Forever
Yours
By: L.N
Disclaimer: All (modern) characters belong to the Spelling Entertainment Production. The rest belongs to me.
Date: 12-9-02
Setting:
Early 17th century
Characters:
Phoebe- Delphine Isabelle Mallet
Daughter of King Alber VIII and Queen Victoria, she's the only child the couple could conceive.
Piper- Gabrielle Alyn Färber
Oldest daughter of King Giorgio VXI, she's the Princess of Austria. Married to a wealthy writer Leonardo Mellinio of Italy.
Paige- Chloë Hannah Färber
Youngest daughter of King Giorgio VXI, she's a rebellious 13 year-old. Still has a mind of a child.
Cole- Amador Fabiano
Italian-Austrian born, Amador, is the son of a peasant couple. He was fatherless since he was 8, and an orphan since he was 16, when his mother passed away of smallpox.
Leo- Leonardo Mellinio
A writer originally came from Italy, who migrated to Austria in search for a better life.
Other characters:
Queen Victoria Alexia Zechner of Romania/Austria- Originally Princess of Austria, until she was married to King Mallet VIII and became Queen Victoria.
King Alber Mallet VIII of Romania- First born son of King Alber VII received the throne when he was 17, married to Princess of Austria, now Queen. They have one daughter, Delphine Isabelle Mallet.
Henrik Amos Färber- The only son of King Giorgio XVI, he's the young Prince of Austria.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter I
The Meeting
"Do you know what I've always wondered?" came the laid-back voice of Phoebe Halliwell, who walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn in her hands.
Settling herself on Cole's lap with one arm wrapped around his neck, she handed Paige the bowl of popcorn to pass around.
"What honey?" Cole asked, kissing her cheek.
"I always wondered what I—we were in our past lives," Phoebe replied, with her mind wandering around her own thoughts.
"We've seen our past lives, Phoebe," Piper responded, not a bit interested.
"I was the evil witch, remember?" Paige claimed, reaching for her popcorn.
"I know, but I meant our lives before that," Phoebe clarified, while Piper stared at her still not interested.
"You know how I hate time traveling, so there's no point to even bother asking me that question," Piper simply stated.
"Well, I'm interested," Phoebe stated, still lost in her own thoughts of wonderment. "I mean, was I a peasant, middle-class, or noble? Who was my knight in shining armor? Who was my family?"
***
Staring into space, images of the present swiftly faded away, replaced by a valley where an open field of fresh cut grass welcomed the new arrival of spring. Tulips of all colours blossomed along the outline of an ancient castle.
Beaming golden sunlight reflected and bounced off of an emerald green silk dress, sending metallic sparks surrounding the accentuated body. "Mother, can I please go out to the market?" asked an adolescent child, no older than sixteen, pleading her mother, who was enjoying the fresh smell of spring as she sniffed in the delicate aroma of the rose shrubs.
"Delphine, you know how dangerous it is out there," she replied softly as she turned to her young daughter, lecturing her. "No girl your age, especially a young princess like yourself, should be out wondering in a filthy place such as the market. Who knows what kind of predators are out there sniffing and searching for young girls like you to take advantage of."
"What if I take one of the guards with me?" She continued to beg. "For once mother, I would like to see what the world is like outside of this castle."
"You will once you're married, but for now you are only to stay in the castle, unless you're with your father or me out visiting Austria." Her voice was delicate, yet firm and steady.
"Well, then you can come with me," The young princess excitedly offered, hungry for adventure. "Please, mother, it'll be so much fun."
"Delphine, no is no." Her mother answered unyieldingly.
"Fine." She huffed whiningly, turning her back to her mother. She ran off to her room, but she bumped into a tall figure in a red robe, with an outline of golden fur on the rim, with vertical patterns knotted along the wild robe, which towered over her tiny figure. Gasping in horror, she threw her arms in front of her to shield herself from the giant figure.
"Delphine," Its voice thundered throughout the vacant hallway, causing the flames from the rusty medal torches that were carefully hung along the hall sway.
"Father." A low whisper escaped her rosy lips, with her eyes widened in fear.
"How many times have I told you not to run, young lady?" His tone boomed, matching his tall figure, both of which sometimes frightened her a little. "When will you learn?"
"I'm sorry father," The princess apologized in her most innocent voice accompanied by her puppy dog eyes.
