Peace Maker - Chapter 252

“DESILVAAAAA!!” the voice called out to her as soon as her feet crossed the hallway and its owner immediately dashed after her.

Desilva grinned, her own pace quickening as she rushed towards the voice. “HIIII!!” she giggled in return as she wrapped her hand around her best friend’s body.

“I MISSED YOU!!!” her friend smiled as she squeezed Desilva, snatching the air out of her lung immediately.

Desilva grinned, “M-me too…” she replied with a little laugh as she lightly pats her best friend’s back, “Chalice.”

“YOU MEANIE! IT’S BEEN TOO LONG! I SPEND ALL DAY BEING LONELY!!!” Chalice scolded as she squeezed Desilva harder.

“A-and if you keep s-qUEEZI-” Desilva began, her voice raising to a yelp as Chalice increased her grip, “I- I can’t breathe!”

Chalice froze for a moment as she listened to her friend’s quiet reply, “What is it? Can you not speak to me anymore? A day surrounded by royalty and you don’t feel the need to speak to your childhood friend anymore?”

“N-no… I- can’t bre-eathe..” Desilva gasped, her hands pounding harder against Chalice’s back, “C-chalice-”

“You can’t… OH SORRY!” Chalice exclaimed, immediately letting Desilva go and staring at her friend with slight apologetic eyes as she took in deep breaths, “sorry…”

“What happened to your grip???” Desilva exclaimed as she huffed in breaths of air, “did you eat something different or something? Exercise more? You could kill a python with that grip.”

“Haha…” Chalice chuckled as she scratched her short locks nervously. She stood quietly for a moment before looking back up at Desilva abruptly, “I’m serious though, don’t go all I’m royalty now! On me and abandon us.”

Desilva giggled as she stretched her arms and stood up straight. “Even if I did, I doubt you would stop me from going away.”

“Silvie!” Chalice pouted.

“Ok, ok, you know I won’t,” Desilva grinned, linking arms with Chalice, “no matter how far into this palace I go, there’s always going to be a way back here. To you guys.”

Chalice grinned, resting her head against Desilva’s shoulder playfully, “Hehe~ that’s better.”

Desilva nodded as they continued their way down the hallway, arm in arm. “What are you doing up here though? Aren’t you supposed to be with grandmother right now?”

“Ugh…” Chalice rolled her eyes and when she noticed Desiva’s questioning look, burst into a nervous smile.

“Did you run away?” Desilva asked, a smug grin on her face as she pulled away slightly from Chalice, “how many times have I told you not to skip weaving classes?”

“Ahhhh!!!” Chalice mumbled loudly, pulling her arm from Desilva’s and walking faster, covering her ears with her hands, “lalaalalala”

“Chalice!” Desilva scolded, running after Chalice, “come here!” She called out, reaching for Chalice’s arm and pulling her back, forcing her to face her.

Chalice pressed her hands into her ears tighter as she avoided Desilva’s face, still muttered random “lalala”s.

Desilva peered down at Chalice’s face for a moment, a little smile forming on her face. “Chalice,” she muttered lightly as her hands raised to her friend’s face and slid into Chalice’s thick curls to rest on top of Chalice’s hands. After Chalice’s continued resistance, she squished her cheeks together and leaned forward, grayish-blue eyes peering straight at Chalice’s. “Chalice~”

Chalice groaned, her eyes turning to Desilva’s and locking with hers. “What?” Chalice huffed, bright brown eyes locking with Desilva’s eyes.

Desilva flinched, freezing for a moment when their eyes stayed locked on each other.

“What is it?” Chalice asked again, her eyebrows furrowing as she pouted, bright brown eyes seemingly twinkling as the marigold rays of the sun perched down on the soft slopes of her cheeks, highlighting the brown freckles spotted across her face. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked and her pink-lemonade lips pressed together into a frown.

Desilva stared at Chalice for a moment, her fingers brushing against Chalice’s hand before slipping out of Chalice’s curls and grazing against Chalice’s light brown skin as if she was tracing the unorganized lines of freckles on her face.

