Under the Oak Tree Book 2 "Conquering hearts" ( Fan fiction)

Chapter 1 - Maxi POV

The boat lurched forward, and I found myself holding on to the railing in the back. I swore under my breath, if he truly meant what he had said, then I could not allow myself to look back. A few minutes went by, and I could feel myself losing the internal battle that was currently raging in my head. Caught between the cross fires of my determination to move forward and my longing for Riftan,  I frantically turned around, my eyes scanning the dock hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I scanned every inch of the dock, and he was nowhere to be found. All I could see were the solemn faces of the  Remdragon knights that had gathered to send me off.

I steadied myself on the railing clutching at my chest, I could feel the warm stinging sensation has tears started streaming down my face. I couldn't lie to myself any longer... I was scared. Scared of the unknown that I enthusiastically threw myself into and scared of Riftan choosing to leave me forever.

Clutching my chest desperately trying to keep the brokenness from overwhelming me, I continued to scan the dock. Out of nowhere I saw a flash of black and silver shoot out of the woods, and my breath caught in my throat. The silhouette of Talon racing to the dock, and Riftan flying off his back in a desperate attempt to jump in and swim to the boat, rendered me in absolute shock. I stood frozen, watching helplessly from the boat, has the knights held him back. The only thought racing through my mind was that he showed up... he still cares!

Riftan after realizing that it was too late to catch up to the boat dropped to his knees and looked in my direction. Our eyes met for merely a few moments, and I watched has he tried to mouth something to me. His hair was in disarray and his eyes were wide and wild, like they were trying to convey to me what he wanted to say. I leaned over the railing desperate to hear him, to just hear his voice one more time.

The sounds of the water crashing around the back of the boat prevented me from hearing him. We continued moving further out of reach, I found myself outstretching my hand into the growing space between us and I watched has he followed suit. His eyes were locked on me, preserving every inch of me to his memory, while his hand was still outstretched. I stayed in the same position, not willing to blink for the fear that he would disappear from my sight. 

My heart shuddered, and I was plagued with an overwhelming desire to tell him everything that I had concealed in my heart for so long but could never find the right way to tell him. In a desperate attempt to convey my feelings I cupped my hands around my mouth and tried to yell over the sound of the waves.

'I-I Love Y-you'

His eyes grew wider, and I soon realized that he could not hear me. Realizing this I started to mouth the words slowly over and over again, until his figure became a blurred silhouette outlined in mist.

The mist of the waves coated my face, helping to cover the ever-growing tear streaks running down my freckled cheeks. I found myself rooted to the spot, still peering behind the boat, allowing sob after sob to overtake me. After a while Princess Agnes, who I assume had stood back and watched has we desperately tried to reach out to each other, our hands extended into the empty air, laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"It is for the best Maximillian. He stood to lose everything, including you if we had allowed the conflict to continue." She rubbed my shoulder has if trying to rub away the memory. "I will make him see reason and help him to understand your decision, once we have you settled into the mage tower. Why don't we make our way to our quarters." With that she gently guided me further into the depths of the boat.

Our quarters were small, but we had enough room to comfortably move about. Princess Agnes volunteered to stay with me, knowing my anxiousness. She guided me into our room and helped me onto the corner of the bed. She sat down across from me on her bunk and let out a content sigh.