"The heart was made to be broken."

- Oscar Wilde

~

AUGUSTINE

I feel an involuntary smile stretch on my face as I watch the sun rise in the blood red sky. It's really something else. The contrast of the yellow light of the sun against the red sky is just breathtaking.

I scratch the back of Gleriana coin and I can't help but recall everything that happened the previous day. The travelling on sand, the carpets, knocking those soldiers out, Simba grabbing those fucking black balls, running for our lives, the fighting, Coral....And then me roasting that stupid Lord alive.

Now here we are, as some Blazes are already up and about, using some very dangerous looking tools to cut hearts out of some very pretty looking glass.

I was forced to make one as I was the only faerie who was up, so I was the only guy whose crafting skills they could make fun of.

Suffice to say, the heart I have made looks closer to a nutsack than a heart as the courteous Blazes had told me while they were roaring out some rumbly laughter with each other while looking at it.

I turn the heart over in my palm, as it reflected the first rays of the Sun around as I change the position to observe it closely.

It does look like a nutsack...

"Ah my favourite kitchen assistant is up!" I hear a cheery voice and groan internally.

Simba is always so cheerful. It's good sometimes, don't get me wrong. But most of the time it's so annoying.

Well I don't ever mind helping him though.

I sit at my previous place while Simba mounts a pot atop a stand placed over the fire.

"Whatcha cooking?" I ask as Simba scrambles around with the bag which contains the food supplies.

"A good hearty banana and plantain porridge might just be the perfect start to a morning after having a good night's sleep," Simba says with a smile.

Sounds perfect.

I focus on the firewood and instantly it's lit up with a bunch of yellow flames.

The glass in my hand reflects the light of the flames directly into Simba's eyes, catching his attention.

"What's that?" He asks, taking the glass from my hand.

"Some glass heart thing the Blazes forced me to make."

He looks like he's trying to control a laugh, "That doesn't really look like a heart-"

"Har har laugh all you want, it's not like I'm giving it to anyone."

Simba looks at the group of Blazes making some of those hearts, "Maybe I should make one for Valerie."

I frown, "I thought you would be over her by now."

"Why would you think that?"

"She clearly doesn't seem to like you, i though your ego would finally make you give up. You two don't even seem like a likely couple," I say truthfully. I mean, I don't want to discourage or upset him, but hopelessly pursuing someone like that seemed really sad to me.

Simba just smiled at me, "Nope, I'm not giving up on her."

"Why do you even like her so much?" Come on my curiosity got the best of me.

"When I first saw her, I felt... Something. Something good. And when she first spoke to me, every instinct of mine told her that she was the right one for me. Yes, she's cold and stiff, but I believe that I  can be the fire to thaw that icy exterior," now there's a complete grin on his face, "Her determination to be good, her fierceness, her grace is so... inspiring."

I hope Valerie sees that she's got a serious catch over here. I honestly want him to have the best time, even if it's with a stone like Valerie.

A small part of me wishes to have someone love me like Simba loves Val. Seeing his resistance and determination, it fills me with hope for better days.

I pat his back, "Go make that heart, I'll tend to the porridge."

Simba grins but gives me a mug of fresh hot chocolate before leaving. Not the best choice of drink in this realm, but it was delicious.

Next Avalkyra comes to sit next to me, yawning and stretching, while holding her trusty dagger. Seriously when will she ever let go of that blade?

She notices my carving, "Who made you carve a pair of balls?"

I groan in frustration.

"Ha! Are you that lonely?" Rey sits on my other side.

"Shut up if you want some hot chocolate."

"Speaking of lonely, I don't see Mika anywhere," Minakshi says, wiggling her eyebrows. Hurray for her subtlety.

But she does deserve a hot chocolate for that so I give her a mug.

"I can be alone without Mika," Rey says, with narrowed eyes.

"But would you prefer to be?" I ask. Wait why am I participating in this?

Rey remains silent.

"Ha! Do you think Mika will give her one of those hearts?" Avalkyra asks, now sharpening her dagger on one of those metal rod things. It looks awesome and terrifying at the same time.

I laugh a little, "The dude won't realise what to do even when hell freezes over."

Rey frowns at me, "What do you mean?"

Avalkyra speaks up on my behalf, "No offense hon, but your ahem, best friend, is extremely oblivious and innocent sometimes. He doesn't know shit."

