Prince Zadkiel had been locked away all his life and had never been seen since the day he was born. That is, until he was whisked away to be wedded to his promised Princess Aria of Oryn.
With the once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience life and fre...
The night had already fallen by the time they were out of town.
Aria, Tina and Joshua had stayed silent for most of the drive. The only conversation stemmed from the very detailed story of all that happened when Aria and Joshua told Tina.
Tina had been awfully quiet, but she didn't seem upset or indifferent about what they told her. In fact, she only asked two questions, one being why Joshua didn't tell Zadkiel the truth from the very beginning and another asking where Heather might've taken Chad.
Of course, she was just as worried as everyone else. Chad was a real friend to her, and she remembered vividly the day she saw him at the bottom of that staircase and how scary it was for her. She also knew how Aria felt about him, and the last thing she wanted was for Aria to feel the pain she felt when Joshua disappeared.
Tina wasn't the person to talk about her feelings. Hence no one truly knew what she felt. However, the fact is that Joshua did find his way into her heart, when he left, she was broken. Even now, when he explained why he left, she still couldn't help the grudge she felt towards him.
What hurt her the most was that she actually let him in, even though he didn't know it at the time. And maybe his intentions really weren't to hurt her. In fact, she knew that wasn't what he wanted. But Tina had never been the person to accept feelings and love unless it was from her sisters or parents. The mere fact that someone else--a man--found his way in her heart was scary enough.
It was the pain that maybe he didn't feel the same way or the plain worry she felt when he disappeared. Then, there was buzzing about how he might've betrayed the prince, and she didn't know what to think anymore. Eventually, it all got too confusing, so she stemmed it all into one emotion that she knew she could understand: anger.
Joshua, of course, has seen her reaction to him, and the fact that throughout the entire explanation, she never once met his eyes, he knew that somehow, he had hurt her when he left so promptly.
He tried talking to her countless times after they finished filling her in, but she would merely ignore him or say something to Aria. However, she couldn't keep it up for long, seeing that Aria was far too distracted with her own demons.
Aria clung to a tiny notebook with her eyes closed throughout half of the trip. Sometimes, she would open it, tilt it to the direction of the moonlight and read a couple pages before hugging it to her chest again. Joshua drove as fast as the horses could go, and the silence remained thick and tense. Aria felt it, but she never addressed it.
Joshua sat at the front behind the horses. The two seats beside him were now empty from where both princesses migrated inside the carriage when they finished talking. The trip to where he believed Heather kept Chad was about a day's journey, so to sleep was not an option for him as much as he was tired. He assumed Tina could drive, but he was scared to ask her.
Soon enough, Aria fell asleep, and it was only the two of them. Tina pretended to be sleeping too, simply because she wanted to avoid confronting him at all costs. But somehow, Joshua knew that she wasn't sleeping.
"I really am sorry, you know," he shouted, just loud enough for Tina to hear but not loud enough to wake up Aria.
Tina, however, kept her eyes shut as she avoided him. Joshua sighed, briefly closing his eyes for a minute before refocusing on the road. He waited a while before he spoke again.
"I recognize that I have hurt you, and for that, I am truly sorry. I know that there are a billion ways I could've done things differently, yet I didn't. I know that…I know that what I felt for you from the very first day I laid eyes upon you wasn't something normal, yet I didn't tell you."
Tina's eyes snapped open as he said this, and she could feel her heart beating faster than the speed of light as she listened to him talk. She kept her eyes trained on the blurry trees and houses as they rushed past, and each star's twinkle as they danced in the sky along with the moon. She bit down on her bottom lip to suppress the feelings that his words had stirred in her again--feelings that she finally buried days ago when she thought he wasn't coming back.
Now here he is, getting her flustered all over again.
"I know that there isn't anything I can say to take away the pain I had obviously caused you, and I do not ask that you forgive me. But I can never do to you what I did to Zadkiel. I cannot live aside you, knowing the truth without telling you, Tina. I will not."
Her throat felt parched, and tiny beams of sweat formed on her forehead as she squeezed her eyes shut. "What… truth?" She didn't recognize her voice. It was so soft and vulnerable. She hated it.
She hated that one man she had known for less than one month could do this to her.
"That I am undeniably and eternally enslaved to your love, Tina. I did not know if I have been searching for you, yet you--you found me and grasped me in your trance. Your eyes are so guarded, yet every time I look into them, I find myself driven into your world. And my days away have been rather dreadful, my love, knowing I could not see you, or hear your voice, even if it's you telling me to leave you be."
Tina's lips twitched a bit at this, remembering how she would always demand that he leave her alone.
"What I am saying is, if I have to wait forever to make up for the awful things I've done, I will. And if by then you have decided that you do not wish to accept me, I will wish for you nothing but happiness. But once my friend is safe, I will not rest in my venture to claim your heart. I never thought it could ever be possible, but Tina, you…you make me want to do better--be better so that I can forever make you pleased and happy. So, if not anything else, I simply ask that you give me one chance. Just one to make it better and to prove my love for you."
A single tear slipped from Tina's eyes as Joshua ended. She never thought it was possible, but Joshua somehow had found his way in her heart...again. And she knew that as much as she fought it, soon it would turn around and swallow her whole.
She wanted to let him in; she really did. But the simple question kept replaying over and over in her head. Could she trust him?
She sure hoped she could. Because whether she liked it or not, he had already broken down the barrier she had built around her heart.
Now, it was either all or nothing.
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