A Distant Memory : Part I

A young man dashed through an alley as men clad in casual wear frantically chased after him. Their faces twisted in anxiousness as they sped down the narrow passage of bricked walls.

"Please slow down, Your Ma--- Young Master!" one of the man yelled out as he avoided a pedestrian who was walking through the alley, quickly apologising before turning his gaze back to the young man.

"Why should I? I'm running away aren't I?" the young man yelled back excitedly as he jumped onto the brick railing, quickly making his way across the busy paved road bustling with crowds of people.

"Young mas---" the voice of the man running after the young man trailed off, drowned off by the sound of the street vendors and customers who were haggling.

The young man let out a sigh of relief as he looked left and right, reassuring himself that he had finally lost them.

I finally managed to get out of that stuffy palace. Then they want to stick by my side? Ugh. That would be no different than being on a mission. Good thing I lost them. The young man thought to himself, shaking his head in solemn disagreement as he jumped off the brick railing.

Just as he jumped off, he failed to notice the sight of a huge bouquet of colourful flowers obscuring his view as his eyelids fluttered open. He then bumped into it and fell backwards with a loud thud. As he regained his bearings and looked upwards, loose flower petals scattered across the street, filling the air with a fragrant and sweet scent. 

The whole street was littered with falling petals of various flowers, array of colours ranging from pastel colour all the way to a dark hue of petals. The townspeople were amused by the scene and laughed jovially as some even began dancing about.

The young man clicked his tongue, oblivious to the actual joy that he brought about in the situation and brushed off some dust from his dark green vest, annoyed by the fact that he bumped into something and made a huge fuss. He would be found quickly if he stayed there after all.

He moved to get out of the area before feeling a firm grip on his lower arm. Turning towards the person grabbing his arm, the young man had a look of annoyance painted upon his handsome face.

"Who do you think you're tou--" before he could finish his sentence, his eyes locked with a girl with light brown hair and violet coloured irises. The words completely vanishing from his mind as he opened and shut his mouth, imitating a goldfish.

With the petals flowing gently down, it felt like a scene straight out of a fairytale. Their eyes locked for a brief moment, but that was all it took for the young man to feel the rush of adrenaline in his veins, sending the bloodrush to his head. 

The young man was at a lost of words as he stared into the girl's beautiful round eyes. They're mesmerising... The young man thought before the girl squeezed his arm tightly.

"Ow! What?!" The young man winced from the firm grip on his arm as he stared at the girl's hand which was wrapped tightly against his arm. His senses returned from the tight pain that his face morphed into a dissatisfied expression, one that he couldn't control despite being a master at concealing his emotions.

"... your leg off!" the girl growled beneath her breath as she tightened her grip on the man's arm.

"What?! Ow ow ow! It hurts! Let go!" the young man cried out as he tried wrestling his arm from her firm grip.

"You, get YOUR leg off first!" the girl growled as she glared at him. Her eyes ablaze with fury.

"What?" the young man muttered as he peered down towards his foot. A single blue flower was stuck beneath his foot.

"It's just a flower." the young man said as he continued to tug at his arm, struggling to free himself from the girl's pincer-like hold.

"You! Watch your tongue! It's a living thing as well! It had to grow, bloom and die just for people to appreciate it! Right now, you stepping on it is dishonouring a noble being!" the girl lectured as she twisted her hand, making the young man grimace from the pain.

"Grr... what are you talking about? ... A flower? Noble? Pfft. What a joke." the young man groaned, grimacing from the now throbbing lower arm that was still held firmly in the girl's grasp. His voice laced with sarcasm as he tried fighting off the wincing pain from his lower arm.

It feels like my arm is being ripped off! How is such a frail looking girl able to do this?! The young man wondered as he pried his eyes opened to stare at the girl who was now gritting her teeth, glaring at him.

"Tsk. People like you are exactly why mankind shouldn't exist on this planet." the girl grimaces as she finally lets go of the man's arm. Her face one that was crunched with scorn for him.