"Well, don't let me catch you running again, or you will be punished." He firmly commanded, but then softened as his eyes met her apologetic ones.
"Yes, father." She obediently replied. Just as her royal father walked away, she called sweetly after him. "O, father." He slightly turned as she continued on. "Can I please go to the market?"
"What did your mother say?"
"Well, mother said it was up to you," she lied. "Whatever you say goes."
"Don't worry, I'll take a guard with me," She quickly added, afraid he might say no. "Two guards! However many you want!"
"Calm down young child." He motioned his hand for her to settle herself down. "You can go."
"Thank you father!" She jumped into his arms in excitement.
He slightly pulled her away just enough to see her face. "Only if you take the guards with you."
"Bless you father, oh, bless you!" She kissed him once on each of his chubby cheeks, before taking off.
Racing down the hall, she was held back by her father's roaring voice. "What have we just talked about?"
Twirling around, she mischievously flashed her father a grin, and then started walking like a lady downstairs, but you could still tell, though, that she felt urged to zoom down the spiral stairwell. Bundling up her lavishly elegant emerald gown by its side, she hurried down the carpeted steps.
In town, crowds assembled around a small stand. Gasps of amazement traveled a far distance, which caught Delphine's attention. Her eyes lit up as she heard uproar noises from up ahead. A bright smile made its way to her lips. She followed the noise like a young, curious child and took off quickly, leaving the guards behind with terror upon their faces.
Cramming through the crowds, she squeezed herself in between people as she struggled her way through the massive horde, but then she tripped over someone's gigantic foot that was sticking out in her way. As she was about to fall flat on her face, a strong arm shot out and grabbed her by her waist, and pulled her in tightly, before she could hit the ground.
Slowly turning her head, she was eye to eye with a handsome bearded, blue-eyed gentleman staring back at her warm brown ones.
Her heart just seemed to stop as her eyes met his. Those eyes---those beautiful blue eyes. They seemed to be full of passion and mysteries. She couldn't help herself but stare. She was losing herself in them and her knees weakened.
"Are you all right ma'am?" He politely asked, still holding her.
"Huh?" She snapped back into reality. "Yes, I'm quite alright, I suppose." She nervously let out a chuckle, fighting herself to get out of his grasp, while her body wanted to stay in his arm forever.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He quickly apologized, as he let her up. He could not take his eyes off of her.
"It's quite all right." She giggled. "I'm Delphine."
"I'm Amador. What is a young lady like you doing in crowds such as these?" He could just tell that she was no commoner like himself. She was well dressed, and seemed do be very ignorant about the world around her.
"I just wanted to see the market."
"My guess is that you're not from around here."
She shook her head, just before she saw some movements around the people. "What do you say we get out of here?" She anxiously suggested.
"Pardon me?" Amador was baffled. Before he could protest, she yanked him out of the crowd, and rushed off.
"For a young lady, you're a very impressive runner." He complimented, while catching up with her.
"You can stop calling me that; I've had just about enough of that from my father, thank you." She replied with a slight bit of irritation in her angelic voice. She slipped off her heels and took off again as she disappeared down the road.
Looking around bewilderingly, he had lost her. He was searching for her when suddenly he felt someone tugging and pulling him into a small street. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked angrily.
"This way!" Was all she said just before the guards ran passed them.
They continued to run until they finally reached a peaceful lake within the wilderness. Gentle waves splashed onto the sandy shore, while the luminous sunrays glistened in the water.
She grabbed a hold of a tree to slow her down. She tried to catch her breath and rested against the strong trunk. Amador couldn't help but admire her while catching his own breath, wrapping one arm around his abdomen, and one rested on the trunk opposite end of Delphine's. He couldn't remember a time when he had run so much in his life, except for when he was fifteen and he had stolen a couple of roasted corns from the exact market that they had just escaped from, but they had been for his sick mother. He hadn't had much money; chopping wood wasn't enough to feed two people, and it was only enough to buy medicine for his ill mother. That still wasn't enough. He was forced to sell some of his most precious items, mostly of what his father had left for him and his mother shortly before his departure into the afterlife.
"You're quite a runner for someone who looked to be a well-mannered lady," he remarked while still catching his breath.
"What can I say? I'm a runner," she simply responded, putting her heels back on.
"Well, aren't you going tell me what you're running from, or do I have to force it out of you?" He asked, now standing up straight.
"What are you going to do?" She asked a bit flirtatiously.
