8 Confession

The princess sat near the pond, looking at the fireflies, wishing she had someone next to her. Someone to rumble about all the thoughts that were roaming around her brain, all the feelings that were living comfortably in her heart. She admired the beauty of those trees and insects, but as she was about to close her eyes to a night of deep sleep, she heard a voice, a strong yet soothing voice.

"Your Majesty?" She said, astonished by who it was. The king got off of his horse and quickly walked towards her. He was tempted to just run to her, but he figured he had to keep a straight posture. "What are you doing here? The whole kingdom is searching for you." He had more to say at that moment he set his eyes on her, lying on the grass.

"I'm - I'm sorry. I came out to see more of Greyland and came across this beautiful place, I didn't see the time pass." She fearfully justified herself. Suddenly, the voice of her father was all she could hear. He got closer to her with his hands behind his back. "You're fine, that's all that matters." Margaret couldn't snap out of her fear of being in trouble. "This place is indeed beautiful." He changed the subject, as he walked past her. "I come here every time I need some time to myself, but I guess now it's no more a secret." He continued.

"A secret? Is this place supposed to be your secret locus, your Majesty?" She slowly began to hear his voice.

"Why? Something wrong with that?" He asked as he turned to her.

"I never imagined you, the king, to have a secret place out in the woods." She relaxed.

"How is that unimaginable, Margaret." His expression stunned Margaret, he looked at her with a smile.

"Well - You know what? Just forget about it." She immediately looked away from his gaze and walked off towards Lili, but then he suddenly grabbed her arm and turned her towards him. They were now facing each other but the distance he had wanted wasn't reached, so he pulled her in closer with his hands on her waist.

Stunned by his action, Margaret looked up at him. With his left hand on her waist, he stared at her without a word coming out of his mouth, he then slid her hair behind her ear. The tension was immense and somehow, the princess couldn't move or push him away. Right before he tried to lean in more than he was already, Lili neighed.

Margaret aggressively pushed him away from her. Embarrassed, she ran to Lili. The king, in the back, held himself back from laughing. He looked at her as she ran towards her horse and smiled. His eyes were mesmerized by her, and he felt something in his heart, right then and there. He stood there, stroking his hair, awkwardly. What he tried to do that night will forever stay in both of their minds.

"Your Majesty?" She looked back at him standing there and called out to him.

"King Francis?" A different attempt at getting his attention. The king was in his world, probably thinking about what had just happened a few seconds ago.

"Francis!" She yelled this time. He came back to reality and looked at her, shocked by the way she called him. He walked towards the princess and stopped next to her.

"Francis?" He smiled as he said his name.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you weren't responding and -" He couldn't even hear those words, he was happy. His smile took her off once again, her heart started beating faster than normal. He came forward and closer to her, there was an inch of distance between them, once again. "Are you okay now?" He asked her. She was confused by that question, of course, she wasn't okay after seeing a smile like that.

"I don't know what your life was like before but you don't have to fear me, Margaret. You were scared when I found you, you were petrified. You have all the right to go out, you don't have to fear doing what you want." Her heart skipped. Those words, those forty-three words he had just lipped out, were the best words she had ever heard in her life.

"Come on, leap on Lili, we have to go, it's getting darker." He helped her sit on the horse and made sure that she was safely on her. He then goes on his horse, which was a few steps away. They rode back to the palace, the queen dowager was waiting for them in front of the door.

"Where in heaven have you been, Princess Margaret?" She asked even before they got down from their horses. The king helped the princess down from Lili after he was down.

"I'm sorry I had you worried, Your Highness," Margaret said as she bowed. She wasn't obliged to be courteous towards her. Not anymore.

"She got lost in the forest, Mother. No need to worry." Francis followed on with an explanation.

"But -" She didn't get lost; she knew that and so did he. She glanced at him, knowing that he was lying. "No need to worry." He glanced back at her as he said those words.

"Well then, shall we?" Queen Grace said as she turned around to go back inside. The king followed his mother while the princess stood outside, wondering what to do next. Rose ran towards her, worried to the bone. As she got closer to the princess, her eyes set on Randa's, the queen dowager's court lady.

"Princess? Where did you go? I've been worried sick." Rose turned her attention back to Margaret. "I bet you thought you were in trouble," Margaret said, smiling. The moment didn't last long as she was tired. Rose then accompanied her to her room so she could rest for a while. After she had left her alone in the room, Margaret got up from the bed and sat on it, not feeling the need to sleep. Suddenly, the king walked in.

"Margaret?" He walked in with his night robe on, and without a knock.

"Your Majesty? What are you doing here?" The princess was shocked by his sudden appearance in her room. "I have something to say to you." He permitted himself to sit next to her on her bed.

"I know that you're the king of this realm and I'm a guest but isn't it a little inappropriate for you to barge in here without demand? With all due respect, your Majesty." She interrupted him as he was about to speak out what he came there to say. "Oh!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I feel overwhelmed." She moved a little far away from him and distanced herself away from him.

"Overwhelmed? About what?" He was clueless about where she was going with this.

"A while ago, - you were also acting strange. I'm lost in this game of yours."

"That's why I'm here actually, I wanted to talk to you about what almost happened a while ago."

"Exactly, your Majesty, what almost happened?" He moved closer to her on the bed.

"Wai-" She said out loud.

"-Margaret!"

"Your Majesty?"

"Be my Queen."

"Not to make you feel stupid or anything but I already am."

"No, you're not. You're forced to be my queen. Right now, I'm asking you to be my queen, to want to be my queen." He got up from the bed and lifted her. He put his right arm around her waist, facing her, and said; "I'm charmed by you."

"You're what now?" She said, chuckling. She couldn't believe it instantly. She was completely in shock, doubting if she heard that right.

Margaret removed his arm from my waist, laid her hand on his cheek, and looked at him. Deep down, she wanted to tell him more than what came out of her mouth at that moment.

"There's no love, your Majesty, just duty."

She wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear, that she too was charmed by him, that all the smiles he had shown towards her, skipped a beat of her heart. But she couldn't because it wouldn't be the full truth, at least what she thought wasn't the full truth. She told herself before setting foot in Greyland that she wouldn't fall for this young king and she was to keep her word. After hearing what she said, the king's face drowned in disappointment. He was upset but she just couldn't say those words to him.

"But you called me 'Francis'."

"What about that? Isn't that your name?"

"You told me that the day you'll call me by my name will be the day you will fall for me." If she couldn't remember, he was going to remind her of her own words.

"I guess, it wasn't the day. You weren't responding when I called you by 'your Majesty' and so I had to call you another way for you to respond." Francis removed her hand from his cheek and walked out, disappointed. Was she too rough? Will he hate her after? Will she regret this later? Those were her immediate thoughts throughout the night. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about the king.

The next morning, she woke up from bed and hadn't closed her eyes since his visit. After all the thinking and decision-making, she ran to his room, hoping he would open it. He eventually did and stared at her, confused. It was early in the morning. The king's eyes all indicated that he hadn't slept as well.

"I know this is insane but I can't stop thinking about what you said, I feel burdened by all of this." She had planned on what to say to him but none of those planned conversations went on the way this one was going to go.

"That's all you game to say? Early this morning?"

"This and also, - I don't know why but since yesterday, in those woods, I just want to hold you, I don't know this feeling but I want to be by your side." He chuckled at her and smiled, they stood there for a few seconds before he grabbed her hand and brought her inside his room.