Here's another one! This one is in Aslan Mafdir's POV. The MC (or, rather, I, Carly) leaves Shaharazal, leaving the letter behind. Aslan, while taking over his older brother, Heydar's, work, is still depressed over her departure, and feels completely down on his luck. While Oliver and Hayden propose trying to lure her to them by offering her a chance to compete for the position of Nobel Expo pastry chef, Aslan still feels depressed. But what happens when one of Jesse McCartney's songs plays on the radio? Does it inspire him to go and get the girl?
Kiss Her, Aslan!
It's been a few days since I've taken over for my older brother, Heydar. When the rift between us first started, I thought he was just being lazy and abandoning his royal duties because he thought I'd be there to pick up his slack. Well… After I learned that Heydar was going through a really bad illness, bad enough to keep him in bed for days on end, and unconscious for such a long time, I started to understand. He wasn't being lazy; he was trying to motivate me to take his place because he was afraid of what might happen should he die. Why he didn't tell me about this issue of his, I really did not know, but now I have to step it up! I still believe in him.
Anyway, I've been working off my head and shoulders trying to take my brother's place in his absence, and according to my butler, Lavi, who is still just a kid, things have been going fine and I've been doing good. Even the parliament is impressed with me. However, my head was still clouded, or rather, cleared up, by one thing. Or maybe I should say one person.
Carly. She's a beautiful brunette woman of twenty-eight years old. Yes, that's three years older than I am, but when I've been hearing that age differences that small don't really matter above age twenty-one, so I am not that concerned. A stunning beauty with a heart to match, and her talent as a pastry chef had won me over time and time again. She isn't like other girls; certainly not one of those annoying harpies that gold-dig around for rich men. Sieg always tells me those types of girls are a big pain, but Carly is not like that at all.
I think that being cooped up in the guest room Lavi and I have prepared for her would have been bad for her, so I've been sending her flowers, dresses, and so much more to compensate for the fact that I've been working around the clock without many breaks, and the ones I do get, I visit Heydar's room rather than spend time with her. But she's the understanding type of girl; she never had any goals of becoming royalty, and she is aware of her position in comparison to mine. Carly's also the honest type, but it hurts her when she's forced to keep me in the dark no matter what.
Anyway, I had just finished things up for the day, and after yawning quite loudly, I decide to go in and take a break. My mind kept wandering to Carly, the dessert flower in my heart. I blushed at the thought of her. While I dragged her into this political mess to begin with, I felt like that the coincidental hit in the head with the flower bouquet back at Nobel Michel was destiny.
However, while I've been working hard on trying to fill my brother's shoes until he wakes up from his coma, there's been another issue on my mind. My… Dare I say it… Fiancé, Salma Jafardah. Or, more to the point, my arranged fiancé; my parents picked her out for me to be wed to. Now, don't get me wrong, I care about Salma, but not to the degree of wanting to marry her. No. That was… Well… a bit of a stretch. She's my childhood friend, and I care about her, but only as a friend, no more, no less.
The thing about Shaharazal Kingdom is that we're a polygamous country, meaning that men can be married to multiple women at once. So, with that information, I know what you're thinking: can't I just marry the both of them? Well, I myself don't like the idea of having more than one wife at once, and it's a rule in the royal family to have one wife and one alone. I'm sure people from monogamous countries like Carly would think that polygamy is just another word for blatant infidelity, and I don't blame them.
Because I only have platonic feelings for Salma, I guess that means that can't bring myself to be wed to her. Especially not after meeting Carly. I guess my heart was dead-set on Carly from the beginning, and they seem to get along, in spite of Salma's… Well… how do I put it…? Forcefulness? Would that be the right word?
Anyway, the issue I've been having with Salma is that she's been asking me over and over again where Carly's room is. As if I would tell her. But knowing Salma, she would find Carly anyway, so I've kept my mouth shut on the issue. I've got more important things to worry about right now, anyway.
I went into my bedroom and collapsed onto my bed; luckily, the door was shut, so I was not seen at all. My mind immediately drifted to sweet Carly. And boy, sweet totally fit her, and in more ways than one. I felt my face heat up as all of the memories I've had of her replayed in my mind. I even remember the time when I smelled Salma's perfume on her. Listen, I'm not a scent pervert; I just have a good nose, and that's sort of what initially hooked me in to Carly, because the scent of vanilla lingered on her, and it was so sweet. Being a baker, she uses vanilla a lot, so that sort of just lingers on her whenever she goes in and out of the bakery.
I don't know what happened, but I ended up falling asleep, and Carly was in my dreams. I heard knocking at the door, and it woke me up, and the door opened to reveal Lavi.
"Oh, Lavi…" I say, before rubbing my head.
"Dinner is ready, Aslan," Lavi said. "I know you just woke up, but…"
I just stand up and I leave the room before telling him, "Thanks, Lavi."
I go into the dinning room, and as soon as I step in, Carly's sweet face was there; she was at the table, and she was eating so nicely and cutely. I felt myself smile as I saw her. She just seemed to shine in the light of the room, and the food she was eating seemed to be just her favorite kind. She just makes me so happy and I always feel like my heart's about to throb again and again whenever she's close to me.
