Chapter 9 — Rendezvous

I slowly opened my eyes as I suddenly woke from my slumber. I turned to the window, and it was still dark outside. I could see that the moon was at its peak. And the immediate thought was to see Laura right now.

Throwing the bed cover off of me, I silently made my way to my bath and prepared myself for what I was about to do. With one final look in the mirror, I grabbed a scarf and headed to the door. With caution, I opened the door and peaked my head out, checking if anyone was still awake. During this time, it would either be Gonzalo or James, doing their nightly rounds. And before I locked myself in, I ordered my page and guards to take the night off from their duties. They were hesitant at first. But ultimately, they agreed after a long time of persuasion.

Seeing that there was nobody around, I tiptoed out of my room and carefully closed the door. I then walked as quick and silent as I could be. I wouldn’t want to be caught by someone who’s doing their nightly rounds.

♔♔♔

As I arrived in the kitchen, I headed to a nearby cupboard and searched for a candle. I lit it up and grabbed a basket from the side, putting all sorts of food in it. From random fruits, even a piece of a pie that was left from dinner.

I was close to finishing the preparations when a voice spoke behind me. “Robert?”

Nana’s sudden appearance startled me. I stopped with my actions and slowly turned around, breathing heavily out of surprise. “Hello, Nana,” I smiled amidst my shaking knees.

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked as she approached me. She took a quick glance at the basket behind me. “It’s not the appropriate time to have a picnic during this time.”

“Oh, um, I was just…uh…” I stuttered, trying to stay calm when in a mild panic. “I was just preparing this for later in the morning,” I reasoned as I prayed in my mind that it would work. “I already planned a picnic with Lady. I didn’t want anyone else to use the basket.”

She then nodded slowly. “That’s good thinking on your part. It was supposed to be used to deliver bread to other servants tomorrow. But if you need it, you can use it,” she replied with a smile.

“Thank you, Nana.” An enormous wave of relief washed throughout my body. I was lucky I got away with that one.

“Don’t forget to clean the kitchen once you’re finished,” she reminded me as she headed back to her quarters. The kitchen was connected to the servants’ quarters. Nana has her own room, which she shared with Mallory. It was easier for their quarters to be there, so they won’t have to walk far just to get to the kitchen.

“Yes, Nana, I understand,” I briefly bowed.

She gave me a loving smile before leaving me on my own.

When there was no sign of her anymore, I quickly prepared the basket and blew off the candle. With absolute caution, I headed to the stable passage. I didn’t want to create any noise, so I used my power to walk through the metal door. I then grabbed Stallion and silently led him away from the stables.

As I mounted him, I realized that I’d have to have Robin open the gates for me. I can’t have anyone see me leave the castle during this time of the night. To warn him with punishment wouldn’t work. To let a monarch leave the castle at a dangerous time was never something that was taken lightly.

Then, another epiphany. Wind travel.

Since we, my family, live in the kingdom of air, we’ve been given the ability to travel through air. We turned ourselves into air so we could go wherever we wanted. No one would suspect a thing. However, this was forbidden by James because enemies—even relatives—might use it against us. It was prohibited within the castle grounds to avoid prying eyes from seeing it. But outside our strong wall, we used it to our advantage.

I returned Stallion to his stable and walked to the wall where Laura fell. Guided only by the light of the moon, I proceeded to the garden and found a bush that had been crashed on. No wonder she had a lot of scratches on her legs. She fell right into the bush.

I began my climb up the wall, careful with every step. Mother’s roses had the thickest thorns, and I wouldn’t want to be another victim of them. I had questioned her decision to put these bushes by the walls for a very long time.

Was it for decor or security purposes? I would ask myself. Because frankly, it worked both ways.

I finally landed on the other side. I walked further away from the castle in case there were spies walking around. I then closed my eyes, put my hands together and whispered the spell in my head. My body slowly disintegrated as it joined the air. Satisfied, I made my way to the Mortal Realm.

