Aramis, Aurnia, and the Cherry Blossoms

"Good morning, Father, Mother." Aurnia greeted her parents, who were now breaking their fast at the long table of their dining hall.

She cheerfully sat two chairs away on her father's left.

"Good morning as well, my sweet girl. Have you had a good sleep?" Her mother, Queen Ysmena, greeted her back with a sweet smile planted on her face.

Meanwhile, King Andruche only gave her a swift glance to acknowledge her presence, and that's all there was to it.

Aurnia was already used to how her father treated her. Ever since she got a mind of her own, she rarely remembered her father bonding with her.

At first, her father's treatment towards her saddened her, but as she grew up, she got used to it and was already too numb to feel any sadness. She coped with her loneliness on her own. Besides, she made herself believe that her father was too busy running the kingdom to even spend time with her.

She began slicing her bread on her plate and putting butter on it when Aramis entered the dining hall with his usual passive expression.

"Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness." Aramis greeted them with a slight bow and a nonchalant voice before stationing himself in the corner to wait for her.

A week has passed since her father appointed him as her royal confidant to teach her basic etiquette and to make sure she would attend all her classes. In short, a babysitter.

Every morning, he would come to the dining hall at exactly nine in the morning, wait for her to finish eating, then escort her everywhere she goes. That's his usual routine.

"Great morning to you as well, Aramis. You never missed your schedule, eh?" Her father returned Aramis' greetings and quipped about never being late.

Her father's demeanor toward Aramis no longer surprised her. He was always praising Aramis in front of her, which irked her.

'I know Father only does that to compare me with him again.' She thought bitterly.

She took her bread and ate it before she sneakily glanced at the boy several feet away, who was staring in front, unperturbed by their presence.

'You should learn from Aramis, Aurnia.'

She remembered what her father told her last week when she tried to complain about Aramis to him.

She learned her lesson that day, and she will never again try to complain about Aramis to her father. Instead, she will just wait for him to make a mistake and ruin his reputation before King Andruche.

"By the way, Father, I didn't miss any lessons last week." She eagerly told her father about her progress. She was deliberately trying to brag in front of Aramis.

Her father, King Andruche, took the napkin and wiped it on his lips when he was done eating. Then he looked at her. "That's because of Aramis, Aurnia. If it wasn't for him, your hundredth governess would probably have left again because of your pranks." Andruche replied to her with a stern look.

'Aramis again.' She thought frustratedly.

It felt like she had eaten her own tongue, unable to respond to her father.

She bit her tongue to stop herself from crying in front of her father. King Andruche hates it when she cries in front of him.

"Andruche... it is still our daughter's progress." Her mother nagged, which only earned a shrug from her father.

Aurnia saw Aramis' furrowed brows in her peripheral vision.

She pressed her lips together tightly and held her spoon and fork in a tight grip.

'I bet he was satisfied that Father didn't care about me, ' Filling her mind with angry thoughts.

"Stop lecturing me, Ysmena." The king responded to the queen with a foreboding expression. He then reached for his glass and gulped down the water before he cast the young Aurnia a sidelong look. "I was only telling her the truth. If she could not handle it, then it only means that her progress is still meager." King Andruche declared with a harsh voice.

He then pushed his seat backward and rose to his feet. "I'm going now." He announced, then he looked at Aramis. "Make sure to teach Aurnia everything that you think she lacks, Aramis."

"Yes, your Majesty." Aramis nodded and bowed at the king, who was walking towards the exit of the dining hall.

As soon as the king left, Aurnia dashed outside without saying goodbye to her mother and was teary-eyed.

"Aurnia... " Queen Ysmena whispered while looking at her daughter with a sad expression.

She just sat there, staring into space and heaving multiple sighs.

Aramis looked at the door, then slowly went to the queen.

"If I may, your Royal Highness, I must exit already." He politely asked the queen's permission.

The queen's emerald orbs searched for Aramis' gaze. "Please... " She told Aramis softly. "I know that my Aurnia is stubborn, but please, when you find her and she starts ranting, just listen to her Aramis. That's what she needs right now." The queen cooed tearfully.

"Understood, your Royal Highness." He then walked out of the door to chase Aurnia.

