Princey's Unexpected Journey

CHAPTER II

"I heard a dying goose nearby," the man said as he stepped towards me, "so I decided to follow it. Did it come this way? Did you see it? Is it already dead?"

"Uh..." I could not respond to the man. He was even more beautiful close up. His eyes were wild and all over the place. I couldn't help but stare at them. The man looked at me. His eyes met mine, and I nearly fell over. When our eyes met, all I heard were the birds chirping. This man seemed to be lost in my eyes, just how I had gotten lost in his. We stood there for a moment, listening to the sounds of the birds and the swaying trees.

Finally, after a few minutes of gazing into his eyes, I spat out a simple, "h-hi."

"Hey," he whispered back as I saw a smile grow on his face, "what are you doing out here in the forest alone? Are you looking for an urchin who can give you ideals?"

"No," I chuckled, "I came here to be alone. I am tired of everyone asking me questions. It's almost painful."

Why was I being so...open with him? I had just met the guy, and I was discussing the reason for my escape into the forest with him! It seemed weird to me. I couldn't possibly imagine what led me to commit this act against all that I had believed in, to keep my emotions internalized and to shut up. Yet, the man laughed after the comment. Why was he laughing? Was he laughing at me? Did I do something that I wasn't supposed to? Oh, golly, what do I do now?

"That's funny," the man replied, "because that is why I came out here. I hated being asked questions about my non-existent wife. It's torturous! Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes! Those are the exact questions that I have been trying to evade! 'Where is your wife,' they ask. 'Who is your wife? Do you even have a wife? Why are you not married yet? Are you sick?'"

"I totally understand! I finally found another man that gets my pain." We both chuckled for a little while before our eyes met up again.

"What is your name?" the man asked.

I looked at him blankly. My name...? My name. Oh, my name! Oh no. I forgot my damn name. I looked at the ground in embarrassment.

"I," I muttered, "am Manuel." I heard a subtle gasp, so I turned my gaze to the man. His eyes seemed to sparkle a little. What did this mean?

"You are Prince Manuel," he asked, "of the Lin Kingdom? And your sister is Miranda, the one who was wed today?"

"Y-yes," I stuttered, "I am Prince Manuel." I saw as the man stuck out his arm, offering his hand to me. I took his hand, but instead of shaking my hand, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it gently. My face got hot and red very quickly. The man looked at me with a grin as he continued to hold my hand. "I, my dear friend, am Prince Jonathan of the Groffton Kingdom. It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Manuel. I have heard many things about you, and I am pleased to find that most of the rumors have not been true."

"Rumors? About me? What are they about? If you do not mind me asking."

"Of course, I don't mind! Well, the rumors just state that you are overpowering and brutal. You don't seem overpowering or brutal to me. You are actually quite nice, but a bit shy, in my opinion." Prince Jonathan continued to smile. Oh, that damn smile. It melted my heart every time I looked at him.

"Oh, they must have been talking about my father," I quickly responded, "he's the most brutal and overpowering one here. I don't consider myself to be brutal or overpowering."

God, I hated to talk about myself. It was almost as bad as talking about my father. I never liked opening up and discussing myself in a perspective that I was not used to. Whenever the topic of me came up, I always tried to change it. It sometimes worked, and it sometimes didn't. Yet, I did not say anything when Prince Jonathan was talking about me. I decided not to change the subject, for I wanted him to know everything about me. And I wanted to know everything about him.

Prince Jonathan laughed at my remark. My God, his laugh was contagious. I began to chuckle a little, but it was only because of his laugh. "Well," he said, "I am glad that those rumors are not about you. You are actually quite wonderful."

Prince Jonathan looked at me with his bright blue eyes, still keeping a grip on my hand. His face was turning a light pink. I could tell that he was experiencing the same feelings that I was. Soon, we stood in silence again. The only noise was the birds and the reception in the distance. Even though the sun was sinking over the horizon, time seemed to stand still. What was mere seconds felt like minutes, maybe even hours, of just gazing at the other. It was surprisingly peaceful. There were no judgements, no outside thoughts. It was just the two of us.

Soon, I heard another twig break. I quickly let go of Prince Jonathan's hand and looked towards the noise. God, if anyone would have saw that we were holding hands, then I would surely be killed for it. Yet, the noise was a rabbit, hopping around the forest floor. I sighed in relief and looked back at Prince Jonathan. The prince was still smiling. Why was he always so happy? I couldn't find that answer yet.

"Well," I said quietly, rubbing the back of my neck, "I should be heading back. My family is probably wondering where I have run off to. They might be sending a search party if I don't hurry back." I smiled at my joke, and Prince Jonathan chuckled.

"Of course," he replied back softly as he looked away from me, "I didn't mean to keep you here for this long. I...I just wanted to...to..." Prince Jonathan's voice drifted away. I looked at him with a confused gleam in my eyes.

"Wanted to what, Prince Jonathan?" I asked.

"I wanted to get to know you more. I wanted to know more about you before my family left."

I smiled sadly at the man before me. I knew that he was trying to hide his feelings. Yet, even though he was trying to hide them, his eyes told a different story. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, why don't you come back to the party with me? We can talk more there, I suppose." The prince nodded and started to walk towards the castle. I waited a little while before I followed him. Hopefully no one, especially my father, would notice that we came back at the same time.

Hopefully.