Black Crystal Part 1 - The Origin

Chapter Thirty Five ~ Love At First Sight

Lenora broke into tears the second she and Xander left the throne room. "I don't want..." she whispered. "He's a..."

"It's not gonna happen," Xander said in a calm tone, putting an arm around Lenora as they walked away from the throne room. "I'd kill Nicholas before he could even try anything. You know, if Garen was here, he wouldn't let it happen either."

"I hope not," Lenora chuckled a little even as she sobbed. "He's in love with me, isn't he?" Immediately, Xander's eyes widened.

"You... know?" he asked. "When in the world did you find out?" Lenora smiled a bit and wiped her tears away.

"I talked to Lucius about it earlier today," she replied, walking back in the direction of the Castle Courtyard. "But all he did was confirm a suspicion I've had for seven years. I suppose you could say I've known this since our journey from Grants Pass around that time." She chuckled again. "Lucius told me that Garen almost immediately had feelings for me when he first saw me, almost like love at first sight."

"Of course Lucius talked to you about it," Xander scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "It's true, though. You mean the world to Garen. He talks about it literally all the time. It's quite annoying, really." Lenora snickered a little as they walked down the hallway. She and Xander entered the Castle Courtyard. With the nighttime sky above them, it wasn't quite as illuminated as it was during the day, but the clouds had parted enough for the moon to break through the darkness. "Peaceful night, isn't it?"

Lenora looked up at the sky. "Yeah," she sighed somberly. Her eyes turned to the moon and felt her heart ache a bit. Garen... she thought to herself. Where are you...?