I was occupied in preparing Lady for another stroll to the Mortal Realm. Suddenly, a hand attached itself onto my arm. I looked and saw Mallory. Her eyes were puffed and almost red.
She could have cried for a long time.
I sighed as I shook my head. “Mallory, I don’t have time to do this with you. I have to be somewhere else right now,” I complained.
“I beg of you, Robert, give me a chance to be with you,” she pleaded. She continued, “Grant me a chance to prove to you that I can love you more than any woman can. Let me prove myself to you.”
“You already have, Mallory. You have proven yourself to be a good friend and sister to me. Let that be the end of this matter,” I replied, slowly removing her hand from my arm. As soon as I got her hand off, she clung onto my arm with both hands. “Mallory, don’t you feel sorry for yourself?” I continued, completely irritated. “Do you want for me to paint a picture of how desperate you look right now?”
“I don’t care what I look like, Robert,” she whined. “All I want is a chance to be able to call you mine.”
When would she give up? Couldn’t she accept the fact that in her lifetime, as well as mine, there would never be a chance for us? In the very beginning, there was never a chance.
I scraped my hand across my face out of frustration. I just wanted for her to leave me alone. I wanted this conversation, this matter to end here. Right here, right now.
“Mallory, what do I have to do to make you stop bothering me? What can I do to make you stop bothering me? What can I do to make you stop crying every time you and I bump into each other in this castle?”
She held my hand, a glimmer of hope came from her tired eyes. “Are you truly willing to do anything to end my heartbreak?” she asked.
As soon as I heard that question, I immediately regretted what I said. She was going to take advantage of what I just said. However, if this was the only solution to stop her from disturbing my peace anytime an opportunity would arise, I might as well do what needed to be done.
I pulled my hand back from her grip. “As I recall, you mentioned that if you’re given the chance to be with me, you will stop pestering me, am I right? You will put an end to this overly-dramatic act that you’re currently doing right in front of me, correct?” I replied.
“Yes, I did say that,” she nodded, confused.
I sighed, defeated. I knew that if I entered a relationship with her, it would be very difficult for me. I would need to pretend and lie to her that I loved her. And once I put an end to the relationship, it would be even more difficult for her.
“I will make a deal with you, Mallory,” I answered, crossing my arms. “But, whatever it is that I incorporate in this deal, that is only what I can do for you. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you understand?”
She nodded as she paid full attention to what I was about to say.
“I will give you the chance to be with me, just so I don’t have to deal with this melodramatic scene for the rest of my life,” I said. “We can be a couple, only until I turn twenty-one thousand years. I think that’s a fair chance for you.”
“Really? You would do that for me?” she asked, her tone became hopeful. She also smiled amidst the remaining tears that ran down her cheeks.
“I’m only doing this because you said you wanted to. And I don’t want to see you crying every time we cross paths with one another. I don’t like it when people are miserable, especially when it’s because of me,” I explained.
She quickly locked me in her arms, saying, “I love you so much, Robert.”
I removed her as fast as I could. “Do not do that, please.”
“Why?” she asked. She hugged me once again, but I removed her again. “Robert, I just wanted to show you how grateful I am, and how much I love you,” she complained.
“First of all, you’ve told me too many times today, and it’s gotten annoying to hear,” I replied. “Second, I don’t like being touched or hugged by anyone other than my mother, my sister, and Nana. Don’t expect for me to be affectionate, whether it’s in public or in private.”
“Does that mean I can’t even hold your hand in the castle grounds?” she asked, confused.
“Yes, that is also included,” I nodded.
“But, why? If we’re a couple, what’s wrong with that? Shouldn’t we be proud of our love?” she asked.
“Mallory, you’re being delusional. I already told you: I don’t love you the same way you love me,” I repeated. “And I’m being careful with my image. My family’s reputation is very important to me. I must protect it at all times.”
“Are you saying that all you care about is your image? You don’t care about what we have?” she asked.
“Mallory, this relationship that I offered to you isn’t of any value to me. I value our friendship, without a doubt. But if you’re going to ask me to do the same with this pretentious relationship, I can’t do that. I agreed to do this in order to stop you from your endless proclamations of love,” I explained. “And if I don't put any importance to my reputation, we can lose everything. And if that happens, you would lose everything as well. Do you want that for yourself? Do you want that for Nana?” I continued.
She stood in silence, staring into nothingness. “Robert, you said that we are a couple now. But, you don’t seem to be happy about this.”
