Harlow tapped her slender fingers on Icecube's back while she was thinking.

"I mean he managed to guess that Raphael would indeed throw me a party to celebrate, but how would Julian get in?" she asked Icecube, conversing seriously as if the dragon could understand her. "Wait, if he'd pretended to be a guest, I would have seen him if he was there…"

Now that she thought of it, it was a possibility. Perhaps, Julian did come and crash the party, disguising himself as one of the guests. Harlow left quickly with Raphael afterward. So, she might have missed him.

Dang! 

She should have kept an eye on him at the party or refused to leave so quickly with Raphael.

Harlow knew that the party was the best chance to get in the castle without alerting anyone because everyone would be a guest. However, the princess' imagination started to get the better side of her.

"If he entered the same way yesterday and didn't attend the ballroom party, then he would still have been able to enter the castle without much problem would he? He could pretend that he was a guest… or maybe he was lost."

Icecube snorted and yet Harlow was stuck in her thoughts.

Harlow remembered that Raphael was drunk last night and was entirely focused on listening to Harlow back then. However, if any of his demon guards or servants had caught Julian sneaking around, then the adventurer would have gotten captured. 

On top of that, the castle they were in was enchanted so he would get lost whether he liked it or not. But, seeing how good the man was in handling issues so far, he might be fine even if he got stuck in a maze.

Julian was possibly good at sneaking around better than the princess though since it was his profession.  Compared to Harlow who simply got lucky, Julian would have succeeded more.

She needed to have her faith in him. She tried to focus on the positive things. After she took a long deep breath, Harlow told herself that the man was fine.

However, she felt trepidation sink in her chest as she tried to imagine the demon castle more. She should have asked Beth and Dorian for the castle's layout or a map!

"I didn't encounter anything dangerous… but what if there are traps outside of the demon king's residence?" Harlow felt her stomach become queasy. She pictured a scenario where Julian attempted to enter another area of the castle and the walls boxing him in.

"And since I was gone for who knows how long, Raphael may have secretly encountered him and dealt with the man behind my back. Gosh!" Harlow's eyes snapped open and she quickly redirected back her ice dragon to the castle. "I need to go back!"

She made up her mind to focus on looking for Julian in the Demon King's Castle.

"Please, please be safe." Harlow anxiously said. 

The princess didn't know if it was the wind blowing across her face, but her eyes were starting to sting at the same time as she imagined Julian meet Raphael. The Ice Prince was only kind to her but she remembered how he dealt with others.

Remember those demons and that hag witch she encountered in town who wanted her jade bracelet? Raphael didn't mind turning them all into frozen popsicles when Harlow summoned him to help her. 

The Demon King was heartless to many people. He could kill without batting an eye those people who harassed Harlow.

Since he also seemed like a possessive and jealous fiance, Harlow could only imagine what Raphael would do to Julian if he caught the adventurer and thought he wanted to take Harlow away from him.

If there was any chance that Raphael laid his hands on Julian, then the blood of that man was Harlow's fault. The man was too young to die.

The princess felt tears streaming down on her face before she even knew it. She tried so hard to be tough and strong, but she wasn't.

Icecube felt the princess bury her face in his back as she shook and cried. The ice dragon tried to cheer her up by roaring but it didn't work at all. It was just another one of those days where Harlow cried quietly.

After Harlow left Draec to find the Ice Prince, there were actually many times where the princess just started crying because she suddenly missed home and wanted to return but didn't want to, or even if she did… she didn't know how.

It was easy to find her way home when she was still in the human realm, but after she went to the elven realm and even demons realm… it was close to impossible. Well… not until she could find the magic closet.

Harlow knew she could be impulsive sometimes and when she followed her impulses, things could go wrong.  However, if anything actually had happened to Julian, the princess felt like she wouldn't be able to brush it off.

"Stop crying, Harlow." Harlow rubbed frustratedly at her eyes and breathed deeply. Icecube was returning back to the gardens in Raphael's castle as she consoled herself. "You haven't seen his dead body yet… He might still be alive. Remember, he promised to come back."

