(jaylor au) clandestine meetings in beautiful rooms

In Burning Red

The silence lingers in the air, as if the memories that I just had to bring to the surface are playing out in the sky, as if he knows exactly what it's like. His footsteps are quiet, delicate. He must know what it is like to lose someone he loves, for he doesn't try to water down the moment.
Softly, I take a deep breath. There's relief in admitting what happened to another person, something that my mother banned. There was to be no talk of Austin, of my brother. Of my little brother.
"I cannot change the past." I break the silence, and he turns to face me, his eyes soft.
"But the past changes you," He tells gently. "I am sorry that you had to see that. That's something that no one should have to witness."
I just nod, for words have left me.
"I'm sure that you still miss him every day you wake up, every time you go to sleep and all the seconds in between." He's watching me, his face soft. "It's so hard to lose someone you love in that way. I know-"
He is interrupted by the sound of four bells. Of course, I know what that means. It means they've realised that I am not inside the palace, that I did not go to Alexander. What a terrible shame.
"Damn it!" I say, quickly pulling myself back onto Dorothea. "They know I'm gone."
Joe follows my lead, and I guide us to the lake.
My father is the only one who knows where it is, but he will be too busy being King. He will be sitting on the throne tending to the upset in the village, and no one can disrupt him.

Once we have reached the sanctuary of the lake, we tie the horses to a tree branch. I think about it for a long time before I actually reach out and take his hand.

My mother would be horrified with me anyway, so why not add to that disappointment?
"Follow me." I grin. I haven't felt like this in... forever.
There is a waterfall on the far side of the lake. Behind the waterfall is a cavern.
No one can see us from the outside, and it is a place that is private.

"They'll be looking for us," I tell him once we're through the other side. To get through to the other side, I had to let go of his hand. His hand was warm, soft. Gentle. So distinctly his.
"I wish that we could leave," Joe tells me. "The two of us. Run away together, disguise ourselves as peasants."
"I just wish we could love who we want to," I say softly, looking over at him, then back out to the water cascading down in front of me. I wonder if he feels the burning butterflies, made of smoke and ash fluttering inside of him, too.
"Me too."
"It feels like I've known you my entire life," I admit to him gently.
"It does."
"I wish that I had known you my entire life."
"Me too." He reaches out and softly tucks a loose section of hair behind my ear. "More than anything."
"At least we are not alone anymore."
"Never again," he promises. Does he feel it? That magnetic force between us, pulling us close? That leaves me begging for more?
My heart rate begins to increase as I can hear voices. They'll check every area of the village, every piece of land to make sure I am okay. They'll find us eventually, see the horses and realise we're around.

They've spotted the horses. I know this as the voices get louder and Joe's body tenses beside me.
"Taylor." He murmurs softly. "Your reputation could be ruined."
"I don't care... I'm a prisoner within those walls anyway." The words are true. I'm already trapped, already wilting away.
We are standing now, and he leans towards me.
"There's something I have to do... before..."
It's electric, when he leans into me. It's magnetic. It's everything it is supposed be. His lips taste of both peppermint and lavender. They are soft, and gently brush mine, but I want more. This can't be it. I need to feel it again.
The butterflies collide into fire, the ashes setting fire to the essence of who I am and igniting me from within. I have never felt like this before. I may never get to feel it again. It's like I'm finally able to feel again, after all of these years. Does he feel it too?
His eyes are closed, and I realise that he does want this - he wants it as much as me. He can feel the fiery butterflies as I can. Embers spread quickly, it takes just seconds to start a fire, and I know it's already created an eternal flame within me. His hands cup my cheeks and I am alight.
I go cold when he pulls away, his hands leaving my cheeks, his lips too far away. It wasn't enough - I need to feel alive again, need those butterflies to return.
"I'm so sorry..." He murmurs breathlessly. "I just... had to know."
In a moment of pure courage, I stand on my tallest tiptoes, and kiss him again.
"You feel it too?" He murmurs, cupping my cheek again. I nod, breathless. I've never felt so alive.
I pull away, blushing.
"I... I'm sorry." I say, taking a few steps backwards.
"No! No! Don't be sorry." He takes my hand, softly intertwining his fingers within my own, smiling. "Did you... like it?" He asks me softly and I give him a nervous grin, not quite meeting his eyes.
"I did."
"I did too." He tells me, and I feel the butterflies settle in my stomach. The voices get louder.
"Taylor, darling?" It's Alexander. I automatically pull away from Joe, as much as I want to kiss him again. I purse my lips together. I fucking hate Alexander.
"We need to go." Joe murmurs. "I'll make up a story, it will be okay."
"I don't want to go back. I want to stay here, with you. Forever."
"I would like that too. But we have to go back. It's going to have to be our little secret for the moment." He reaches out for my hand, and I let him take it, before we collide together again, the sort of kiss you share when you know it will be the last one in a long time. I cup his cheeks, never wanting this moment to end.