, we can think about that later." She smiled encouragingly at Evlina.
"That's how a ruler must be. Duty first, then feeling," King Tyron remarked, nodding approvingly at his son and raising his wine glass.
Except that I'm tired of it, Kashion thought. But he couldn't say it aloud. Everything felt so constricting.
After dinner, he accompanied Evlina to her room and then texted Oren:
"I feel like playing some badminton. Outside in ten minutes?"
He needed that now. Something where he could exert himself, feel something, distract himself.
Oren replied shortly after: "Better than Cheqi! Be right there."
Kashion quickly changed and went to the garden.
– Prior –
Prior was at Yin's home making Saturn Rings. It wasn't particularly difficult: steam yeast dough, fry or sear one side with salt, dip the other in liquid chocolate, and let it set.
Prior felt comfortable in Yin's kitchen. Everything seemed simpler and more old-fashioned than on Saturn. She found it charming.
Soon the first Saturn Ring was ready, and she handed it to Yin.
"It's enjoyment on multiple levels," Prior said, smiling. "I love it so much. Not just sweet—also salty. It's like several flavor explosions combined."
Yin laughed loudly. "I'm very curious."
She took a bite from the salty side first and widened her eyes. "Oh, mhhh, that's delicious," she said with a full mouth.
Prior laughed.
Then Yin bit into the chocolate side.
"Incredible! Both delicious on their own—but together! Amazing!"
"Told you," Prior said while preparing more rings.
"That would be something for my nephew," Yin said and typed something into her messenger.
Soon it vibrated.
"Would you be so kind as to bring my nephew a few Saturn Rings on your way back? He's exercising in the palace garden."
"Sure. How will I recognize him?"
"Oh, you know him. Oren."
Oren? Oren was Yin's nephew? Interesting.
"I'll text him that you're bringing some later. Thank you."
"No problem. It's on my way anyway, and I'd like to return the favor for the plum cake," Prior said.
Yin smiled. "Yes, his plum cakes are good."
Later, Prior walked toward the palace garden with a small bag of still-warm Saturn Rings. She had never been there before. Fortunately, it was well lit, as it was already early evening. She wandered a bit, trying to spot Oren.
Suddenly she caught sight of his medium-brown hair, called out loudly, "Oren!" and waved. He saw her and came over. Someone else was at his side.
Of course it had to be Prince Kashion. Wonderful…
Both were in sportswear, rackets in hand. Oh, I didn't realize they were both so muscular, Prior thought at the sight.
She handed Oren the bag.
"Thank you, Prior. I'm very happy," he said.
She briefly looked at Kashion. His hair was damp again—this time more from sweat. He looked tired, but relaxed. When he saw her, he smiled. His gaze was different than usual. Prior only gave a short nod and looked back at Oren.
"I'll get going. I hope you enjoy it."
With that, she left—and felt Kashion's gaze on her back.
– Kashion –
Oren had told him his aunt wanted to bring him something. But he hadn't expected Prior to be the messenger. She looked slightly disheveled again. Cute. Kashion smiled faintly. This time she even had a bit of flour on her clothes, and her hair was loosely tied back in a braid. She looked tired too. It stung—not insignificantly—that she had brought something only for Oren and had given him nothing but a glance and a nod.
"What exactly is that?" he asked Oren.
"My aunt said they're Saturn Rings. A pastry from Saturn. Prior made them at my aunt's place today."
"Give me one," Kashion said firmly.
"Your Highness, those are mine."
Kashion looked at him impatiently. "And who takes care of you and is your ruler? Besides, I should familiarize myself with Saturnian things."
Oren reached into the bag and handed him one. It looked like a ring-shaped bread. Still warm, one side baked, the other coated in chocolate. Strange. He bit into it—and was surprised. Truly delicious. That combination of sweet and salty, and the dough itself. Unfortunately, the ring was far too small and gone far too quickly.
"Give me another," he said.
Oren shook his head. "Wouldn't that be unfair to me and my aunt? There aren't that many."
Unfair? Kashion thought. Unfair was that I didn't get anything from Prior.
Oren looked into the small bag. "Fine. One more." He handed Kashion another and took one for himself.
Kashion knew only one thing:
He would get his own Saturn Rings.
From Prior.
And that was when he began to form an idea how.