"What if we take it a little bit to the right?" Shyra asked, poring over the blueprints of the new Asteroid Path. Besides her, the architect narrowed his eyes and drew a new path on the paper. A team of contractors, designers, and planners formed a huddle around the map and put in their input as well.

The risky construction of the Asteroid Path was underway, and Shyra quickly learned that the reconstruction needed constant supervision and reconstruction. When they set a path, in the beginning, it didn't mean that that path would be fixed. It would have to undergo constant changes along the way; a fact that was draining Shyra's energy and time.

"Alright. I think this path would hold for a while longer. After we construct a bit more, we'll be able to decide if we need another planning session," the architect said. Everyone nodded and dispersed to do their duties.

Shyra trailed behind them and took a turn towards the gardens, kicking her feet and scuffing them on the stone path. She could barely refrain from running to the fountain, where they would begin their evening and explore the Palace together.

Mahi...

She blushed, remembering the look in his eyes when she confessed to him. He'd been deliriously happy for the rest of the evening, sporting a giddy grin and speaking barely constructed sentences.

And later, when they had time to talk about everything, they decided to court each other secretly during her stay in Alza. Courting the prince of Alza wasn't going to be as easy as that, but with their heads turned by love, the only thing they cared about was being together.

A pair of warm hands covered her eyes, blinding her. Someone's breath fanned her ear, and a heady fragrance of parijata flowers made her smile.

"Guess who," the voice said, his breath tickling her neck. She giggled and whispered 'my Jaani' back to him. Mahi removed his hands at once and bustled past her, leading the way to cover his blush.

Shyra giggled and followed him, keeping a respectable distance and keenly observing her surroundings. She soon realized that they were beginning their tour from the hallway that housed his ancestral portraits.

Mahi opened the doors with a solemnity that befitted the occasion, and she breezed past him into a dimly lit hallway that stretched out before her eyes. It was designed like a corridor with a plush red carpet on the floor and oil paintings lining either side of the wall.

She walked through the room and observed each painting with her hands folded behind her back, recalling all the important figures from her history lessons.

When she reached the end of the hall, she realized that they'd been silent throughout the way, with Mahi following behind her with hushed footsteps. She found his silence unnerving and turned around, preparing to lighten the mood with a little joke when she found him watching her with an intensity that sent her heart racing.

"Don't look at me like that all the time. My face will wear off," she muttered, placing her hands over her cheeks. His eyes widened in incredulity at her ridiculous statement, and she slapped her forehead in mortification.

"If you're done appreciating my good looks, there's something I would like to say," he began, toying with a ring on his finger. Shyra frowned at the whiff of nervousness in his tone, but steeled herself and nodded.

"Shyra," he started with a deep breath. "I'm aware that we haven't known each other for a long time, and we've only started courting a while ago. So, please forgive me if my words seem presumptuous or far-fetched. It's because I've grown to hold you in the highest esteem, and..."

"Mahi, what in the world are you saying? Why are you being so formal?" Shyra interrupted, feeling her chest tighten. Was he going to propose marriage? She did love him, but their relationship was too tender to consider marriage.

"Er, yeah," he chuckled, running his fingers through his dark hair. "I'm sorry. I get all official-sounding when I'm nervous. What I meant to say is that I've grown to care deeply for you, Shyra. I want to spend all my time with you, and the fact that you're leaving in one maasa makes me feel quite sad.

"Ah," she said, feeling foolish. Was he telling her that he was going to miss her? "I'll miss you too, prince."

He gave her a small grin before pulling out a single parijata with a flourish. "You'd told me that I smell as good as parijatas, right? So I plucked and dried a blossom to give you, incase you miss me too much."

Her cheeks felt hot as she accepted the flower and held it close to her heart. "I'll carry it around wherever I go, so that it feels like you're always with me."

Mahi grinned brightly and nodded, pulling open the charmwood doors and continuing their tour.

Shyra glanced out of the window of the spaceship and sighed for the umpteenth time. She hadn't expected to yearn for Mahi to this extent, but the constant clenching of her heart told her that she couldn't wait to meet him again. His giddy giggles, the way he smelled of parijata, the way he held her pinky... memories of him refused to vacate her mind and let her think about anything else. She supposed there were worse things she could be fixated on, so she shrugged yet again and stared at the parijata with a huge grin.

When the announcement for the landing came, she strapped herself to the safety seat and waited out the rough landing. By now, her palms were sweaty and her heart beat erratically. She wiped her hands on her anarkali with a shaky chuckle. A few maasas of separation, and she was already dying to meet him.

Those maasas had been well utilized though. She'd finally, finally, found the courage to tell her parents about Mahi and her growing love for him. It had taken more effort than she'd thought, considering she hadn't told them about her life in a long time.

To say they were surprised was an understatement, of course. Queen Nayaka had dropped her spoon with a clatter, and King Songrat just stared at her for so long that she hid her face in embarrassment.

But after a few rounds of pestering and convincing, they accepted him and asked to meet him someday. Shyra replied with a proud smile that she would get him back on the new Asteroid Path that had finished construction.

Now, though, it was time for her routine diplomatic journey to Alza, and her first in-person meeting with her jaani in six maasas. Just the thought of it had her giggling like crazy.

The ship docked with a lilting clink that had her bounding to her feet and running across the bustling ship.

Startled cries of 'Princess, please be careful!' rang through the crew members, but she just wove around them and burst through the doors of the ship. The same docking field from her time in the Games greeted her eyes, but this time her gaze slid past the scenic beauty in search of a special someone.

"Shyra! Here! I'm here!" a warm voice called out to her, and she spotted Mahi waving his hand high in the air. She let out a delighted squeal and sprinted across the slanted planks, her braid swinging wildly behind her. The dockworkers around her cleared a path to her beloved, chuckling and muttering sly comments about new lovers.

She charged ahead without a care in the world and threw herself into the waiting arms of her Jaani. He tightened his hands on her back with a chuckle and spun her around, laughing and stumbling with her.

"Ah, for the love of the Cosmos and beyond," he said, burying his head in the crook of her neck. "I missed you, Princess Shyra. I've missed you so much that I've been losing my mind."