“I’m sorry.”
She sighed. “I’m just not feeling it anymore,Caleb.”
He stared at her, horrified. “What did I do? Please, please I can change for you! I’ll do anything!” He held onto her arm, tears gleaming in his eyes.
He loved her.
Amber sighed again, looking at him with pitying eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said again, “but I found someone else. Someone who's better for me. You should find someone who is better for you.”
Then she shook off his arm and left him, her hip-long shiny blonde hair swinging back and forth as she sashayed off.
It hadn’t even been half a block before a motorcycle revved up to her and stopped at her feet.
She looked up, squealed in delight, and climbed onto the back of the motorcyle, her arms wrapping around the mysterious man who drove it.
They sped off.
He was alone.
He stared at his hand, which had been the last thing that had touched her. He clenched his hand and fell to his knees.He covered his face with his hands, but then dropped them at his sides again. It smelled like her.
Citrus.
Tears ran down his face. He was pathetic.
----------------------------------------------------
He was pathetic.
She stared at him, his form on the ground, his chest heaving up and down as he mourned for his lost love.
She picked at the leaves in her hair. How undignified. A person of such high stature such as she should not be hiding in the bushes. And Maurice, her butler, would tell her so.
But he was not here. Because she had snuck out of the palace.
But she needed some air from the dignified people of the castle.
And look what she had stumbled upon. The most undignified thing she had ever seen.
She looked at the boy more closely.
Dark, brown, shiny, but unruly hair. And white pock-mark free skin.
She saw him weep into his hands in a way that would embarrass him in front of his friends.
She could not let this hideous display of affection for someone who clearly did not deserve it go on any longer.
She silently stood and brushed the last of the leaves out of her clothes.
It was time to make herself known. Something she was excellent at doing.
She made her way towards him with her chin held high.
A princess.
She tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up.
She gasped a little internally.
Green, sad eyes, the color of emeralds and fresh four leaf clovers. The most saddest but most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.
He loved her.
She spoke to him.
“She does not deserve it.”
He stared at her, for a long time. She stayed there, unmoving, until he spoke to her.
“Did you see all that?”
What a most ignorant question! Of course she did! Did he think she simply made a guess?
She did not let her disgust at such an imbecile appear on her face. She spoke calmly, evenly.
“I did. And a woman that would do such a horrid thing does not deserve tears such as those.”
He stared at her horrified, as he quickly tried to sniff up any runny nose he had and ran an arm along his face to try to wipe away his tears.
It did not work.
She sighed and kneeled down as to not damage the short commoner skirt that she had borrowed from one of the maids.
She took a handkerchief out of her sling purse and began to dry his face.
He did not respond to this at all, only letting her dry away the long rivers he had made over crying for the girl with the long hair.
After a minute or two, he finally broke down and began sobbing again.
She sighed again, a bit impatient, but brought him into her arms, letting him cry.
He held onto her tightly, as he dug his face into her shoulder, his runny nose appearing again, all over her jacket.
She ran her hands lightly over his hair, soothing him.
Here she was, a stranger to him, sharing a most intimate moment.
If only her father could see her.
He would have a fit. She shook her head a little at that and smiled inside.
After a long time, he let go. He still looked visibly upset.
“Thank you”, he managed to croak out against his obviously dry throat from wailing so much.
“It was no problem. Anyone would have done it.”
He stared into her eyes. “Anyone would not have done it. They would have left me.” He pretended to look at something to her left. “Thank you for doing that. I know I must look horrible right now.”
“You look fine. Where shall you be going now?”
She do not know if it was her pattern of speech or her educated swift change in subject, but he blinked at her a few times.
“Home, I guess.”
She looked at him incredulously. “Nonsense. You cannot go to your family looking as you do.” Here he hung his head in shame. “You will go to my house where I will fix you up and where you will recover from your--loss.” She, however, did not think a woman such as the long haired girl would be considered much loss. A burden, maybe. Right now, he should be celebrating and contemplating why he ever let the long haired girl into his life.
“I can’t go with you.” He stared at her. “I don’t even know you.”
She shrugged, an action her mother fiercely detested, but was something her peers often did on a daily basis.
“This is true. However, I happen to live in the neighborhood.” In the palace, she didn’t say. “I could get you something to eat and some tea to drink to calm your nerves.” If my maids don’t beat me to it first, she did not say.
Again, he stared at her. Deep into her eyes, as if he were searching for something.
For what!? As if she had hatched this brilliant scheme to corner him at his most vulnerable state and then kidnap him?
What kind of ransom would he equal to anyway? Ten cents?!
“Ok.”
That word infuriated her. As if she should be honored that he accepted her courteous offering.
Still, she kept her composure. But in such a short time this weakling was pulling her nerve strings more than her mother.
He got up and she led the way to a road she knew well.
She took out the newest model of the most popular cell phone and dialled her butler.
“Maurice,” she said, “I ran away again. Come pick me up. You know where.”
