Moonlit Gardens
Reimi took a deep breath as she looked out across the Irving Castle's Gardens. It was a beautiful sight and she wished she could go explore the grounds; however, she couldn't leave the vicinity of the ballroom and was lucky to find solace at a connecting empty balcony.
Reimi, among many other princesses, had been invited to Prince Irving's debutant ball and the grand room was filled to the brim with young woman and their escorts (i.e. their parents or guard or other personal staff member). Reimi had come with her parents, who she had left once she had caught sight of the balcony doors peeking behind a pair of silk curtains; they hadn't noticed her sneak away, too enthralled in conversation with some friends they'd bumped into.
It wasn't that Reimi didn't like balls or festivities that had made her slip away, but, rather the uncomfortable, competitive nature of debutants/debutantes specifically. She didn't really find the notion at all romantic either and preferred more natural ways of meeting than something that resembled nothing more than a beauty pageant. Every lady she had seen was amazingly beautiful and poised; it was a phenomenal sight to behold and although she didn't think herself ugly, she didn't think there was any way she compared. She only came to these things out of obligation and to save face for her parents.
Despite her reservations, however, Reimi had met some of her best friends at debutants, such as; Princess Sheena of the Fujibayashi kingdom, Princess Beatrix of the Snow kingdom, Princess Presea of the Combatir kingdom, Princess Colette of the Brunel kingdom, Prince Zelos of the Wilder kingdom, Prince Regal of the Bryant kingdom, and Prince Genis and Princess Raine of the Sage kingdom. Some of who she knew to be at this very debutant with her, and she had planned to seek their company, but she found she didn't want to leave the soothing solitude of the balcony.
Almost jumping in surprise, she heard the balcony doors whine open from behind her. She turned around as the noise of the grand room poured out to her ears before the doors had quickly closed again, the noise once again muffled. Her eyes fell to the floor where she saw a young man crouching, looking out through the glass nervously; he looked to be hiding. After realising that no one had followed him, the brunette haired man sighed in relief and fell back on his butt. Reimi chuckled before she could remember to stop herself.
Clearly having not known of her presence until he heard her laugh, the man shot up and dusted himself down. He looked up sheepishly and Reimi was tense as she recognised his face.
"Prince Irving," She found herself greeting cordially as she curtsied, remembering her lessons with the royal tutor, however, she feared some of her surprised leaked through.
"I, uh, sorry, I didn't know anyone was out here- I was just….uh," He trailed off, clearly in a panic.
Rather than leaving him in his internal battle for words of an explanation, Reimi spoke first, gently, "There's no need to apologise, your highness, this is your kingdom, you may go where you please. I don't warrant an explanation from you."
She held an encouraging smile as she waited for him to respond.
"Ha-ha, thanks, I guess you're right, but I'm sorry to have intruded anyhow," He grinned, quickly recovering with help from Reimi's tone.
Reimi was mildly surprised by his less formal way of speech; not that she minded though, it was endearing.
"You haven't intruded, your highness," She told him kindly, regardless of the small lie that lay in her words.
Now that he was close up, Reimi could fully make out his features where she hadn't been able to before, having only seen him from afar. He was very handsome with boyish looks and a cheerful, casual demeanour despite the formal tone of the ball and his white, royal attire. He held himself in a carefree manner that was very calming and Reimi could understand why he had so many admirers.
"I'll leave soon, I just…need some air for a bit," The prince confided.
Reimi nodded with understanding, refraining from expressing her surprise; from what she had seen, he seemed to flourish in crowds, but empathised with the prince's need for a break.
"Take your time. I'll leave you be," Reimi excused herself, while bracing herself for the pool of bodies and formal chatter, before remembering her mission to find her friends, which appeased her apprehension slightly.
Just as she took a step towards the glass doors, Prince Irving quickly rushed out, "You don't have to leave."
Reimi halted her movements, "Won't I be intruding?"
"I was the one who intruded, and I wouldn't mind the company… Won't you stay?" He asked, his eyes showing a kind of hopefulness.
Reimi glanced briefly at the balcony doors before returning her focus on his highness, "I suppose… If I'm not troubling you."
She didn't feel she could decline the prince's wishes even if she had wanted to; his tone pleading as he asked her to stay was not something she could refuse.
"You're not!" He assured exuberantly, his mood having brightened.
Reimi smiled and nodded as she returned to her position at the stone railing.
