Wrongly in Love

17- Confessions

Evening turned into night, the air was filled with sounds of cricket chirps and the partygoers could celebrate no more. Taking the last sip of apple juice, Guinevere wiped her slightly dirty hands on a napkin, planning to stop by the well to wash herself before going to bed. Just as she was about to stand up, however, she saw Nana hopping to her, looking worried. She seemed to have come from the bushes--her hair was dirty and her cheeks were smeared with dirt. Guinevere studied her quizzically, waiting for her to explain.

"Hi, Nana. What has happened to you? Are you okay?" Guinevere asked her tentatively.

"I'm fine." Nana replied before letting out a slight hiccup. In Guinevere's view, though, she looked a far way from okay in her opinion.

"I just had a small talk with Harith from over there," Nana explained further.

Guinevere raised an eyebrow. "Aha! A date! Something interesting happened, perhaps?" She questioned teasingly as she toyed with Nana's fluffy pink hair.

"It's-it's not that!" Nana turned pink as she gently moved away from Guinevere's hand. "It's just something important..." She clasped her hands and looked over her shoulder somewhere over the trees. Guinevere followed her gaze, to the spot where Harith had been putting tables away, as the party had ended.

Guinevere's lips curved and she tapped her chin. "Well, even though that 'very important talk' wasn't something about romance..." She grinned mischievously. "I assume that you like him, don't you?"

Nana shook her head so fast, an inconspicuous hair clip that she wore fell down on the ground. "No!"

"Come on. I know you do." Guinevere raised her eyebrows.

"Fine! Maybe a bit! Nothing bad's gonna happen to me if I say it, right?" Nana finally blurted out, keeping an eye on Harith just in case he overheard.

"No, not at all, Nana..." Guinevere's voice trailed away as she searched the clearing for Gusion.

It was Nana's turn to look teasingly at Guinevere. "Speaking of interests, you were looking for your boyfriend, I assume?" She grinned.

"No!" Guinevere snapped back into reality.

"It's fine. By the way, I was looking for him too, before you distracted me with all this Harith talk. I have something to discuss with him. Where is he?" Nana searched the clearing.

Guinevere looked around for him too. "Not here. Perhaps he must have gone to bed."

"Let's search in the cabins. He might have sneaked in some food from the party--boys are always hungry," Nana suggested as she started the trail towards the cabins.

"Nana! Gwen!" A voice called out and the two girls turned to find Harith exhausted. He seemed to be looking for something--or someone. "Where's Gusion?"

"We don't know. We were looking for him too, so we decided to look for him in the cabins." Guinevere said, disappointed.

"He's not there. The other Leonins looked everywhere, but he seemed to have vanished. I wouldn't be surprised if he was playing hide-and-seek." Harith said exhaustedly as he caught his breath.

"Maybe we should just look for him tomorrow," Nana suggested. Then she yawned. "I'm tired too."

Guinevere, however, remained steady. "I'll be the one to look for him," she said. "He couldn't just leave this forest-the hoods are hunting for us. He's just here somewhere."

Harith's eyes flew open. "You don't know Gusion," Harith said. "He loves danger and adventure."

Guinevere's stomach felt as though tightened. "I'll just look for him," she said gently. "If he's not here, let's just continue tomorrow."

After some hesitation, the two Leonins agreed. Just as they went to the trail to the cabins, Nana whispered urgently in Guinevere's ear, so Harith wouldn't hear. "Please don't tell me this is a romantic scheme of yours!"

"OK, I wouldn't tell that it is a romantic scheme of mine. Anyways, I really do want to look for Gusion too." Guinevere assured her as she stayed to search for Gusion.

Ten minute's search and she was already tired, but she still went on. After a few minutes more, however, she found a set of footprints. It led to a nearby river. It was already beyond the Enchanted Forest.

Of course. One of the places where Gusion can't be seen.

Taking a step forward, Guinevere called out. "Gusion! Gusion!"

Silence was interrupted by a few birds twittering.

Guinevere still continued to call determinedly. "Gusion! I know you're there! GUSION!"

That's when she saw a figure sitting on the grass.

Gusion fixed her with a gray stare, making her breathless for a second and making her heart flutter. But she didn't want to make Gusion think she was a weak, faint-hearted girl he could make fall in love with him with a mere blink of his eyelashes. So instead, Guinevere approached him and said, "There are you! I was wondering where you had gotten to!" She sat on the grass.

"Gwen."

Guinevere stopped and looked at him questioningly. "Gusion?"

"I overheard what Nana and Harith were talking about," he said softly. "And when I heard, I felt so selfish and stupid. As if I never should have stayed at this place. No deaths were reported, but residents are injured and I've dragged them into this mess-"

"Gusion." Guinevere held his hand, causing him to stop.

"Gusion, stop using the letter 'I'. It's not entirely your fault. It was my fault too. You saved me. You brought me here. If I hadn't met you, I would have been long dead by now. If you hadn't brought me here, we would have been spending our days in the dangerous woods. Yes, we shouldn't have brought the villagers into this mess. But you were brave to defend the forest from those hoods. And there's no point denying it, because it's true. Gusion, you're a hero. And heroes are human too- they make mistakes."

Gusion smiled softly."You really are different from other girls. You've supported me and defended me and gave me encouragement at times like this." He studied her smilingly.

Guinevere's heart was beating fast.

Gusion smiled wider. "Thank you."

And he pulled her into a long and gentle kiss.

Guinevere felt light, as though she was floating on air. She no longer felt nervous or unsure, she only felt happy, lips intertwined with the man destined to be hers. As their lips broke apart, she cuddled against his chest. Gusion smiled, holding her close as if she was the only person important to him in the moment.

"I love you, Gwen." He whispered softly in her ear.

As he had said those words, it felt as though a dam had broken in Guinevere's heart. For the first time, she had opened her heart to love.

"I love you too, Gusion." She whispered, hugging him tightly.

Gusion smiled and looked around.

Nana was standing there, Harith beside her.

Gusion and Guinevere jumped. Then the four of them burst into laughter.

"A good time for kissing time, is it?" Harith asked teasingly as he and Nana settled down in the grass.

"Sorry for ruining your date," Nana apologised sheepishly. "We just decided to find Guinevere, since it was already so late, and just ran into you guys."

"Its no problem at all." Gusion and Guinevere said in unison.

Guinevere smiled at Gusion. Gusion grinned. "Well, it's always a good time to enjoy with the people we love."