The Courtier

14

THE COURTIER
♡ Josephine ♡

Our feet stop at a lake, bodies of water stare back at me. I never realized there were such things behind the woods. Looking to Ugene in confusion as to why we have come here, I try to speak but he beats me to it.

"You bicker with me about not having fun..." He begins, gulping then stares at the water in silence. "So here, this is me having fun."

"What?" I am still utterly confused.

A smile tugs on his lips and something at the bottom of my stomach flips, and I am a puddle.

"Let us have fun," he wickedly replies, running towards the lake and all I can do is stare and watch. His legs hit the water first and he jumps in.

My eyes bulge out of my sockets at seeing this different form of man in front of me. This was no longer Ugene, no longer the courtier, he was letting loose- something he wishes for someone to bring out of him.

His head rises back up for air, and his hair slaps him in the face, I cannot help but laugh at the scene in front of me. He
shakes his head, his hair flying back, no longer in his eyes.

Blue. All I can see is blue.

"We are supposed to be getting a few things for the maids," I laugh out. I cannot help it. My hand covers my mouth, trying to hide my smile that only grows larger.

"Josephine Castings, would you please get in the water?" He yells from across the water.

No, this was crazy. Mad!

We were on a quest for things for the royal family, and here he was getting completely soaked and dunked himself in the water. His giddy smile has my nerves shaking me- screaming at me to just go along with it. Have fun for once.

I run. Squealing, I run and my feet are drowning within the bodies of water that soon swallows my whole being. The bottom of my hair grows wet from how deep I am at and I meet him in the middle, can barely keep rising from my laughter taking me down.

Anyone who might pass by would hear our laughter and wish to see what this ruckus was about, but at this moment, we did not care.

He tips his chin against the water, his eyes softening at the sound of my laughter. He gulps, but smiles anyway and it takes my breath away.

He shakes his head. "We did not need anything for dinner."

"What?!" I exclaim with laughter. "So, you lied?"

He nods, a smirk slowly crawls upon his face and it is minister. A cruel sin, was he.

"I was growing tired of the same conversations. I...I needed some...Fun."

"And this is your choice of fun?" Tilting my head, I tease.

"Would you have a better idea?" He raises a brow. We suddenly somehow grew closer in the water, and it has my breath hitching, but I choose to ignore the feeling at the pit of my stomach. Why am I feeling so drawn to him?

Beth. She wishes for Ugene.

I could not do this.

"Beth, she would have my head if she knew what I was doing..." I trail.

His lips pout into a frown. He then shakes his head. "You think so much of your sister, don't you?"

"I do," I whisper, nodding.

"Your mother," he starts. "What would she do if she caught you?"

I think for a moment. What would our mother do? She would like to join me. That was the best quality of my mother. She did not care about the society, she wished to see her children have smiles on their faces and be happy in life.