It's a big pain that she did not make any of tonight's desserts, but it's not like she hasn't been baking a lot anyway. She's been baking up a storm because, well, as a normal girl, she doesn't really have much else to do. But she has this… odd charm about her that brightens everything around her, and it just warms my heart looking at her… Which, considering this is a desert, it's sort of an ironic choice of words.
Waking up the next morning, I notice that it was a lot earlier than normal; must be because I had a nap earlier. I decide to get up and get a jumpstart on my duties that morning, but before doing so, I decided to do one thing I wanted to do for so long: go into her room and watch her as she slept. I'm a prisoner of love; what can I do?
I silently open the door to see Carly's face, and I blush immediately; in her sleep, she looks so beautiful. My Sleeping Beauty… I silently go over to the bed and kneel down, like I'm the prince about to wake the cursed princess up from a kiss… Now the only issue here is that one, I'm actually a prince, and two, Carly's not a princess… Well, hopefully that might change. Rather than kissing her, for risk of waking her up, I gently caress her cheek, as if it were something precious to me.
She stirred a bit, and I tensed up at the sensation. She muttered, "As… la…n…?"
Hearing her say my name, I silently scramble out of the room. I stand on the side of the doorway, and I clutch my chest. I feel like I was in pain… But for some reason, it felt good. I blushed, and I felt like if she knew that it was me touching her face, then she must feel the same way about me.
I reel in romantic sighs, and I soon get my next bouquet of flowers ready for her. Sending it to her room with a servant, I leave the palace to get started on my public duties.
Some time later, I visit Heydar's room during my break, but I end up falling asleep. Boy, doing this sort of thing is hard work. Now I know how Heydar feels, but I guess it's even more exhausting when you're going through what he's going through.
I soon feel something on my back, and I end up waking up; I look behind me and I see Carly putting a blanket on my back. I feel my heart speed up when I see her.
"Huh? Carly…" I say, rubbing my eyes.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" She asks me.
"Yeah, I must have nodded off. Thanks for the blanket." I tell her, with a smile.
"Not at all." She replies to me, as I stand up and stretch. I feel like my whole world is complete, now that she's here.
"It's been a while since I've woken up to your face." I say to her.
"Hehe! Yeah." She says back, but I could tell she's embarrassed.
After that statement, there's an awkward silence between us, but I know exactly what to say to her next.
"About the dress I sent you." I say, striking up a conversation with her.
"Oh! Right… I was going to return it." She tells me.
Say what?! Doesn't she like it?!
"You… didn't like it?" I ask, as I feel like something's not right here.
"It's too expensive for me… And since I'm not pretending to be your fiancé anymore, I don't think I'll need it." She says, in her defense.
You heard her right. I had her pretend to be my fiancé to prove to everyone I was disinterested in being a royal overall. I told the parliament I was bringing home a potential bride before we even met, so for obvious reasons, it was a bit problematic for her. Even her boss, Yosef, seemed to be adverse to the idea. Not that I can blame her...
"Really?" I ask her.
"B-But I really like the bouquets. It's fun getting different scents each day." She says.
Hearing this, I felt relieved; she liked the flowers, and for me, that's the thing I love the most.
"Then… I'll have to send you even more bouquets, every day." I tell her, trying to lighten the mood. The more flowers I send her, I think the more likely my feelings for her will be noticed.
"The amount you're sending now is fine. If I get too many more I won't be able to fit into my room." She tells me.
I tried not to laugh at that, but she was right; can't exactly sleep on flowers without crushing them.
"I see… Then I'll send you just flowers every morning, as I have been doing." I say, smiling towards her. I wanted to make sure she felt so much better about this situation.
"I should be getting back to work…" I tell her.
"I understand. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" She requests of me. Another trait I love about her; she cares about me so much. She even said she was worried about me the most when we came back here in such a hurry.
"You're right… Shall we go see the moonlit desert again?" I ask her; that was one of the things I showed her the first time she came here.
"Uh…" She said, a little confused.
"I should have some free time tonight. So, will you have dinner with me, and come watch the moon?" I ask her; I know this sounds like a cheesy way to ask a girl out on a date, but...
I'm in love.
"Okay…" Carly said, nodding, but for some reason, I felt like there was something on her mind. I was not about to find out until too late...
A few hours later, I was in a meeting with some of the other government officials about some issues going on in Shaharazal, from crime rates to construction to everything else one can think of.
"Salma! What are you doing here?" A politician shouted; I looked up, and once again, I saw Salma in the room.
However, it was not just Salma this time; it was my beloved Carly, but as always, it seemed to me that Salma dragged her here. I could smell raisins and nuts all the way over here, so I guess that Carly was baking, as always.
"I came to see how Aslan works. He's so busy he has no time for me, so I wondered what he could be doing." Salma explained.
That's Salma for you… Never gives up a fight, and never seems to know the meaning of the word 'interruption'...
"Salma! This isn't a playground…" A Minister of mine said, reprimanding her.
There's really no use doing that…
"Don't be so stiff." She tells me. I subtly roll my eyes in annoyance. "Where's Aslan?"
"Salma." I state, trying to get things off on the right foot.
"Aslan!" She said, smiling.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Sorry to intrude. I haven't come to bother you! I was wondering if there was anything I could help with." She offered.