He gave her half assuming and half serious look.
"The guards," she finally answered.
"The guards?" He questioned.
"Yes, they belong to me."
"You're the princess," he stated. He had heard of her. She was the Princess of Romania. He had heard of how beautiful she was, but seeing her was better than hearing about her. Her beauty was indescribable; there were no words in the heaven or earth that could describe this angel.
Word on the street was that she was to wed Prince of Austria, Henrik Amos Färber. Just by his name, he already sounded like trouble and gave a bitter taste to the tongue. Maybe it was jealousy, but whatever it was, it didn't sound good.
"Yes." Her answer was low and short, as if she was almost ashamed--ashamed of being rich, ashamed of being noble, of ways people talked about her, and especially ashamed of being so ignorant about everything. She couldn't attend schooling like other girls and boys because she was royalty. She didn't belong in a land of people who were not up to her level, or so her mother said. What good can a private tutor do for her if she couldn't even experience real life situations? Instead she was sitting in fantasyland while the professor was yapping about numbers and figures that she couldn't understand.
Everyday, while the professor explained to her about useless stuff that she doesn't even apply to real life—not that she had a life—she would be daydreaming about her charming prince.
She'd always longed for an adventurous life for as long as she could remember, but she wasn't meant to live that kind of life.
She always loved the idea of being saved by a complete stranger and falling in love with him, yet again, that wasn't meant for her.
"You shouldn't be here, it's not safe," Amador advised, with disappointment in his voice.
"I'm tired of being safe! I've been longing to explore this earth, this land for ages! And nobody is going to stop me!" She yelled out as she twirled herself with her arms extended into the air, taking in the fresh breeze of spring.
She danced around as she enjoyed her bit of freedom. For all she knew, this might be the last time she would ever see the world again once her parents found out she'd lied to them.
Amador admired her enthusiasm for the outside world and a smile crept upon his lips as he imagined himself kissing her. He had never had a girl standing so close to him before. He could smell her sweet perfume.
"You know what I want?" She asked in her hyper state as she ran over to him and grabbed his arms, which knocked him out of his daydream.
"Yes?"
"I want to run off--far away from here."
"Well, you might want to rethink those heels of yours," he joked, calling after her.
She briskly turned around, and ran back towards him and grabbed his hand, pulling him with her down to the lake.
To his astonishment, he followed her.
Her touches were like heavens; her hands were silkily soft, and so warm to his touch, making his blood boil. He decided to relax and just go with the flow, so he grabbed on tighter to her hand as they ran down the steep slope.
"Ahhh…" She screamed, trying to stop before landing in the water as Amador bumped into her from behind and knocked her down into the water, pulling himself in along with her, and he landed on top of her. Without saying a single word, she let out a big laugh taking pleasure in the moment as much as she could. She pushed him off, not too roughly, and ran with one shoe on and the other stuck in the sand.
"Oh, so that's how you want it," Amador cried and chased after her.
Running along the shoreline of the lake, she slipped off her other shoe and threw it onto dry land and started heading for the water. Amador watched in amazement. The girl, not just a girl but the princess--Princess of Romania-- that he just met less than an hour ago was now shamelessly flirting with him, a peasant. Maybe he was out of his mind, but it seemed as though she was interested in him. No! How could she be? Out of the rich and noble people of her class, why in the world would she want him?
"C'mon, catch me if you can!" She exclaimed, giggling like a schoolgirl, waving, beckoning him to join her.
"You'd better be as good of a swimmer as you are a runner, because I'm going in!" He shouted, just as he removed his somewhat torn and dirty maroon shirt, which revealed his masculine form that had been hidden underneath. He jumped into the cool water, swimming towards her. Suddenly, snuffling screams boomed in his ears. Looking up in shock, he found a drowning Delphine struggling to get her face above water level.
"Help!" she cried out, slapping the water with her hands. Instantly, he dived under the water and made his way towards her. He could see her foot was trapped underneath all the layers of her dress. As fast as he could, he pushed himself forward. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her body up enough for her head to be above water, and as he did the same, swam to shore.
Gently laying her body onto the sandy ground, he carefully brushed her honey golden brown hair her away from her face, before she coughed. She desperately coughed up water to get it out of her clogged-up throat. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to support her back up.
"Are you going to be all right?" He asked, still shaken by the incident. "You scared me for a minute there."