“Because I am not, Mallory,” I replied as I turned around, locking Lady’s saddle in place.
She asked, “Then, why did you agree if you don’t even want it in the first place?”
I groaned. I couldn’t tell if she was deaf or if she was playing dumb. I already explained everything and she already asked the same thing, over and over again. “Mallory, didn’t it occur to you?” I asked as I turned around to her. “I did it for you.”
Her lips slowly formed into a smile and hugged me again. “You do love me,” she uttered.
I removed her arms from me, holding her firmly as I looked into her eyes. “Let me repeat this for you, Mallory: I agreed to this because I want for you to stop for your profession of love. I didn’t do it because I have feelings for you,” I explained as I let her go.
“You truly cannot love me?” she asked as her eyes swelled once more.
I closed my eyes as I sighed, my hands were now on my waist. I had somewhere I wanted to be, and Mallory was a nuisance at this point. “Mallory, no matter what you say or do, I love you as my sister. All I can ever give to you is friendship,” I replied.
“But, now that we have some sort of relationship, why don’t you try to love me for real?” she asked as she started crying.
I sighed once again as I ensured that Lady’s saddle was locked. I looked back to Mallory. “Mallory,” I said with a gentle voice, carefully wiping a tear, “I agreed to be with you until my next birthday. A year isn’t enough to know if you truly love someone.”
She sniffled. She replied, “I understand that you can’t offer any more than what you already included in the deal. But… can’t we be together for the rest of our lives?”
“You know I can’t do that. You know that I already have a bride waiting for me. And once I reach my next birthday, we are to be wed after,” I said.
“So, you’d rather marry someone you don’t even know, than to be with someone who you knew since birth?” Mallory complained.
“Mallory, I don’t have a choice. It’s a decree between our parents,” I answered, hopping onto Lady. I added, “And like what I’ve said numerous times already: I only see you as my sister. Therefore, in that sense, I can’t be with you.”
And with that, I gave Lady a bit of kick on her side, and we went on our way to the Mortal Realm.
Lady and I finally arrived in Bullingar, and the streets were busier than before. Perhaps, because it was already afternoon, people might be buying what they needed at the very last minute. I was looking around when a specific voice caused my head to turn. Right then and there, a familiar face stood out from the crowd. I got off Lady and walked towards her whilst I pulled Lady along. “How much for the apples?” Laura asked the vendor as I stood behind her, keeping my silence. “Twenty gold coins for a barrel,” the vendor replied. “Twenty gold pieces?! That’s outrageous!” Laura exclaimed. “I understand that it isn’t a reasonable price. But for the past few days, trade has been made a lot harder for everyone,” the vendor snapped back. “Are you even a rich person to complain?” “I am,” I intervened. Laura immediately turned around. As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened in shock. “Robert, what are you doing here?” she asked. “Just trust me,” I smiled as I stepped forward. I handed
Grandpa Ben didn’t seem to be furious with Laura. But she was still in trouble because she took so long. And it wasn’t even her fault, it was mine. “Pardon, Grandpa Ben?” I spoke from behind Laura. Both of them turned in my direction. “Oh, hello there, dear boy,” Grandpa Ben smiled. “Were you here all this time? Come closer,” he continued as he gestured for me to come closer to him. In haste, I stepped forward. “Grandpa Ben, please don’t give Laura such a hard time. It was all my fault that she took so long in the marketplace. I was the reason behind it,” I explained without giving Grandpa Ben any moment to speak. “Is that so?” he asked with his arms still crossed. “And why is that?” “I was taking a stroll in the marketplace of Bullingar when I heard her arguing with the vendor,” I answered. “I paid for the barrel and on our way back, we had a bit of a misunderstanding about who’s going to ride on Lady, my horse. That’s what kept us in the marketplace.” “And why were you arguin
As we made our way through the vast plains and a few hills, I was left in awe as I took in the whole scenery in front of me. It was… breath-taking. It was beautiful to be able to see nothing but grass, majestic trees, and colourful flowers, as well as how the slopes looked. This view was definitely better than the view that I had from my balcony. “This place…” I said, my mind drifting off slowly as I tried to form a coherent sentence. The beauty of this place rendered me speechless. It was as if all the words were taken from my mouth. “Don’t worry, I understand how you feel right now,” she giggled as she found me dumb-founded. “That’s the same thing that I said when I first discovered this place,” she continued. She hopped down from her horse, and I followed suit. We walked towards a hill. A tree stood on top of it, tall and proud. “When did you find this place?” I asked. “When I was first brought into the town, I looked for a place that only I knew about. A hideout, to put it si
