57 Second (4)
The crest that he was wearing on his chest resembled the one that she saw from the book at the library earlier. She was struck dumbfounded, Carlos remained his head low, and the prince before their very eyes smiled at them. She didn't move a single, she didn't even return the smile. Carlos raised his head, "What are you doing here, your majesty? Were you lost? Where's your personal knight?" Carlos spoke in a worried tone of voice, breaking the silence which surrounded them just earlier. Alexandra pinched herself and felt a stinging pain on the place where she pinched. Seems legit, she thought to herself.
Why do almost all of my encounters happen at a forest, a garden, or somewhere nature surrounded us? The prince spoke in a gentle tone of voice, his voice smooth and silky, "I was curious at where this path leads to and escaped the party because of my curiosity, turns out that I will meet the emperor's daughter here," He said and Alexandra's eyebrows creased. Right, he knows that I'm the emperor's daughter but how did he know? Did someone spied or sneak in the palace and saw me? She asked herself many questions which she knows that she can't answer.
Alexandra took a step back and stood beside Carlos. Carlos looked at her in the corner of his eyes and saw that she had a serious expression on, "Don't worry, their family is one of his highness, your father trusts, they are the only family who knows your existence. They won't hurt you but if they will, I will be there to protect you," It seems like Carlos read the question that lingered inside her mind. When Alexandra heard what he said, she was touched by it and she relaxed, her features softened and all doubt was erased from her mind.
"I-I see…" She muttered and stared at the prince, she returned the smile and bowed. "May the Queenilia's sun shine down upon you, Prince Julian of the Luminaria Kingdom," She did what Carlos did earlier, copying his every action and doing it in a professional and polite manner. Trying to sound formal as much as possible. "Please raise your head, I can't have the emperor's daughter bowing down to me," He said and Alexandra raised her head just like what he told her to do.
Alexandra wants to go back to the palace now. "Then, if you may, we need to take our leave now and go back inside the palace. Please return to the party, your majesty, your parents and personal knight might be looking for you now," Carlos said in a polite tone of voice and Prince Julian smiled at them as he nodded as a response.
"You're right, I need to go back now. Have a wonderful evening, Miss Alexandra and Sir Carlos. It was nice meeting you here, see you next time" Carlos said before he turned his heel and started walking back to the Diamond Palace where the party is being held. Alexandra heaved a sigh, she's not used to meeting other princes aside from her brothers because her identity might be revealed. Carlos looked down on her and smiled, "Please do tell me where you are going, I was scared when I didn't see you beside me. Aside from that, you also met the prince of the Luminaria Kingdom, thankfully, his family is one of the emperor's trusted people and told them about you, what if it was another person?" Carlos was right because of my reckless or careless action, I might be in danger, she thought to herself.
"I'm sorry…" She muttered and Carlos heaved a sigh before offering his hand. "Let's go back to the palace, shall we?" He said in a gentle tone of voice and Alexandra looked up, meeting his warm gaze. His backlit by the moon's light, she can't clearly see his face because it was dark but Alexandra was sure that he was smiling gently and warmly. Alexandra nodded and she placed her hand on top of his. They started walking back to the palace where Diana waits by the door, still wearing her maid uniform with her arms crossed.
"Welcome back, young miss. Did you have a good time as you walked around?" Diana asked and Alexandra nodded. Carlos told her not to tell Diana that they encountered the prince or else she will be furious at him and she will be worried. Alexandra agreed because Diana would also scold her, they kept it a secret between the two.
Alexandra faked a yawn, she wants to go up to her room and take a bath, then lie down her soft bed as she waits for Harrison to appear in her room. "My, my, are you sleepy, young miss? We should go up to your room now, would you like me to carry you?" Diana said as she chuckled and Alexandra smiled at her as she shook her head, "Thank you but I can still walk," Alexandra said and Diana just smiled at her before they started walking towards the stairs up to her room where her bed awaits.
--
After Alexandra took a bath, Diana was now combing her hair. "Young miss' hair is as beautiful as always," Diana complimented her hair once again and combed the hair with the use of her fingers while she used a comb at the same time. Diana once told her that her hair was as beautiful as her mother and it had a pretty color just like her father's hair. Alexandra just remained silent and stared at the mirror in front of her as she watched Diana comb her hair with a gentle expression plastered on her face as always.
"There, I'm done," Diana said and Alexandra stood up. She walked towards her bed and laid down. Diana tucked her in as usual and sat beside her as she stared at her face with a gentle smile plastered on her face, his gaze warm and loving. "Would you like me to tell a story?" Diana asked and Alexandra nodded as a response.