The princess lifted her eyes and found herself where she had met Julian last time. 

"Wait here," she said after she jumped down from Icecube's back and cast her glance around the massive garden.

She remembered yesterday Julian suddenly appeared out of nowhere when she was around the big jacaranda tree.  Perhaps, if she waited for him there, the man would find her again?

Harlow bit her lip and steeled her heart. This was a good plan, she thought to herself. The sun was now so high in the sky and the temperature became hotter but the princess didn't budge. She had to meet Julian, no matter what.

Half an hour passed in seemed like forever.

And then, one hour.

Then, another hour.

"Ugh… where are you, Julian?" Harlow wanted to cry.

She covered her eyes with one hand as she looked up at the sun. It was already long past lunchtime and she was starting to feel hungry. However, the man in question was still nowhere to be seen.

She turned to look at Icecube who stood unmoving nearby, looking pitiful because he was hungry. Harlow didn't have the heart to keep Icecube with her for much longer without eating anything. Icecube was like her baby.

She could handle hunger, but not Icecube. She would not let him suffer. 

Finally, she forced a smile and waved at the ice dragon. "You can go and get food, Icecube. I will wait for him a bit longer."

Icecube snorted snowflakes and looked at Harlow intensely as if telling her to go inside the castle and get food too. However, Harlow was stubborn. She shook her head and told Icecube to leave her.

"I am fine. I ate so much for breakfast, I am still full. I will wait a  bit longer. If he still didn't show up… it must be because something is holding him back, or…"

Harlow didn't finish her sentence. She was afraid to jinx it. If she said maybe Raphael caught Julian, it might end up being true.

Until she knew for sure she wouldn't assume the worst.

No.

"Go ahead! Get something to eat, Icecube. I will see you later," Harlow said and waved at her dragon.

Icecube wanted to be stubborn too, but his stomach growled so loudly, demanding food. So, he looked away ashamedly, for not being as strong-hearted as his master.  Then, he turned around and flapped his wings to fly away. 

Harlow looked at Icecube leaving, feeling hungry too. However, she was too stubborn. She was determined to wait all day until she could not wait anymore.

Then, she would give up and ask Raphael to free her friend.

One hour later.

"Wifey, what are you doing here?"

Harlow, who was pacing under the jacaranda tree, was startled by Raphael's voice calling her all of a sudden. She thought she almost got a heart attack.

"Gosh…! Can you NOT sneak around me?" She scolded him, pressing her chest with both hands. "I thought my heart dropped to the ground just now."

"Uhm… sorry?" Raphael furrowed his brows. "I actually waved at you from over there but you were too focused on your thoughts, you didn't seem to notice me. So, I walked here while waving at you for a good five minutes. What's been bothering you? Care to share?"

Harlow's heart skipped a beat. How could she share this secret with Raphael?

Hey, I met another guy on the way here and we, uh, plan to steal your most valuable magical artifact so he can help me to free myself from you. I have been looking for him all day, and I suspect that you have caught him and killed him or at least kept him in a dungeon somewhere.

There. Happy?

Harlow looked at Raphael and opened her mouth, wanting to ask him if he caught any intruders recently, but no words came out through her lips.

The man winced when he saw her chapped lips and realized she must be parched. That's why she couldn't speak.  With a wave of his hand, suddenly a big cup with refreshingly cold water appeared in his hand.

"Here, drink this. You must be thirsty," he said gently, reaching out the cup to Harlow.

The princess batted her eyes at the cup. She didn't realize she was so thirsty until after the cup of water appeared. She received the water from him, too stunned to say thank you.

Once she had downed the water and returned the cup to Raphael, the man waved his hand again and the cup disappeared. His magic was so great and effortless that Harlow was wondering what else could he do with it.

She knew Raphael could turn people into ice. He also enchanted his castle and the people working there. He could magically make things appear and disappear…

What else?

.

.

__________________________

From Missrealitybites:

I wish I can see how Icecube looked when he tried to act stubborn like Harlow and waited with her, only to have his stomach betray him. XD

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