Salma might be a stubborn, selfish woman, but she's willing to help out when need be.
"Thanks. But you don't need to worry, I'm getting through it, somehow." I tell her.
I notice Carly backed off, and the look on her face was telling me something she probably did not want me to see. I was not about to find out about her reasons until it was too late.
I was waiting at the dinner table, waiting for Carly to come. She was half an hour late; that was not like her at all. Growing impatient, I decide to go to her room and see what was happening.
I make a dash for the door to her bedroom, not caring for the fact that people were reprimanding me for running in the halls.
I skid to a halt in front of Carly's room door. I knock, and I ask, "Carly, are you all right in there?"
I don't hear a word; I knock again, but nothing. I soon open the door and I see that her room was still adorned with flowers, but nothing else seemed out of place. Other than the fact that Carly was not in the room… I look around, and see her luggage was gone, and she left everything else behind. I walk inside the room, and I try to listen to see if she was in the shower or something. I heard nothing, probably because I had forgotten that the bathroom was another room all its own around the palace. I soon notice something - a letter on the desk in the room. I rush over to the desk, pick up the note, and opened it. What I read… Well… I was shocked.
'Dear Aslan,
Thank you for the flowers you sent every day.
Although I'm leaving them behind, they really made me happy…
But there's nothing more for me to do here.
I'm very concerned for Heydar, but… I believe he'll get better. So… goodbye.'
Carly
She left me… Without a proper 'goodbye'… without letting me tell her how I felt about her. I soon find myself in the dark, with a spotlight overhead. I fell to my knees, my hands on the floor, crushing the note in my grip. She left… While I was glad to know she loved the flowers, Carly was gone. Not only did she break our date, but she left me. A large, red heart appeared above me, and it was shattered into pieces like a rock through a glass window, and the glass heart shards fell all over me. I started to sob and cry at reading this. I was so angry… hurt… heart-broken… So many of my emotions were mixed together in this moment of mine and I felt like my world shattered.
I know it isn't very dignified of me to be crying, so I leave Carly's room in heartbreak. I felt my tears overflow on my face and while my demeanor was raising questions from everyone, I did not hear them. My heart was aching from the pain of losing my one and only love. I felt an anime raincloud form over my head; now, rain in the desert is rare, if not nonexistent around here, but this is something I've seen on TV whenever Carly was not in the apartment when I was hiding out at her place. I felt thunder clap and rain fall over me. Kind of fitting, huh…?
I make my way to my bedroom and I shut the door before falling onto the bed to sob my heart out. I feel worse than when I learned of Heydar's sickness. I feel like my whole world had ended because the one I love left me.
I'm thinking to myself, 'Why didn't I just tell her how I felt about her before she could even think of leaving me?! Did she even notice how I felt about her?!'
I soon get a phone call on my cell phone; I notice it's a chain call from both Hayden A. Spencer, Prince of Philip, and Oliver Button, Prince of Altaria. Probably Expo-related, so I pick up.
"Hey, Aslan, how're doing?" Oliver's ever-upbeat voice said, through the phone.
I sniffle a bit and say, "Hi, guys…"
"Aslan? You okay? We heard about Heydar, but you're still hung up on it? Can't blame you, but…" Hayden began.
"It's not Heydar that I'm crying over…" I said. "It's Carly."
"The Pastry Cutie?" Oliver said; that was his nickname for her. It sort of fit, actually.
"Yes…" I say, sniffling. I explain everything that happened to my friends, from the scandal to hiding out at Carly's place to bringing her here, and now her sudden departure.
"Dude… You messed up." Oliver told me.
I know that much!
"I know I screwed it up! I gave her every hint I tried from body language to kind gestures, not to mention all of the flowers and such I've sent her in the past few days! Why didn't she notice?!" I complain to my buddies.
"Calm down, Aslan," Oliver said, over the phone. "Maybe she's a little dense?"
"How do you expect me to calm down when I'm going through heartbreak?! Not like Oliver would know anything about that." I state.
"Touche…" Oliver said, sheepishly.
"Wait… I think I have an idea, Aslan," Hayden said. "So calm down."
"I'm all ears." I say, relaxing.
"The competition to decide the Nobel Expo pastry chef is coming up, right?" Hayden asked.
"Yes… Are you suggesting we try to convince Carly to enter the competition?!" I ask; this could be the chance I need.
"Exactly… That's not to say she's automatically going to be the chosen chef." Hayden tells me.
"Goes without saying…" I mutter. "So, if Carly enters… Then when the judging starts… I can finally see her again!"
"I'll get Zain to send her the sign-up sheet. After that, it's all up to her," Oliver said. "We have no control over whether or not she enters."
"Fair…" I tell them.
"We'll see you later, Aslan. But remember: if she doesn't compete, chase after her. Don't expect her to come to you." Hayden tells me.
"Thanks, guys." I said, before hanging up. I'm still feeling a little sad, but I think that maybe I can finally tell her my feelings.
Thinking over how I'm going to tell her how I felt, I toss and turn in my bed, feeling really down on my luck overall. In spite of the uplifting idea the guys gave me, I still feel like my world is at its end.
I decide to turn on the radio to listen to reports of other happenings in other countries to keep my mind off of things, but...
