Forbidden love

Eon and Odette are always together since they are signed to the same post. Every day they would discover new things in the forest. Odette decides to make a journal and put an entry daily. Eon happily helps her since it fascinates him as well. He wanted to do what Odette is doing but he was busy with other things.

Eon realizes during weeks with Odette that he is less and less thinking of Selena and his heart has found its serenity. He is now sitting in a big branch while watching Odette examining a plant. He smiles seeing Odette smiling while writing in her journal. Odette looks at him suddenly, "Eon, come take a look.". He feels nervous and thought, "Did she saw me staring at her? I hope she did not.". He stands up and comes closer to her.

"What is it?', Eon looks at the plant and avoids eye contact with Odette.

Odette points to the back of the leaves. "There are eggs. What do you think it is?". Eon looks closer at the leaves. While he is focusing on the plant, he did not notice that Odette is staring at him. Odette smiles. A while ago, she feels that Eon is watching her intently so to confirm, she suddenly looks at him and told him to look at the plant. And she was right. "And it is cute that you got shy when I caught you.", she thought. She looks at the plant again.

"It is weird, isn't it?". Eon looks at her, "Yes, it is. I had never seen anything like that either.". Odette nods slightly, "Me neither. None of the other plants have this.".

Eon stares at the plant and remarks suddenly, "It is one of a kind. Among all that grows here, this plant is the only one that has small, golden flowers and has weird eggs on it. I say it is a rare plant.". He smiles. Odette stares at him, "I wonder what he is thinking.", she thought. Then she smiles, "I guess you are right.". They look at each other and smile.

After an afternoon of exploring, Eon and Odette decide to return to the magic realm early and will go to the abandoned magic library. They want to look for a book that has information about the weird plant. But before they could enter the premises of the library's location, Denver comes out of nowhere and appears in front of them. Both Eon's and Odette's widen. Odette is the one who speaks, "Denver? What are you doing here?".

"I should be the one asking you. What are you two doing here? You know what is in there, don't you?". He looks at Eon, "And you are still going. What do you plan to do?". Annoyance is visible on Eon's face, "It is none of your business.".

Denver shoots Eon with an angry look, "None of my business?! You are bringing Odette in there? You two alone?!". Odette scoffs, "Are you serious right now? First, that is none of your business. And second, you do not talk to us like that as if we are little fairies that need supervision.". Denver falls silent. Eon and Odette continue to walk, passing him. But then after a few steps, Denver speaks.

"Is that why you rejected me? Because of him? The moment I asked you, you instantly rejected me without thinking about it and even giving me a chance. You are always with him!".

Odette looks straight ahead. While Eon looks at her, "I knew there is something going on here.", he thought. Odette sighs. She turns around and looks at Denver. "We had talked about this already, do I have to repeat myself? Huh, Denver?". She then looks at Eon, "Let's finish for today. We will continue our work tomorrow.". Eon could only nod at her. They both start to walk home, leaving Denver standing quietly.

While walking, Eon wants to ask but he refrains himself. But then Odette must have read his mind, "You are wondering what is going between us, don't you?". He looks at her and sees that she is already looking at him. She smiles, "Why don't you ask?".

"Umm... Well, I was kind of waiting for you to tell me. I thought it might be bad for me to ask you that kind of personal issue.".

Odette looks at her and laughs, "Right. Well, I will tell you about it tomorrow. Get some rest.". Then Odette goes in a different direction. Eon is just watching her until she can be no longer visible from the distance. He then proceeds to walk until he arrives home. Upon arriving, he immediately goes to his bedroom and lays on the bed. He stares at the ceiling and thinks about what happened. His eyes then slowly close.

Odette, on the other hand, arrives at her home with an annoyed look. She rushes to enter her room and shouts out of frustration. "Aahh! That Denver! I told him not to bother me anymore! And now Eon knows about it. Why can't he just leave me alone?! I do not want to marry him! Is that hard to understand?!". She stares at the wall and sighs deeply, calming herself down. "It is a good thing that Eon did not seem to be affected. But still!".

A moment later, someone is knocking on Odette's door. Odette shouts, "Who is it?!".

"Open the door, Odette.". Odette flinches after recognizing the voice. She rushes to the door and immediately opens it. "Father. What are you doing here?". Her father did not answer her and enter the room. "Why do you keep on rejecting Denver? He is the same rank as you. You two will be perfect for each other especially being the next to rule.".

Odette sighs, "Father. We talked about this. I do not like him. How can I marry him?". Her father looks at her, "Whether you like him or not, he is the perfect husband for you.". Odette stares at her father with confusion. Her father sees it, "Do you think your mother and I got married because we love each other?". She could not believe what she is hearing.

