"I can't convince you to stay?"
"Dominick, I…" Erika, the girl of his dreams, sat poised on her horse ready to ride right out of his life as quickly as she tumbled in. "All my life, I've dreamed of being free. And now my debt's been paid, thanks to Anneliese."
"Where will you go?" Will I ever see you again?
"Everywhere. I want to sing, see the world."
"Then I hope you'll take this with you." It was risk, but one Dominick was willing to take. He offered her the ring, a piece of his heart, to show her he would always be waiting.
She wouldn't look at him. "I couldn't." She allowed him to place the ring on her finger.
"It was meant for you."
"No promises?"
That hurt. "I'll take my chances." Lies.
She snapped the reins and her horse trotted forward. He answered her wave. Standing in a bustling village, Dominick never felt more alone.
...
The ring felt heavy on her finger. She would often stare it when she was missing home. Her mother had often said that home is where the heart is and she knew her heart was with Dominick. As a child she had dreamed of two things: finding her prince and singing for the world. Well, she had found her prince, a king actually, and the desire to explore burned deep within her. She was free. She could sing. She could soar. And she did.
His ring would always pull her back.
...
One month. Two months. Three months.
Dominick knew he shouldn't be counting the days, pining wasn't very becoming of a king. He couldn't help it. Erika would often send him letters detailing where she'd been (she was especially fond of Paris), what the concerts were like, and when she sold out shows. She had a hard time believing all those people paid to hear her, a simple seamstress, sing. From the sound of her letters, it seemed she might not ever be coming back.
Anneliese told him otherwise, but never her reasoning behind it because, "What Erika and I correspond about is meant to stay between us and us only." He could only guess that her awkward friendliness towards him stemmed from something Erika had cooked up, perhaps as a way to spy on him. The princess, however, never visited Dulcenia alone, and would quite literally drag her fiancé along for the trip.
He and Julian had hardly spoken more than ten words to each other. It wasn't that Dominick hated him, although he was pretty sure Julian harbored more than a feeling of dislike, the situation was mutually uncomfortable. They simply avoided each other.
Dominick walked down the corridor, nose buried in Erika's most recent letter. He didn't notice anyone else there until he ran straight into them.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, quickly folding the letter and placing it into his pocket. "I wasn't paying much atten-" The words died on his lips. Of course it had to be Julian.
"It's fine," Julian said coolly, picking himself up off the floor, "Your Highness."
"I, uh- You don't have to, I mean, uh- Dominick." He extended his hand awkwardly.
Julian stared at him for a moment. "Julian." He shook his hand briefly. "Everything all right?"
"Oh, yes. Everything's great. The woman I love is halfway around the world, living her dreams, possibly not coming back. Perfect! And to top it off, I just barreled straight into you. As if you didn't have enough reasons to hate me already."
"I don't hate you."
"Really? Because I wouldn't blame you if you did."
"I'll admit, I'm not too fond of you at the moment, but that's more because you ran into me and not because you tried to marry my fiancée." Julian cleared his throat. "Sorry. Still working through a couple of things."
Dominick laughed. "One day, you and I will be great friends."
...
Six months. Seven months. Eight months.
Dominick readied his horse. While romping around the palace grounds on horseback most definitely was not very kingly behavior, he found that the fresh air and agile bounce of the beast's steps elicited a rather pleasant feeling of weightlessness. He prepared to mount and heard a whinny that did not come from his horse.
Standing less than twenty paces from him, a smile on her lips, and the breeze in her hair.
Erika.
He ran.
She met him halfway. Entwining her fingers with his, Dominick was pleased to find she still wore his ring.
"You came back."
"Through all my travels, I've never found a place where I wanted to sing more than here."
And with what was certainly not the last of his unkingly behavior that day, he kissed her.
...
Hot diggity, I'm on a roll! I present to you my first re-write! Originally posted as 'Love Hurts' written like four years ago. I am pleased with how this turned out.