"Hey! Don't talk about him like that, I think it's cute," Minakshi defends Mikaello.

"Yeah well you date him," I reply to Minakshi, eyeing Rey's red face with a smug grin.

People would tell us that we are stupid, distracting ourselves with matters such as romance. But I've come to realise, if we might just die soon, why not experience that kind of happiness that people write books and poems and songs about?

Minakshi is also looking at Rey as she says, "Nah, I have a feeling his heart's with someone else."

"I agree with Meena," comes Kaito's voice from behind us, making all of us jump. When did he come here?

He is holding a sculpture and it's...Beautiful. It's a sculpture of two swans bending their heads to form a heart, made out of glass.

I point at it, "You made that?"

"I was forced to," Kaito says, staring at his glass sculpture.

Avalkyra let's out a hearty laugh, "August made a pair of balls."

"Oh shut up."

◆●◆●◆

VALERIE

"What made you want to train with me today?" I ask Simba who is strapping on some elbow guards.

"Well Coral was your usual partner...And now that she's... not here, I thought I'll be the substitute!"

"I already asked Avalkyra..." I trail off, glancing towards the redhead who is casually lounging on one of the cushions she decided to drag along to training.

She yawns a very fake yawn, "Yeah, I'm tired. Simba can take my place."

What is going on with these people?

Will he able to match me?

I then remember yesterday, when he had defended me, fighting a dozen Cinders at once.

I heft my broadsword, "Fine then, let us begin."

I slash and Simba immediately blocks my attack by crossing his arms in front of him to let his arm guards shield him. He pushes my sword away and then draws his own Victorian style blade with the fancy handle.

He raised his sword and brought it down on me which I blocked with my broadsword. Now that I think of it, I picked the wrong sword. Simba is too fast.

I push his sword away and then roll on the floor as his weapon swipes on air above me. I then jump into a standing position just as his sword comes down, and he had used so much force that it got stuck in the sand.

I take the delay to aim for his head but he gracefully swings sideways by using the hilt of the stuck sword as a support.

I'm impressed.

And that was not a good thing because I was distracted enough to not notice him pull out the sword. His chest is heaving but he has a grin on his face.

"You're not defeating me that easily," he says before putting his golden brown hair out of the way.

I look up at the looming boy with my eyes narrowed.

"Oh yes I will," I say while trying one of my sinister smiles.

And together we engage in this deadly dance. Swords clashing, armor breaking, hearts racing, jumping, rolling, trying everything we could, to defeat the opponent.

In the end, Simba made the mistake of trying to lunge for my head when I was getting up from the ground. I kicked his legs and he lost balance and is now on his stomach on the ground, gripping his sword tightly as I put my foot on his hand holding the sword as well as my own sword on the back of his his throat.

"Okay you win," he pants and turns into his back, still having a huge smile stretched onto his face, as if he were proud of me for defeating him.

How can someone have such a positive outlook all the time?

I smile a little as I offer my hand to help him up.

"Ah look at that, I thought I'd never see the day when the Ice Princess smiled," Avalkyra comments from where she is still lying on the cushion, cleaning her dagger. She treats that thing like her own child, it's scary sometimes.

I scowl at the redhead who just gives me a smug grin in return.

Simba rolls his wrists, still smiling at me, "You should do that more often. Makes you look prettier than usual."

I feel my breath catch. I'm not used to getting compliments, especially about my appearance.

I look down, "Are you ready to begin again? I was thinking about using my staff this time?"

Simba brings out his own spear and holds it high, as if my reaction to his compliment did not affect him in the slightest, "What are we waiting for?"

Avalkyra suddenly gets up, "I feel like hanging out with someone else. Toodles!"

Oh great she left me alone with Simba. He is smiling coyly at me and I feel a little creeped out as I lift my staff. He twists his spear in his hand and almost immediately thrusts his spear in my direction, which I barely deflect.

"You're getting slow Val! Don't let my godlike looks distract you!"

He does look pretty good, with the golden and brown hair and the warm brown eyes, if my mother ever met him, she would swaddle him in a blanket and feed him soup.

And that comment unfortunately distracted me enough for him to twist my staff out of my hand.

He uses both spears and pins me to the ground, both the heads of the spears crossed in front of my own head.