"You…you saved me." She uttered breathlessly looking up into his eyes, while tears welled up on hers, and she choked up thinking about what just happened. "You saved me."
"Yes, well, of course." Amador helped the young princess up to her feet. "You don't expect me to just leave you there and drown, now do you?"
"I guess not. How do I ever repay you? I didn't bring any gold with me."
"No, you don't need to…"Before he could finish the sentence, Delphine had leaned in and kissed him, leaving him speechless.
Did the princess just kiss him? Or was he dreaming? He stood stiffly as he stared at her, trying not to wake himself up if it was indeed just a dream. She leaned in closer and kissed him more passionately. Not knowing what to do, he found himself relaxing, and he kissed her back eagerly. His arms slowly crawled around her and pulled her in closer to him. Sliding her hands up around his neck, she dragged him down to her level and ran her fingers through his wet curly hair.
He ran his lips to her cheeks, and slowly to her neck. Waves of desire pulsed throughout his body. Delphine kept her eyes closed and enjoyed every single one of his kisses. She could feel his length pressed against her raging body. Her fingers left his hair and traveled down to his broad shoulders. She pressed her hand against his strong chest, sliding it to the back of his neck, and slowly pulled away.
He looked up into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I…"
"No, it's not that," she quickly assured him. "I---I need to get going."
"Oh," Amador whispered in disappointment coming back to reality, but brushed it off quickly. "Do you want me to walk you back?"
"No, first I have to dry off first before I leave." She responded looking down at her clothes.
"C'mon." He grabbed her hand and started leading her further down to the shoreline of the lake.
After walking about half a mile, they reached a small log cabin laid in the middle of the forest. "What's this?" Delphine asked, following him into the old cabin.
"This is my place," he replied. "It's not much, but it keeps the rain out, and the place dry."
"You can dry yourself off here," he instructed as he lit up the fireplace. Delphine walked to his side, and held her hand out to feel the heat against it.
"Don't you get lonely?" she suddenly asked, facing him.
"Pardon me?" Amador looked up.
"Do you get lonely living here alone?" she repeated.
"You get used to it," he simply replied, looking at the blazing fire.
"Oh," was all she said. She started glancing around the room, examining each part of the room carefully. Suddenly something caught her eyes. She cocked her head to the side to get a better view of it. Amador looked at her amusingly and tried to pinpoint what was so interesting that had caught her attention.
"Who's that?" she curiously asked, pointing to a frame with an illustrated picture of a woman who looked to be around her late teen years.
"That's--that's my mother," he answered hesitantly.
"She's really beautiful." She made her way to a small nightstand to pick up the frame. Before her hand could touch it, Amador had stopped her.
"Don't touch it!" he called out, making her jump. She turned and looked at him with sad eyes, as though she had hurt him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It's just that the frame is really old, and I'm afraid it might fall apart. I have no other place to keep it. It really means a lot to me."
"No, I'm sorry. I should've asked." She then looked back at the picture and back to him. "So where is she?"
He let out a chuckle, which made Delphine blushed. Noticing this, he stopped and lifted her face towards his and answered her thoughtfully, "She has passed on."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." she sympathized, placing her hands across her heart.
"Ah, she's in a better place now," he replied, smiling charmingly at her. God! His smile just melted her heart. It was just so sincere and genuine. She smiled back with her eyes twinkling in the glow of the flame.
"It'd been an amazing and unexpected day, but I have to go. Thank you for joining me." She gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Do you want me to walk you back?" he asked hopefully, not wanting the perfect day to end.
"It wouldn't be a pretty picture if the guards see us together. I don't want you to risk your life for mine."
"It won't be the first time."
She let out a laugh and sighed. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek again. "Farewell."
With that, she let herself out, and started running up the hill, as Amador watched her from his window. It was the first and last time he would ever see her again. Out of all the beautiful girls in Romania, the one that walked into his life and captured heart had to be a princess.
Closing his eyes, he could still taste her sweet kisses, her silky hands and her soft touches. It was like he was in paradise, just for a short instant, but it was all worth it. His image abruptly faded by obnoxious finger snapping.
***
"Earth to Phoebe! Earth to Phoebe!" Paige snapped her fingers in front of Phoebe's face, as she snapped back to reality. "C'mon are we watching the movie or not?"
"Sure, sure." She replied dismissively without bothering to look at her. The outer world was shunned from her vision, while her mind lingered around her past.