Laura scoffed in disbelief. “Trust me, there is no one,” she said. “That’s impossible, Laura. A simple admiration is a normal emotion to have,” I replied. “Well,” she then played with her fingers, “There is someone that I like. And there is someone, who I believe, is trying to gain my affections.” My heart stopped as soon as she said that. Her admission destroyed my hopes that maybe she was the one for me. But, it would seem that her heart was already occupied. “Really?” I asked as I tried to hide the pain that was about to come out of my voice. I asked again, “Can you tell me who they are? For sure, I’ve never met them before.” “For now, I’d like to keep things to myself. It’s something that I don’t want others to worry about because it’s not for them to think about,” she answered. “I understand. But, perhaps, you can describe them?” I asked, still hoping that she would tell me more. “The one who, I think, likes me is very sophisticated, to say the least. He acts as if he was
A little while later, we arrived at Leo’s stable. I hopped down Lady as Laura allowed Leo to rest. Once her champion had settled, we headed to the front of the bakery. “Thank you for the stroll and stories, Robert. I enjoyed it,” Laura broke the silence between us. Couldn’t she tell that I had been trying to pacify the storm inside me? Was I not sending enough signs for her to realise that? “Well, I guess this is where we part ways,” she turned to me as we arrived in front of the bakery. “Thank you again, Robert,” she repeated as she turned around, making her way back inside. My mouth suddenly blurted, “Are you not–” I stopped myself before I could even continue. Laura stopped on her tracks. She turned around and returned to me. She then asked, “Is there something that you want to tell me, Robert?” “I just…” I trailed off as I fought the urge to speak out; the urge that was pushing me to the edge. It was forcing me to tell her what I had been feeling ever since we left the field
I turned my head and watched as Mallory entered the stables. “Oh, hello, Mallory,” I greeted neutrally. “Where have you been?” she asked. My brows furrowed. “Why do you ask?” I replied with a question. “Because I need to know,” her lips formed a firm line as she walked towards me. “Are you even my mother to know my whereabouts?” I replied sarcastically. I turned around and proceeded to the entrance, only to be stopped by her again. She protested right away, “I deserve to know because we are in a relationship.” “Our relationship is not real to begin with, Mallory,” I rolled my eyes as I turned back to her. “I don’t care what kind of a relationship that we have!” she suddenly shouted. She continued, “We are a couple now, which gives me the right to know everything about you!” I completely turned to her direction and towered over her. “As far as I know, you can only act that way when the relationship is real. A relationship where both people love each other, and are willing to su
“A woman?!” Benjamin asked in a sudden outburst. “Keep it down, Benjamin!” I shushed him in a panic. I didn’t want the maids to turn our conversation into another source of gossip for them. I continued, “Yes, I met a woman in the Mortal Realm.” He asked another, “And let me guess: you took a liking to this lady, didn’t you?” All of a sudden, Gonzalo arrived. With him was a cart, containing the wine, and everything else that I asked for him to bring. After a mountain of hesitation, I answered, “Well, I can’t say that I don’t.” Gonzalo finally reached us and prepared everything for us. “Is she a part of the upper class, working class or the lowest class of all?” Benjamin continued with his questions as our goblets were handed over to us. “I cannot consider her as part of the lowest class of society. She does, however, work to support herself,” I said as Gonzalo half-filled my cup with wine. I could only drink this much because I never drank wine. Unless, of course, if it was for a
As soon as James’ door was in sight, his guards immediately crossed his spears, blocking the entrance. “Your Highness,” one of them greeted, “His Majesty is currently in a meeting. Do you have a message for him?” “Gonzalo mentioned that His Majesty summoned me. I’m surprised that you didn’t know that,” I said, keeping my composure. The two guards looked at each other, confused and horrified. The other guard answered, “Accept our deepest apologies, Your Highness. Please, don’t take us as incompetent. However, as long as the king is in a meeting, we don’t allow anyone in.” Suddenly, the door opened and James’ page appeared. “Your Highness,” he bowed, “Is there something that I can help you with?” “His Majesty has asked me to fetch the young prince,” Gonzalo entered the conversation. “That’s the reason why His Highness is here.” James’ page looked at us, confused. “Did he, now?” he slowly turned to Gonzalo with an icy stare. He remarked, “I’m the king’s royal page. If he were to summ