Serendipity ✔

XVI

"You can pretty lie, and say it's okay. You can pretty smile, and just walk away."

♫ Cry Pretty - Carrie Underwood ♫ 

♛

The young maid laid restlessly in her bed that night after her confrontation with the Duke's daughter. Overthinking Lady Penelope's words over and over again, Annabelle could not help but imagine the prince in the arms of multiple women. 

Maybe the feelings she had for him were much stronger than she'd ever expect to have for another person in her life. And maybe, just maybe, she feared losing him. 

Deep in her thoughts, Annabelle wondered what the prince was doing while she was struggling to get a good night's sleep. Was he, too, thinking of her? Or, was he sleeping soundly while the moon's light cascaded down his handsome face?

For the remainder of the night, she tried hard to rationalize Lady Penelope's actions towards her. But, Annabelle was a bright girl, so it came to no surprise when the sudden realization had stricken her.

Penelope knew about the prince and her.

As far as Annabelle was informed, the prince had not told anybody except Princess Gwendolyn. And as far as the young maid was concerned, the only person that knew about her relationship with Alexander was Madam Mary. 

But, Lady Penelope was his good friend. It would not be silly if he had already told his friend in confidence. Annabelle's mind was racing. 

Why was she saying all those things about him? Was the Duke's daughter in love with the prince, as well? 

The possibility of that weighed on Anna's chest. She suddenly felt guilty for believing the words of a  mere stranger, for Alexander had been confessing his love to her every single day since they had been together. The loud thumping in her heart indicated that she trusted him. She had to trust him. 

The maid finally fell asleep in the late hours of the night with the certainty that, no matter what happened, her love for the prince would never cease to exist. 

  ♛  

The dreaded fortnight had passed in no time and Alexander came back to the castle grounds. Expecting to see Annabelle somewhere near the entrance, disappointment filled his stomach when he saw the face of Penelope instead. He was happy to see his friend, but he would have given anything to come back to the sweet embrace of his dear Annabelle.

"Look what the cat brought in," Penelope playfully teased him after giving him a hug. "How was the trip?"

"It was good." His reply was rushed and quick. He kept racking his brain for ways on how to excuse himself in front of the red haired girl, so he could go find Anna. 

"That's it?" she chuckled. "Did you find your princess, at least?"

Alexander looked at her in confusion before he quickly recollected himself and cleared his throat. "It was a hunting trip, Penelope. And, I have already found the girl I was looking for."

"Oh, you have?" she had put her hand on her hip, cocking her head in mock wonder."Then, why haven't I met her yet?"

"You will meet her soon enough." His answer was simple as he made his way towards the castle entrance. 

"Wait, Alexander," the distraught tone in Penelope's voice made him turn around. "I need to talk to you about something. Shall we go to the place we used to go as children?"

  ♛  

That was how Alexander found himself in the green meadow behind the castle. Sweet childhood memories flooded back to him once he caught a whiff of all the flowers around him. 

"It brings back a lot, doesn't it?" Lady Penelope was the first to speak among them. Alexander turned around and smiled at her. 

"It certainly does." he answered, reveling in the sound of the birds chirping. The only thought that circled in his mind in that moment was that he could not wait to bring Annabelle to the meadow, so she could also witness all the beauty it possessed. 

"What did you want to talk about, Penelope?" he finally asked the girl after a few moments of silence. 

She saw down on one of the rocks behind her, gently pulling up her gown as to not make it dirty. 

"Tell me about her, Alexander," she quietly said. "Tell me all about the girl you fell in love with."

He sat down on the rock beside her. A bright smile crept its way to his face at the thought of Annabelle. "She is truly incredible, Penelope. She is smart, quirky, and completely unaware of how much I love her even after I have told her too many times to count."

Lady Penelope felt a tinge of sadness in her heart. She sighed, "She sounds lovely.

"Indeed she is," he said, his gaze firm on the two birds perched up on the tree bark in front of them. "The sweetest girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"I am happy for you, Alexander." She masked her face with a bright smile, hiding the truth. 

"You have no idea what I felt the first time I saw her. It was as if I was hit by a wave of--" he stopped himself when he heard a quiet sob next to him. "Penelope, have I said something wrong?"

"No," she angrily wiped the tears away from her face. "Yes." 

He confusedly looked at her, urging her to speak further. 

"All I ever wanted in my life was for you to speak that way about me," she said, completely ignoring the frown on Alexander's face. "I was always in love with you, Alexander. You just never noticed that. You never noticed me."

"Penelope--"

"Don't!" she stood up, her thick red hair bouncing as she paced on the grass. "There is nothing you can say that will make me feel better. I know how much you love her. I can see it in your eyes when you speak about her."

"I had no idea you felt like that," was the only sentence he could think of after Penelope's confession. "But, you are right. I do love her, and I do no think I will ever stop loving her."

She sighed when the tears had finally stopped. He went up to her and grabbed her hands.

"The right one is still waiting on you, Penelope. You just have to be patient enough."

After saying that, Alexander gave her a friendly embrace and kissed the top of her head. There was a second where she contemplated stopping him when he started to leave, but she didn't. He watched his back as he left her alone in the meadow, briefly stopping for a second to give her a warm smile. 

In that moment, she was more determined than ever. 

She was going to destroy Alexander and Annabelle's love even if it was the last thing she did.