♔♔♔

I arrived at Laura’s doors, about to knock when I caught sight of Grandpa Ben’s door as well. He slept just beside her room, and should I knock on her door, it would wake him up. Turning myself into air once more, I entered through a small space under her door.

I remained in my wind form upon entry, not wanting to scare Laura. But as I floated closer towards her, the sight of her peaceful sleep made me smile. I carefully turned to my mortal appearance and sat on the edge of her bed.

She slept on her left side. Her hands were under her soft pillow. Her blanket covered her up to her waist and her breathing was calm.

I then reached out and removed a small amount of hair from her face. But my cautious touch awakened her. She groaned and as she saw me, her eyes widened.

“Robert?” she shot up from her slumber. She quickly lit her candle and moved it towards me. As she confirmed that it was me, she let out a breath of relief. “Robert, what are you doing here? I thought you were some kind of intruder,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I held onto her hand. “I didn’t want to wake you. But it looked like I wasn’t careful enough.”

She put the candle on her bedside table. She pulled the blanket up to her chest and replied, “Why are you here? And during this time of the night?”

I smiled, putting the basket on my lap. “I thought we could go on a little picnic together.”

“Right now?” her eyes widened. She looked around and leaned towards me, “You do know that you’re in my room in the middle of the night, right?”

I chuckled. “Laura, I know that this isn’t an ideal time to go outside. But I thought we could gaze at the beautiful night sky whilst everybody’s asleep,” I explained.

“But how are we supposed to get out of here? Leo would make a lot of noise downstairs. And Grandpa Ben checks on me every now and then,” she replied.

I stood and settled the basket on the table. I helped her out of her bed and created a dummy of her, all snuggled up under the warm sheets.

“Does that answer your questions?” I smirked.

She rolled her eyes before she looked at me. “Well, how about transport?” she asked another as she crossed her arms, challenging me still. “Like I said, Leo would only make unnecessary noise downstairs.”

I grabbed her coat from the coat rack. “Just hold onto me and everything will be fine,” I replied, putting the coat on her. I grabbed the basket from the table and offered my hand to her. She looked at it skeptically. “Why would you doubt me now, Laura? Would I ever put your life in any kind of danger?”

She stared at me, still unsure and afraid.

Gently, I grabbed her hand and stood closer to her. “Trust me.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.

I pulled her closer to me, wrapping an arm around her. In a matter of seconds, we turned to air and headed to the hill where Lady was buried.

♔♔♔

We immediately returned to our true form as our feet settled on the grass. I looked around us and there was nothing but the light from the moon above us. The moon has been abundant with her light tonight and I’m thankful for that. As I finished admiring the moon’s beauty, I realized that Laura was still gripping onto me.

“Laura?” I looked to her to check on her. Her grip on my clothes was too tight to pull away. She hid her face onto my chest as her eyes remained closed. “Laura, you can open your eyes now. We’re here,” I whispered.

Her shoulders began to relax as she slowly opened her eyes, her grip on me loosened. Her eyes shifted from scared to amazed. She took a few steps forward and looked around. “Is this real?” she asked whilst I prepared the picnic. “Are we really here?”

I let out a chuckle. “I don’t understand why you can’t believe what you’re already seeing,” I said as I spread the blanket onto the grass, putting the food on it next.

She then turned and sat across from me. “How were you able to get us here?

Amused, I chortled. “Laura, have you forgotten that you’re with me?” I faced her. “Must I remind you that you’re with an Immortal? A Wind Immortal, to be exact?” I winked, which made her giggle. “When it comes to sudden transportation, you’ll have no problem with that,” I continued preparing the picnic.

She moved closer and replied, “But you never used that with me before.”

I sighed, finishing all the needed preparations. “Laura.” I lifted my face to meet hers. “We can do two things here tonight. Either we discuss my power of transportation, or we can enjoy the lovely night sky above us. What will it be?”

She stayed quiet to think. She then shrugged and replied, “Very well. I’ll stop asking about it. For now.”

I smiled. I then removed the cover of the pie. “Shall we?”