Yours
By: L.N
Disclaimer: All (modern) characters belong to the Spelling Entertainment Production. The rest belongs to me.
Date: 12-9-02
Setting:
Early 17th century
Characters:
Phoebe- Delphine Isabelle Mallet
Daughter of King Alber VIII and Queen Victoria, she's the only child the couple could conceive.
Piper- Gabrielle Alyn Färber
Oldest daughter of King Giorgio VXI, she's the Princess of Austria. Married to a wealthy writer Leonardo Mellinio of Italy.
Paige- Chloë Hannah Färber
Youngest daughter of King Giorgio VXI, she's a rebellious 13 year-old. Still has a mind of a child.
Cole- Amador Fabiano
Italian-Austrian born, Amador, is the son of a peasant couple. He was fatherless since he was 8, and an orphan since he was 16, when his mother passed away of smallpox.
Leo- Leonardo Mellinio
A writer originally came from Italy, who migrated to Austria in search for a better life.
Other characters:
Queen Victoria Alexia Zechner of Romania/Austria- Originally Princess of Austria, until she was married to King Mallet VIII and became Queen Victoria.
King Alber Mallet VIII of Romania- First born son of King Alber VII received the throne when he was 17, married to Princess of Austria, now Queen. They have one daughter, Delphine Isabelle Mallet.
Henrik Amos Färber- The only son of King Giorgio XVI, he's the young Prince of Austria.
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Chapter I
The Meeting
"Do you know what I've always wondered?" came the laid-back voice of Phoebe Halliwell, who walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn in her hands.
Settling herself on Cole's lap with one arm wrapped around his neck, she handed Paige the bowl of popcorn to pass around.
"What honey?" Cole asked, kissing her cheek.
"I always wondered what I—we were in our past lives," Phoebe replied, with her mind wandering around her own thoughts.
"We've seen our past lives, Phoebe," Piper responded, not a bit interested.
"I was the evil witch, remember?" Paige claimed, reaching for her popcorn.
"I know, but I meant our lives before that," Phoebe clarified, while Piper stared at her still not interested.
"You know how I hate time traveling, so there's no point to even bother asking me that question," Piper simply stated.
"Well, I'm interested," Phoebe stated, still lost in her own thoughts of wonderment. "I mean, was I a peasant, middle-class, or noble? Who was my knight in shining armor? Who was my family?"
***
Staring into space, images of the present swiftly faded away, replaced by a valley where an open field of fresh cut grass welcomed the new arrival of spring. Tulips of all colours blossomed along the outline of an ancient castle.
Beaming golden sunlight reflected and bounced off of an emerald green silk dress, sending metallic sparks surrounding the accentuated body. "Mother, can I please go out to the market?" asked an adolescent child, no older than sixteen, pleading her mother, who was enjoying the fresh smell of spring as she sniffed in the delicate aroma of the rose shrubs.
"Delphine, you know how dangerous it is out there," she replied softly as she turned to her young daughter, lecturing her. "No girl your age, especially a young princess like yourself, should be out wondering in a filthy place such as the market. Who knows what kind of predators are out there sniffing and searching for young girls like you to take advantage of."
"What if I take one of the guards with me?" She continued to beg. "For once mother, I would like to see what the world is like outside of this castle."
"You will once you're married, but for now you are only to stay in the castle, unless you're with your father or me out visiting Austria." Her voice was delicate, yet firm and steady.
"Well, then you can come with me," The young princess excitedly offered, hungry for adventure. "Please, mother, it'll be so much fun."
"Delphine, no is no." Her mother answered unyieldingly.
"Fine." She huffed whiningly, turning her back to her mother. She ran off to her room, but she bumped into a tall figure in a red robe, with an outline of golden fur on the rim, with vertical patterns knotted along the wild robe, which towered over her tiny figure. Gasping in horror, she threw her arms in front of her to shield herself from the giant figure.
"Delphine," Its voice thundered throughout the vacant hallway, causing the flames from the rusty medal torches that were carefully hung along the hall sway.
"Father." A low whisper escaped her rosy lips, with her eyes widened in fear.
"How many times have I told you not to run, young lady?" His tone boomed, matching his tall figure, both of which sometimes frightened her a little. "When will you learn?"
"I'm sorry father," The princess apologized in her most innocent voice accompanied by her puppy dog eyes.
