~ Twenty-One - Season I ~

Water rushed in from every corner that I turned to.

As I ran through the long corridor, I searched for the ones I was with. Everyone was screaming as they ran to save their lives. And all I could do was to follow the direction where everybody was headed.

“Robert!” a voice shouted my name from behind me.

I turned around to see who it was, only to be carried in the arms of a man.

“Hold onto me, son,” the man said as he pulled my head closer to his shoulder. “You’re safe. I’m here.”

It was my father and he was running in the same direction that I was.

“Darling, hurry!” a woman in front of us shouted as she turned her head to our direction. It was Mother. She was holding my sister’s hand as we all ran.

My father was about to catch up to them when suddenly, he slipped. He lost his grip on me and I slid to the left side of the ship. It was already filled with water, deep enough for me to be submerged into.

“Robert! Hold on!” my father screamed as I did my best to keep my head above water.

“Robert!” Mother shouted my name as well.

After a few seconds, I was fully underwater.

~*~*~*~

I jolted awake, gasping for air. My shirt was drenched with sweat, my eyes wide open as I frantically looked around my well-lit room.

What a strange nightmare that I just had. It felt… real. It was as if… it truly did happen to me.

‘But, did it really happen?’ I asked myself.

I turned to the window and the sun was already in the sky. I froze as I realised that it was already late in the morning. I was also extremely behind with the reports. I rushed to my bathroom and prepared for the day ahead.

~*~*~*~

Sprinting through the halls of the castle, a voice stopped me, “Your Highness?”

My left foot swung up in the air as I came to a sudden halt. I turned and it was Gonzalo, carrying a tea set. “Yes, Gonzalo?”

“Her Majesty has a message for you,” he replied as he walked towards me.

“Make it brief, Gonzalo. I have a lot of things to do,” I said.

Gonzalo said, “She has spoken with Her Royal Majesty, Queen Marta, the mother of Princess Lorain. According to their agreement, you shall accompany your mother to the Kingdom of Middle Earth, where you will meet with Queen Marta. You are to leave before dawn breaks.”

I was to leave tomorrow and Laura hasn’t answered my letter yet. A week had already passed and still, I received no word from her.

“Thank you for letting me know, Gonzalo. Is my mother home?” I asked.

“She is currently in the library with Her Royal Highness. They just finished their late morning tea together,” Gonzalo replied as he briefly lifted the tray he was holding. “I also carry a message from His Royal Majesty. Shall I deliver it to you now?” he continued.

I groaned. I could only wonder what he had in store for me this very morning. “If you must,” I said after a sigh.

“His Majesty is currently in his study. He was wondering if you had some time to spare today. He said he would like to go fishing with you, preferably this afternoon,” Gonzalo proceeded with his report.

I blinked slowly as I processed what I just heard. Fishing was the best way he could think of to spend time with me?

“I already have the whole day planned. But, if something changes, tell him that I will come to him personally,” I said.

“Understood, young prince,” he nodded. “Do you have any other questions? Is there anything that I can get for you?”

“Kindly bring my breakfast to my study. Also, has Princess Lorain replied to my last letter?” I returned a question.

“I will consult with the messenger about it, Your Highness. Should there be a reply, I will deliver it with your meal,” Gonzalo replied.

“Thank you very much, Gonzalo. I will be in my study if you need me.” I lowered my head as I excused myself from the conversation.

~*~*~*~

As I attended to the reports on my table, Laura has been in my mind for the past hour. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Her smile, her eyes, her hair, everything was just… it was distracting me. I have shaken my head numerous times already, just to get her out of my mind. But somehow, her image would always reappear.

I also kept an eye at the open window to my left. I never closed it after I sent her the letter. If she followed my instructions properly, the smoke of that letter would head directly here to my study.

I made sure that the spell on the leaf would bring the letter where it was originally written. And I already waited for seven days and still, there was no reply.

Could it be an indication that she didn’t want to see me? That she didn’t want to speak to me? Have I wounded her that much? Was I too rude to her for her to avoid me completely?

A knock came upon my door.

“Enter,” I replied as I cleared a bit of space in front of me.

My door opened but it wasn’t Gonzalo who entered. It was my page who carried in my food. “Your Highness,” he bowed when he reached me.

“Where’s Gonzalo?” I asked as he prepared my meal for me.

“His Majesty asked for Gonzalo’s presence in his study. A maid handed your food over to me and told me it was to be delivered here,” my page explained. “I was also given this,” he then handed over a letter after he finished the preparation.

“Who sent this?” I asked.

“According to the maid, it was a letter you requested from Gonzalo. But he never mentioned where it came from. He only said it was to be given to you immediately,” he replied.

‘Ah, perhaps this was from Princess Lorain,’ I thought to myself.

“Thank you for everything. You may go,” I smiled firmly.

He took his bow and left the room, gently closing the door on his way out.

With care, I opened the letter and smelled it like I always did. Princess Lorain has this eccentric way of sending her letters. The paper she would use always carried the scent of roses and I appreciate that effort of hers.

