◤♛ ⋮ —— There came the final confirmation Soma needed to hear, the reality of the situation now reluctantly accepted with a nod and rather a subdued acknowledging hum. But when engaged in conversation, it seemed disappointment was a fickle emotion that was easy enough to dispel, as the young royal was quick to perk up once more. After all, he didn’t actually expect her to go along with one of his suggestions so willingly!
“So you will write one, I see..! That’s great! And you’re welcome! If you want my help to compose it, just say the word, okay? I’m good at writing letters.”
Beaming grin went to show that such a positive response from the princess worked wonders on his mood. The knowledge of having been helpful in some way, whether it was to a friend or an entirely new acquaintance he’d only just learned the name of, never did fail to have the Bengali prince’s spirits skyrocketing. Not to mention, with that letter, the disastrous misunderstanding would meet its end… even though the recipient surely wouldn’t even be half as happy about his unwilling woman of interest’s message as Soma figured he would be.
Carefully matching Jasmine’s steps as they proceeded through the bazaar bustling with what must be the last bout of activity for the evening, his head canted to send a not-so discreet glance in his female companion’s general direction.
“…Hey, you mentioned you were an only child just now. What is that like? Do you get to speak with your parents often? And celebrate birthdays?”
Now that the opportunity to get some answers to questions he’d pondered on since early childhood had presented itself, curiosity took over. As the youngest child of one very large royal family, Soma had definitely never even been remotely close to experiencing a less crowded palace life, himself.
“Don’t worry, I’m good at writing letters too —
and I might just let you read it after your brother.”
For some reason, she didn’t think he’d be able to wait. He might try, and have the
letter tease him in the pocket of his baggage, but she suspected eventually the
curiosity would overtake him. Father had done that before; luckily she’d been there
to remind him that, as Sultan, he needed the trust of his people and others’ more
than he needed to know what was written inside a stark white envelope. If anything,
perhaps that black butler that had terrified Rajah so badly would try to stop him, but
this Prince Soma didn’t seem the type to listen. It didn’t matter if he did read it or
didn’t — he would know about it eventually. It’d be addressed to the whole of their
royal family, after all.
No one would be able to say she was shy after what she had in mind.
“With my father, more often than I’d like.”
That wasn’t entirely true. She loved talking to her father. He was a ball of joy bigger
and brighter than the sun, when he wasn’t worrying about her. He was whimsical; he
liked to play with dolls, even before Jafar turned that hobby into a weakness. When
she was young, he’d sit beside her and watch her brush her doll’s hair. Once he had
helped her come up with fantastical backgrounds for a rag they’d found in the
garden. He made her laugh at the silliest things. It was only that now, since she’d
come of age, their conversations geared more towards when she’d accept a
husband than to how their day had gone. Jasmine frowned. She knew her father
loved her; any father that didn’t would have married her to the first man to come
knocking. He underestimated her — underestimated the entire female population of
the planet.
“I never knew my mother; she died when I was
little. My birthday’s a country-wide affair — I
think your father was here for my tenth birthday.
There was a parade. Why? Isn’t having so many
siblings nearly the same as being an only child?
Or does your father have more than one wife?”
The Palace was getting closer. She could see the details on the guards’ faces.
