5,781 Miles Apart

Chapter Nineteen

Osten's POV

     Today is the last day Adalheida would be here. I thought to myself. I shook my head and tried to regain focus on my work. Checking for holes in the palace security, glancing at statistics from the most recent draft, paper after paper of work.
     I knew I was helpless. I couldn't get her off my mind. I sighed and pushed the paper aside, hoping that it could wait until tomorrow, when Adalheida was finally away.
     I went to her room, only for Gaelle to tell me she was in the Women's Room. I highly doubt she was there by choice. I went back to my room and scribbled a quick note on a small piece of paper.
     Your majesty, would you please join me in the hall for a moment?
          -your favorite person on the planet, Ossie

     I rushed downstairs and handed it to a nearby maid, who was very eager to do all that I asked. "It's for Princess Adalheida." I repeated one last time to her.
     Maybe three minutes later, Adalheida finally came out of the Women's Room looking beautiful as always. However, she was not dressed in a way that made her look like a future queen. She was dressed in common clothes. Jeans. Mom and Eady always obsess over jeans, but frankly, I've never seen the appeal. But on the right body, like the one in front of me, I could definitely appreciate them.
     Paired with the shoes was a dark blue long sleeved shirt that complimented her brilliant red hair very well. She also wore some of the weirdest shoes I had ever seen. They were black except for a weird white rubber part covering the toe and around the side. They looked incredibly hard to get on and fairly uncomfortable.
     She noticed me looking at her shoes and then said, "They're called high tops. They're pretty timeless actually. They go in and out of fashion all the time. I'm hoping that if I start wearing them, everyone else will too."
     "They don't look terribly comfortable." I mentioned.
     "They're just like any shoes at first." She said. "You just have to wear them around for a little while until you break them in."
     "But aren't they hard to get on?" I asked. No matter what she said, I was still a little skeptical.
     She shrugged. "At first, I guess, but trust me when I say it's very worth it. You can even get different colors or customized if you want. Make them totally unique."
     That had me sold. I liked to stand out in weird ways, and footwear was subtle enough to not draw too much attention, but just enough. I put my hand on my chin and thought about it. "You'll have to tell me where to get some."
     "Of course." She replied. "Now, I'm assuming you called me out for a reason."
     I smiled. "Yes, yes I did." I pulled her close to me so we were hidden from the guards in the hallway. And it's not like I would purposely schedule the guard rotations off by a few minutes so the hall will be empty for a minute. I would never.
     I draw Adalheida closer to me. She instinctively wraps her arms around my neck and slides her slim fingers into my hair. I crave her touch. I lean down and our lips touch in the sweetest, softest manner. I can only believe that this is the purest for of love. The two of us, holding each other, loving each other despite all the conflicts keeping us apart.
     I'm determined to fight for her. If there's one thing the love stories of America and Maxon Schreave and Eadlyn and Eikko Koskinen taught me, it's that this girl in front of me is something worth fighting for. She has my heart and my love, and I'm determined to hang my world around her one day.
     She pulls away, ever so gently and suggests that we go on a walk. We spend most of it in silence. We both know and recognize that these few precious moments are dwindling. So we walk through the garden, trapped in our own minds but enjoying the other's presence.