A Curse of the First

•«CHAPTER FIFTEEN»• •«MEMORIES»•

It was stupid. He knew that, but he was going through with it anyways. Birch will never approve! He thought, trying to convince himself to stop. Fir knew it wouldn't work, he just had to see Birch again. Then, he might finally be able to leave her alone.

It was too unlikely, he would never be able to be fine without her. Fir slung his bag over his shoulder and cautiously opened his door. He glanced out, saw no one, and left his room. Constantly checking to make sure no one was around, Fir quietly crept down the stairs, nervous eyes darting nervously around, watching for signs of other life. Worry for Birch ate at him. What if she was already at war and died? What if she was caught? What if-

No. Focus, Fir, he told himself. He made it down the stairs, but heard indistinct talking nearby, two other people murmuring to themselves. He flattened himself to the wall and waited for the pair to pass, then continued.

The light from the moon shone through the painted windows, creating a beautiful dance of dim, colorful light. Fir smiled to himself, a memory of him and Birch playing in that very moonlight. Fir nodded in determination. He had to see Birch again.

He neared the door that lead to the front garden, letting out a small sigh, not really believing he was going through with this. He was going to see Birch again, no matter what it took. Fir wrapped his hand against the cold doorknob and twisted it, trying to be as quiet as possible.

He was nervous, almost scared, as he opened the door. The crisp cool air batted against his face as he stepped onto the stone garden path. Closing the door behind him, he continued down the stone path. He held his breath even though no one was there, worried that someone could hear the sloshing of the water under his feet. It soaked though his shoes, making them squeeze water in and out as he walked, like a sponge.

He glanced around, remembering this path from that one day six years ago. It was such a vivid memory, one of the most important memories of his life, the day he had met Birch. It had been an autumn day, the air fresh and crisp and a slight, light breeze floating through. He had been wearing a brand new black suit, remembering he had only changed to purple because Birch said he looked better in it.

She had been sitting in that very garden, on a stone bench that the sun seemed to light up. Alone she sat on the bench, not facing the path since she was looking at the flowers in awe. Unlike him, Birch had been wearing something colorful, a flowing light blue dress. It had only taking him a second of examining her before deciding to walk over and introduce himself, so he did.

When she had heard him walk over, her head popped up and she glanced back at him, smiling. She smelled of flowers and fresh autumn air from being outside for so long. Her pale face seemed a bit rosy, but that might have been from the cold. Her dark, shoulder-length hair was a bit messy and the tips had a few small yellow flower petals clinging on.

Fir nodded curtly, smiling as he stepped over till he was beside her, but a foot away. "Hello," He said politely, "I'm Prince Fir."

She stood up abruptly, brushing flower petals off her dress. "I-I could tell! I'm P- I-I'm Birch!" She quickly recovered, nervous.

"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?" He asked, staying polite and not asking why she seemed so nervous.

"Uh- Yeah! I just became a guard yesterday..." She said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Hmm, alright! Wish you luck!" He said cheerfully before starting down the stone path again. Little did he know, that one discussion would lead to him falling in love.

Fir stared blankly at the stone bench in front of him, tears starting to form in his eyes. They weren't exactly sad, but they weren't exactly happy either. He missed her... she had only been gone for one day, but he missed her with all his heart... funny how that works, huh.

He shook his head slightly, knowing he needed to continue on his way if he ever wanted to see her again...

YAY!!!!! SORRY THAT TOOK SO LONG BUT ITS DONE!! The 2 1/2 paragraph to the 4th paragraph of this chapter was written by SoaringDragonFire so go check them out. I also figured out how old Birch and Fir are. Fir is almost 20 and Birch just turned 19.