Chapter 53: Chapter XXV Her-1

I was awestruck, emotions filling me and disappearing. She had purple hair and I never thought that something so trivial could mean so much to me. That was my colour. She was wearing my colour and I would be lying if I said it wasn't perfection. I couldn't believe that she could become even more stunning but she did, and with that bright smile she shot me, I could feel my heart racing a marathon within me. All sense of control flew from me as I saw her standing there. I felt cheesy, thinking of romantic movies where they see each other and they just know. Except, this was one-sided I was sure. "Is that a cheetah?!" was the first thing which exited her lips, her eyes fixed on Toro in my arms. I blinked out of my state before slowly made my way down the steps, shaking my head. "Uhm... no. He's an Ashera," I told her, feeling a bit uncomfortable that we didn't greet each other but that took away the awkwardness. "Sounds exotic," she commented, petting Toro when I went to stand in front of her. "What's his name?" she questioned, a gentle smile on her face as her gentle hair framed around her defined face. "Toro," I mumbled, not able to take my eyes off her. She wasn't looking at me but I couldn't look anywhere else. Eventually she felt me staring and looked up, question in her eyes. For a second all I did was stare into her eyes, looking for something that I didn't know I needed in my life. I snapped out of it and simply cast my eyes to her hair. "Your... hair," was all I managed to get out. She grew a smile and took a step back, raising her hands to rake through her violet locks. "Do you like it? I mean... it is your colour and I probably couldn't pull it off like you, but... uhm," she grew silent towards the end, noticing my stare. "It's beautiful," I admitted and Sarina immediately became flustered. It was adorable. "Thank you," she muttered, a little embarrassed. "I know it's a bit lighter than yours was, but I actually had the idea to do something for you with the colour for a while now. It was actually your brothers who tried to brainstorm up ideas and mentioned it so casually. I don't think they thought I took it up seriously but it wasn't as if I was against colouring my hair? So... yeah," she chuckled nervously. "My brothers? Really?" I inquired, tilting my head a bit. She nodded with a sly grin. "Yeah. They're little devils, aren't they?" at this, I couldn't agree more. I shot a glare at the hysterical twins from over her shoulder, the two absolutely losing it. I turned to Sarina and handed her Toro, her face full of excitement as she took the kitten into her arms. "I'm glad you came to see me," I thanked, heading over to them. Sarina flanked my side. The twins carried absolute smug faces as I ruffled up their hair, sounds of disdain emitting from them. "Well, you are our sister, are you not?" Bartholomew ever so graciously retorted, flipping his imaginary long hair over his shoulder. Cornelius chuckled at his brother's antics before turning to face me. "So do you like your surprise?" his sly expression revealed his self-commenting attitude. They thought they were the kings after successfully surprising me. Well, this was certainly not the first time they had surprised me and this wasn't even the worst extent. They had vandalised Father's jet. Nothing will ever be able to beat that. "Like is an understatement, dear brother. I love it," I honestly commented, remembering how nervous I was to set foot back into the country. This broke the ice entirely. "Love the animal," Bartholomew commented with a head tint, referring to Toro. "The Prince got it for me," I answered. At that comment, Sarina quickly moved to my side again. "Oh yeah! He was extraordinarily nice when I talked to him. I'm not surprised he did something like this," she commented, petting Toro who sat comfortably in her arms. "You met the Prince?" Cornelius asked with a wide, surprised expression. Sarina couldn't help but chuckle at it. "We video chatted the first week and I met him," she said so casually, as if she was getting used to being involved with royalty. I was glad she was starting to feel comfortable, especially seeing her conversing with my brothers even when I am not there. "If I remember correctly, did you two not have an argument about my clothes?" Sarina chuckled nervously at that. "It is all in the past!" and with that, she handed Toro over to the eager Cornelius. Toro didn't seem to like being passed around like a present, meowing in dismay when he was transferred. "So what's the plan of action?" Sarina questioned me. I thought for a second. "I really need a smoothie right about now," I answered honestly. "We'll take your stuff and Toro back to the palace then you guys can go get smoothies," Bartholomew said, petting the kitten in his brother's arms. "But you better bring back for us," I chuckled in response and nodded, Sarina agreeing with the idea. Ian seemed to overhear the conversation and transferred all my baggage to Roger's vehicle, the one the twins and Sarina arrived in. Somehow Ian managed to get his car here, but I didn't question it. Secretly, I thought, Ian must be a superspy. It is the only thing that made sense. ♕♥ ♕♥ ♕ "And then guess how that ended? He got trampled by the bulls, fracturing his upper arm! How stupid can you be?" I was busy reliving the story with Sarina in the café, smoothies already consumed long ago and now we had moved onto ice-cream. I was wearing a disguise provided by Ian, and we sat at the back of the café. There also wasn't many people here so late in the day so I was sure my identity was secure. "You punched a guy in the face and fractured your hand," she decided to remind me, and I could only groan in annoyance. She had such a large smirk on her face, enjoying to tease me. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, I don't regret it," I told her honestly. Having seen the wonderful bruise on Caleb's face, it had only made me smile. Maybe I was a little sadistic, but after everything he had done to me, I didn't care. I only hated it that his wound healed quicker than mine. "Didn't think you wound," Sarina leaned over the table, propping her elbows onto the table and placing her face in her hands. She stared at me with such an emotion that I couldn't decipher how she felt, no matter how much I wanted to. I couldn't get it out of my mind that this felt like a date, but it wasn't as if the word ever came up. My overthinking mind was romancing everything she did, but this was how we always were. Sarina was just that sweet. I couldn't stop myself from fantasising. I wanted nothing more than to reach over and grab her hands, bringing her close to me. I wanted her by my side, but I knew I was selfish. I frowned at myself. Had I not sorted out my feelings a while ago? Why, when she stood in front of me, did I suddenly feel different? She had an effect on me and I would be lying if I said it was bad. "Why are you staring at me like that?" I snapped out from my brooding mind as Sarina peered at me curiously. I shook my head. "Just a little in thought," I admitted. She raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk on her face.