Hello again, everyone!
I hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter!
"Whoa," Adrien gasped.
The two—well, the Gorilla and Blessa tailed behind them—strode along a quiet and dimmed gallery, with all these portraits of the royal family adorning the walls. Adrien paid attention to the recent one of Aisha and her family. "So many of your family on these walls."
"You can tell a lot by a photograph," Aisha stood beside him. "Behind every picture tells a story. Whether it is a beginning, the climax, or the ending. Sometimes it's something people only want to see," she stopped walking when she got to a recent portrait of her father, standing tall and proud. "I believe there's the saying, 'A picture's worth a thousand words.'"
"It's like with me and my modeling," Adrien massaged the back of his head. "Images people only see. But I think this wasn't why you pulled me from the ball."
Aisha shrugged her shoulders. "I just wanted to talk to you. Alone."
"Really?"
Aisha smiled sheepishly, but before she and Adrien could go any way, she walked behind a gilded wingback chair and pulled out a small bag. She gave it to the Gorilla and held her index finger to her lips when he saw what she gave him.
Adrien told her that he secretly enjoyed collecting superhero action figures, so she gifted him two from the nation's mythology and folktale god and goddess, who were said to have superhero powers.
She watched the Gorilla's reaction, and he winked at her. Aisha nodded her head, telling Blessa to stand down and wanted to be alone with him.
Blessa obeyed the princess' order, guarding the entrance with the Gorilla. Aisha took Adrien's hand and led him to the palace botanic gardens.
For the past ten-to-fifteen minutes, the two wove through the palace's expansive gardens, which had a rich collection of trees, shrubs, flowers, small ponds, herbs, and vegetable gardens.
"I love coming here to the gardens," said the princess, walking beside Adrien on the stone path. "This is where I come to get away from it all. To clear my head when it…when it can get too much."
"When what can get too much?" Adrien asked.
Aisha heaved a sigh. "My royal duties. My responsibilities. People think being royalty is all dressing up, people worshipping you at your feet, and living happily ever after. But it's so much more than that. And sometimes…it's still a lot to take. And it can make me feel lonely."
"I know that feeling," Adrien spoke up. "When I was little, I wasn't allowed out, and I didn't have friends growing up. Well, I did have one friend who is like Adofo sometimes, but yeah, that was it. And believe me; she can be. Until recently, I've never even been to school—I tried sneaking out once to go and got caught. I'm not even allowed out of the house without Nathalie or my bodyguard. My life's been micromanaged, even how long I get to be with my friends."
"I still can't believe you call him The Gorilla," Aisha snickered.
"Well, I do," Adrien remarked. "He's like a gorilla because he's huge, and he never speaks, just like a gorilla."
Aisha chuckled again.
"Yeah, still, a lot has happened to me this past year. My mother…she…" Just even thinking of his mother made him get a little lump in his throat. "Something happened to her and…"
Aisha replied compassionately. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"It changed my father," Adrien continued. "He…began distant…controlling…and overprotective of me more than ever. I do what I can to please him and do whatever my father says because I know how he can be."
"Sounds like my parents, too," Aisha remarked.
"And be the perfect son my father wants me to be. But sometimes…it's a lot."
"Do you ever go somewhere you want to escape or do something whenever you feel lonely?"
"I do," Adrien answered. "I sing a little song. And I have my ways of escaping."
"Aw…" Aisha looked up at the starry full moon sky. "Sometimes, on nights like these, I sometimes talk to the stars. When I do, it's like I'm talking to someone; the gods or my ancestors, and when they twinkle, I know that they're listening—my father said this to my brothers and me when we were younger. We can ask for their guidance, protection, advice, anything because we know they're watching over us. To remind us that we can never be alone, how they live inside us and will always be with us, no matter what."
"I never thought of it that way," Adrien sniffed.
Aisha went on. "There are certain things I can't do because of…traditions and customs that come with being in…my position in the royal family. But one day, someway, somehow, I'm going to make those changes for the better of this country. You just have to keep on going. And keep on believing that it will get better."
"Yeah…"
Unbeknownst to the two of them, their hands clasped as they continued staring into the dark sparkling sky. And then at each other's eyes…
"We should probably get back before we get in trouble," Aisha gulped. "I'm sure that's the last thing you want with your father while you're here."
Adrien agreed and the two went back to the celebration.
Adrien should be asleep by now—Plagg was after consuming all that cheese and bread from the buffet—but he stood by the large window and stared into the sky.
Something Aisha said about the stars still rang in his head. When I talk to the stars, it's like I'm talking to someone, and when they twinkle, I know that they're listening.
Maybe…
Adrien took a big sigh and closed his eyes for a second.
"Mom…I know you're watching me. I miss you. I really miss you," he sniffed and wiped a tear. "But…I try not to let it get me down. A lot of changes have happened since…you know. I…get to go to school. I've made lots of friends. Nathalie's been good to me. And I…" his eyes fogged in tears again and sniffed again. "Father's changed. But I know it'll get better. I…I just have to keep on going. And believe it'll get better. I just wanted you to know that. I love you."
He felt something on his shoulder, only to find Plagg there. Adrien continued to stare into the sky with the tears drawing down from his face when he watched a star twinkle, but there was a wobbly smile on his face.
A/N: Again, let me know what you think of the story...