Her letter read,

“Hello, Robert,

“I understand that your relationship with your father has not improved the slightest. And I can say the same for my mother and I. It has become a frustration of mine. So, I understand how you feel about their unrealistic expectations of us.

“It’s difficult to present yourself as the perfect child, when deep inside, you know you are far from that. And even if you already told them that you are nothing close to perfection, they will still shove the foot of perfectionism down our very throats.

“But, enough about me and all of my woes. Let’s talk about you. I would like to know more of your thoughts as it keeps me from dying under my mother’s leash. Such a strange way of comfort, isn’t it? However, as peculiar as it may sound, your words give me hope. Hope that one day, I will be freed from her grip and that I will be able to breathe on my own.

“I hope to receive a swift reply from you. This castle - this prison - is going to be the death of me.

“Your friend,

“Lorain.”

Without a doubt, I carried a small smile as I read through her response. She never hid the truth from me, which was something I appreciated about her. People rarely gave that sort of honesty. And if someone such as her would cross my path, I would always carry a deep sense of appreciation for them.

The best thing about our friendship was that we understood each other. We had a bond because of our troubled relationship with one parent. She lost her father too early in life. Therefore, her mother, as queen regent, had all the powers. And she put all of the pressure on the princess, not her two princes. Her brothers would always defend her. But of course, like any other child, they had no power over their queen.

I grabbed a piece of paper and pulled my quill closer to me.

I wrote,

“To the lovely Princess Lorain,

“Like you, I don’t understand why they placed such impossible expectations on us. My nana told me that even immortals can make mistakes. Why can’t they have the same belief for themselves and their children? Not everything is about being perfect. It is about having the ability to learn from our mistakes.

“I also received word that I will be visiting your kingdom. I hope to finally meet you in person, and to be able to know you more.

“Your dear friend,

“Robert.”

Putting the quill down, I folded the paper in three and stamped my royal seal on it. I set it aside and ate my breakfast. My stomach has been grumbling ever since I woke up and I feel incredibly faint. If I skipped my meal for a minute longer, I might not be awake the next time someone would walk into my study.

~*~*~*~

An hour had passed, I finished my breakfast and half of the reports were accomplished. I stared at the finished pile of documents and decided that they were ready to be returned to James’ desk.

“Page?” I called.

My page rushed into the room, bowing as he stood in front of me.

“Kindly ring the service bell for me. I need to sort out my soiled plates and the reports as well,” I said as I stood from my chair. “I’ll be needing Gonzalo for a task.”

He nodded and ran to the corner of my room. As my service bell rang, I put my plates and utensils back on the tray. After that, I secured the finished piles of reports. In the back of my mind, however, I was still focused on waiting for Laura’s reply.

I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about her, what she must’ve felt after my poor actions. I could only hope that I would be given a second chance to prove myself to her; that I wasn’t the horrible person that I painted myself to be.

A few minutes later, Gonzalo arrived. “You called for me, Your Highness?” he bowed as he stood before me.

“Thank you for coming, Gonzalo. First, I finished my food,” I said as I handed my tray to him. I walked over to the finished pile, putting my hands on top of it, “These are done and ready to be sent back to James. And here,” I grabbed my letter for Princess Lorain and handed it over to Gonzalo, “This is my response to Princess Lorain. Have this sent out as soon as possible, please.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” he bowed briefly, “I’ll have some of His Majesty’s household deliver the reports for you.” He then went on his way, followed by my page.

I sighed as I walked towards the window. Looking out, the servants were occupied with their duties in the garden. As usual, they carried a smile on their faces. It was as if they were content with the lives they lived. And I could only wish for that genuine happiness in my life.

Suddenly, the wind whistled gently. And gradually, it grew louder. I turned to the window I left open and the curtains beside it swung violently. Moments later, a gust of glistening dust entered through the window. And it landed on the table where I wrote my letter for Laura.

She has responded!

I rushed to the table and immediately closed the window, preventing any of the particles from being blown away. After a simple spell, the dust turned into a letter. I carefully opened it and inside, the enchanted leaf was there.

The letter read,

“Robert,

“I don’t understand your instructions, and why you specifically told me to follow them. But, I guess I have to trust you since you were the one who sent a letter first.

“For what happened on that day - the day we met - I don’t think it’s worth talking about anymore. I can only brush it under the rug. Perhaps, something crossed your mind that made you act in such a way. And I forgive you for that. We all have our moments where our mood would suddenly shift to a different one.

“Forgive me if I took so long to reply. I thought you needed some space to get some weight off of your mind.

“I would love to see you again, Robert. I feel comfortable around you. And I’m glad that I met a person whom I can consider as a friend.

“Laura.”

My heart was relieved as I read her response. She wasn’t mad. She forgave me too easily. She thought that I was going through something that caused my sudden outburst.

I had no words to describe this woman. I couldn’t fathom how she had such a big heart to understand, to think of different perspectives for everything?

I quickly slid her letter into my pocket and ran out of my room, headed for the stables.