"Well, don't let me catch you running again, or you will be punished." He firmly commanded, but then softened as his eyes met her apologetic ones.
"Yes, father." She obediently replied. Just as her royal father walked away, she called sweetly after him. "O, father." He slightly turned as she continued on. "Can I please go to the market?"
"What did your mother say?"
"Well, mother said it was up to you," she lied. "Whatever you say goes."
"Don't worry, I'll take a guard with me," She quickly added, afraid he might say no. "Two guards! However many you want!"
"Calm down young child." He motioned his hand for her to settle herself down. "You can go."
"Thank you father!" She jumped into his arms in excitement.
He slightly pulled her away just enough to see her face. "Only if you take the guards with you."
"Bless you father, oh, bless you!" She kissed him once on each of his chubby cheeks, before taking off.
Racing down the hall, she was held back by her father's roaring voice. "What have we just talked about?"
Twirling around, she mischievously flashed her father a grin, and then started walking like a lady downstairs, but you could still tell, though, that she felt urged to zoom down the spiral stairwell. Bundling up her lavishly elegant emerald gown by its side, she hurried down the carpeted steps.
In town, crowds assembled around a small stand. Gasps of amazement traveled a far distance, which caught Delphine's attention. Her eyes lit up as she heard uproar noises from up ahead. A bright smile made its way to her lips. She followed the noise like a young, curious child and took off quickly, leaving the guards behind with terror upon their faces.
Cramming through the crowds, she squeezed herself in between people as she struggled her way through the massive horde, but then she tripped over someone's gigantic foot that was sticking out in her way. As she was about to fall flat on her face, a strong arm shot out and grabbed her by her waist, and pulled her in tightly, before she could hit the ground.
Slowly turning her head, she was eye to eye with a handsome bearded, blue-eyed gentleman staring back at her warm brown ones.
Her heart just seemed to stop as her eyes met his. Those eyes---those beautiful blue eyes. They seemed to be full of passion and mysteries. She couldn't help herself but stare. She was losing herself in them and her knees weakened.
"Are you all right ma'am?" He politely asked, still holding her.
"Huh?" She snapped back into reality. "Yes, I'm quite alright, I suppose." She nervously let out a chuckle, fighting herself to get out of his grasp, while her body wanted to stay in his arm forever.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He quickly apologized, as he let her up. He could not take his eyes off of her.
"It's quite all right." She giggled. "I'm Delphine."
"I'm Amador. What is a young lady like you doing in crowds such as these?" He could just tell that she was no commoner like himself. She was well dressed, and seemed do be very ignorant about the world around her.
"I just wanted to see the market."
"My guess is that you're not from around here."
She shook her head, just before she saw some movements around the people. "What do you say we get out of here?" She anxiously suggested.
"Pardon me?" Amador was baffled. Before he could protest, she yanked him out of the crowd, and rushed off.
"For a young lady, you're a very impressive runner." He complimented, while catching up with her.
"You can stop calling me that; I've had just about enough of that from my father, thank you." She replied with a slight bit of irritation in her angelic voice. She slipped off her heels and took off again as she disappeared down the road.
Looking around bewilderingly, he had lost her. He was searching for her when suddenly he felt someone tugging and pulling him into a small street. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked angrily.
"This way!" Was all she said just before the guards ran passed them.
They continued to run until they finally reached a peaceful lake within the wilderness. Gentle waves splashed onto the sandy shore, while the luminous sunrays glistened in the water.
She grabbed a hold of a tree to slow her down. She tried to catch her breath and rested against the strong trunk. Amador couldn't help but admire her while catching his own breath, wrapping one arm around his abdomen, and one rested on the trunk opposite end of Delphine's. He couldn't remember a time when he had run so much in his life, except for when he was fifteen and he had stolen a couple of roasted corns from the exact market that they had just escaped from, but they had been for his sick mother. He hadn't had much money; chopping wood wasn't enough to feed two people, and it was only enough to buy medicine for his ill mother. That still wasn't enough. He was forced to sell some of his most precious items, mostly of what his father had left for him and his mother shortly before his departure into the afterlife.
"You're quite a runner for someone who looked to be a well-mannered lady," he remarked while still catching his breath.
"What can I say? I'm a runner," she simply responded, putting her heels back on.
"Well, aren't you going tell me what you're running from, or do I have to force it out of you?" He asked, now standing up straight.
"What are you going to do?" She asked a bit flirtatiously.
