He had stubbornly carried one of her suitcases even though she had men to do that. Now they were facing each other on the steps leading up to the plane--chartered, of course--and he surrendered it to one of her staff who went to stow it for her. She was looking down at him, perhaps waiting for him to say something.
"So…how long will you be gone?"
"At least four years…probably longer. Of course, I'll be back now and then for business."
He nodded. He had expected that; she had university and then no doubt she would have to get practical experience too at different companies…years of it, maybe. And all in a lot of faraway places he had never been particularly curious about. But those faraway places were apparently important. He tried not to feel bitter about it; they had always known this was coming.
Her fingers curled around the banister for a moment, as if she were hesitating to speak. Then she said, "Will you wait?"
He looked down. "Do you even have to ask?"
"I know…but, I want to hear you say it."
Without looking up, he said, "Of course I'll wait."
She smiled a little, apparently satisfied, and turned to mount the rest of the steps.
Suddenly he couldn't let it end like that. "Wait…!"
She turned back, a little surprised at his tone, and waited.
"I…" he stopped, unsure of what he had even been going to say. Finally, his jaw set. "I want you to know you're still free. I mean…you might meet a king or a president or something." With her, he thought, it was possible.
She started to laugh and clapped a hand over her mouth just in time. His face was so serious. Then she startled him by lightly running down the steps and seizing his jacket, pulling him forward a little. She put her handbag up to hide their faces; her staff politely all looked away.
"Idiot…" she murmured, against his lips. "What king could turn my head…when I love an emperor?"
He was still stunned from the kiss when he felt himself being gently pulled back from the stairs by one of her men. She had gone into the plane…they were taking the stairs away. He moved back with them and watched the plane take off…watched it long after everyone else was gone, until it became a dot in the sky and then vanished…taking her to some important destination.