Odette's father continues to speak, "We got married because we are the perfect pair for our parents and we both have the capacity to rule. So you as the next in line of our legacy will be marrying who is the right partner for you. And we as your parents will be the ones to choose who is perfect for you and for our family.".

Odette is completely speechless. She could only just stare at the wall while listening to her father. She even could not utter a single word because of disbelief. Her father then leaves her room. As soon as her father leaves, Odette's eyes tear up and the whole room is filled with sobs.

The next day, Odette wakes up with a heavy heart. She gets up and prepares for work. She then goes to the portal, waiting for Eon. An hour later, Eon arrives. She smiles at him. Eon smiles back at her, "You are always early.".

"You know me, always excited. Come on. We have a lot to do.", Odette smiles widely as she enters the portal. Eon then follows.

They instantly get to work as soon as they arrive at the forest. Hours later, they decide to take a break. There is a moment of silence between them. Odette takes the initiative to start a conversation since she has to explain to Eon what happened yesterday.

"Denver is asking me to marry him. He keeps on persuading me and I keep on refusing. I thought my father would support my decision but he also insisted that I should accept Denver.". Odette laughs and continues to speak, "It turns out that they have the right to choose for me. My family is the ones who will dictate what would be my future will be. They do not care what I want or what I am feeling about things. If I go against them, all of this...". She looks around and to her journal, "will be gone. My freedom would be temporary if I disobey. What a great life.".

Eon is speechless. He cannot find the right words to say. He just stares at Odette with sadness. Odette then looks at him, "Eon.". He looks at her intently, "Yes?".

"I like you. You are the one I want to marry. Denver is right about what he said yesterday. You are part of the reason why I will never accept him. I never gave him any chance because it is only you that I see. You are the one I see with me in the future.".

There is a moment of silence between them again. They gaze into each other's eyes. Eon slowly looks away which made Odette hurt. He tries to comment, "Umm... I... I do not what to say.". Despite being hurt because she is expecting something, Odette smiles faintly, "It is okay. I completely understand. I thought...". She did not finish what she wants to say, instead, "Nevermind. You can't do anything either. My father is persistent.".

Odette starts to walk away. But Eon stops her, "What did you want me to do, Odette?". He looks at her intently and so does Odette at him. Odette looks away and smiles, "Nothing. Come on, let's get back to work.".

All afternoon Eon and Odette did not speak to each other. They are focused on their work. Eon would look at Odette from time to time. "I have never seen her this so serious.", he thought. He looks at her sadly and continues working. The sun is setting already when they decide to go home. They are still not talking to each other while walking their way back to the portal. Eon is about to call Odette when she immediately enters the portal as soon as they arrive. He instantly set his foot on the portal but as he comes out, he did not see Odette. He sighs. He wants to look for her but thought it would not make any difference.

Instead of going home, Eon goes to the abandoned library. As soon as he enters, he sees that a new kind of flower is blooming inside the library. It has the same color as Odette's eyes, ocean blue. He thinks about what happened in the forest earlier and what Odette confessed to him. He wanted to hug her but he held back. "Even just to hug her, I was not able to do it.", Eon starts talking to himself while standing at the center of the library. "I know what she wanted me to do but I do not have the courage to reject her. It was best to pretend not to know.". He pauses for a moment and sighs, "I should have at least hug her.". Eon then begins shaking his head, realizing something, "No. It is for the best. I did not take Selena away from her parents when I had the chance. I certainly could not take Odette away from here. It will hurt her if she stays here but my family would be hurt even more.".

Eon sighs deeply because of the situation. "I am so sorry, Odette. Forget me. I care about you truly but I cannot do anything for you. I'm so sorry. You should forget me. Please, forget about me.".

Eon spends hours looking at the flower on the wall. It is already dark but he sits still on the floor. Minutes later, it seems like he comes back to his senses and looks around. He stands up and proceeds to the door. He goes out of the library and walks straight home. His parents immediately approach him as soon as he enters the house. His mother speaks first, "Eon, where did you go? It is late. You were supposed to be home early. We were so worried about you.". Eon did not respond but instead, "Why everything is so complicated, Mom? Your son is a coward.".

"Why are you talking such nonsense? You are not a coward.".

Eon's eyes begin to tear up. "Yes, I am. Why can't I fight for the people I love? Why I am such a coward?".

Diana and Fero look at each other sadly as they had no idea that their son has something he has been facing alone. Diana hugs her son tightly. "Do not say that. That's not true, okay?". Finally, Eon's father speaks, "Things will not always go on our way, Son. And some things are not meant for us.".