Princess Shyra's life has only extended till planet Ziya and she doesn't know how to look beyond helping her people. As far as she's concerned, she's being trained to rule her entire life, and it's the only goal she's ever known.
Cue the handsome pr...
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"You performed well today, Princess Shyra," a warm voice said behind her. Shyra frowned at the unrecognizable voice and spun around to face the stranger.
Her breath stilled when her eyes met Prince Mahi's playful doe eyes. He smiled graciously at her and bowed deeply, embarrassing her to the core. Her cheeks turned red as she glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them, but luckily the crowded street was too indulged in their world to pay attention to them.
She then pulled him up hastily and smoothed her clothes to distract him from her burning cheeks.
"Prince Mahi!" she said in an extremely flustered tone. "Thank you for your compliments, but it wasn't me alone who made our team win. Tuhin was a great strategist and partner, and conributed equally in our victory"
"Ah, I see," he said with an amused chuckle. "But it's you I want to talk to, not Tuhin."
"Talk?" she said squeakily, then cleared her throat quickly. What's happening to me? I never behave like this around anyone. "What did you want to talk about, Prince?"
"Nothing specific" he replied bemusedly. "But now that you mention it, I did want to talk about how you avoided my eyes throughout the Games. After our eyes met, you seemed determined to avoid looking at me."
Shyra's eyes widened, and she was just about ready for the ground to open up and swallow her whole, like it did for Sita. She stammered and fidgeted with her hands, looking anywhere but into Mahi's eyes.
"It's quite alright," Mahi said when she didn't reply to his comments. When she glanced at him, his eyes had a strange twinkle, like he'd gotten the answer he wanted. "Are you heading back to the Palace for the day?"
Shyra nodded, happy to avoid the topic and move on. "I don't know my way around here, and I generally don't go sightseeing."
His charming smile appeared on his face and he offered his hand to Shyra. "Well, if you change your mind, I can accompany you and give you a tour of Valencia. Rest assured, I know my way around here, and we'll hopefully not get lost on the way," he winked, with a smile suggesting that they were sharing an inside joke. "What do you say?"
Shyra looked at his hand doubtfully. Every part of her was tempted to go and explore the city with him, but the question of her daily practice hung over her head.
"I can go with you, but we need to be back in an hour or so. I can't skip my daily practice, especially when I have the Games to compete in," she said, holding her hand right over his open palm.
He cocked his head at her words and agreed to them without a second thought.
"I'll bring you back on time, milady. Just trust me," he said. Shyra raised her eyebrows at his endearing way of being chivalrous, and nodded and placed her hand in his. He clasped her hand tightly and pulled her along, expertly navigating through the thick crowd.