"...And now, we have Jesse McCartney's "Why Don't You Kiss Her?"..." A music channel said, as it started to play a song.
I've never heard this song before, but for some reason, its title resonated with me, so I decided to listen to it.
"We're the best of friends, and we share our secrets… She knows everything that is on my mind…"
Listening to those lyrics, I start to remember all of the good, bad, and ugly times she and I had together. I was able to open up to her about how close I was with Heydar when we just little kids, so I guess that part of the song was right in that state. But as for her knowing what's on my mind… Well… I'm really not that easy to read, so I guess that line might be wrong.
"Lately something's changed… As I lie awake in my bed…"
I remembered that there were night where I couldn't sleep because of my head-over-heels emotions I held for Carly. There's just this charm she has that makes me feel comfortable around her.
"A voice here inside my head, softly says… Why don't you kiss her?"
A kiss? That might be a bit much, but… I decided to keep listening; I felt my face heating up as I looked to the radio, and heard it play. I thought that maybe my thoughts were telling me to just go ahead and kiss her. But in public? No way!
"Why don't you tell her? Why don't you let her see the feelings that you hide? 'Cause she'll never know if you never show the way you feel inside…"
That's just it… I have shown it in my body language! Sometimes you can get the entire message just by someone's body language, but apparently, that isn't working...
"Oh I'm so afraid to make that first move..."
I guess I have been a bit of a coward when it comes to being sincere about my feelings for her…
"Just a touch and we could cross the line..."
That fear is legit; I understand how that might become a problem in the long run. I know that as a royal, I can't get caught in any scandals whatsoever, but it's already happened to me and Carly, so why stop a rumor that's already been spread? That's impossible...
"Every time she's near, I wanna never let her go…"
I know the feeling… I always want her to be in my arms and never let her go. I love her...
"Confess to her what my heart knows, hold her close…"
I just… Really can't hide it any longer, can I? I have… I have to tell her how I feel!
"Why don't you kiss her? Why don't you tell her? Why don't you let her see the feelings that you hide? 'Cause she'll never know, if you never show the way you feel inside."
I feel like that might be a bit too much and that could drive her off, but there are times where one has to go for broke. Now if only Oliver had bad luck with girls the way I'm having it...
"What would you say? I wonder, would she just turn away?"
That possibility has crossed my mind, if her just leaving without a trace this evening was any clue...
"Or would she promise me that she's here to stay?"
Maybe she left because she feels the same way, but doesn't think she'd be able to support me… That could be it… Or maybe her goals in life were more important...
"It hurts me to wait. I keep asking myself… Why don't you kiss her? (tell her you love her)"
I imagine myself and Carly sharing our first kiss together; it's been something I've been wanting to do forever...
"Why don't you tell her? (tell her you need her) Why don't you let her see the feelings that you hide? 'Cause she'll never know if you never show the way you feel inside…"
I guess this Jesse person is right… If I don't speak up, I can't tell her my feelings...
"Why don't you kiss her?"
I guess a kiss wouldn't be a stretch… Not if it meant I could get the girl...
Some time later, I arrive at Nobel Michel Castle for the pastry chef competition. My hopes were high that Carly was there, but once I enter, everything is just as dull as always. I guess to an outsider, like Carly, it's a little bit much, but for me, it's something typical, so it just doesn't seem all that eye-catching to me.
"Aslan! Aslan, over here!" Someone shouts, and I look over to see Hayden and some of the others; Sieg, Kuon, and Oliver, specifically. I see them all at one stand, and I make my way over to them. There's something familiar about this...
I sneak a glance over to the stand they were at, and saw that it was, in fact, Carly, competing. Seeing her entry, which was pancakes, I felt like she might, just possibly, feel the same way about me as I do her.
"Thank goodness… I don't have tons left over." I hear her say; I look over and only one pancake remains. Lucky me, so I make my way over.
She is looking around at the rest of the guests, but I decide to make the move.
"Good… you're still here." I tell her; she turns to me, and she seems nervous. "It's been a while, Carly."
She's about to say something, but she changes her tune a little bit when I look at her.
"Yes, it has, Your Highness." She says to me.
Back to the formalities again? Is she toying around with me? I don't know what her deal is, but I'll just test it out a bit longer...
"Have you been well?" I ask.
"Yes. Thank you for your concern." Carly says to me.
I give her a puzzled look, I continue with, "About Heydar… He regained consciousness after you went home to Nobel Michel. He went back to his political duties about a week ago."
"Are you serious…?!" She asks me; she seems relieved. Bingo.
"Why would I lie?" I ask her; I certainly haven't been lying to myself about how I feel about her. "Sorry I haven't called."
"No… please don't worry about it." She tells me; again, the formalities...
"Hey…" I begin; Carly stiffens up. She's probably nervous. "Is this some new game?"
"Huh?" Carly asks, a puzzled expression on her face.
"You're speaking differently from before. It seems like you're forcing it… Why not just go back to the way things were?" I ask her; I feel like something's not right here...
"Well, I… You're a prince, and…" She begins, but trails off.
I get it; she's scared because of the social class gap between us. She's probably afraid that if we stay like this and she'll only be dead weight...
"I see," I muttered. "Well, whatever. Mind if I take the last one?"