"This one is my favorite one and my mother would occasionally tell me this every night before I go to sleep," Diana said and she took in a breath before she started talking. Her voice was gentle and sweet as she spoke. Alexandra stared at her.
"One day, there was a girl with beautiful luscious black hair and beautiful red eyes. She was trapped inside a tower with no one to talk to. They say that people with red eyes are born with a curse and will one day destroy the whole kingdom, anyone who gets near her or the tower will be beheaded for the curse can be spread or passed to others. However, the girl was just an innocent person who dreams to be free and will one day step out of this tower without being judged by the people and she will be accepted by them. One day as she was staring out of her window, a person, no scratch that, an angel came, a smile was plastered on his face and he looked like a prince because of his features," Diana stopped for a moment to take a breath.
"He was handsome and his green eyes looked warm and gentle just like the morning sun. His skin was pale and his smile was beautiful. He arrived in front of her and said, 'I didn't know that the girl who was said to be cursed was beautiful,' the girl blushed by what he said and chuckled. 'What brings a person like you here? Don't you know that the curse will be passed to you if you get close to me? You better leave before you are caught and beheaded tomorrow morning,' the girl said realizing the punishment that might be given him. However, the boy didn't budge and entered through the window like it was nothing," Diana continued and Alexandra was completely hooked, her full attention was given to Diana as she listened her speak.
"The girl told the boy to leave, she doesn't want anyone to be killed because of her but the boy was hard-headed and remained at the place. Every day, the boy would visit her and she would shoo him off but he will remain and would tell her about what it feels like to be outside. He would occasionally tell her about the stories which he heard from their neighbors or from his interest. Because of that, they became close and treated each other like the best of friends, disregarding what might happen to him if they continued to do this,"
"Until one day, the girl asked her why did he visited her and became friends with her knowing that she has a curse, but the male responded with a melodic laugh which rang inside her ears multiple times, 'I was curious at what kind of person you are and I became interested with you, not in a bad way but I want to be friends with you. Besides, nobody still hasn't proven that you have a curse, the kingdom wasn't destroyed nor something bad happened right after you were born,' the girl was touched by what he said and because of that, she engulfed him with a hug which he gladly returned. While they were hugging, the boy suddenly asked if she wants to run away or escape this tower which is a great risk but the girl agreed and hugged him tightly. The boy promised that he will return tomorrow and he will help her escape. They will live somewhere far away and they will get married because they were in love with each other," Diana suddenly stopped and sadness can be seen from her face. Alexandra's eyebrows creased and wondered why Diana had that expression on after she spoke. She was curious about what happened next.
"And? What happened next? Did he returned?" When Diana heard her last question, she heaved a sigh and smiled sadly at her. "He didn't return and he broke the promise," Diana said, sadness trailing her voice as she spoke. Alexandra felt a tug on her heart, it feels like her heart broke into a million pieces. Her being a sensitive person and who can't handle sad endings like this, she was heartbroken. "Why? What happened?" She asked but Diana shrugged.
"Nobody knows, not even my mother told me what happened to the kid. I decided to ask my father what happened to the boy but he also doesn't know because that story was made by her mother and was made for me only," Diana said as she smiled gently but sadness can be seen from it. Alexandra stared at her and Diana ruffled her hair, "Anyways, I need to go back now. Have a good evening and sleep well young miss," She said before she stood up and walked towards the door.
Alexandra watched her walk towards the door and turn off the lights, making the room dark but half of the room was illuminated by the moon's light. Alexandra heard the door shut and she heaved a sigh, staring at the ceiling. She wondered what happened to the boy, was he beheaded? Did he lie to her? Did he left and forget that everything happened? Was he really in love with the girl? What happened to the girl when he didn't return? Was she heartbroken? Was she sad? Did she forget everything about him? Did she move on and still continued to live in the tower? Did she ran off or escaped?
There were multiple questions inside her head and it was making her crazy thinking about what happened to the boy. It feels like there is something deeper, she thought to herself and heaved a sigh. She rolled around her bed, making her comforter and sheets creased and messy but she didn't care since she was thinking about what happened to the boy. I swear, Diana is sometimes making my head explode in confusion when she tells me stories, she thought to herself and groaned in annoyance.
She sat up and regained her composure. The story was interesting but the ending was sad and confusing, she thought to herself. As she stared at the ceiling above her, a voice was suddenly heard and she was pulled back to reality.
"Why are you staring at the ceiling? Is there something interesting in there that made you ignore my presence?" His voice rang inside her ears and sent a chill down her spine. She looked at the boy on the edge of her bed and smiled, "You're here, Harrison,"
