Erica Moonwhisper's Arc

Chapter 2 of 7

Erica came to the cherry tree alone. She had sent her generals away and left her guards inside the castle walls. The invitation had worked. The prince would come to her ground. But that victory meant nothing if he came to trap her. She knew him only from rumor. Some called him a soft fool. Others called that softness a mask over a killer. She could not tell which was true until she saw his face. She paced under the pink branches. Petals fell on her teal dress and caught in her silver hair. Her flower crown slipped, and she pushed it straight. Every rumor said something different. Loose talk had never told her whether to smile or run. She stopped pacing when she felt eyes on her. He sat on the garden wall. The tiger prince. Orange fur, black stripes, a human face watching her with a lazy grin. A small gold crown tilted on his head. He had come without soldiers, exactly as she asked. He balanced there like it cost him no effort at all. Erica's hand went to her waist, where no sword hung. She had left it inside to prove her own good faith. Now she wished she hadn't. A warlord would have brought guards to the wall behind him. This one had brought only himself. Then he jumped. He did not leap like a soldier. He dropped to all fours and landed soft in the grass. His tail wagged behind him. He looked up at her with round eyes and a wide, sheepish smile, as if he'd forgotten he was a prince. "Sorry," he said. "The gate seemed rude." Erica laughed before she could stop herself. The sound surprised her. Pink rushed into her cheeks. She had braced for a beast baring teeth. Instead a tiger sat in her grass, apologizing for skipping the gate. He rose and brushed petals off his knees. "You're the princess who sent my panda back with orders," he said. "I liked that. Most people beg. You commanded." "You came anyway," she said. "You said no soldiers." He spread his empty hands. "So. No soldiers. Just me and a very long walk." Erica studied his face. She looked for the lie behind the smile. She had feared a trap, an ambush, a man playing tame to lure her close. She saw none of it. He stood loose and open, weaponless, watching her with plain curiosity. The rumors had lied in both directions. He was not savage. He was not scheming either. He was only exactly what he seemed. Her fear left her. Something colder took its place. She had planned to tame a wild tiger for her forest. This one needed no taming. And a prince this gentle might not have the teeth to hold his own kingdom to any peace they made. "Sit," Erica said, and pointed to the roots. "We have a war to end."