♔♔♔

Almost an hour had passed, and we finally finished all the food that I brought. I put everything back in the basket whilst she looked up to the stars. As I covered the basket with the blanket, I turned and found Laura admiring the night sky.

I walked towards her. “What’s on your mind?” I asked, sitting beside her.

“Just…random things,” she smiled, her gaze never leaving the stars and the moon.

I gently grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She turned to me, and I said, “Tell me.”

“Well, as a child, I used to believe in fairy tales and surreal moments such as this. And as I grew older, people discouraged that kind of belief. They would often tell me that it could only happen in books,” she started. She put her other hand on top of mine and continued, “But now, being with you under the night sky, I still can't believe it still.” She smiled as she looked at me, “I didn’t expect that I would be able to experience this. Such a scene that can only be found in books and myths.”

I pulled her to an embrace and held her tightly as if it would be the last time to hold her. “Do you believe that this is real? That this isn’t some kind of dream that I made for you to see?”

She buried her face onto my neck before she replied, “How can I not believe it when my heart tells me that everything is true?” She then looked up to me and greeted me with a smile.

I then kissed her forehead, allowing my lips to stay a bit longer. “I love you…with all my heart,” I whispered.

I felt her smile on my chest. “I love you more than you know.”

Kissing her hand, I replied, “I love you most.”

To finally hear those words from her, for us to profess our love for one another was what I’ve hoped for the longest time. And truth be told, I never expected much when I met Laura. I only knew one thing from the moment we met: she would be one of the people I treasured the most. And nothing in this life or the next could stop me from being with her. As my arms tightened around her, it added even more confirmation. This lovely mortal would be the rare treasure I would protect until my very last breath.

We then looked up and marveled at the beauty of the night sky. Tonight was the beginning of something new for us…as one.

♔♔♔

We decided to lay down after a few minutes. Her head laid on my chest, my hand on her hair. We didn’t do much talking after we admitted our love for each other. We just held each other and stared at the moon and stars.

Laura finally broke the silence as she said, “Thank you.”

I looked down at her, meeting her gaze. “For what?”

“You saved me.”

My brows knitted together. “Saved you?”

“You saved me from the colorless life I was in. If it weren’t for you, my life would’ve continued as meaningless. You broke the chains that held me back from moving forward. And I’m grateful for that,” she explained.

“Come here,” I tapped on my arm.

Slowly, she moved up and laid down on my arm. I turned my body towards her. I reached out to her face and held her cheek. “It wasn’t just you who was saved. But I was saved by you as well,” I caressed her cheek as I replied. “And you have been the most wonderful thing that’s happened in my life.”

♔♔♔

I was awakened when the gentle rays of the sun hit my closed eyes. Squinting, I opened my eyes and saw that the sun was coming out of its resting place. I looked to my left and there she was, sound asleep. Her head still rested on my arms. She kept herself close to me with her arm wrapped around my torso.

I faced her entirely. A grin slowly crept on my face as I admired her beauty. Everything about her, I took in slowly. The peaceful look embedded on her face. Her calm breathing, secured within my reach. She then moved closer to me, which made my heart skip a beat.

How lucky was I to be able to have someone like her?

I’ve met all the eligible ladies, both in our court and other kingdoms. And yet, none of them came close to what I have with Laura. Her beauty wasn’t based on hollow titles, physical traits, or mounted riches behind a powerful name. Her simpleness has given her an exquisite kind of beauty. It has set her apart from most of the women I’ve seen throughout my life.

It’s uncertain if the ancient gods planned our meeting. But if they did, I’m truly grateful for having such an angel. I truly believed I was the one who was saved. She pulled me out of my miserable life. She gave me the strength to carry on during my worst moments. Though we lived in different worlds, she never felt far from me.

My thoughts were then interrupted when she groaned and stretched. Her eyes slowly opened. As soon as her emerald gaze landed on me, she smiled. “Good morning,” she greeted, closing her eyes from the sun.

I gave a light peck on her nose. “Good morning.”

When her eyes adjusted, she sat up and looked around. “I think we enjoyed our midnight picnic a bit too much,” she giggled as she turned back to me.

