꧁𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙꧂

Chapter Two: The Strange Stranger

Eighteen years after that fateful day, the kingdom of Lunarstone slowly went back to normal. Abraham ruled the kingdom wisely and knew that it was a matter of time before he hands the kingdom to the rightful ruler, Princess Abigail.
Abigail was no longer the small baby she was. She was now a fair, thin, and delicate woman who was as pure as snow. Her favorite pastime was going into the country and picking flowers for her vases. Abigail turned many heads and some believed that she was indeed an angel sent by God. The big question everyone was wondering was a simple yet open question: who will be the lucky man to have her hand in marriage?
That question even reached the council. They knew that once Abigail claims the throne, she would need a husband to be with her and be by her side. But, it seemed that she wasn't very interested in finding love. In fact, she was more interested in her flower-finding and reading the books from the library than thinking about her future spouse.
One summer day, Abigail was heading to the countryside to find more flowers. Before she left, Abraham had a "father-daughter" talk about the situation.
"I know that finding love isn't a concern right now," said Abraham, walking down the hallway besides Abigail. "But you must understand that it is the royal rule. A young Queen needs to find a suitor within thirty days after she receives the crown. Just imagine the response when everyone sees that the beautiful Princess has found someone to keep her happy forever!"
"Abraham, my dear sir," Abigail stopped in the middle of the hallway and smiled a pearly white smile. "I know you care much for me and became my father figure, but I assure you, I will be alright by myself. I am young, so why not let me have fun while I still can? I mean, goodness sake, no one stays young forever!"
"I know that, dear," sighed Abraham wearily. "But, just understand what I am saying. We must start searching for a suitor to take your hand in marriage soon."
Abigail opened her mouth to speak but shut it slowly. It was no use; everyone wanted to decide her life for her. But, there was no way that Abigail was going to say that she actually daydreams about her future and her future husband quite often. She could be dozing off from her studies, dreaming about the castle being pearly white and gold. She also imagines being in the ballroom, dancing with someone that she truly loves and will treasure them in her heart. Sometimes, she could actually feel herself resting her head on the man's chest, hearing his heart beat and smelling his sweet scent.
Abigail walked outside and felt the heat at once. She took a deep breath and walked down the stairs and on the path that led to the countryside. It was a relief to be able to go by herself; the countryside was close to the castle. Anywhere else, Abigail had to have a guard with her. She normally picked a young man named Titus to be her guard. He had skin like sweet chocolate and had long messy hair of ebony. Titus was also Abigail's best friend, which came as a surprise to no one. Anywhere Abigail went, Titus followed.
While her mind was on that thought, Abigail wondered if she should have asked Titus if he wanted to go with her since he wasn't on duty today. It would have been nice to have extra hands collect flowers...
Finally, Abigail reached the countryside. A burst of happiness came out of her as she took off her shoes and ran barefoot in the sweet grass. The flowers were swaying back and forth as the birds in the sky sang a sweet melody just for Abigail. Abigail ran at the top of a hill and stood there, viewing the sight of pure beauty of the country.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
Abigail almost jumped ten feet in the air. She turned around and saw a man behind her, his hands in his pockets. He had a smile on his face that sent shivers down Abigail's spine.
"Well, well," said the stranger, eyeing Abigail up and down. "Aren't you just beautiful?"
"Oh! Um," Abigail blushed by how calm and cool the stranger was. "Thank you, sir!"
"Please, call me Tom, darling," the stranger took Abigail's hand and enclosed it in his, raising it up to his chest.
Abigail felt her face bypass pink and go straight to red. Tom chuckled at Abigail.
"What is your name, my dear?" he asked.
"Um...Abigail. Princess Abigail."
"Princess?" One of Tom's eyebrows rose slightly.
Abigail nodded.
Tom then knelt on one knee and said, "Your highness..."
Abigail couldn't handle it; she let out a small giggle that she stifled with her other hand. She has never met a man that was so charming like this before. It was quite nice!
Tom stood up and looked around the field. He then said to Abigail, "Do you have anyone with you?"
"No sir," said Abigail.
"By God! How can no one want to come with a sweet little angel like yourself?" exclaimed Tom.
"I don't know," Abigail shrugged. "Normally, I come here by myself for some alone time..."
"Pardon me, Princess. Am I interrupting your alone time?"
"No," Abigail smiled widely. "You are not interrupting at all."
The pair stood at the top of the hill for a minute or two before Tom entwined his fingers through Abigail's and led her to a shady tree. The pair sat down beside each other and began to talk about anything that came to their minds.
"Tom, you never told me something," Abigail glimpsed at Tom.
"What did I not tell you about, darling?" responded Tom.
"You never told me where you are from..."
Tom gave a little sigh and turned to face Abigail. He buried himself in her eyes and replied, "I come from a kingdom over on the other side of the mountains. It is very cold there and also very lonely. I live in the castle there, but I just feel like I don't belong..."
"Tom..."
Slowly, Abigail put a hand on the side of Tom's face and held his head. Tom felt her body heat and grabbed her hand again and this time bringing it to his lips. He pressed his lips on the back of her hand,, causing Abigail to blush violently again.
Time began to go very quickly. Next thing Abigail knew, it was time to head back to the castle. Tom stood up and gave his hand for Abigail to use to help her up. She turned to Tom and said sadly, "I'm sorry. I have to go."
"It's fine, darling. Don't worry about it..."
Abigail turned around to start walking but the turned back around and grabbed Tom's arms.
"I have something to ask you!" exclaimed Abigail.
"What is it?" inquired Tom.
Abigail bit her lip and said quickly, "Would you like to be my guest at my coronation?"
Tom blinked a couple of times before he lifted Abigail's head up so they could have direct eye contact.
"My dear Princess," Tom began. "It would be my honor to be your date for your special day."
"D-D-Date?" stuttered Abigail. "I didn't say-"
"I knew what you really meant," whispered Tom into Abigail's ear.
Abigail turned around and started walking on the path to go back home. She turned around and saw Tom standing on the hill, watching her leave. She gave him a little wave before she start running in the path. Tom waited until she was out of sight to sit down on the cool grass.
"My, my," chuckled Tom, shaking his head. "I do think I found the purest girl in the kingdom. Oh, what fun it'll be to rip her wings off and remove her halo..."