She holds out the plate to me, not looking main the eye.
"Looks like if I don't hurry, someone else will make off with it." I tell her, trying to lighten the mood.
I begin to reach for the plate, but then I grab her hand.
"Uh…" She mutters; the blush on her face is adorable.
"Like always… I want the whole thing." I say to her, murmuring in her ear; this closeness is so good, and I wish I could just kiss her right there.
"O-Of course…" She stammers. "Here you go…"
"Thanks…" I say, but then I take a bite of the pancake.
It doesn't taste the same as earlier. There's a saltiness to it, and while the pink color is nice… I could swear there are cherry blossoms in here. The saltiness sort of reminds me of how heartbroken and sad I was when she left, and how short life is, which reminds me of how abruptly Heydar could have died… So, there's more than just flavor in here. Was that her intention…? Probably not.
The lights dim and a disco ball starts to glimmer around the dance floor. The orchestra starts playing a slow tempo song. I look back and Carly, and I see she's cleaning up. She probably wants out of here as quickly as possible.
She begins to leave, but I grab her arm. No way! I won't have Carly leave me again!
"Shall we dance?" I ask her, as sweetly as possible.
"I'm… just a pastry chef…" Carly tells me, once again failing to look me in the eye.
As if that matters to me!
"That doesn't matter," I say to her, trying to reassure her. "We danced together the first time, didn't we?"
I use a bit of force and pull her by the hand to the dance floor's center. I hear some of the complaints from the rest of the crowd, and while I hear where they're coming from, I know to keep my mouth shut.
As we dance, I decide to just come out and tell her how I felt.
"Geez… I'm still angry, you know?" I tell her.
"Huh…?" Carly tells me, confused.
"You just went home, leaving behind that letter," I explain. "And just when things with Heydar were coming to a head. Why did you leave without saying anything?"
"I…" She begins, but I guess she's a little afraid.
"I'm not blaming you…" I tell her, trying to calm her down. "I've been wondering why I didn't try harder to hold on to you."
"Huh…?" Carly asks me, and I see the color in her cheeks rise.
Got her...
"Carly…" I say, as I pull her closer to me and squeeze her waist. Now. I'm going to ask her now. "Will you… elope with me…?"
Okay, yes, eloping is a bit of a stretch, but if Heydar gets better, and this whole thing doesn't repeat itself, I think that maybe it wouldn't matter if she and I eloped.
"Leave it all behind… Come live with me…" I ask her, trying to restrain myself from just kissing her right there.
"Aslan… that's…" She begins, very afraid of what she was going to say.
"What would you do if I said that?" I ask her, trying to calm her down with a smile.
She's lost for words. Just what I wanted.
"Didn't you notice my feelings?" I ask her.
She nods to me.
We're just standing there in the dance floor, rooted to the spot; I just want to kiss her right now!
"I… I can't," She tells me. I knew it… "My dream… is to become an independent pastry chef. I want to make cakes for many people… I want to make them smile. That's… my role."
Figures this would happen. Good thing I have a backup plan...
"…" I just have my hand brush against her cheek; I can see her eyes are tear-filled. She doesn't want this, does she? "You refuse?"
"Yes." Carly says.
"Even though your eyes are filled with tears…?" I ask her again.
"Yes…!" She says. Carly's forcing herself. Then I guess I have no choice. I wipe her tears away. Just like the salt of the pancakes. It's very sad...
"I thought you'd say that… I anticipated you'd turn me down." I say, with a smile. I pull her close and we move in time with the music. I never want this to end.
I realize something: this is my fault.
"I'm the one who's driven you into this corner," I say, shaking my head and tightening my arms around her. "Then… I've made up my mind, too."
After the dance, she leaves, but I can tell from her body language the whole night she hated our parting. Good thing I had a backup plan in mind, but… Seeing her go still hurt.
"How'd it go, Romeo?" Oliver ask, as I make my way back over to the others.
I told them my plans to elope with Carly; they were relatively against the idea at first due to my position, but I managed to win them over by saying that once Heydar recovered, things would go back to normal. Or rather, normal enough for me to leave it all behind and spend my life with the woman I adore.
"She…" I begin, feeling tears forming in my eyes.
"She said 'no', didn't she?" Hayden asked.
I nod in reply.
Oliver and Hayden grimace in response to this. They always had my back when I needed it.
"What are you going to do?" Hayden asked me.
"Make this a public question pop." I state.
The others look around in confusion.
"You mean you're going to make your proposal to her public? Intend on bringing her into the Shaharazal royal family?" Oliver asked, surprised.
I nod in reply.
"Have you gotten all your ducks in a row already?" Kuon asked.
"I do have an idea, but… Hayden, Oliver… Can I ask for your help again?" I ask my friends.
Hayden and Oliver nod in reply.
"Good," I say with a nod. "In about a month, there's going to be a party to celebrate Heydar's recovery. I intend on inviting Carly and popping the question to her in public there."
"How do we tie in to this?" Oliver ask.
"You guys just get her ready for the party and make sure she comes," I begin, with a wink. "Massage, hair, makeup, dress. The whole nine yards. Can I rely on you guys to make sure she gets a good dress?"
"Count on us!" Oliver said.
