Connection

"Come in.",the Duke said, and the humble servant with letter in hand walk towards him with heavy eyes.

The Duke felt terribly terrified, and when the letter with it's scent of lavender, was finally handed to him.

He opened it with his heart racing inside his chest.

The letter read;

To His Majesty,

I sent this letter to you in hope that you will read it. I will not make this long, for I know that you are a busy man. But I also know that you are the dearest friend of my father whom have provided you his services all throughout his life. He had always remained loyal, and you had always remained sincere to him. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, because if not for you, my father could not have raised me. I write to you with a heavy heart, for my beloved father, whom considered you as his lifelong friend, has already passed away. It is not my intention to ask anything of you but I'm sure that my father would be happy if you, his friend, his brother, can see him for one last time. I have written on the back of this paper the place where he lies in peace, one with the earth and nature that he so hold dear in his heart.

Sincerely yours,

The Gardener's Daughter

    Tears rolled uncontrollably from the Duke's eyes. His one true friend, his brother by heart, has passed away, without him even getting the chance to say farewell.

"Your Majesty?", The servant said with a single flower in his hand.

"This... came with the letter."

The Duke was breathing heavily, and his cheeks flushed because of crying couldn't hold back his sobs. He took the flower, and admire it even as tears were streaming down from his darkened eyes.

The flower with it's many petals were painted with the color of white. It was a common flower known to be as an herb or for decoration, it was a white chrysanthemum. But more importantly, it was the symbol of death.

    After receiving the letter, the Duke immediately set out to travel to where his friend was buried, and when he finally reached his destination, he saw a young lady with her back facing him. Wearing a dress with the color of pink, and with a parasole to protect her from the sun that seems to have hidden as soon as he arrived.

With a bouquet of white chrysanthemum in his hand, the Duke slowly approached the grave of the man he wishes to bid farewell to. The young lady noticed him but did not look at him at all, instead she was staring straight to her father's grave.

The Duke placed the bouquet on top of his friend's grave and silence ruled over the two people standing on the hill with trees surrounding it, and a body of a dearly beloved,  under it's earth.

"I...", The Duke tried to start a conversation but it was useless, for even he doesn't know what to even say. Especially, to someone who had just lost her only family, the only person who was both her mother and father. He knows all too well what it feels like,and it was not a feeling, he would want to experience ever again but here he is, grieving, and hurting so much inside that he felt like knives were stabbing his heart over and over again, over the loss of a dear friend whom he considered his family, his one and only brother, not by blood but by bond.

He swore not to cry in front of his friend, because he decided to let him go with a smile. But things were not really going his way that particular day.

"It's alright, your Majesty. It's alright to cry. Because I too, have been crying ever since the moment that I lost him. He is the only family that I had. He raised me all alone, and loved me dearly. But now...he is gone. And, no matter how much I wish that this was a dream that I would wake up from once the pain has gone, it could never, and will never be a dream."

The girl slightly tilted her head and gaze upon the bouquet of flowers on her father's grave.

"Chrysanthemums were my mother's favorite flower and my father would tell me it was his favorite too because it reminded him so much of my mother who left us early because of her sacrifice to give birth to me. But now, the two of them can finally reunite. How my father must have missed my mother so, I will never know."

The Duke with tears already rolling down his face looked at the young lady who slowly directed her gaze at him. Her eyes were bloodshot with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes says everything, sorrow, pain, loss, and grief that the Duke is all too familiar with.

Both of them lost someone very important today, and both of them shares that pain.

"More than a dream, this feels like a nightmare. He was a good friend, a brother and someone I hold dear in my heart. And, not being able to say proper farewells, not even being by his side in his last moments, how dare  I say that I am a brother to him? I came here to ask for forgiveness, from you, and your father, who I am so proud of. Thus, milady. I ask of you, your forgiveness. I am sincerely sorry for your loss.", The Duke said with his voice breaking,"I am so sorry."

The young lady, broke down and sobbed so hard that she started wailing with her hands covering her face, dropping the parasole that she was carrying.

The Duke could not bear the scene that unfolded before him, and with the heart of fondness that immediately grew upon seeing the young woman made him act and embrace her. The poor young lady was trembling as she cry and not long did she return the Duke's comforting embrace, and let all her feelings out, crying on his chest until she calmed down.

The Duke stayed by her side, and continued comforting her until she calms down.

The two in that instant, felt a connection being made. One that will be the spark of the beginning of a legend.

One that will be remembered for people who so wish to know the Legend of Smeraldo.

It is only the beginning.

     A month or so, passed Emerald City. The Duke carried on with his duty as royalty and from time to time, he would venture out of his room to go to the main garden of the palace where a bright and beautiful young lady, the new gardener that tends to the flowers that adore the palace's landscape, can be found.

The daughter of his old friend, was a fine young lady, with a passion for nature just like her father who had passed away. And, the Duke was sure that wherever his friend might be, he was watching over his daughter proudly. She was a skilled gardener with an eye for design and flowers just like her father.

The young gardener was immediately recognized by the other servants, and it eased the Duke to know that the servants were very welcoming of her.

He smiles to himself as the sky clear up, and it's color of azure reflected on his eyes as he look at it.

The gardener with her work done, noticed his Majesty and from her eyes, care and a gentle feeling of adoration can be easily seen, only if the Duke would look her way.

She clean herself of dirt and sweat, then with a little bit of courage she walk up to His Majesty, and greet him with a smile.

"Goodmorning, your Majesty.", The gardener politely said.

She caught the Duke's attention, and he immediately smiled upon seeing her.

"Goodmorning.", He said with a warm and soft tone that was pleasant for one's ears.

"It's a rare sight for me to see you out of your room. Is something the matter, your Highness?"

"No, nothing at all. It's just that... I suddenly have the urge to see the sky in it's beautiful splendor that I have not seen for a long time ever since I decided to lock myself up in that awful room of mine.", The Duke said in a playful tone in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

"Is that so? Then, may I have the honor to admire this simple scenery with you?"

The Duke catching the gaze of the gardener with a vibe of something he could not at all quite understand, made him feel quite attracted with her.

"Of course, m-my pleasure."

Thus a long conversation between the two started, both with hearts unknowingly beating for each other. It was a connection that was not something both of them could escape.

And, if there were a deeper and more precise word for it other than love, then that is what it was.