Prologue:
"Do you really have to go?" an innocent voice said. Two people, a young boy and girl, stood at the edge of a pier. The girl, with her light blonde hair flowing in the soft breeze, looked into the green emeralds that made the eyes of her lover. The boy, gripping the hands at her waist with his, brought them up and kissed each of her hands, one by one before looking back into her jade green eyes.
"I must. Without me, and all the other courageous men, our land will perish in this frightful war." he told her. He had signed up for the armed forces in order to serve his king. The boy had told his love two days before he registered, and she was still feeling regret for having let him. She cupped his pale cheek in her right hand and gently stroked it. Closing his eyes, he leaned into her touch while placing his left hand over hers. Tears dared to spill from her eyes, but she beat them back so as to not worry her love. The blue uniform he wore was pressed and his grey pants were straightened out by her delicate and talented hands. Opening his eye once again, he saw the sight before him.
"I shall return to you, my dear Eleanora. That is a promise we made within our hidden place." he said, his voice as soft as silk. Removing his hand from hers, he pulled out, from hidden under his uniform, a heart-shaped accessory. This accessory was a heart-shaped lock (literally a lock, keyhole and all) that she had given him as a thirteen-year gift. They had known each other since she was four years of age. But, they started getting romantic with each other when she finally turned fourteen. And now, she was eighteen while he remained at twenty. Eleanora looked at the trinket around his neck with mild surprise. She smiled a sad smile.
"Remember, you promised. My elegant Humbert." she said. In return, she pulled out a heart-shaped key that matched with lock around her lover's neck. Coincidentally, Humbert had gotten her the key that matched with the lock Eleanora had given him on that thirteen-year friendly anniversary. Those two trinkets were what started the path of their relationship. Looking at her necklace and back into her eyes, his eyes sparkled with love.
Eleanora responded with wrapping her arms around his neck, resting her head on his strong chest. Humbert followed suit and put his arms around her waist, closing his eyes in bliss. They stayed like that for two minutes, until a horn from a ship signalled out to the pier. They broke apart and she beckoned for his attention.
"I love you. I know you will come back to me. A heartfelt promise-" she started. His grin widened.
"-kept under Lock and Key." he finished. She smiled at their last words. She placed a kiss on his cheek. He took in her beauty one final time before he started to walk away, their hands reached out to each other before finally parting.
Eleanora looked out into the sea as the ship sailed away into the horizon. Gripping the key in her hands, she mouthed a small prayer of protection and released three tears from her eyes. Unknowing to either of them, a shadowy figure hid behind a tree just beyond the shore.
Seven months after Humbert's departure, the small village, Aromavale, she grew up in received a list of soldiers that had been killed during the war. Worry in her eyes, the beautiful blonde scanned the list in search of his name. If his name was not on the list, then he was still alive.
Sixteen more seconds of searching, her eyes met with the one name she didn't want to see. 'Humbert von Greenberg - Killed In Action - Death by Knife' was what the paper said. Her eyes welled up with tears as many villagers passed her in order to read more names upon the list. A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she craned her neck to see her mother, father, and sister looking at her with sympathy. Tearing away from the hand, Eleanora ran away from the gathering crowd and outside of the village.
Her feet carried her towards a small hill just outside the village where a camphor tree, with a swingset for two under its shade, stood tall and proud. She slowed to the pace of a snail until she reached the swings, her dressed stained with light green colors from the grass. Sitting herself down, Eleanora reached into her blouse to pull the key out into her view. Her tears poured like raindrops onto her lap as the sky darkened with light-gray clouds.
"A heartfelt promise… kept… under Lock and Key." she muttered as her sadness overwhelmed her entire being. She cried into her palms as the sky showed its own sympathy by showering her with its own tears. She wondered what did she do to deserve this pain. The pain was unbearable that it started to cloud her judgement. She loved him so much that she couldn't bear any of the pain she was feeling. Therefore, she collapsed to the ground and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up with a roof over her head. Apparently, her family found her under the camphor tree and brought her back to their home. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, until finally, the months turned into years.
She could never let go of the thought that she never see Humbert again. Humbert, her Humbert, gone forever was what went through her head as she proceeded on with life. Her life was changed forever, going farther distant from her old life, and going as far as to change her hair from its elegant blonde to a gloomy brown and shortening her name to just "Nora." Even though she was still kind and compassionate towards everyone, Nora had a "fake" smile plaguing her features for everyone to see. Her village never saw the same smile she graced them with whenever Humbert was with her. Then again, when was she ever the same ever since that fateful day. The only thing that remained was the Key of Love, as most dubbed it as, around her neck. Would the Key of Love ever find the Lock of Promise again?