Twinkle twinkle little star, I'm gonna go and crash a car - Ghosty
Czeslaw was in the driver's seat. Nora was slightly freaked out. Czeslaw knew how to drive, but neither of them had a drivers license. Nora wasn't the most tolerant of rules but she'd never truly done anything illegal. Nora could bend laws occasionally, she was a princess, it wasn't a big problem. But she wasn't in any sort of power here. Czeslaw didn't seem scared, or even worried in any way. He was going 70 parkway heading to a beach on the shore.
"Are we sure this is okay?!" Nora asked
"Yes, it's fine, I've driven back home all the time" Czeslaw said
"Totally. I believe this is fine. Definitely." Nora said
"You don't drive much, do you?" Czeslaw asked
"I don't need to, and I never travel." Nora told him
"We come from very different lives. I feel like this entire thing is gonna show that." Czeslaw noted
"Maybe so." Nora said
Czeslaw eased onto an exit with the blinker on. They continued driving slower through the streets. Nora sighed quietly. The slower they went, the calmer Nora became. Czeslaw was a pretty safe driver. He kept his distance, stopped at lights and almost never ran yellow ones. It was something Nora didn't expect. She was finding more and more things like that out.
For example, the other day, she found out he could braid hair. She was struggling a bit and Czeslaw offered. She laughed, and he stood there in confusion at this reply. But when he started braiding he was really good. It surprised her, but she wasn't complaining.
Nora rolled the window down, just taking in the salty breeze blowing off of the ocean. She smiled, not having smelled it in a while. Czeslaw smiled a bit, taking her hand. Nora smiled at him. Czeslaw chuckled back.
"I haven't been to the beach in a while" Czeslaw noted
"Neither have I" Nora said
Czeslaw drove through the town slowly, looking for a parking spot.
"What the fuck is this parking? It's early spring, why's it full?" Czeslaw asked in annoyance
"There's a parking garage over there-" Nora said
"Thank god," Czeslaw said as he drove over, and got a parking ticket
They went in, parking quickly. Czeslaw got out, stretching, Nora followed suit. They went into the trunk to get the things. A blanket, bucket, and shovel. Nora didn't tell Czeslaw why she brought it, but she wanted to build a sand castle. She hadn't ever built one before, but she wanted to.
Czeslaw carried the things, Nora rolled her eyes.
"I can carry stuff" Nora told him
"I'm good, Princess" Czeslaw replied, when Nora stiffened, he continued, "Just a nickname, Nora"
"Oh. Okay." Nora said, Czeslaw nodded
They made it to the beach, sitting down together. Czeslaw sat down after putting their blanket down.
"Are you gonna take off your shirt?" Nora flirted
"If you want me to" Czeslaw joked
"Dare you" Nora said
Czeslaw, with no hesitation, pulled off his shirt. Nora was red.
"My fault. Yes. I know that." Nora said
She grabbed the shovel and bucket, beginning to make the sand castle. But right as she put the tower up, it collapsed. She looked at it confusedly. Czeslaw spoke up.
"You need to add water for it to stay up. Should've told me your plan, let's move up a bit so you can use the more wet sand"
Nora gave him a look, "The amount of water the sand is near changes the consistency of it?"
"Yup" Czeslaw said
They moved up and Nora tried with the watered sand. It worked, Czeslaw was right. She continued to make a sand castle, not allowing Czeslaw to help, though his occasional comments were suspiciously close to tips.
She made it. A castle, pristine enough for her first shot. As she looked at it proudly, Czelaw got up. He walked over and grabbed a small washed up board and a few small sticks. He came back over, taking the shovel, then, making a small moat. He was even able to fill it with water, using the board and sticks as a bridge.
"We should get shells, decorate it more." Nora said
Just like that, they were working solely on the castle. They gathered seaweed, shells, anything they could find to make the castle look good. It was beautiful by the end of the day. The sun was setting and the castle with the sun behind it was beautiful. They took about a hundred photos before leaving. It was difficult to part with it.
As they drove back onto the parkway, Czeslaw stayed focused, and Nora dozed off. She was still conscious. Through the day, she managed to slip away from her worries. Her brother, how he must feel, what he must be thinking, how much he must hate her. Damien, she left him behind too. There was also Arya, she wouldn't be able to ride her horse, or any horse, for a while. Czeslaw must be worried too, about his mother, his place back home, everything.
Of course they all had to hit her then, all at once. As she mentally counted to 10 and took a few deep breaths, trying to ward off the oncoming panic attack, one thing occurred to her that she forgot, her medication. But she took a deep breath, squeezed Czeslaw's hand to tell him she's okay, and everything was good again.
Mostly.
YOU ARE READING
Mysteries & Royalty
General FictionA disgraced noble and a prince. Meant to be apart. One to be married. The other is to be secluded. Their want to be close battled by a social standard that forces them apart. They met by accident but would go farther than they'd ever expected. And i...