"Okay, but text me the photos of the dresses she wears and I'll say whether it's 'no' or 'go'," I ask, giving Oliver the stink eye. "So, this happens whether or not Carly is chosen for our chef?"
Oliver and Hayden nod in reply.
"Thanks, but try to reassure her that things are going to be okay," I state. "I could tell by her body language that she didn't want to part ways with me…"
"She's probably going to be very confused no matter what happens." Kuon said; he had a point.
"Right…" I say, but I feel like desperate times call for desperate measures. "So… Plan?"
"Plan." Oliver and Hayden stated before shaking hands with me.
I was working in my office once again, getting ready for the party, and trying to keep my mind off of Carly for the time being. I love her, I know it, but I can't focus on my love life right now. I have responsibilities… That's not something I would normally say in the past...
I soon get a text from Oliver; I look at a photo he had sent me, and I went red in the face to see what the picture was.
Carly was wearing a black evening dress, with a large slit up the left-hand side, going up eight inches above the knee. It was inlaid with gold needlework, and from the front, it gaped open from navel to chest.
I go red in the face, slap myself in the face, and quickly text Oliver back. My text was the following:
'You idiot! This one shows too much skin! Sure, it looks sexy, but NO WAY!'
The next photo I see is Carly in Hayden's arms; she must have tripped in the stilettos, but still, it made me angry, so I did not reply to that one.
The rest of the photos included Carly in a champagne-colored mermaid dress with lace on the hem, and it was a lot less revealing. There was a pink princess ball gown, a yellow, poofy ball gown… etc., but with the exception of that first black one, I told them that any of the dresses would be fine.
A few hours later, I get a call from Hayden.
"What's up?" I ask him; I'm hoping she accepted the invitation.
"Good news: she's coming." Hayden said.
"Perfect…" I say, sighing with relief. "I have Salma on standby to help her out."
"Salma? How did you manage to end things with her?" Hayden asked.
"I just did it properly…" I said.
I turned Salma down properly. Leading her on the way I was… It's cruel, so I decided to be honest with her. Carly had already told her about what happened between us as far as the scandal went, so she was more understanding and she knew what was going on, to a degree. I knew how she felt about me, but I did not feel the same about her, so I made it clear how I felt about her, and my feelings for Carly.
So, after all that, things are a little more relaxed. The only issue I have now is whether or not Carly will even say 'yes'.
It's the night of the party, and I'm merely mingling with some of the guests, as protocol. It's not like I'm enjoying this party, but I am looking forward to the 'main event' that Heydar and I had planned.
Yes, I said Heydar and I. After he regained consciousness, I pulled him aside and I told him my idea. Needless to say, he was pretty quick to agree to it. Here's how it went down...
~Flashback~
"Heydar?" I ask, after my brother finished up with work for the day.
"Aslan…" Heydar said, smiling at me.
"Can we talk? It's important…" I ask, gesturing to Heydar to follow me.
"What's the matter?" Heydar asked, as he and I soon found some privacy. "Oh, that reminds me… Where'd Carly get to?"
"Carly is exactly what, er, who I'm wanting to speak to you about. Carly left some time before you woke up, leaving a note and shattering my heart…" I begin.
"Go on…" Heydar asked.
Carly stated that the main issue between Heydar and I was because of a lack of communication that caused a rift between us. She even stated that it reminded her of the sibling relationship between Princess Anna and Queen Elsa from Disney's "Frozen", and I saw exactly what she was talking about with the parallels she made.
"If not for her, I wouldn't have been able to step up. I know I'm betrothed to Salma, but… But I… The truth is, I… I've…" I begin, feeling my face heat up.
"Yes…?" Heydar prompted.
"I'm in love with her." I say, releasing a tense breath of air.
"…Then tell her," Heydar said, much to my surprise. I look up at my older brother to see him smiling at me. "Aslan… If not for Carly, things between us wouldn't have gotten better. When mom died fifteen years ago, I thought that the taste of the pancakes we ate together… I was scared of never having them again. She's given us so much hope for the both of us as brothers. As future king, I give you my permission to go and propose to Carly."
"Heydar…" I say, with a smile on my face growing.
"Hey, maybe if I really wanted to, I could make it an official order for you to go and ask Carly for her hand in marriage." Heydar jokes, and we both end up laughing.
~End of Flashback~
And that's that. Thanks to Carly, my relationship with Heydar is much better than it was before. I'm still mingling around, mildly impatient for Carly to make her entrance, when...
"Aslan!" I hear Oliver call, and I turn around to see Oliver, Hayden, and Carly in the room.
I lock eyes with Carly, and I feel my eyes bug out. While she was beautiful, the thing that made me annoyed was that she was wearing the dress that I specifically told Oliver was a big, fat, 'NO'...
"Hey, you're in my way." I see Sieg come into the hall and he's right behind Carly.
"What are you doing, standing around in the entrance." Sieg says.
Rude as ever, isn't he...
"S-Sorry…" Carly mutters, a bit surprised.
"Have we met before…?" Sieg asks Carly.
What the…?! That idiot doesn't recognize her?!
He leans in closer to Carly; seeing this, I find myself tightening my fist and gritting my teeth. I think he might have kissed her, I don't know, but seeing what happened made me so angry.
