The Prince and The Parvenu (Completed)

EPILOGUE

They say love, in its broadest sense is the feeling of wanting someone to be in your life. The hardest goodbye. The most honest truth. One can never truly know the future. One can never truly tell. In the outside world, most people have mistaken infatuation as love. Most people have mistaken the constant fluttering in their stomach as love. They have no idea what the emotion is until they feel it themselves, and then acceptance follows.

In La Belleza El Tierra, love comes like the first leaf that falls on a mapple tree, the first breeze in spring, the first rainfall after a long scorching summer, and the first snow in winter. It is pure and genuine like the first laughter of a new born child. I grew up in the outside world, and I met love in La Belleza El Tierra.

I closed my eyes and balled my fist, trying my best to concentrate. And then a familiar energy came surging into my veins. After my coronation, I have come upon the realization that it was not Reese that kept on summoning me. That it was I, though unconsciously. The white velvet gown embroidered with a silver thread felt light and warm against my skin. The scent of roses filled the air, making me open my eyes. The silver door stood right in front of me. The temperature dropped, icy and cold even when the sun is right above the clear blue sky. A smile formed my lips as I opened the door and stepped inside.

As I walked towards her well, I caught the glimpse of my reflection in the stream down below. A woman that found happiness is staring back at me. I smiled and proceeded. Soft gurgling sounds of the water welcomed me, the constant greeting of Reese whenever I came here.

"Saludos mi reina. It seems like you have come to love this place. Just like how your mother had." I chuckled as a response and breathed out a deep sigh. The air felt warm and the scent of dew filled my nose.

"You're wondering why she left, is that the reason why you kept on coming back here Your Majesty?" Again, I let out a soft chuckle. Sometimes, I feel like Reese knows everything that's on my mind. I've been coming back here ever since the day I went home, heartbroken and drained. She didn't ask me any questions when I ran inside the silver door and cried my eyes out, grieving for my best friend. She listened, and played a soft tune with her waters that made me feel as though I was not alone.

"Her love had left her. With a genuine and pure reason, but left her nonetheless. Her Kingdom needed her no more. It was a choice between setting herself free or staying in a cell that she have woven for herself. The choice between holding on no matter how many times she have bled or letting go to feel the warm embrace of freedom." My hands rested on the hem of my gown, I looked down and saw how steady they were. I lifted my right hand to feel the beating of my heart and found it calm and serene. It hurts no more.

"But I was born. Was I not enough?" I asked, I knew that it was the selfish side of me that spoke. She had to choose between herself and everyone else. It was not selfish to choose herself.

"More than enough. If only she had another choice. But she knew Queen Raelle Kaia Bonavich, the one that would never stop on tormenting the Kingdom that bore the lover of her husband. She had to go. To keep you safe. To hold out the peace in la belleza." Both of us fell silent. I slowly rested my hand on the stone rim walls of the well and closed my eyes, letting myself bathe in the serenity of this place. No wonder my mother loved it here.

"She never really left. She was with me along the way" I said after a few moments. Even when she was long gone, the visions kept her alive inside my mind. She gave me a glimpse of what it was like to be in her life, on what it was like to feel her pain, agony, and love. The love that kept her going, the love that made her stop. She guided me, in the most unlikely way possible. Yet she did. And I am who I am now because of her.