TRAPPED

GOODBYE

A king always puts his kingdom first, the people's safety and happiness come before his own and I had been hearing that sermon every day since my coronation.
I had stayed away from Shalom because I believed it was the right thing to do, she was my cousin and a relationship with her would make a mess of everything .but as I watched her sleeping there on my chest, looking like an angel and so at peace I couldn't take it, I couldn't take losing her, the past few months without her in my arms had been hell, and then she came back and gave me one night of heaven, how could I possibly go back to hell?? There was no way.

I was slowly tracing my fingers round her face when she moaned and slowly opened her eyes which met mine and she smiled.

"Hey you "she spoke sweetly.

"Hey... Did I wake you? "I asked her "I couldn't resist ".

"I don't mind... "She said and cupped my cheek "thank you Eric"

"Wha... For what? ".I asked in confusion.

"For loving me... For giving me this moment.. I'll cherish it forever, wherever I will be." she spoke and I felt my chest tighten.

"You, you still wanna go? " I asked and tried not to choke on my tears

"I don't want to go but I have to... You know I have to" she said

"But I don't want you to leave me... I need you "I told her seriously,

I had stayed up all night staring at her angelic face and thinking about my future, I didn't want to live without her, I loved her, she was my queen and we had promised each other we'd be together forever. I would have convinced her to marry me there and be my queen, to not tell anyone else that we were cousins, but her parents already knew and they wouldn't let us be.

"Baby" Shalom called softly and caressed my cheek with her thumb "what do you want me to do?" she asked me.

"I want you to take me with you "I spoke seriously and she quickly sat upright

"What?! "She couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I want to go with you... "

"You're talking about abdicating the throne. You don't even have an heir"

clearly she was stunned and she was looking at me as if I had gone crazy.

"I know baby, but I have been thinking about this all night, I am not happy, this is not the future I saw for myself. Besides, if I don't have sons and brothers a cousin can take over, I wanna leave Arthur on the throne, he has been trained since childhood, he has lived in this palace before and he's ready.he will make a great king "I explained to her.

"Are.. Are you sure about this?? It's a really big decision and you might regret it later "she warned me but I smiled and shook my head

"As long as I have you I will never regret anything.What I regret is listening to my granny and coming here in the first place "I said to her and pulled her down in my arms then kissed her. "So?? Will you go with me?? "I asked and she bit her lower lip, thinking about what I had said. Then she slowly nodded

"If you're sure then I would be okay with that "she said and I was so happy I couldn't help kissing her again.

"Thank you, baby, ".
.
.
Initially I had planned on just running away but Shalom refused, she said the kingdom would panic and that wouldn't be right, so I called a council meeting and delivered my news which shattered them. I told them I wasn't ready to rule and it was overwhelming me, affecting my health and sanity. Things got even crazier when I told them I was appointing Arthur to rule in my place, technically he was a true heir since his father was the first born and would have been next in line after my grandfather, but I couldn't explain that to them.

"He has ruled you here peacefully before, he cares about this land, he brought development, he will be a good king. Don't let how his father acquired the throne cloud your judgment, it is not Arthur's fault" I tried explaining to them.

Some accepted my decision while other's didn't, but that wasn't my problem, if they didn't want to serve Arthur they could leave the council. I was just happy that Joshua understood and stayed loyal and promised he would help Arthur in any way possible. To say my mother was hysterical is an understatement of the century, she kept on accusing me of ruining her life and betraying my father, well if my father wouldn't want me to be happy that would be his problem. It's not like she was going back to the city, she would continue living in the palace.

"We said it, we told you that girl would ruin everything!" she exclaimed, they had seen Shalom at the reception and of course my guard had snitched that Shalom spent the night in my room.

"Mother, you followed dad here because you loved him and was ready to leave your life behind, you wanted to be with him because he was your happiness, why can't you be happy that I found my happiness? "I questioned her and she just frowned, crossing her arms.
I looked at grandma and she was smiling

"So stubborn, just like your father...he wouldn't let go of your mother no matter what we said about his marriage "she commented.

"Tell me you're in support granny ".

"You're your father's son, if you think this is what's best for everyone then go ahead "she said and hugged me.

"Thank you, granny, "I said with a smile and hugged her back.

Shalom of course never told her parents where she was going and whom she was going with otherwise they would have stopped her but somehow Arthur knew ,we were lucky he didn't know we were related.

"If you hurt her I'll hunt you down and destroy you "he said when I called him to the palace to tell him that I was abdicating the throne.

"She means everything to me, I wouldn't dream of hurting her ".

I was going against every belief just to be with her, I was ignoring the fact that we were related, I was doing this because I knew that I loved her and I wouldn't live without her.
Shalom and I eloped and never told a soul where we were going, we found a small island with a population of two hundred, no one knew us and that was exactly how we liked it. We even got married and I found a job as a tour guide, the island was filled with a lot of adventures and tourists came regularly, Shalom also found a job working at the resort and we lived a simple happy life,. I was glad I hadn't let the royalty crap trap me on that throne and dictate my life, it was our lives and we had escaped everything, it was the best decision we ever made.
Sometimes you have to take the risk, be bold enough to rescue yourself from things making you unhappy. Maybe if Shalom and I had known each other as cousins from childhood we wouldn't have fallen in love, but we met as strangers and we couldn't help it, we were in love and I felt not one ounce of guilt about what I had done.
THE END.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
THIS IS A PURELY FICTIONAL STORY WITH FICTIONAL CHARACTERS.
JUST BECAUSE ERIC ELOPED AND MARRIED HIS COUSIN DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD TOO, IT'S NOT OKAY. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR RELATIVES AND YOUR BACKGROUND; YOU MIGHT END UP MARRYING YOUR BROTHER.

A/N:
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO GAVE THE STORY A CHANCE AND READ UNTIL THE END, YOUR VIEWS, COMMENTS AND STARS ARE APPRECIATED.