I sat up and leaned into her, our noses touched. “I don’t mind it all,” I returned a smile. I stood up and helped her get up. I put my arms around her, pulling her closer as we watched the sun awaken the world.

“I shared the sunset and night sky with you,” I laid my head on top of hers, rubbing her arm to keep her warm. “And now,” I removed my head and lifted her face, making her meet my gaze, “I’m sharing the sunrise with you. I already shared so many yesterdays with you, Laura. Starting today, I want to look forward to the future with you by my side.”

She reached out and touched my face. Her thumb caressed my cheek as she smiled, “And I would gladly accompany you with your new beginnings.”

After I laid another peck on her forehead, we turned back to the sunrise. Our hold on one another grew tighter at every second, like there’s no tomorrow for the both of us.

♔♔♔

A crowd already swarmed the bakery when we got back. Customers lined up from the inside to the very door, probably waiting for their morning bread and pastries. As we approached the entrance, Grandpa Ben appeared with a stern look on his face.

“Good morning,” he greeted, his hands resting on top of his cane.

“Good morning, Grandpa Ben,” we greeted with our heads low, avoiding his stare.

“You two enjoyed your midnight rendezvous too much,” he remarked. I slowly looked up and Grandpa Ben’s face wasn’t in a forgiving mood. He then turned to Laura, “Young lady, you know very well that you’re not allowed outside at night, especially midnight.”

“It was wrong decision-making on my end, Grandpa Ben. I’m sorry,” Laura muttered, her voice shook.

“If I may, Grandpa Ben,” I carefully intervened, “Laura has no fault in this. I was the one who thought of the idea and invited her along. She told me she wasn’t allowed but I insisted. Please, don’t punish her for my wrongdoing.” It wasn’t the right time to act all noble. But I had to say something. I was the one who got Laura into so much trouble. It was my mistake and I have to own up.

Grandpa Ben stared at me for a long time before he sighed. He turned back to Laura, “Go inside and get to your station.”

Laura nodded. Without looking back, she rushed into the bakery.

Grandpa Ben stepped closer to me. “No need to worry, Robert,” he put a hand on my shoulder. “I won’t gravely punish her. However, I need to be firm with the both of you.”

I nodded. Inside, I was relieved. I was comforted that Laura won’t be punished for a wrong that I did.

“You and Laura should never have picnics during midnight. I understand that you’re an Immortal. And by all means, you’re well-capable of protecting her,” he continued as he lowered his voice. “But you don’t know how the world works. Anything can happen and the very last thing I would want is to see you both killed because of recklessness.”

I nodded. “I understand, Grandpa Ben. You’re only looking after our safety. And as a father, I know how much Laura means to you,” I replied with a slight smile. “But I would like to apologize again for sneaking her out that late. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble between the two of you.”

“I accept your apology, young one,” he lightly tapped my shoulder. “You must head home now. Your family might notice your absence. I’m certain they’ll be harder to convince.”

“I will take my leave,” I answered. “Again, my deepest apologies.”

He smirked, looking at me with a teasing stare. “Robert, I understand the feeling of love. It’s something not everyone can fight. But that doesn’t mean we’ll throw away our common sense just to fulfill our longing for someone,” he replied.

I nodded once again. “Thank you, Grandpa Ben. Have a nice day.” I walked further into the marketplace and found a narrow alley. I hid in a dark corner and turned to the air. I danced through the air and prayed that my family hadn't noticed my silent room or unmade bed.

♔♔♔

I walked through the halls with caution as soon as I arrived back home. I returned the basket to the kitchen without taking my time. I didn’t want any attention on me, especially from Nana. To my delight, it seemed that everyone was still asleep. I won’t need to think of an excuse, especially when it’s James or Gonzalo.

“Your Highness?”

I spoke too soon.

An all-too familiar voice spoke from behind me. I slowly turned around and was greeted by Gonzalo. He was already in his working uniform. The usual black coat and everything.

My jaw clenched as I tried to keep myself calm. “Good morning, Gonzalo,” I smiled.