The young man falls back down onto the paved streets as puffs of fallen petals rose up into the air, only to flutter down slowly once more, landing on the dumbstrucked man. He stared in disbelief at the girl who just grabbed him and let him fall down as she clapped her hands together, seemingly as if she was done taking out the trash.

She then bent down and picked up the flowers that were scattered on the ground, kicking the young man's foot away from the flower that he had stepped on.

The young man was baffled by her actions and was about to reprimand her when she glared at him again. His mouth shut tightly as he silently rubbed at his sore arm, finally rising up from the paved street.

The girl then quickly hurried by him, purposely bumping into his shoulder as she carried the huge bouquet of flowers away into the crowd of people lining the street, disappearing in their midst. 

Tsk. What a crazy girl... The young man thought as he watched her small back receed into the distance along with the huge bouquet of flowers.

He then rolled up his sleeve as he stared at his arm which had now turned red and have fingernail marks etched into his skin. The young man then brushed his fingers lightly over the marks absent-mindedly.

Crazy how tight her grip was. That's sure to bruise. Imagine that a commoner left a mark on the body of a prince. The young man sighed at his thought before mentally scoffing at the absurdity of the situation.

He then clicked his tongue as he moved to leave the area only to stop once more in his tracks. He bent down and picked up the petal of the flower he had stepped on; staring at it blankly.

The petal was of a thin oblong-ovate shape with a light hue of blue to it. What flower is this? The young man thought as he stared at the flower petal.

Ah, that's not it! What am I doing... The young man thought as he shook his head, letting go of the petal before moving away from the spot he was in.

***

Days had passed since his last encounter with that girl whom he couldn't get out of his head. Her last sentence sounded as if she had lost all hope for mankind and all in all, he regretted their conversation as it had kept the young man lost in thoughts. 

"Tsk. I can't stop thinking about it." the young man said in a loud voice as he suddenly sat upright, slamming his fist against the desk with a 'thud'.

The people in his study jumped as they quickly moved towards him, asking him whether he was fine or not. The young man ignored them and left the room, leaving the people gawking at him behind as he paced quickly through the door.

I don't know why but... I feel like I must see her again... the young man thought as he made his way across the long hallway; ignoring the anxiousness of the people who were following behind him.

The young man clicked his tongue as he ran through the hallway, ignoring their pleas to stop.

"No, Your Highness! Where are you going? Please stop!" a few men asked as they ran after him. "Sir knights! Don't run! We just polished the floor! You may trip!" a few maids cried as one of the two men fell over onto his back.

A little late with the warning there... The young man thought as he opened the window to a balcony, staring at the man who was being helped into standing up by  other men and the concerned maids.

The young man grinned and quickly jumped out of the balcony and onto a nearby tree branch. His body effortlessly glided across the tree branches as he made his way down to the ground flawlessly.

He swiftly ran into the bushes as he dug around for the hole he had found in the castle wall. The young man then peered from left to right before squeezing his body through the hole, sneakily grabbing onto a cape he had tucked away in case of situations such as this.

***

The young man heaved as he tried catching his breath, sucking air into his oxygen deprived lungs as he whipped his head left to right, searching for signs of that girl.

Just as he was about to give up, a familiar large bouquet entered his field of vision. He sighed a sigh of relief as he approached the moving bouquet with light steps.

***

"Hello. We parted on a rather unpleasant note... So I wish to make amends. That's why... let me carry these." the young man said as he swooped the flowers out of the girl's hands.

"Wha-?!" the girl exclaimed in a startle as she turned towards the young man with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?! Give it back here! I don't care that we ended on a bad or good note! Give back those flowers!" the girl growled as she tried reaching for the flowers only to be limited by her height as the young man swung it high up above his head.

"No way. I'm trying to make amends here. I get that they're precious to you. ... though they're just flowers... but I'll help you carry them as a sign of the sincerity in my apology." the young man said as he held onto the flowers firmly, turning towards the girl with a sweet smile on his face.

The girl kept a neutral expression before turning away from him with a huff before leading the way to the flower shop she worked in, walking a few inches ahead of him.