He then laughs and picks me up, "Valerie Beck's weakness is compliments, that's good to know."

I scowl before readying my spear again, "I want a rematch."

"Don't be such a sore loser."

I attack without warning but his lightning fast reflexes block the attack. Though I used so much force that it winded him and knocked him off his feet. He is now lying on the sand, and walk up to him, a smile on my face.

"Who's the loser now?" I ask.

He grins. Oh no. Why?

And that is when he kicks my own legs such that I fall directly on top of him. He rolls out from under my disgruntled form and before I know it, his own body is now on top of mine, pinning me down as both his hands rest on either side of the ears, sinking into the soft sand.

He smiles, "You are the loser."

I can feel his breath fan over my face as my eyes make direct contact with his chocolate brown ones. My body is hyper aware of the closeness and my breathing has become ragged, either because of the training or the current position we are in. I can see everything up close, his tiny freckles, a birthmark under his ear, sand crusted on his eyebrows....

It feels like the world around us has stilled. Like we're the only ones there. There is a certain spark in the air, and a burning intensity in his gaze.

Right now, he doesn't feel like the jolly, happy-go-lucky cook, dancing around asking questions about everything.

He feels like the fierce guardian yesterday, who had burnt the Cinder to ashes because the creature had the audacity to spear me in the gut. The one who offered to protect me on the carpet ride when he was petrified himself.

His eyes are searching my own as if looking for something which he cannot find.

"Val..." He trails off and his eyes lower from mine and rest on my lips. I can feel my lean closer, and I almost don't resist.

But.

I... can't.

I clear my throat and push him off of me, ignoring the burning in my cheeks and ears.

He gets up and his eyes don't meet mine as he mutters, "Sorry for that, got carried away."

I shake my head, "It's fine. Though I think we should stop training."

I can't let this madness continue. I can't let the walks crumble 

His eyes have a small dullness in them, there is a certain sadness in his features "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"I'm just tired," I lie. I have an overwhelming sense of regret taking over my mind.

He runs over and picks up an object from where we had collectively put all the weapons.

When he comes closer, I squint to see a crystal heart.

"What is that?" I ask.

He looks at the heart, "The Blazes have this...um friendship day festival where friends give each other these to strengthen their bond. So, will you accept mine?"

Ah I had seen all the Blazes running around with these sculptures. It all makes sense now. I had gone to bed early, this must have been the festival all of them had been talking about.

I shake my head, "You really didn't have to-"

"Please?" His pleading brown eyes get the best of me. I have become way too soft, now that I'm letting a boy's puppy dog eyes convince me.

I take the heart in my own hands and as soon as both my hands cup it, it...bursts! Into thousands of pieces, into my hand. And I'm not even hurt.

I jump away, gasping and then turn my shocked gaze to him, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," he cuts me off, staring at the pile of broken glass with wide eyes.

Slowly, the biggest smile I have ever seen spreads on his sandy face. He feels like he's practically glowing as he stares at the pile of pieces. The amount of happiness he is radiating is insane.

That too for a broken sculpture?

"It's better than okay," he says, in a voice deeper than usual as he kneels down to stare at the glass.

I'll never understand this boy.

"I'll clean it up-" I offer but he cuts me off again.

"That's fine, love. I'll do it. Get some rest," he says, and I take that as a dismissal and leave the weirdo to whatever he is about to do.

I walk to my tent, all the while pondering upon my own strength and how fragile that glass was.

And how happy Simba was, that it shattered.

The word he had used to address me echoed in my head.

That's fine, love.

Love.

He said it so freely.

Maybe he addressed all his friends like that, maybe I was thinking too much.

But I couldn't fight the smile that slowly stole it's way onto my face as I recalled the training session.

Don't you dare touch her, he had said during the fight.

I look up at the roof of the tent, "I know you're watching, Coral. What do you think I should do?"

I decide to just stay in my room for the evening. I've never been one for a celebration.

◆●◆●◆

HENLO DOUBLE UPDATE BECAUSE I JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO PUBLISH THIS ITS SO CUTE ASJDHDJSJSHK

I gave y'all a scare with the quote didn't I? You had to take it in the literal sense LMAO.

Next chapter is probably in Rachelle, Augustus, Kaito and Mikaello's POVs so stay tuned and don't forget to vote :)