He walked up to me and bowed. “You’re quite early today, young prince. Too early if I say so myself,” he replied. “That’s a bit odd for you.”

“Thank you for your morning greetings, Gonzalo,” I said with a hint of sarcasm. Lately, Gonzalo hasn’t been acting his usual self. In all moments, he would greet me before he asked his questions. But for some unknown reason, he didn’t today. “I was in the hills. I had an early picnic with Lady.”

“You went on a morning picnic?” he asked, baffled.

“Yes,” I put my hands behind my back.

His brows remained knitted together. “On your own? At this time in the morning?”

I looked around me and replied, “You don’t see anyone around me, do you?”

He raised a brow and said, “You might have gone with someone else. Someone not from this castle.” He stepped closer and added, “Someone not from our realm.”

I chuckled and stepped even closer. Our breaths hit our faces. “Gonzalo, I. Went. On. My. Own,” I repeated, stopping at each word. I stepped back and continued, “Now, if you’d excuse me, I’d like to get some more rest before I continue with my day.” I walked past him. Not far along, I stopped and turned my head back to him. “As you said, being awake this early is highly unnatural for me. I shall see you later.” I proceeded to my room. And I hope no one would disturb me this time.

♔♔♔

“He is not to be disturbed.”

“This is urgent and does not concern the both of us.”

I was awakened by a faint argument on the other side of my door. And though my senses were already awake, I kept my eyes closed in an attempt to ignore it.

“Nana Olsa, I understand that he needs his rest. But Prince Benjamin is making a scene outside the castle doors,” Gonzalo protested. “If we don’t handle this now before the royal family returns, it will be chaotic. It must be taken care of before it explodes.”

“You saw what happened to Robert yesterday. He has been through enough already. He’s exhausted in all aspects,” Nana argued. “He would prefer to stay within his room and recuperate. These sorts of things don’t matter to him at the moment.”

I sighed as I sat up and gave myself a bit of a stretch. If Benjamin has made the ruckus outside our home, then Gonzalo and Nana shouldn’t be bothered by it. From the moment I heard what Benjamin did, I knew instantly why he’s here, unannounced.

I headed to the door and as soon as I appeared, they both bowed.

“We’re deeply sorry for disturbing the peace, Your Highness,” Gonzalo started as they kept their heads low. “However, Prince Benjamin is acting scandalously at our front door. It has affected the overall mood and productivity of the household.”

“I’m aware of everything, Gonzalo,” I replied as I helped Nana stand. Gonzalo stood as well. “I already heard your little discussion with Nana.” I smiled at Nana and gave her a quick hug.

“I did my best in stopping Gonzalo from waking you. But as you can see,” she briefly pointed at him, “He couldn’t handle Benjamin alone.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Nana. I understand where Gonzalo’s coming from.” I turned to Gonzalo and gave my instructions, “Kindly bring Benjamin here. Make sure he’s on his best behavior once he steps one foot inside the castle.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” he bowed and quickly went on his way.

I then turned to Nana and gently held her by her arms. “Nana, you may return downstairs. Thank you for taking my side. But you shouldn’t stress yourself about these things.”

She cupped my face with one hand and smiled, “You’re like a son to me, Robert. And I’ll always look after you even in my old age. Now, I shall prepare your food and have it delivered here.” She lightly tapped my face and went on her way.

I returned to my room and headed to my writing table. I moved the curtains to the side, allowing the sunlight to enter the room. I then took a seat and waited patiently.

I already had the feeling that this visit won’t be like the usual. Our conversation would probably be about Laura and why she chose me. I wished that this wouldn't create a gap between me and Benjamin. He was the brother I never had. I never wanted for our relationship to turn sour all because we loved the same girl.

But was it truly my fault that Laura chose me? I did my part. I helped Benjamin as he asked for Laura’s heart. I even told Laura to choose him. I was willing to lose her just so I could make Benjamin happy. However, Laura has her own heart and mind. She made the decision, not met.

I looked out the window, buried deep in my thoughts. The silence accompanied me, only to be interrupted when my doors swung open.