To be honest, she was quite nervous at having to entertain the prince and ran through all the expected, formal pleasantries that she knew.
Luckily the prince spoke before she had to, "Do you mind if I ask why you were out here, Princess…" Leaving Reimi to fill in her name.
"Reimi, of the Keane Kingdom," She obliged, smiling politely, "I also 'needed some air', but then I became so distracted by your gardens, I ended up spending more time away than I had meant to," She explained, looking out at the vibrant grounds wistfully.
She felt Prince Irving's gaze on her before he followed hers out onto the flower fields and patches of forestry.
"It is beautiful, now that you mention it…" He uttered softly, then added guiltily, "I guess, I take it for granted."
Turning to him, Reimi gave the prince a kind smile and said, "I think it's natural to do so of something you see every day; you eventually stop seeing it."
"What are the gardens at your castle like?"
"Wonderful," She said blissfully, then realised how she'd contradicted her previous statement and quickly continued, "However, I have a great fondness for nature; I spend most of my days in the gardens and help the gardener's plant and care for the grounds-"
In her dire stride to reassure the prince, she realised she had accidently revealed some of her 'crudeness'; manual labour not being something attractive in a princess.
As she went to attempt to fix her mistake, the prince once again spoke first.
"That's amazing, and a good idea. I should do the same," He replied excitedly, shocking Reimi.
"O-oh, there's really no need to, I was only speaking of my own enjoyments, it's not something you need to humour me with," She rambled out worriedly.
"I'm not humouring you, it sounds fun and it would help me appreciate my home more. Just hearing you speak so happily about it makes me want to try it to, you know?"
"I-I see," Reimi said, stunned by the prince's keen energy, and being became excited by the prospect of sharing a beloved passion of hers, she added, "Let me know how you fair and how you find it."
She regretted those words though, not wanting to make the prince think she expected to hear from him again or that he was now obliged to.
"I will!" He replied, mirroring her previous enthusiasm, not missing a beat. Although, Reimi was quite sure he was humouring her again.
"Also, I hadn't meant to imply you didn't appreciate your land. Please, excuse my rudeness, Prince."
Prince Irving looked troubled by her sincere apology as he began, "No, no, you hadn't! It's true that I take these grounds for granted and I'm excited to fix that, so, please don't apologise. Also, you can call me Lloyd, 'Prince' is a bit…'eh'."
Shocked, Reimi spoke as if he had said something scandalous, "I couldn't."
"O-oh, really?" The sheer disappointment and down-trodden tone made Reimi waver.
"Well, then you can call me Reimi," She insisted, almost like she was daring him to.
"Deal," He laugh merrily, "Reimi," he tagged on at the end, and Reimi blushed at the familiarity of it.
"Deal," Reimi confirmed, but as the prince looked eagerly at her she muttered a shy, "Lloyd," and he practically beamed.
There was a pause that fell between them and their gazes had return upon the castle grounds.
"Have you had your debutante?" Lloyd suddenly asked tentatively.
Just the mention of it made a swell of dread within Reimi.
"No, not yet, somewhere between five and six months from now," She told him, hoping she held a level voice.
"You don't sound excited," He said, glancing over at her and she cursed her transparency.
There was a short silence as she gathered her thoughts and slowly spoke, "I…I'm not fond of such intense attention."
When Lloyd didn't reply, she turned to face him and found him already looking at her, an expression mixed between searching and curiosity; like he was entranced.
Feeling all of a sudden embarrassed, Reimi continued, "You seem to do well with it. It's very impressive."
She was relieved when Lloyd returned his focus and sheepishly replied, "I like being around people, but I do agree with you that it's taxing to be the centre focus."
"You fooled me," She said with light humour, trying to reassure him.
"There's too many of the same conversations and so much dancing. I can't step on anymore princess' toes," he grieved, hanging his head.
Reimi laughed thoughtlessly and when she was worried she had offended Lloyd, she found him watching her cheerfully.
"I'm sorry," her laughter fading.
He shook his head smiling, then his eyes were back on her and he had a soft smile on his face.
A beat passed.
"You can apologise by agreeing to dance with me?"
Reimi's heart fluttered nervously by the gentle, yet, seriousness intonation in Lloyd's offer, and the way he looked at her earnestly with a form of admiration in his eyes that she took for friendliness.
Ultimately, though, she wanted to refuse; she didn't want the attention or the sceptical looks, however, there was something about Lloyd that made her unable to refuse him. And, before she knew it, they were on the large varnished ballroom floor.
