A Peasant and A Princess

Chapter Seven: Run

I hadn't been running for long when she came running after me. I heard her footsteps like I could hear my blood pounding, but I didn't stop. I kept trying to run, but after a couple more yards, my dress and heel boots slowed me down. Mallory grabbed my shoulder, and I froze.

"What should I even call you?" She asked. Her voice was much lower than usual. She seemed almost as confused as me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off before I could even think of something to say.

"You're Your Highness to me! I don't know why I would call you anything else. You ask me not to call you that, but then you don't have a name," She practically yelled.

I was silent. My name was Princess Adelaide Rose Isla of Asmor, but it wasn't like anyone called me that. I was Your Highness to everyone, except for Edith, who called me Princess, and my family, to whom I was Adelaide Rose. Even so, Adelaide Rose didn't feel like my name. Nothing felt like my name like I suppose Mallory felt for her name, or anyone else who had two names, nothing else.

"I don't know." I whispered.

Mallory was silent for a moment. She seemed confused at that, but didn't say anything. I suppose she thought I was crazy. What girl doesn't know what she wants to be called?

"Why not?" Her expression changed. She went from confused and even a little angry to sweet. Her voice was higher, and more gentle.

"Anyone I've talked to, they've always been so formal. I don't have a real name I've never really had a friend, I've never felt comfortable with anything anyone's called me.." I spat.

She paused for a moment. I was pretty sure she had no idea what to say.

"Well you should." She said with funny determination. It was my turn to be confused.

"Your full name is Princess Adelaide Rose Isla, right?" She asked. I nodded in response.

"So we take one of those names. What does your family call you?" She asked.

"Adelaide Rose. But I barely see them, and they don't really talk to me." She nodded in response, and it seemed there were gears whirring in her head.

"Has anyone ever called you Isla?" She asked.

The name Isla was foreign to me. I didn't even know why Isla was my third name. I had only ever heard of the name Isla once, and it was some girl I saw at the parade who was named after me. Adelaide was my great-grandmother's name, and Rose was a traditional Asmirian name, but I knew nothing about the name Isla.

"No," I replied.

She was silent for a moment more, before asking:

"Can I call you Isla?" Mallory asked.

I nodded and smiled a bit. Isla sounded just as foreign as any other name, but Mallory saying it felt right.

Mallory sat down on the edge of the street. She patted the pavement next to her. I knew that I would be getting my dress dirty, but I sat down anyway.

"What's up?" She asked.

I had no idea what she meant. The sky was up, but I figured it was some sort of lower class slang. I gave her a quizzical look. Mallory just laughed.

"What's going on?" She asked, happy and chipper again.

What was it with Mallory and questions I couldn't answer?

"I don't know." I responded. It was the truth. What was going on?

"Why do you keep coming to my house?" She asked again. Her voice was a little more slurred now. Was she worried about me?

Again I had no answer. I couldn't figure out why I was so drawn to her.

"I don't know!" I snapped at her.

She looked a little surprised. I blushed and looked towards the pavement.

"I mean, It's okay, I like you visiting..." She trailed off, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

I closed my eyes for what seemed like a second. All I wanted to do was make sense of the situation. When I opened them, Mallory was staring at me. She blushed, blinked repeatedly, and looked down. I was the one looking at her now. Had she gotten closer since we had sat down?

Mallory's hair had sort of fallen out the braid. I wondered if that had been from her running after me. And then there were her eyes. They seemed more beautiful than anytime she had noticed them before.

And then I just leaned forwards and kissed her. She froze, and I was about to pull myself away from her and run away, but then she came back to life. She put her hands around my shoulders. I leaned forwards a bit more and wrapped my arms around her torso. Her lips were warm. Her lips were cracked and dry from the dryness and lack of product, and felt awkward against mine, but the warmth of them seemed to compensate for anything. It felt lovely.

Suddenly, Mallory pushed herself back, and gasped like a strangled cat. I started laughing, and she began laughing as well. We laughed and laughed and laughed. I really had no idea why I was laughing. Nothing particularly funny had happened, but I just felt so happy. And so there we were, and peasant and a princess, sitting on the side of the road, laughing like madwomen. In that moment, everything felt perfect.

In case you were wondering, Isla is pronounced eye-la. Thanks for reading!