ARABELLA

Chapter 13: The Kiss

Arabella continued to grow in grace and beauty. That night in the garden with the handsome Prince had changed her considerably. Although she had given him permission to see her again, he had not come to visit in nearly four months. Consequently, Arabella felt a pang of doubt and heartache, whenever she thought of Philip. She felt foolish, sitting around in her garden, casting expectant glances toward the stone wall, as though she might see him bounding over it, to take her in his arms. Her poor roses felt neglected as well, although she cared for them well, she did not sing to them as she once had.

The Princess began to spend less and less time in her garden, and had become more demure and meek when spoken to. King Stefan had noticed it, and was very pleased at the change in the girl. He decided to broach the subject of Arabella's marriage to his wife.

"Glorianna," remarked Stefan one day after breakfast. "I think it's high time we chose a suitable husband for Arabella."

The Queen sighed and looked down at her empty plates. "Stefan, can she not enjoy her youth, without the cloud of marriage hanging over her head?"

Stefan looked at him, open-mouthed. "Dearest, you know it's customary to choose a suitor at birth! I have humoured your wish not to do so with Arabella, considering what happened with Aurora, but the child is now fourteen years of age! Time is running out."

Glorianna gazed back at her husband. "Yes, Darling, I know she must be married by the age of sixteen. I guess I'm just reluctant to see her grow up. I'm afraid of losing her, too."

Stefan's eyes softened. "I know, my dear. I don't want to lose her either. She has brought great joy to both of us, and touches the hearts of all who know her. But we must be fair to the girl. She is growing up; she cannot remain a child forever."

The Queen sighed again. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Arabella could not sleep. The darkness of her rooms seemed to close in around her, trapping her in its web, and threatening to smother her. She decided to go out of doors. It was still a warm night, for October, and she didn't need her heavy cloak; her light one would do just fine. The air was crisp and clean, and the aroma of burning leaves somewhere beyond the castle walls filled her nose. It smelled deliciously of fall. The Princess gathered her nightdress in her hand and made her way to the bench by the stone wall.

Sitting, she felt the urge to sing, and so she did so, softly, as not to wake up anyone in the castle. She closed her eyes and sang of autumn and the falling leaves, and became so caught up in the moment that she did not hear a small thud beside her.

When her song was over, she opened her eyes, and was startled to find Prince Philip sitting on the bench next to her, a captivated look on his face.

"Oh!" Arabella jumped up and tried to hide behind her rosebushes.

Philip laughed, "Why do you hide? You do remember me, don't you?"

"Yes," Arabella replied, hesitantly. "Philip, I know you, it's just…I'm…"

"Indecent?" He finished for her. She nodded and he laughed again. "My dearest Arabella, no one could ever use such a word to describe you." She looked at him to see if he was joking, and saw the twinkle in his eyes. She blushed and came out from behind the bush. He took her hand, and she sat back down on the bench. She gathered her light cloak around her, trying to cover her nightdress.

Prince Philip was still holding her hand, she thought to herself. She realized with shock that she liked it, and wished him to keep doing so. To her immense pleasure, he made no attempt to let go of it. "I suppose you are wondering why I have not come back to see you for so long."

Arabella blushed again, and wondered how she could respond to the question, without giving away her heart's desires. She finally settled upon the simple, "I had noticed your absence."

Philip had caught her blush, and responded with a rosy tint to his own cheeks. "I'm sorry, dear one, it's my father, King Hubert. He…wishes me to learn to run the Kingdom. I could not get away for long enough to come and see you." He turned and looked into her face. "I wanted to, oh, how many nights I've dreamed of that beautiful voice of yours, and thought to myself, 'I can sneak away and be back before daylight.'" He paused. "But you were never outside at night, and it's hardly proper for a Prince to climb a wall into a Princess's bedroom."

Arabella laughed at the vision of him scaling the wall of the castle, just to get into her window. Philip smiled as well. "Even the bells of your laughter ring in my heart." His face grew serious, and was suddenly very close to hers. "Arabella…"

Arabella's heart quickened. No one had ever said her name that way before. What was he doing to her? This was all so strange and new to her. "Philip?" she dared to whisper back.

Then it happened; he kissed her, very softly. Arabella was shocked at first, but slowly melted into the kiss, and returned it with the love that was in her heart. As they broke apart, neither could deny their feelings any longer. They were two people very much in love.

Philip pulled away momentarily, to see her reaction. She was looking back at him, love in her eyes, and a smile on her lips. He broke into a smile as well, and moved closer. They embraced once more, and the Prince reluctantly climbed back to the top of wall. "I must go, before my father releases the dogs," he said wryly. "I will return, Arabella. I promise you."

Arabella watched him disappear over the wall, and felt her heart tear apart inside her. How was she going to make it until the next time she could see him? And why did she feel this way? Was it love? She had always heard stories of people in love, and they always seemed to be happy, always walking on air. Right now, she felt as though her very heart was breaking.

And worse, she felt she was deceiving her parents. She had heard the servants talk of their conversations, and lately, the King and Queen had been discussing her lack of interest toward her suitors. It wasn't that she didn't want to get married someday; it was just that none of them were Philip. She couldn't pretend to feel something that just wasn't there.

Arabella thought long and hard, on the way back to her bedroom. Her parents wished her to marry a Prince, so why not Philip? He was a prince, and his father's Kingdom was adjacent to Stefan's. That would be a very wise move, indeed, as they could combine into one large Kingdom eventually. Arabella wondered why Philip had never been considered as a suitor before. It certainly made sense to her.

She got into bed, happily, remembering her evening with Philip, and thinking she had a great solution to her parents' problem. She slept well for the first time in months.

A/N: Hi again lol. Sorry for the lack of updates on this story…I haven't been in the mood to write much lately. I think I've tapped a good resource in my brain on this one however, and I'll try to write a few chapters while I'm here at the computer. Please keep reviewing, let me know how this is going. I'm trying for longer chapters, as well.