It was more silly than formal and Reimi had trouble keeping her regal composure as they tumbled around the dance floor. Lloyd made her feel so at ease and happy, and the places where his hand held her waist and hand were warm and tingly. There was a nervous giddiness she found being around him that she had never experience around another prince. She hadn't even paid much attention to their audience.
Unfortunately, the dance ended, and so did her time with Lloyd. He was quickly whisked away to meet other suitors and make more pleasantries, leaving Reimi to watch him go. She'd smiled as he was dragged away when he looked back to her sadly.
Reimi left that night and had dreams of gardens and a prince with brunette hair.
When Reimi received a letter from the Irving kingdom a few days later, her heart had hammered against her chest as she broke the royal seal and unfolded the letter. Her eyes went wide when she realised it was from Lloyd himself, telling her about his new-found hobby of gardening and thanking her for it. He worried that the letter was sudden, but that he had enjoyed her company at the ball and wanted to become pen-pals if she would allow it. Reimi was beyond pleased with the idea, however, in spite of the expectant suspicion from others that a letter so close from his debutant would be one of a romantic or marital interest, Reimi felt nothing but kinship from Prince Irving's way of words. And, aside from the small pang of disappointment she pretended not to feel, Reimi was elated that Lloyd also didn't want their last interaction to be their last.
In the five months from Lloyd's debutant to Reimi's debutante, the pair had sent over fifty letters to each other; sharing their day to day lives, childhood stories, their families and friends, their hopes and fears, and everything that fell in between. Lloyd was so amazingly easy to talk to and Reimi never once felt judged. He made her laugh, he was kind, considerate and, although not intellectually inclined, was very down to earth. It was refreshing and every letter never failed to make Reimi smile.
Then, as Reimi's debutante began to approach, she unconsciously started to withdraw. She had had to start her etiquette lessons again in preparation for the occasion and grew increasingly apprehension. Lloyd noticed, of course, but never failed to continue sending letters even though hers had become steadily shorter and were written with less enthusiasm as before. He continued to write to her about everything and nothing, obviously trying to distract her from her stress.
Reimi was both thankful and troubled by this; his kindness saddening her, for over the passing months, Reimi had grown quite fond of Lloyd…more so than a friend should. She felt guilt and frustration with every attempt Lloyd made of consoling her, and she thought herself selfish. Lloyd reassured her that he would be there and that everything would be all right, but that only worsened Reimi's fears. She didn't want Lloyd to encourage her to dance with other suitors or watch as she made pleasantries with princes that followed a stiff script of cordiality.
She wanted the time they had on the balcony again.
Eventually, when the ball was only days away, Reimi made a resolve to bury any feelings she had for Lloyd, regretting her previous childish and selfish thoughts, and remembered to be grateful for his friendship. She needn't ask for more; she did not deserve it.
Night of the debutante.
Reimi, once again, found herself hiding away from the festivities, even at her own debutante. However, this being her own kingdom, she could go further than the balcony. She sat on the swing seat that resided in the centre of the hedge maze that occupied far off in her gardens and was lazily pushing the seat back and forth using her feet that were planted on the ground.
She did feel guilty for leaving, although she was positive that everyone would still be able to have fun without her, so, there was that. She had just grown tired of the dancing, the pleasantries, the flat conversations; don't get her wrong, they were all good people that she'd be lucky to marry, however, she felt nothing romantic or special from any of them and she doubted they had from her either.
She found her thoughts wander to Lloyd, a common habit of hers that she hadn't meant to encourage, but she couldn't help it. He had been the only man that hadn't exhausted her with formalities or stiff politenesses. He was genuinely kind and there didn't seem to be any capability in him to ever hold an ulterior motive, ever. She instantly felt calm and happy in his presence and although they had only met face-to-face once, there was no one else she had thought more of.
It was one-sided though. Reimi hadn't been surprised when she began to hear rumours of Lloyd holding a candle for a particular princess. He had refused the many number of potential suitors when their parents had sent letters of proposals for further meetings with their daughters, and apparently hadn't pursued any of the many that had come to his debutant. Reimi couldn't help but ponder what kind of woman Lloyd had taken an interest in. In their many letters to each other, he had never wrote a word of a potential romantic partner and Reimi thought sadly that maybe Lloyd didn't think they were close enough or trust her enough to talk about it; although, she wouldn't have really wanted to be a part of that discussion…
She sat upright when she suddenly heard the brushing of leaves and the sound of footsteps coming upon the maze's passage way and was shocked still when Lloyd appeared in the opening. He mirrored her reaction, apparently just as stunned as she was, and after a moment of silently gazing at one another, he finally spoke.