***

Aramis has been looking for the princess for two hours already, circling around her chamber and the other chambers but couldn't find her.

He tried looking for her in the nearby gardens and even in the stables, but the princess was not in sight.

'Where is she hiding? She already missed two classes.' He thought while jogging slowly through the kingdom's secluded garden, where cherry blossom trees grow.

Going here was a hunch.

When he reached the massive fountain in the center, he jogged a little more towards the array of cherry blossoms, whose leaves are starting to fall off the branches.

'There she is.'

"How did you manage to climb a tree with a ball gown, your Highness?" He said while staring at her lavender ball gown skirt with curiosity in his eyes.

The princess seemed to get startled slightly upon hearing his voice out of the blue. Fortunately, she was sitting on one of the branches, so she doesn't worry too much about falling.

"Are you here to spite me about my father's cold treatment towards me? Are you going to brag that you were right about my father's inclination towards me?" Aurnia sulked with a pout.

She was swaying her dangling feet while staring into space.

"If I say no, will you even believe me?"

The swaying of her feet stopped when she noticed the change in Aramis' tone. He didn't sound like his usual nonchalant, stern voice; instead, there was a tinge of warmth in the way he asked her.

"Do you?" She asked him, turning around to see his expression.

The young boy nodded earnestly to her. He didn't smile, but she could sense his sincerity in his words.

She turned away from him again and started swaying his feet. "Because you pity me, right?" She pouted again.

Aramis walked towards the tree and leant his back on the trunk. "No, again. In fact, I don't agree with your father's demeanor towards you."

"You do?" Aurnia's voice broke, as if on the verge of crying.

He panicked since he doesn't know how to handle crying girls or women.

"Anyway... you still didn't answer my question. How did you end up there, with that huge ball gown that you were wearing?" He diverted the topic and glanced at her.

"I don't know as well. I was so upset that I tried climbing this tree. I was as surprised as you when I did. Now, I don't know how to climb down without breaking my limbs." She answered honestly, still wearing that pout.

Aramis could not hold back his laughter. His shoulders shook vigorously at the funny reply of the princess. "Hahaha, this is unbelievable!" He cried in between his laughter.

Aurnia, on the other hand, looked at Aramis with mystified eyes. He looked good while laughing; it was as if his face lightened up all of a sudden. "Why don't you just help me get down instead of laughing at me!" She nagged the laughing boy.

The young boy tried to stifle his laughter and looked at Aurnia with a straight face. A glint of amusement was still evident in his eyes, but he was no longer laughing.

"Why do you always end up in trouble, your Highness?" He quipped before he went in front of her.

He checked the branch where she was sitting and saw that it wasn't too far from the ground.

He positioned himself below the branch and stretched out his arms toward her. "Jump."

Her eyes widened, "Jump? Are you insane? I'm the princess! What would others say if they saw me jumping from a tree?" She exclaimed, then shook her head. "No, no. I won't." She declined vigorously.

He clicked his tongue and squinted his eyes at her. "There you are with your 'I'm the princess', and if you don't like my suggestion, then I'll take my leave. I'm sure someone during the night will find you." He told her and began walking away.

The young princess sighed, then closed her eyes desperately. "Wait!" She yelled, which prompted him to stop walking. "Fine, I'll do it." She surrendered.

He went back in front of her with a smirk, then stretched his arms towards her.

"Make sure you catch me, Aramis, or else I'll be the one who will give the order to banish you from this kingdom." She threatened with a quavering voice.

"Aye, aye, aye." He chanted while clicking his tongue.

'Ugh, dear Lord... ' She prayed silently as she looked down on Aramis below her.

"At the count of three, your Highness." He told her.

"One..."

Since she was overwhelmed with fear and panic, she jumped right at one. "Aaaaaaah...."

The young boy turned into panic when she saw her falling towards her, which left him with no choice but to catch her with his arms.

A loud thud erupted when they fell to the ground. She was desperately closing her eyes when she heard him grunt loudly.

"Aaaaahh... " She screamed again when she opened her eyes, Aramis' face was so close to hers.

That was when she realized their position. She was on top of him, while Aramis' arms were wrapped around her waist.