Melt My Heart (Kaylor)

Chapter 5

" CHAPTER FIVE "

The marriage between Sir Henry and Lady Karlie was all everyone talked about. Now that Ardor had a King and a Queen, the land was inevitably stronger than Glacies, who still had only one leader and its govern wasn't as stable as Ardor's. Moreover, since Taylor and Richard had finally made up, the pressure that the Assembly was placing on the Queen's shoulders was getting heavier than before. Her counselors were always advising her that a marriage between her and the duke would render their land more powerful, more steady, but still, Taylor hesitated. She hesitated because love scared her; the power that it held over her paralyzed her, making her unable to just take the leap and ask for Richard's hand in marriage. It was as simple as that; sealing their relationship with a golden band would cover her with a blanket of safety. It would guarantee her the help of one of the most loyal lands, even though the King of that said land was her enemy. Taylor didn't have the guts to face this argument with her partner, but she was sure that Richard was aware of the impending stressful situation. The duke could sense her distant mind whenever they kissed, whenever they walked side by side along the bushes of the garden of her castle.

It was a dark and gloomy day of mid-February when Richard finally brought up the sensitive topic. The two were walking around the majestic garden, Taylor's hands brushing against red petals of plush roses while her partner had his arms behind his back, his head held down and a pensive frown upon his lips.

"My love?"

Taylor hummed absentmindedly, her mind drifting away with images of the Queen of Ardor wearing a white dress and walking down the aisle. She heard Richard clear his throat uncomfortably, before his hand rested on her hip and his lips parted to say, "Do you ever think about marrying me?"

The question caught her off guard, and accidentally, her fingertip brushes against a thorn, crimson blood flowing out of the small wound and staining her pale skin. Taylor withdrew her hand quickly, hiding the cut by squeezing her left hand into a tight fist. The duke stopped walking, and when the woman turned to face him, his eyes gleamed with a hopefulness that only a lover could possess. Taylor swallowed, licked her bottom lip, and blinked nervously. The sun above them shined too brightly, briefly blinding the blonde woman's words as they stuck at the bottom of her throat. Richard, as the patient man that he was, waited for her to say something, not pressuring her into something that she didn't want. Taylor appreciated his silence, as she dwelled over her response. She wished she could say yes right away, without thinking twice, but just the thought of that word escaping from her mouth made her heart race with fright.

"Richard," she began, and the duke, hearing her vulnerability, immediately spoke before she could say something else.

"It's just a curious thought of mine," he said quietly, and softly added, "I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm just asking you if you ever wonder about what our future looks like, if you picture us together or with other people."

The Queen sighed, pressing her lips together. Her mind harshly told her that she wouldn't have this conversation, if Nivis hadn't died just a few weeks prior. She would be happily living with her husband, his arms around her, and haunting thoughts of a brunette woman wouldn't always live inside of her head. But Nivis was dead; Richard wasn't him, but no one could possibly be compared to her dead lover. However, that didn't mean that the duke standing in front of her wasn't worthy. "Richard," she whispered, her left fist placing on top of his chest. She breathed deeply, his scent calming the storm inside her head. "I think about it all the time," she replied, meeting his gaze just in time to see the corner of his lips twitching upwards in a grateful grin. "I think about the future a lot, and I—you're there, with me. I want you in my future, but there's something holding me back."