"Reimi," he breathed out in quiet astonishment.
It had been almost six months since they'd seen each other and with Lloyd there, right in front of her, all those feelings Reimi had promised to keep hidden, exposed themselves; unable to stay suppressed.
Reimi went to reply, but all words were lost to her and she sat there, lips slightly parted.
"You're…You're beautiful," He confessed unabashedly, and Reimi's face instantly heated up.
She looked down at the blush coloured, silk gown she had been told to wear, and it had a long A-line, floaty skirt but was fitted up past her hips, with an off-shoulder neckline. She had pleaded not to wear a ball-gown cut, where the skirt puffed out three feet around her and luckily the seamstress obliged. She wanted more of an understated dress, wanting to avoid adding any more attention that she presumed she'd receive on the evening.
"T-thank you," She smiled weakly, "You look very handsome," She added, her smile growing softer.
He smiled embarrassedly and scratched the back of his head, "You think so?"
She laughed gently and affirmed, "Yes, very much so."
He grinned back at her again, before it turned soft and his eyes shone with earnest and something Reimi couldn't quite place. He wasn't wearing his white formal attire that he had at his debutant, but instead a simpler (thought still formal), dark-navy attire; it suited him.
He walked closer to her and sat on the stone rim of the large fountain that had been placed as the centrepiece of the maze.
"I can't believe I'm seeing you again. It's been so long and yet, because of our letters, I feel we never fully parted," He smiled good-naturedly, "Although, I do prefer talking to you in person."
Reimi smiled but it failed to reach her eyes, "As do I. Thank you for writing to me; it makes me incredibly happy to have you as a pen-pal."
Lloyd's own smile dropped and his expression became one of concern as he spoke, "Reimi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just tired," She reassured, laughing a little to support the lie, "Sorry for hiding away."
"You don't have to apologise," He assured, and he kept his eyes on Reimi as if he was searching for something before his demeanour brightened, "We can have our own party out here."
Reimi giggled at his enthusiasm, "Thank you, Lloyd," then after a beat, she sincerely added, "I am really glad to see you, Lloyd."
An odd silence rang between them; Lloyd having been surprised by the warm, yet, sad tone.
Eventually, Lloyd coughed embarrassedly, seemingly happy by her words.
"Me too," He agreed fervently, then continued, "How has the evening been? Did…Did you meet anyone who caught your interest?"
Reimi noted how his voice had fallen a bit flat at the question and how his shoulders and jaw seemed to clench; however, it was so slight, she assumed it to be her imagination.
She took a moment to gather her words, then carefully said, "No. Not tonight," It was an odd thing to specify 'tonight' but it was a subconscious detail that had slipped from her lips and was quick to turn the subject around, "I heard you have though."
She made sure to smile as she said so, overcompensating for her real feelings.
"Huh?" Lloyd inelegantly uttered.
"I'm sorry for being nosey, but I heard of the rumour that a certain princess had taken your fancy. I would like to meet her."
She wouldn't, but was reciting what she hoped a normal friend would do and say.
Flustered, Lloyd stuttered, "Oh, uh, no- there's rumours?" He asked nervously, and Reimi's heart sank at the silent confirmation.
"A few," She answered regretfully.
"Ah, well, I guess that's fine," Lloyd eventually said, seeming to have accepted it.
"Can you not tell me who it is?" She said, trying to sound playful.
She wished to stop asking, to stop behaving in such an overbearing manner and to just leave it be. But she couldn't.
"I…" He began, his previous nervousness returned, before something else caught his attention, "Oh, you can hear the music from here," he announced cheerfully.
Even though Reimi thought it was to distract her from the topic, she listened out anyway. He was right, she could hear the piano from the ball room.
She felt Lloyd's eyes on her as she listened out and knowing so, she struggled to turn back to him.
Then, she heard him stand, walk over to her, and she turned in his direction to find him holding out his hand for her. Confused, she looked up at him.
"Let's dance, Reimi," He offers softly.
It hurt. Reimi felt the urge to cry but she pushed it away.
She tried to smile, "Lloyd, I don't know…"
"Please?"
And, of course, she could to say no.
