Frost

Chapter 28

"Why on earth are you telling me this and not him?" Nik exclaims.

"I - I have to take care of the kingdom... and Macon -"

I snatches my hand and starts dragging me towards the garden. Since my mother has been gone, I haven't had the heart to go outside.

This'll be my first time going out there in probably more than a month. My heart rate speeds up again as we reach the doors.

Glancing outside, I can see the soft rays of the setting sun highlighting some surfaces.

The glass dome greenhouse especially. I can see flowers growing inside, which means someone's been tending to it. I feel tears surfacing as I glance at our tea table.

My last encounter with my mother was bad, but I have some fond memories of us drinking tea and eating sandwiches.

Eric's silhouette comes into view as we round the corner on the left side of the grounds. Standing just inside of the forrest, overlooking the river.

Nik stops abruptly and pushes me towards him. I look at him pleadingly. He ignores me of course and I quietly walk towards Eric.

Standing beside him, I fiddle with my fingers as I struggle to find the right words. His jaw is ticking so I must hurry up.

"Look, we... I mean I - you... you see... I," I stumble over my words and finally I give up.

Sitting down on a near by rock, not caring if my dress gets dirty, I put my head in my hands. I figured that if I can't see him, I won't see his rejection.

"I like you, but I don't know what to do about it. I've never liked someone like this, sure I've had crushes, but it's not the same. Then there the problem with the kingdom and I'm stressed and -"

I stop talking when he suddenly takes my hands. I look up at him as he kneels in front of me. I look down at the ground, noticing that he's kneeling in mud.

" No! Don't, you'll get yourself dirty!" I panic, but he chuckles and stands up, taking me with him.

"You let me worry about that. I like you to Azara and I've missed you so much. You know, since we were kids I've liked you."

I stare in astonishment, unconsciously gripping his hands. Being this close to him, I can finally study him. His dark blue eyes are framed by long, dark eyelashes.

His cheek bones have settled up high, making his jawline extremely sharp. Dark, almost black hair strands hang just above his eyebrows.

He's cut it much shorter since the last time I saw him. I unconsciously run my hand through his hair, sharply taking it back when he closes his eyes.

"I - sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me." I lace my fingers tightly together in my lap.

"It's alright. Would you like to go for a walk?" He lifts my chin so that I'm looking directly into his eyes again.

"Sure." I smile and take his outstretched hand.

"We should get your trousers cleaned when we get back."

He laughs loudly and I decide that I want to make him laugh more often, as I rather like his laugh.

We walk aimlessly throught the trees talking about anything and everything, avoiding certain subjects.

By the time we circle back to the castle my mood has significantly changed. I haven't laughed or smiled this much in forever.

My cheeks hurt and it feel like I'm developing some abdominal muscles because of laughing so much. The river comes into sight and I stop.