No Explanations - ONC24

Chapter 8 - The Next Day

"There's glitter on the floor after the party, girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby." - New Year's Day, Taylor Swift

Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you. That was all I could tell myself, all I could do to remember the night spent with Arora. Because when I woke up, I couldn't do it.

Arora was lying next to me in my bed, still sleeping. I couldn't remember how we ended up in bed last night. I only remembered flashes that included sex on the couch, the floor and in the bathtub. Visions that included Arora and me from the night before.

It had been the night of my life, everything I had wanted. Everything I had dreamed about the past months since I had fallen for Arora. It was a night in which I didn't had to worry about anything, thanks to the bottles of wine I ordered. I had been wonderful, electric, magical.

But now, in the aftermath of what felt like a dream, I realized that it wasn't possible. I couldn't have this relationship with Arora and she knew that. My parents would never approve of our relationship, they strictly forbade me to fall in love with girls. I couldn't imagine Arora's parents would be fine with it.

No, I would have to do with the memories. I only wanted to have one night with the love of my life and Arora thought the same. We would keep the memories of this night and go on with our own lives, that was the way it had to go.

I wanted her midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with her on the next day. Don't read the last page, but I will stay with her when she's lost and we're scared. Just in the background, just from my throne with Damian on my side. In an unhappy marriage, but one good for the city.

I can tell that it's going to be a long road, but I will be there every step of her way. I'll stay when it's hard or it's wrong and we're making mistakes. Just hold on to the memories, they will hold on to me. I'll see Arora and me, forevermore. Just, please, don't ever let her become a stranger who's laugh I could recognise anywhere. Please, don't ever let her become a stranger.

I got up from the bed and looked over at the sleeping princess. She was naked, just like me, and looked even more beautiful with a resting face and the morning sun looking over her. So peaceful, so pure, so gorgeous.

But I let her sleep alone and walked out of the door. I just left her there, walked away like a scared little girl. I couldn't do it. I couldn't love her. I needed to keep myself in check, to hold on to these memories forever. But I would only need one night with her, I had to do it with one night.

So I closed my bedroom door and dressed myself in a simple black dress. In my living room, I began cleaning up the bottles of the night before. I saw us at midnight in the spills of alcohol in my carpet, the little sips left at the bottom of the bottles, in the indentation in the couch.

I wanted to get out of this as fast as I could, away from these flashbacks and memories. So I threw the bottles in the trash and left my rooms. I forced myself not to think about what Arora would think if she woke up in my rooms alone. I needed to stop caring about her, about her feelings.

In the hallway, I ran into a servant. The girl bowed for me and handed a letter written in my mother's handwriting.

"Your highness, I'm glad you're awake," the servant said. "I was ordered to bring this message to your rooms by their majesties the King and Queen."

"Thank you," I said to her while my eyes went over the short letter. My parents ordered me to the ballroom as soon as I was awake and the absence of formalities made me think it was bad. I could already imagine what this was about.

I didn't want to go to the ballroom, where my parents would ultimately tell me they didn't approve of what I had done with Arora last night. But I also didn't want to risk their wrath or go back to my room where Arora could be waking up any second. So I quickly decided to head to the ballroom.

I arrived through the massive doors of the room. At the other end of the room, my parents sat on their thrones. It was a showing of their might and I felt small walking towards them. The weight of my night with Arora rested on my shoulders and I could only hope that I was strong enough to bear it.

"Ebony Navalle Keeling," my father said, his voice traveling through the room. He rarely used my middle name, and like a small child I knew that meant trouble.

"Father, mother," I said when I reached an appropriate distance from the thrones. I kept it formal and bowed slightly as I would do for any king and queen.

"You probably already know you're in trouble, young Lady," the King said. I nodded slightly but kept my mouth shut, letting them talk.

"We all saw what you did yesterday," my mother said. "Everyone at the ball was present at that kiss." She spat out the last word if it was a dirty thing.

"Could you remind me of the dating rules we had assembled, Ebony?" My father interrupted his wife.

I took a deep breath. "I'm only allowed to date boys - princes - off the list you assembled for me. On that list are all the wealthy, single princes of an appropriate age the City of Night has a good relationship with," I recited.

"And was the name Arora Aurum on that list?" my father asked.

"No," I whispered.

"Exactly," he said, as if that was everything there was to be said.

"You know we don't approve of a relationship with a girl, let alone the Aurum girl, so why did you kiss her in the middle of the ballroom?" my mother asked. "Why would you run away with her to your room, rumored to have a wild night?" I kept my mouth shut.

"Answer your mother, Ebony," my father said angrily.

I was debating what I would say, what I could say to not make this even worse. "She kissed me, mother. She kissed me and pulled me away. I was shocked and didn't know what to do. She didn't enter my room. I assume she has been in her own room the whole night," I told them. I almost never lied outright to my parents and would get in so much more trouble if they caught me lying. I could only hope that Arora had woken up and left my room before my parents could check my claim.

"You should have pushed her away. You should not let those dirty homesexuals come near you," my mother claimed.

My father laid his hand on my mother's arm to calm her. "The whole week, rumors have been going around. Youths claiming to have seen you dancing with girls, with Princess Arora Aurum. Last night's affair only confirms those rumors for me," he said.

"Those people have to be mistaken. I only dance with boys," I quickly responded. "You know how much alcohol is consumed at those parties, nobody remembers anything correctly the day after."

"I would mind your words, young lady," my father said in a stern tone.

"Ebony," my mother began. "We need you to understand we can't accept this kind of behavior. We don't want anything to do with those homosexuals and we can't have our own daughter have a relationship with a woman. You know how much that would impact our reputation, don't you?"

I nodded. The fact that I loved women shouldn't impact our reputation in the way my mother meant. I didn't believe it would affect our reputation, but nodding was the right answer. Those kinds of opinions should stay in my head.

"We will already be having a hard time convincing our friends that this affair was solely the dirty homosexual princess' doing, so you should make sure you stay out of her way. She and her family will not be allowed back in the city after they leave tomorrow and if we even hear a rumor that you have been up to more homosexual activities, there will be consequences," my father said.

I bowed my head.

"If this happens again, you will be punished accordingly, do you understand that?" he asked.

"Yes, father," I responded.

My father nodded satisfied. He thought for a bit, but didn't seem to remember anything. "You may leave now," he ordered.

I nodded and left the room.