"Okay, that's enough." Oliver says, pulling Sieg away from Carly. Thanks, Oliver.
I fail to hear the rest of the exchange between them. Slapping on my best smile, I make my way over to them.
"Guys." I say, once I made it over to my friends.
"You look well as ever." Oliver tells me.
"It's been a while." I reply, shaking hands with Oliver.
"Aslan, I'm glad to hear of Prince Heydar's recovery." Sieg says to me.
Says the guy who made a move on my girl...
"Thank you." I say to Sieg, shaking hands with him.
"Congrats, Aslan." Hayden says to me, with a smile.
"Thanks for everything, Hayden." I say, shaking hands with Hayden; I think he picked up on my meaning on the issue.
I glance in Carly's direction, and she seems nervous.
"A-Aslan… I'm so glad Heydar's recovered…" She says to me.
I decide that the dress she's wearing is too much, so I tell her, "Come with me a moment…"
I start to pull her out of the ballroom, and I make my way to a dressing room and pull her inside. I shut the door immediately.
"Your Highness?" Carly asks me.
Again?! Ugh...
"Take your dress off." I tell her, with a cross look on my face.
"What?!" She tells me. Guess I should have said 'change into another dress' instead of 'take your dress off'...
"W-Wait… Aslan. Why are you…" Carly begins.
"What?" I ask her.
She backed up against the wall, slowly; she's afraid, I know it… She looks around, and Carly soon… starts laughing?
"Hehe!" Carly says, giggling. As cute as it is...
"Why are you laughing?" I ask her, clearly upset. "Can't you see how angry I am…?"
"Your Highne-" She begins, but I put a finger to her lips to silence her. I've had enough of her talking formally to me!
"If you keep calling me 'Your Highness'…" I begin, before sighing sadly. Time for me to fess up. "It upsets me… it hurts… It drives me crazy…"
I don't even know what happened, but I immediately hug her, and I feel like my whole world is complete. She's here with me, and I never want to let her go again.
"Please… don't call me that…" I said. I burry my face into her neck, trying to get the scent of vanilla she radiates, but all I get is other essential oils. "And… this dress…"
I lift my face away from her, and I try to get her to look me in the eyes. "I said it was no good…"
She looks perplexed and I tell her, "This is… the dress Oliver chose, right? I said any of them but this one..."
"How… do you know?" Carly asks me.
Thanks for not telling her, guys… It means a lot to me.
"Uh… um, well… I…" I stammer; cat's out of the bag… "The truth is, I asked Oliver to text me photos of the dresses."
"Text you? You mean…!" Carly began, soon realizing what was going on.
"You hugged Hayden, and Oliver was meant to me… making you wear that sexy thing…" I say; I swear, my face was redder than an apple… "Even though I said no… And I said that the one you're wearing right now was a definite no-go."
"Oliver said that this one was best…" Carly told me.
Seriously, Oliver?! I said no! Geez, I can't trust that guy with even something like this...
"If I say no, I mean ! Hurry up and change into this…" I say, and I give her a set of pink Shaharazal clothes; the traditional kind, mind me. It's still a bit revealing, but at least it hides her face...
"These are plenty revealing too…" Carly reluctantly said.
"But they hide more… And half your face is hidden, too," I say, before putting the clothes down for her to pick up. "Please… I don't want other guys to see any more of you than they already have…"
Carly soon starts stroking my head; feels so good…
"Hey… you're not going to distract me." I tell Carly.
"I know." She states to me, calmly.
"And it's not like I'm happy with this." I tell her, trying to make her comply.
"I know… hehe!" She says, before a giggle.
"Don't laugh… If you wear that dress… Sieg will kiss you again." I say to her.
"Kiss me?" Carly asks, confused.
"Or… did you want to entice Sieg?" I ask her.
"Wha…? Of course not! Anyway, we didn't even kiss before.. He just called me 'pancake pauper'…" Carly tells me.
"'Pancake pauper'…?" I ask; hearing that made a lot more sense than what I initially thought. Makes me feel a little better. "We'll, I guess that's Sieg for you…"
I make some distance between us, and then I tell Carly, "For now… I want you to change into these and cover yourself up a bit. If you wear this scarf… You won't be worried about the chest area either."
"Okay." Carly says to me with a nod.
I nod in satisfaction before leaving the room. I soon am away from the room and made some distance; I hear Salma and Carly talking in the back, and I feel like Salma has made a new friend.
Back in the hall, I'm standing behind Heydar, and his speech is about to begin; I look out to the crowd and I see Carly come in just in time. I try to put my poker face on to keep myself to just running over to her and kissing her right away.
"Ladies and gentleman, I'm honored to be in your presence. You have my deepest gratitude…" Heydar begins, but I tune out for most of it. "To everyone here today… and to all of my citizens… I am very sorry for the worry I caused. The truth is, since a year ago, my heart has…"
I just tune out and keep my eyes on Carly until something caught my ear.
"While I was confined to my bed, my brother Aslan took over my political duties. It's thanks to him that I was able to focus on my recovery," Heydar tells me, and we clasp hands in a firm handshake. "During my illness, the thing that brought me the most happiness was… when my brother, Prince Aslan, cooked for me."