“Silvie?” Chalice called out again, confusion passing her face. She flinched when Desilva’s rough fingers brushed against her cheeks again, a smile flashing on her face as she tilted her head slightly, dark brown curls rubbing against Desilva’s hand, “h-hey! You’re tickling me.”

Desilva twitched, her fingers freezing for a moment before rubbing against a dark spot on Chalice’s face, wiping dust off it. Then using the hand on Chalice’s face to push away the hand on her ear, she used the other hand still against Chalice’s other hand to take out a green blade of grass from the forest dark brown on her head.

“You skipped weaving for archery again didn’t you?” Desilva groaned, tossing away the blade of grass and immediately tucking her hands behind her back as she walked away from Chalice. Behind her back, her hands clutched each other tightly as she sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. “There’s a lot more to life than knowing how to use a bow and arrow, besides we’re not in our village anymore. There’s no real need to continue practicing since there are no wild animals to catch.”

“Well I’m not spending the rest of my life weaving or sewing or learning how to cook,” Chalice shrugged as she sped up to match Desilva’s pace.

“Then you would rather spend it put rags and cooking poison for that soldier now wouldn’t you?” Desilva retorted, her little smile quivering on her lips for a second.

Chalice flinched immediately, a pink haze crossing her face. “Soldier?” she muttered lightly as her steps slowed to a stop.

Desilva paused to look back at Chalice, her words freezing on her tongue as she watched Chalice’s expression for a few seconds before continuing. “Y-yes soldier,” she laughed wavily as she looked away from Chalice, “don’t think I don’t know that half of the reason why you do archery is to be around him.”

Chalice punched Desilva lightly on her shoulder. “Shut up. Don’t act like you’re not like that too,” she retorted with a sneaky grin.

“Me?” Desilva asked passing Chalice a roll of her eyes, “please, with whom?”

Chalice grinned, rubbing her shoulder against Desilva’s teasingly. “The prince.”

Desilva twitched, her face twisting in both confusion and a flurry of pink on her flustered expression. “The prince?” she repeated as she immediately looked away from Chalice, her pace quickening further, “what makes you think that?”

“Mhmn~ look your blushing face and you dare to ask what makes me think that,” Chalice pressed, her voice dripping with mockery, “I bet you love being able to be at his side for the entirety of your day don’t you?”

“N-no?” Desilva stuttered slightly as she shook her head. A vision of Dominic’s face flashed by her mind and she felt a bit of her breath being sucked away. She turned around the corner of the hallway waving as she passed someone she knew.

“Hm?” Chalice giggled, “then who else could my little Silvie get this flustered at?”

Desilva turned to Chalice, locking eyes with her. Her eyes dart from her bright brown eyes to Chalice’s slim fingers as they pushed her thick curls behind her ear, exposing the silver ring wrapped around Chalice’s ear. Gray-ish blue eyes traced back to the bright brown pearls that stared at her curiously, lingering in them.

She looked away from Chalice, her blush subsiding. “No one. No one at all,” she responded, clearing her throat as she walked to her room, the 5th room on the right wall of the hallway.

“I doubt that, you looked pretty happy as you skipped back from talking to the prince,” Chalice giggled, “looks like little Silvie has a crush~”

“If anyone here is head over heels, it’s you for that soldier. What was his name? Adam?” Desilva retorted as she touched the handle of her room, turning it.

“Nuhuh, don’t bring Adam into this,” Chalice shook her head, following behind Desilva as she opened her room’s door. “It’s between you and that prince, not me and Adam.”

“It’s not good to invest too much in your imagination. It covers up reality,” Desilva teased as she glanced at Chalice’s pouting face.

“No- you know I’m right about that prince-”

“What about the prince?” a voice called out, interrupting Chalice’s sentence.

Dseilva’s head spun around, her eyes brightening as they locked on the speaker. “Mother!” she exclaimed rushing into the room and hugging Mrs. Milti.

Memoline’s arms wrapped around her daughter, “Desilva,” she smiled, “my daughter.”