A Perfect World

Chapter 5

** First of all, a HUGE thank you to everyone who's sticking with this fic. It truly warms my heart and I am so appreciative. 

Also, this story is #2 on the hashtag #aelin??? I don't even know how that works but it's crazy. 

Finally, Rowan has officially entered the story so get excited!**

AELIN POV

After finally seeing Rowan Whitethorn in the flesh, Aelin wasn't quite convinced that Aedion's crush on the Fae warrior was solely based on his killing prowess. She didn't want to admit it, especially after the dismissive once-over Rowan had given her, but the male was beautiful. Aedion could not stop ogling the male and Aelin couldn't blame him for wanting to tap that. His ass was pretty flawless. 

Rowan had arrived just in time to make sure that no one had killed Lorcan, which had caused Aelin no small sense of irritation. Elide was the sweetest human being alive and everyone, even Fenrys, was ready to shed Lorcan's blood on her behalf for the sprained ankle. Lorcan had tried to make up for it by bracing her ankle with his magic but everyone still remained icy toward him. Everyone except Rowan that was. Damn him. She was about to have so much fun ganging up on Lorcan for the rest of the journey and making him pay for what he had done to Elide, in what Aedion liked to call "more diplomatic ways," but the Fae prince was actively buffering the tension amongst the group.

Though Rowan hadn't seemed particularly warm towards her, he didn't seem to be as much of an asshole as Lorcan was so Aelin considered Rowan to be decent company for the most part. Besides, he was Queen Sellene's cousin so she had to play nice with him for the sake of her title. She also figured that if anyone would be able to give her a heads up of what to expect from the Whitethorn Court, it'd be him. So as their group made camp for the night, Aelin decided to strike up conversation with Rowan. 

"You're pretty quiet, Prince," she said. 

"You're pretty talkative." 

She stuck out her tongue at him. Very royal. 

"You're pretty sassy, too," she teased.

 His face twitched a little at that, as if he were hiding a smile. 

"Pot meet kettle, I guess." 

His responses weren't as gruff as she had expected them to be. For a brute like him it was probably even an invitation to continue the conversation. So she did. 

"Do you find me amusing?" she found herself asking. She really didn't mean to but was genuinely curious and, if she was being totally honest with herself, she was secretly hoping that he'd say yes. 

Much to her dismay, he leveled her a flat stare. 

"Not particularly." 

She snorted, if only to hide her disappointment. 

"I find that hard to believe when you keep someone as dull as Lorcan for company." 

"True that," said Fenrys, who was unwrapping his bedroll. "For what it's worth, Your Highness, I find you very amusing," he continued, shooting her a roguish wink. 

"Manners, Boyo," Rowan chided, "She does outrank you." 

Fenrys  gave Rowan the finger and shot back, "As heir, she outranks you too asshole."

"Just like I outrank you," Rowan retorted. 

"Rank, shmank," Fenrys grumbled as he slid into his roll and turned away from them. 

A few moments of silence passed. She forced herself to turn her attention away from Rowan and towards Aedion, who was training not too far away from them. He was not doubt trying to impress Rowan and secretly hoping that the Prince would join him and give him a few pointers. She debated joining him herself. Ever since Elide's incident earlier that day, she had had a restless energy flowing through her veins. Not the kind that had made her long to embark on this journey in the first place, but rather a kind of wild excitement that she needed to work off. 

She was about to stand and do just that when Rowan said, "I'm surprised you're not travelling by carriage until you reach Terrasen's border." 

She turned to face him and was surprised by the genuine curiosity in his eyes. It made her blood boil. Oh, she'd definitely have to work some steam off with Aedion in a bit. She had half a mind to shrug and simply claim that she had motion sickness, or give him some equally lame and untrue excuse, but that curious glint in his eye was enough to convince her that he deserved an honest answer. She closed her eyes and forced herself to admit it: one of the many truths she had been avoiding all these years. 

"Horses don't come near me," she said. "I make them... jumpy. It's because of the power that lies dormant within me. It's wild and I have no control over it... and it scares them."

It scared people too. But as Aelin opened her eyes and met Rowan's gaze once more, she found not an ounce of fear in his eyes. 

"For what it's worth, Aelin, I don't think that anything or anyone would run from your power if you didn't run from it yourself." 

Maybe he was right but she wasn't brave enough to face up to any of it just yet. She wasn't even brave enough to continue this conversation with him. It was quickly veering into new territory where she'd rather not set foot.

So Aelin stood, thanked Rowan for the chit chat and headed over to where Aedion was practicing. 

Aedion paused his workout as she approached him. 

"Mind if I join you?" she asked. 

He simply bent down to pick up a stick, one like he'd been using to practice sword drills, and tossed it to her in response. She caught it in one hand without missing a beat. 

"Enjoying the journey so far?" he asked her as she assumed her stance.

She gave him a half-hearted shrug. "It's okay I guess. Why?" 

"Oh, no reason," he replied, an accusatory smile playing at his lips. 

She narrowed her eyes at him. What the hell was he getting at?

Then he tilted his head ever so slightly in Rowan's direction. 

Oh. Oh.

"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed, "It's nothing like that. I'm just making friends."

"Whatever you say, cousin," he replied, rolling his eyes. He clearly wasn't buying it. "Just remember that I call dibs." 

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Care to put your sword where your fat mouth is?" 

"Bring it," he replied. 

** Thank you for reading! Look out for some Rowan POV next chapter!

Also, do let me know if you all would prefer to read longer chapters.**