Applause fills the air, but as I sneak a glance at Carly, I notice she's paying close attention to us.
"He'd never cooked before in his life. And yet he worked his hardest to make me pancakes. The taste was… Well, let's leave it at 'no comment'." Heydar says.
Everyone laughs, but I end up redder than an apple again; I try to smile, but it was wry. What was I thinking…?
"From here on, I shall return to my political duties as before," Heydar said. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you very much. And since he's here, Aslan shall also say a few words."
That's my cue. This was something I was prepared for for days. I secretly had some of the servants make a reproduction of the bouquet I tossed at the Nobel Michel party where I first met Carly. The one that accidentally hit her in the head, that is...
Heydar gives me the microphone before getting offstage. I see him say a few words to Carly, then leave. Good, if he was getting close with her, I'd be miffed.
I tap on the microphone and get started.
"Ladies and gentleman, thank you very much for attending today's party to celebrate my brother Heydar's recovery. It shames me to say it, but until just a few days ago… I was on bad terms with my brother…" I begin; might as well be honest, if it means getting Carly to be mine forever. "In truth, hearing this may cause you disappointment, but… I had no interest in this kingdom's affairs."
I hear muttering from the audience, which had criticisms for me, but it's not like I blame them for thinking what they were saying.
I see Hayden help Carly get closer to the stage. Bingo.
"I think that all of my citizens are aware that I took over my brother's duties while he was ill…" I state, before changing the tone. I was secretly holding the replicated bouquet of flowers behind my back.
"Why don't you kiss her? Why don't you tell her? Why don't you let her see the feelings that you hide?"
"There is… one thing I would like to tell you," I say, before taking out the bouquet. I see Carly's eyes light up; she recognized the flowers. "A chance meeting can in some senses be called a fated meeting. When I arrived in Nobel Michel, I met someone previous and unforgettable."
I start to change the tune a bit and get more serious. I feel my heart beat as I start admitting my feelings for Carly.
"I did not take it seriously, and it caused this person a lot of trouble," I say, before breathing deeply and gazing at the flowers that started it all. "This is a reproduction of the bouquet from that time. This person was there to catch this when I threw it… that's all it was. But… if it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't be who I am today."
My eyes meet Carly's, and I know that I have to tell her how I feel now.
"This person always gave me the push I needed. If it hadn't been for her… Not only would I not have stepped up to fill my brother's role… but I probably would have thrown everything away." I say.
I look at Carly, and she was in shock of what she was hearing. She knew full well who I was talking about.
"Meeting her was a total coincidence. But this time… I'm making a decision myself…" I say, and then I put down the microphone. I get off the stage, and I make a beeline just to her.
I soon get close to her, and my heart tightens at seeing her.
"Carly…" I say, so happy to see her again.
"Aslan, what's…?" She begins, but I hold out the flowers to her.
"This time, it's not chance… I can't live without you anymore…" I say to her. The lights that were dazzling, I look Carly into her beautiful eyes, but she's looking straight at me, as well.
"Cause she'll never know if you never let her show the way you feel inside."
"Carly…" I begin, starting to get to it.
"Yes?" Carly asks me.
"Will you marry me?" I ask her. Immediately, everyone in an uproar. I don't care...
She seems dumbstruck at what I'm saying, so I continue.
"I… really love you, Carly. I'm not being superficial this time… Will you… accept this bouquet?" I ask her, holding it closer to her.
She hesitates, so I try to prompt her into reassuring it.
"Taking this bouquet… will require courage on your part," I tell her. "But I promise it'll bring you happiness."
She can't hold out her hand, but I know she wants to, so I say to her, "I just… I'll protect you. I never though… I could love someone this much… Carly, you're the first…"
"Aslan…" Carly says, choked up; she takes the flowers from my hand, and everyone starts clapping and cheering. I look towards the others and see them clapping, too.
"Will you marry me?" I ask once again.
"Yes." She says, choked up, tears in her eyes. I silently cheer to myself.
I smile widely and then I pull her into a hug.
"Why don't you kiss her?"
My instincts take over, and I soon press a kiss to Carly's lips; sure, this is stirring up the press, but whatever! I've just proposed to my beloved and she said 'yes'! How can't I be on cloud nine right now?
She and I kiss a few times and in between breaths, I say, "I love you, Carly… I need you…"
She doesn't reply to me, but Carly is kissing me back, so I know she must feel the same way about me.
"Now that I've kissed her… Now that I've told her… Now that I've let her see the feelings I can't hide… Now she finally knows… Because I've finally shown… The way I feel inside."
I kiss her over and over again, and she and I hug tightly; I know if Salma is watching, she must be really upset, but I'm just glad she isn't ticked at Carly for our feelings for each other.
I drag Carly out of the ballroom to find some privacy for the two of us… I get the feeling this is the beginning of a new chapter in our fairytale romance...
Thanks, Hayden, Oliver, Heydar… But most of all… Thanks, Carly, for agreeing to be my princess.
Once the two of us make it to her bedroom, and I pull her into a hug before giving her yet another kiss.
Thank you, thank you, for taking time to read this! Now, I know this one was long, but I had a lot to write and say on my mind. I was trying to be as in-character for Aslan as possible, but… If I was a little OOC, let me know.