He gave her half assuming and half serious look.
"The guards," she finally answered.
"The guards?" He questioned.
"Yes, they belong to me."
"You're the princess," he stated. He had heard of her. She was the Princess of Romania. He had heard of how beautiful she was, but seeing her was better than hearing about her. Her beauty was indescribable; there were no words in the heaven or earth that could describe this angel.
Word on the street was that she was to wed Prince of Austria, Henrik Amos Färber. Just by his name, he already sounded like trouble and gave a bitter taste to the tongue. Maybe it was jealousy, but whatever it was, it didn't sound good.
"Yes." Her answer was low and short, as if she was almost ashamed--ashamed of being rich, ashamed of being noble, of ways people talked about her, and especially ashamed of being so ignorant about everything. She couldn't attend schooling like other girls and boys because she was royalty. She didn't belong in a land of people who were not up to her level, or so her mother said. What good can a private tutor do for her if she couldn't even experience real life situations? Instead she was sitting in fantasyland while the professor was yapping about numbers and figures that she couldn't understand.
Everyday, while the professor explained to her about useless stuff that she doesn't even apply to real life—not that she had a life—she would be daydreaming about her charming prince.
She'd always longed for an adventurous life for as long as she could remember, but she wasn't meant to live that kind of life.
She always loved the idea of being saved by a complete stranger and falling in love with him, yet again, that wasn't meant for her.
"You shouldn't be here, it's not safe," Amador advised, with disappointment in his voice.
"I'm tired of being safe! I've been longing to explore this earth, this land for ages! And nobody is going to stop me!" She yelled out as she twirled herself with her arms extended into the air, taking in the fresh breeze of spring.
She danced around as she enjoyed her bit of freedom. For all she knew, this might be the last time she would ever see the world again once her parents found out she'd lied to them.
Amador admired her enthusiasm for the outside world and a smile crept upon his lips as he imagined himself kissing her. He had never had a girl standing so close to him before. He could smell her sweet perfume.
"You know what I want?" She asked in her hyper state as she ran over to him and grabbed his arms, which knocked him out of his daydream.
"Yes?"
"I want to run off--far away from here."
"Well, you might want to rethink those heels of yours," he joked, calling after her.
She briskly turned around, and ran back towards him and grabbed his hand, pulling him with her down to the lake.
To his astonishment, he followed her.
Her touches were like heavens; her hands were silkily soft, and so warm to his touch, making his blood boil. He decided to relax and just go with the flow, so he grabbed on tighter to her hand as they ran down the steep slope.
"Ahhh…" She screamed, trying to stop before landing in the water as Amador bumped into her from behind and knocked her down into the water, pulling himself in along with her, and he landed on top of her. Without saying a single word, she let out a big laugh taking pleasure in the moment as much as she could. She pushed him off, not too roughly, and ran with one shoe on and the other stuck in the sand.
"Oh, so that's how you want it," Amador cried and chased after her.
Running along the shoreline of the lake, she slipped off her other shoe and threw it onto dry land and started heading for the water. Amador watched in amazement. The girl, not just a girl but the princess--Princess of Romania-- that he just met less than an hour ago was now shamelessly flirting with him, a peasant. Maybe he was out of his mind, but it seemed as though she was interested in him. No! How could she be? Out of the rich and noble people of her class, why in the world would she want him?
"C'mon, catch me if you can!" She exclaimed, giggling like a schoolgirl, waving, beckoning him to join her.
"You'd better be as good of a swimmer as you are a runner, because I'm going in!" He shouted, just as he removed his somewhat torn and dirty maroon shirt, which revealed his masculine form that had been hidden underneath. He jumped into the cool water, swimming towards her. Suddenly, snuffling screams boomed in his ears. Looking up in shock, he found a drowning Delphine struggling to get her face above water level.
"Help!" she cried out, slapping the water with her hands. Instantly, he dived under the water and made his way towards her. He could see her foot was trapped underneath all the layers of her dress. As fast as he could, he pushed himself forward. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her body up enough for her head to be above water, and as he did the same, swam to shore.
Gently laying her body onto the sandy ground, he carefully brushed her honey golden brown hair her away from her face, before she coughed. She desperately coughed up water to get it out of her clogged-up throat. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to support her back up.
"Are you going to be all right?" He asked, still shaken by the incident. "You scared me for a minute there."
