Inivisible string: A Sam and Nehemia story

Chapter 19

Finally they were getting close to the port of Adarland. After months of travelling at sea they could see land. According to the captain they were a day's journey away from Adarlan, so this was thankfully their last night on board.

Nehemia had grown up knowing how to sail and how to travel in a ship, but she had never liked it. It had just been part of her princess training. Sam and her hadn't decided where they would go yet, they were between going back to Ellywe, staying in Adarland or going to Fenharrow or Terrassen. They had been talking about it since before they started the journey, thinking that they would find an answer before the ship docked.

Everyone in the ship seemed as excited as Nehemia felt about docking. With the war over, most refugees were returning to their homes, or what was left of them after the empire. Probably not many of them were magic users, but for most people, leaving when the war started was the best choice, getting away from the violence, from the constant threat of death and slavery. She only hoped that the rumours were true and with Dorian as the new king and with the Queen of Terrassen back the continent was a safer place for everyone.

That night, they were lying in bed with their arms wrapped around eachother in silence, she could feel Sam's heartbeat under her head, beating steadily inside his chest. Sam asked "What was your favorite thing about being a princess? If you went back and became a princess again, what would you do first?"

"I loved being able to protect my people, to be there for them and to fight for them. I think some even saw me as a beacon of hope. It was what a princess ought to be, not just an elegant person who was just sitting there next to the king, but a real person who really cared and really fought for her kingdom. It was my favorite thing to be, but as I grew up, I started to hate it. Getting to know my people, warriors who fought next to me or on my orders and died. People I swore to protect and considered my friends would fall in battle all of the time. There came a day when I stopped getting close to the newest rebels, started drifting away from them and training on my own. Nobody questioned it, I was the princess after all. But what they didn't know, was that I didn't separate from them because I was their Princess, but because I couldn't stand loosing them anymore. It was why I didn't question why Elena was sending me away. In a way I was thankful for that, it meant I could get away, even though I knew I wouldn't be coming back." After Nehemia finished answering the question, she looked at Sam, waiting for something, she didn't know what he was thinking. Usually, she could read his face like a book, but sometimes, like right now, he kept everything under a mask. She didn't think he would judge her, or that he would say anything bad about her actions, but even though she knew that, she couldn't help tensing. No matter how much tension it gave her, she knew deep down that whatever he ended up saying would make her glad they were together.

"I still can't believe you sacrificed yourself, that you knew you wouldn't be back and you still went. Leaving aside the fact that maybe it wasn't so bad at first, you still suffered, you still went all in knowing what you would have to do." Sam leaned in closer to her so that they were even closer, so that there was no space left between them, and grabbed her cheeks gently. "I live for every single thought that's on your brain, I admire every single thing you have done for your people, for the sake of the world. Don't ever be ashamed of sharing your thoughts and your actions with me, I will always understand it, and if I don't, you will explain me." He leaned in until their lips were touching and kissed her deeply and softly at the same time. He kissed her like he couldn't get enough of her, like if they separated one of them would disappear.

After that conversation and mindblowing kiss they just cuddled up and slept. Somehow they managed to sleep with all the ruckus of the people and the nerves that in the morning they would arrive to the port of Adarlan and they would find out how much the world had really changed. They would find out if the new King of Adarland had fixed his kingdom.