Chapter Seven

"Oh my…" I say as we make our way to the top of the hill. "That is beautiful." I say as we look down the hill to the valley. It was covered in wildflowers and separated in the middle by a small creek with clear water.

"Isn't it. My father wanted to move us all here but the unstable relationship with Cordona and my mother prevented that."

"Your mother?"

"She always liked being in the city, in the middle of the social scene. This was our serenity away from all that, she wanted to keep it separate. Moving here would bring people here over time and spoil the serene wilderness."

"That makes sense."

We stood there and looked out at the view for a little while. I could feel his hand brushing against mine and I jerked it away.

"It's so nice to get out of that room. That won't happen as much once the rainy season seeps in again."

"We usually get the tail end here. Hopefully it won't be so bad." He says then turns to me. "Come with me, I want to show you something else."

"O-ok." I say. He takes my hand and leads me back towards the woods. We walk into the woods for a few minutes, guards not far behind us but far enough they couldn't hear our conversation.

"Wh-where are we going?" I ask.

"Just trust me." That's all he ways until we get to our destination – a steep, rocky drop off. He sits down and gently pulls me down to the ground with him. He scoops me up and puts me in his lap.

"Ai-Aidan."

"Don't make a big fuss."

"B-But they're…"

"Turn around." He shouted to the guards. They looked like they wanted to say something at first but the longer Aidan stared them down the more hesitant they looked until they gave in and turned around.

"There," he whispered into my ear, "now no one is watching." He said then nibbled on my ear.

"S-stop." I say as I squirm to get away.

"Hey," he says as he holds onto me, "stop squirming, you won't like what happens if you don't."

"Ai-Aidan."

"Or maybe you will. We did have one hell of a final night together all those years ago."

"S-stop teasing me."

He chuckled. "Now where's the fun in that?"

"Wh-why don't you tell me where we are. And why you brought me here?"

"Hmm," he said then turned his gaze back to the drop off. "Do you see the smoke way off in the distance there?"

"Y-yes."

"That is coming from Cordova."

"Th-the capital?"

"Of Cordona…yes."

"Wh-why are you telling me that?"

"Because I used to sneak out here as a boy and look at that smoke from a distance and I was always drawn to it…I couldn't explain it to my parents when they'd catch me out here. But it's like something was drawing me to that city."

"R-really?"

"I think it was you." He said in a hushed tone of voice.

"W-what?"

"You were there weren't you? In the city?"

"I-I only moved there when I was nine."

"So, what, eleven years ago?" He asked. I looked up at him. His eyes were different, softer, calmer, more at peace somehow.

"Once…I told you how old I was once."

"I told you, I remember everything."

"Y-yes, we moved there eleven years ago. Sometimes I wish we never did. Wish father never became a palace guard."

"So you wish Prince Osamu had died?"

"N-no of course not!"

"If your father had not saved him, he would have died that day."

"And we never would've gone to the castle, father wouldn't have died, brother wouldn't have become a knight and died in battle, mother never died of heartache…it's strange, how one choice changes your whole life." I say and lean my head back on his chest.

"I wish with all my heart that we would've met exactly as I said before." He fidgeted for a moment before he pulled something from his pocket. It was a plain box with no wrapping or lettering but looked old and worn out. He stared down at it for a moment before he turned his gaze to me.

"I-I got this for you. I was going to give it to you the day I was taken away."

"You…got this for me?" I asked as I looked at it.

"It isn't much. I have many more gifts on the way, better more extravagant gifts but I…"

"Can I open it?" I ask. He hands over the box and I slowly open it to see a small, shiny pink hair pin.

I suck in a small amount of air when I see it. It's beautiful. I'm in awe that a 15-year old boy could have been so thoughtful. It's the exact one I was looking at when he first saw me, I'm sure of it.

"You hate it don't you? It's too small…"

"N-no. I love it Aidan. It's beautiful."

"Can I…put it in your hair?"

"Y-yes." I say. He takes it out of the box, gingerly pulls some of my hair to the side and puts the pin in my hair.

"It's not too childish?"

"Not at all. It's so thoughtful." I turn around to look at him and then wrap my arms around him. He seemed surprised at first but he hugs me back. He seemed relieved by my response.

I pull back slightly, my arms still resting on his shoulders as I smile at him. His hands move up to the top of my back and he pulls me in slowly until our lips meet. It's gentle at first but as it deepens it becomes wild and passionate.

I finally have to pull away to catch my breath and try to gain some composure. He leans forward and rests his forehead on mine, our noses gently brushing each other.

"You saved me you know." He says.

"Hm?" I mutter as I look up at him.

"I was out here the day they came…they thought I was just a random boy at first and took me as a slave. If I was in the castle when they came…I'd be dead."

"Then it sounds like a fortunate coincidence."

"No, I don't believe that. I was out here sneaking a peek at the beautiful girl in Cordova."