"You…you saved me." She uttered breathlessly looking up into his eyes, while tears welled up on hers, and she choked up thinking about what just happened. "You saved me."
"Yes, well, of course." Amador helped the young princess up to her feet. "You don't expect me to just leave you there and drown, now do you?"
"I guess not. How do I ever repay you? I didn't bring any gold with me."
"No, you don't need to…"Before he could finish the sentence, Delphine had leaned in and kissed him, leaving him speechless.
Did the princess just kiss him? Or was he dreaming? He stood stiffly as he stared at her, trying not to wake himself up if it was indeed just a dream. She leaned in closer and kissed him more passionately. Not knowing what to do, he found himself relaxing, and he kissed her back eagerly. His arms slowly crawled around her and pulled her in closer to him. Sliding her hands up around his neck, she dragged him down to her level and ran her fingers through his wet curly hair.
He ran his lips to her cheeks, and slowly to her neck. Waves of desire pulsed throughout his body. Delphine kept her eyes closed and enjoyed every single one of his kisses. She could feel his length pressed against her raging body. Her fingers left his hair and traveled down to his broad shoulders. She pressed her hand against his strong chest, sliding it to the back of his neck, and slowly pulled away.
He looked up into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I…"
"No, it's not that," she quickly assured him. "I---I need to get going."
"Oh," Amador whispered in disappointment coming back to reality, but brushed it off quickly. "Do you want me to walk you back?"
"No, first I have to dry off first before I leave." She responded looking down at her clothes.
"C'mon." He grabbed her hand and started leading her further down to the shoreline of the lake.
After walking about half a mile, they reached a small log cabin laid in the middle of the forest. "What's this?" Delphine asked, following him into the old cabin.
"This is my place," he replied. "It's not much, but it keeps the rain out, and the place dry."
"You can dry yourself off here," he instructed as he lit up the fireplace. Delphine walked to his side, and held her hand out to feel the heat against it.
"Don't you get lonely?" she suddenly asked, facing him.
"Pardon me?" Amador looked up.
"Do you get lonely living here alone?" she repeated.
"You get used to it," he simply replied, looking at the blazing fire.
"Oh," was all she said. She started glancing around the room, examining each part of the room carefully. Suddenly something caught her eyes. She cocked her head to the side to get a better view of it. Amador looked at her amusingly and tried to pinpoint what was so interesting that had caught her attention.
"Who's that?" she curiously asked, pointing to a frame with an illustrated picture of a woman who looked to be around her late teen years.
"That's--that's my mother," he answered hesitantly.
"She's really beautiful." She made her way to a small nightstand to pick up the frame. Before her hand could touch it, Amador had stopped her.
"Don't touch it!" he called out, making her jump. She turned and looked at him with sad eyes, as though she had hurt him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It's just that the frame is really old, and I'm afraid it might fall apart. I have no other place to keep it. It really means a lot to me."
"No, I'm sorry. I should've asked." She then looked back at the picture and back to him. "So where is she?"
He let out a chuckle, which made Delphine blushed. Noticing this, he stopped and lifted her face towards his and answered her thoughtfully, "She has passed on."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." she sympathized, placing her hands across her heart.
"Ah, she's in a better place now," he replied, smiling charmingly at her. God! His smile just melted her heart. It was just so sincere and genuine. She smiled back with her eyes twinkling in the glow of the flame.
"It'd been an amazing and unexpected day, but I have to go. Thank you for joining me." She gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Do you want me to walk you back?" he asked hopefully, not wanting the perfect day to end.
"It wouldn't be a pretty picture if the guards see us together. I don't want you to risk your life for mine."
"It won't be the first time."
She let out a laugh and sighed. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek again. "Farewell."
With that, she let herself out, and started running up the hill, as Amador watched her from his window. It was the first and last time he would ever see her again. Out of all the beautiful girls in Romania, the one that walked into his life and captured heart had to be a princess.
Closing his eyes, he could still taste her sweet kisses, her silky hands and her soft touches. It was like he was in paradise, just for a short instant, but it was all worth it. His image abruptly faded by obnoxious finger snapping.
***
"Earth to Phoebe! Earth to Phoebe!" Paige snapped her fingers in front of Phoebe's face, as she snapped back to reality. "C'mon are we watching the movie or not?"
"Sure, sure." She replied dismissively without bothering to look at her. The outer world was shunned from her vision, while her mind lingered around her past.