Chapter Seven - Unrequited (b)

What she said suddenly destroyed all my chances of hoping that maybe, just maybe, she’s the one for me. But it looks like her heart is already occupied.

“Really?” I asked, trying to hide the bit of pain that’s about to come out of my voice. “Could you tell me who they are? I’m certain that I’ve never met them.”

“For now, I’d like to keep things to myself,” she answered. “It’s something that I wouldn’t want for others to worry about because it’s not their problem.”

“I understand,” I nodded. “Is it possible for you to describe them?”

“The one, who I think, likes me is very - for the lack of a better term - sophisticated. It’s as if he’s a monarch,” she described. “Quite the gentleman but his manner of being one is a bit over the top. It’s like he’s a prince that’s found in every bedtime story for young girls.”

“You don’t seem enthusiastic to be talking about this person.”

“I find him too unrealistic. He’s too much of a fairytale and not of reality,” she groaned. “I only see him as a friend. Everything about him is too much for me.”

To hear those words from her reignited my hopes! There might just be a place for me in her heart after all.

“Why don’t you just tell him?” I suggest.

“I’m not the best at explaining my thoughts by words. I show them through actions,” she stuttered. “As much as I could, I show him that I’m not interested in his courting. I’m not sure if he notices it.”

“You should’ve told him right then and there. You should’ve been honest with him and yourself,” I answered, moving closer to her. “It’s not enough for you to show it. It’s better if he heard it from you. You have to speak your mind so he could understand it as early as possible,” I continued. “It’s to prevent heartache in the end as well.”

“ I will try your advice the next time we see each other,” she chuckled. “I’m just not that good at telling people what I really feel. I’ve always been the person that people deemed to be too gracious, too kind. I was always the girl who hid behind the achievements, the glamour of other people. It’s been like that for as long as I can remember. I always stayed behind and agreed to what other people wanted.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being kind, Laura. Being king doesn’t give anybody the reason to take advantage of you, to despise you,” I said.

“Nobody hates you but everyone will step all over you like some kind of rug,” she sighed as she let out her frustrations. “And when you need someone, the people whom you thought would be trusted, disappear into the wind, vanishing into thin air,” she bowed her head, plucking out some grass near her feet.

I held her hand, causing her to look up to me. “I’m here and I will always be here for you,” I looked into her eyes, reassuring her. No one should feel as if they are alone in this world. We all need each other, we cannot survive on our own. We think we can but in reality, there are specific things that cannot be done alone.

“Is that true?” she smiled.

“Yes,” I moved even closer, her hand safely engulfed in my hands. “I promise you that no one will ever hurt you, not even me. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe even if my life depends on it.”

She smiled as she looked down on our connected hands. She then slowly pulled her hand back, “Never make a promise that you can’t keep. A promise isn’t something to be taken lightly.

I pulled out my pinky finger and moved it closer to her, almost right into her face. An adorable giggle came out of her. “What?” I asked, trying to stop myself from catching her contagious giggle.

“Aren’t we a little too old for pinky promises?” she continued, still giggling.

“I don’t care,” I shook my head after a short silence. “Do you agree and believe what I just said?”

She then smiled her beautiful smile; a smile that accents her beauty even more. I’m running out of words to express how beautiful she is whenever she smiles at me. She took her time as she looked at my finger back at me. She gently twisted her pinky with mine, “I  trust you’ll keep your word, young prince.”

“Of course, I will,” I responded with full confidence. We pulled back our pinkies after my reply.

“Would you like to return now?” she asked.

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “We just got here. I would like to stay a little longer. I also had an idea: this place could be our hiding place,” I suggested.

“What do you mean by our?” she asked.

“Every afternoon, we could meet here and spend some time together,” I shifted my attention back to her. “By the look of this scenery, watching the sunset would be perfect. We could watch every sunset together.”

“Yo do know I have work in the bakery, right?” she replied. “I can’t just sneak out of work every day to watch the sunset.”

“I’ll talk to Grandpa Ben about it, then,” I answered.

“That’s just a horrible idea, Robert,” she frowned as she disagreed with my idea. “It isn’t even close to a good one, Robert.”

“Laura, telling him can’t be that bad,” I blocked her answer. “In fact, he would appreciate it if we tell him.”

“Robert, if you do that, he will continue to tease me at work,” she said. “And if the rest of the bakery hears about it, they will tease me as well.”

“I’ll ask him not to tease you, then.”

“Your ideas are just making everything worse,” she let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes. “He’ll tease me more if you ask him to do that.”

“Then what can we do if all of my suggestions aren’t good enough?”

“You don’t have to ask anything of him. I’ll meet you here every afternoon. Just don’t tell him anything.”

“He might think of something suspicious if he catches you skipping work every afternoon. You said it yourself,” I reminded.

“He’ll be happy if he catches me going out because that’s what he wants,” she argued. “If we tell him, he’ll tease us and he will never stop.” She turned her attention back to the sunset.

“The sunset’s starting,” I said.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she remarked, in complete awe of the beauty of the sun.

I looked at her face while she’s busy staring at the sunset. I took in every inch of her face without her knowing it. The way the wind blew her hair, the way its brown shade radiated when the sun hit her hair, the way her emerald eyes shine as they’re made from pure crystal. Without a doubt, there are a lot of beautiful women in court. However, I surprised myself to be even taken aback by the simple beauty of a mortal.

The ladies of the court are superficial, always covered with different palettes on their faces. Their gowns show off an unrealistic size of their bodies. Laurs is just her, simply her. Her character is her true beauty.

I smiled as I appreciated the stunning view in front of me, “Absolutely breath-taking.”

Her eyes batted a few times out of confusion, turning her head towards me after.

I cleared her throat and pointed towards the sunset, “The sunset, I mean. The sunset is just… beautiful.” I quickly turned my body towards the sun, doing my best to put all of my attention to it.

“Why do I feel like I’ve known you for a long time?” she spoke.

I looked in her direction and found her staring back at me. As the sun continued to set in front of us, we stared at each other, not taking our eyes off of each other. I was lost in her emerald gaze and she was entranced with my stare. For that moment, it’s like I can see right through her. I can see who she really is.

“Perhaps we already met somewhere in time, I just don’t know where or when,” she continued.

Without any sort of warning, my hand landed on hers; as if my body has a mind of its own. With a smile, I answered, “If that’s the case, I’d like to go back to that specific time and tell you how much I enjoy having you near me.”

My response caused her to smile, her face started to flush and turn into a shade of light red. How adorable she is when she’s blushing.

She turned her face to the sunset, seeing that it’s about to finish. “We have to go. Grandpa Ben might be looking for me already,” she said as she stood up.

She didn’t even answer what I just said. All I got was a smile and I don’t even know what that meant. “Is there something wrong?” she was quick to notice that I wasn’t standing up.