She gave a small smile, curtsied as he bowed, and took his hand. She had expected the silly way of dancing they had done before., however, when Lloyd took her waist and hand, she taking his shoulder, he moved them about gently, his eyes never leaving hers. She felt shy, embarrassed and she almost sobbed.
"Do you know, when I met you that night, I was also hiding away?"
"I presumed," She replied apologetically, mortified with how weak her voice came out.
Lloyd smiled as he continued, "It wasn't the people, not even the dull conversations either, I just didn't believe I could really become attached to someone in a night at that kind of occasion."
Reimi nodded, agreeing with him whole-heartedly; it was that far form how she felt.
"It's not that I didn't want to find someone, I just didn't think it would happen in the way all us royals' parents wanted it to.
But I was wrong."
Reimi's heart sank and she knew she couldn't hold in her sadness much longer.
"I met someone at my debutant and…" he laughed, "Someone special, someone I almost instantly became attached to, someone I wanted to see again."
Reimi could no longer smile but tried to maintain a calm façade.
"So, I sent them a letter and luckily, they replied, then I sent another, then they sent another, and so on," He continued to recite gently.
Reimi was confused and so hurt that Lloyd had also reached out the same way he had to her with someone else; something she had thought was only special to her.
"And I found that I liked this person even more than I already had and it just kept growing."
Their dancing had come to a halt, or rather, Reimi had stilled and in turn Lloyd did as well, although was undeterred from his story.
"But her debutante was coming up, where she would meet so many better, more charming suitors than I… and I was nervous,
"It was hard to watch her dance with others, smile at others, and I grew more nervous to approach her, to tell her how I felt, and then, she was gone. Vanished and no one knew where she'd be, but, fortunately, when I had first met her, she told me how much she loved gardens, especially her own, giving me an advantage of finding her before anyone else.
"And, low and behold, she was hiding in a hedge-maze, alone, just like I'd met her."
The pressure in Reimi's throat was intense and she could only look down as she continued to listen.
"And, as I only had this one advantage that I had been fortunate enough to be told by her, I'd decided to use it to its fullest. I'll use it so I can tell her how I feel before anyone else can, before anyone can have a solitary moment with her to realise how wonderful she is.
"Reimi, I…. I'm sorry to have ambushed you like this, but I have to tell you how much… how much I admire you, how much I adore her… When I first saw you, you glowed," He laughed, "I never stopped thinking about you and I never want to leave your side…"
Unable to hold it back, Reimi choked out a sob and buried her face in her hands.
Lloyd panicked and began to ramble, "I'm so sorry, Reimi, I didn't mean to upset you, I just couldn't keep it to myself any more, but you don't have to do anything abo-"
"Lloyd, are you…being truthful?" Reimi interrupted, not believing Lloyd to be a liar but at the same time not being able to believe the reality of the situation.
"I am. I'm sorry," he apologised mournfully.
Reimi searched for any sign of deception in his words, but when she found now, she found herself laughing around her tears in relief, "Please, please, don't be. I…I have been beside myself since I heard that you had taken interest in some princess I didn't know. I-I have not stopped thinking of you since the night we met."
"Reimi," he breathed, astonished, "You feel the same way as me?"
Reimi laughed softly and gave a watery smile, "Even more so."
"Impossible," He declared strongly, taking one of her hands in his while his other brushed away her tears, "Don't cry, Rem."
Reimi smiled as she leaned into his touch, "They're not tears of sadness."
Lloyd smiled back adoringly at her and, after a beat, he leaned forward while giving ample time for Reimi to refuse, but who instead met him half-way, until their lips touched in a soft kiss. Lloyd pulled Reimi close, while she threaded a hand in his hair, as they deepened the kiss. Eventually they parted in need of air, though did not move away from each other.
"Am I dreaming?" Lloyd asked, mesmerised.
Reimi laughed and shock her head lightly before she shyly suggested, "Should we head back?"
"We will, but I want you to myself a little while longer," He told her softly, "Unless you want to return?" He asked her worriedly.
"No, I want to stay with you too. We should return before the guests leave, however," She said apologetically.
Lloyd made a noise of understanding, then smiled as he took her waist and hand.
"Just a little while then," He told her as they began slow dancing again.
That night, Reimi dreamed of gardens, a brunette prince who looked at her adoringly, while dancing to a piano playing in the distance.
END
A/N: I would greatly appreciate if anyone could let me know of any mistakes they find, but don't feel obligated to. Thank you so much for reading!