Page 3 of Gifted to the Alien Prince

I was pleased to see a bit of white around his eyes as he stared at me. Guess I showed him I wasn’t about to be ordered around. He extended a long arm and pushed the door shut. He gave the slightest nod to a few more people outside. I caught a glimpse of their armor from the window, similar but not as fancy.

“Pay no mind to my guards.” He cast a bland glance outside. “Despite my years of warfare, the court advisor insists they travel with me whenever I leave for another planet.”

I believed him when he mentioned his war experience. A body that could stand straight and strong in that heavy armor had to have seen combat. Looking at his face, I’d put him somewhere in his thirties but I could never tell with different alien species. One person’s thirties was another’s ninth century. I also focused on his voice, accented with a foreign lilt I never heard from any of the interstellar travelers who came to this city. His voice intrigued me, but his tone was colder than the wind gust that previously found its way inside the shop.

“Uh, hello, Prince Thadron," I greeted. His presence filled the room as well as a slight, though noticeable, drop in temperature. Was the cold coming from him? I heard some alien species had that effect on their environment. “I go by Isa.”

"Good evening, Isa," he replied curtly. He scanned the shelves lined with books and trinkets. A quick glance was directed at me, fleeting and dismissive, as if I were another item on display, expected to perform a function and nothing more. "I require souvenirs for the royal family, Akora the queen and my younger half-brother, the crown prince Lucian.”

Now gifts I could do. I relaxed and got into shop owner mode. “I’m sure we can find some nice things for them. I have books, gourmet gift sets if they’re into trying different foods. Where do you want to start?”

He didn’t share my enthusiasm to go shopping. Instead, he turned a distracted half circle to view the room. “I’m leaving for Glaciara tonight after dinner, and you are to accompany me." His words fell like icicles, each syllable calculated and sharp.

“Eh?” I made a sound of surprise. Camille Azulim said I was going to represent the Wanderstar Fleet in a gift exchange, but she didn’t tell me I was going planet-hopping tonight.

“Is something wrong?” The Glaciarian prince was giving me an imperious eyebrow.

I fixed my face so I didn’t look like someone had opened the door on me while I was getting dressed. “No. I was just thinking about the gifts. Does the queen and your brother have any particular preferences?" My question hung in the air as I hoped to break through his aloofness.

Thadron's eyes flitted around the shop again, this time landing on a set of handcrafted porcelain globes of the Milky Way solar system. He picked Earth and Venus, inspecting them with a mild curiosity. "Queen Akora likes to look through her telescope," he said, almost to himself, before placing the globes back on their display.

“Maybe she would like those on her shelf, then.”

“I’ll take them. Now, on to little brother.”

I wasn’t sure if he caught himself, but I noticed the warmth that filled his voice when he referred to Prince Lucian. I smiled. Maybe Thadron wasn’t a complete and total iceberg after all.

“What does your brother like to do in his spare time?”

"Lucian likes frostgrazers.”

I bit my lip. “Sorry, I don’t know what those are. Is it food?”

“Only in the most horrid of conditions.” Thadron met my clueless expression with an unexpected humorous glimmer in his eyes. “Forgive me. Frostgrazers are transport animals. They have thick white fur and spiral antlers. They’re quite ideal for crossing snowy terrain.”

“Oh, like a horse. Some people ride those on Earth.”

“Yes, like a horse.” He lowered his head in a noble show of deference. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t have teased you.”

Something shifted in my impression of him. Maybe it was how his expression changed from sour to just a tiny bit sweet. “I’ll let it slide this time, Your Highness.” He looked at methrough the strands of his pale hair. I held back a chuckle at how caught off guard he appeared.

But I had to reign it in. This alien ice prince was acting as a diplomat. And I was supposed to be, too. “I have some gift boxes of gourmet snacks and candy that are travel-friendly. Your brother might like them when he goes riding.”

“Lucian needs his full attention on keeping hold of the reins.”

I wasn’t sure if Thadron was still joking. He didn’t wear a smile this time. "So no on the snacks?”

“Whatever you think is best,” he muttered, already moving on to the next shelf. He put back on the air of detachment he came in with.

My com link vibrated on my wrist. It looked like the details Camille promised me were starting to come in. There wasn’t time to read up on Prince Thadron and Glaciara now, with him already here.

I studied him as the warm burgundy and gold hues of the shop’s holiday decor clashed with his cold demeanor. And yet, I caught another hint of interest in his eyes as they lingered on a display of interior design coffee table books.

"Is this how people of Earth live in their homes?" he asked. He ran a finger along the spine of a book that featured a cozy fireplace and plush furniture on the cover.

"Many do. The book you have your finger on shows a cozy living room. That’s how I like my space to be when I’m working on my novel.”

"Quaint," he uttered.

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