His Princess, Her Servant

Chapter 11 - The Marriage Proposal

       Jake is out working. Princess Adele is going to take the throne and become a Queen. There’s a party afterwards and he has to work there. I wanted to come but he insisted that I should rest.

       Now, I got the time to actually read The Catcher in The Rye, which was the book Rose gave to me. I’m a fast reader so I finished it by a couple of hours, and it was great.

       Suddenly the door opened and Jake went in. He exhales and looks at me. I looked at him back, raising an eyebrow. He just avoided the eye contact and went on tidying up his side of the bedroom. Something’s wrong. I tried to get a conversation going.

       “Hey, so you know Rose gave me this book that you recommended. I finally got a chance to read it, and it’s awesome!” I said. But Jake said nothing. He just went on and on playing with every stuff on his desk. There’s something bothering him. And he’s trying to ignore me.

       “You know she told me to tell her what I think about the book after I finished reading it. I think I’m going to meet her today if it’s possible,” I said. And it got Jake’s attention.

       Now he’s sighing. “Dude, what happened there?” I asked, scared to hear the answer. There’s clearly something bad happened that included her.  

       “You should’ve gotten away from her when you could,” He said.

       I still don’t get it. “What do you mean…?”

       There’s only silence for a couple of seconds. “She’s getting married, Will,”

       Rose is getting married? I have to have a second to process everything right now. It doesn’t make any sense. I just can’t think straight right now.

       “Wait… what? Tell me more specifics,” I said.

       Jake took a deep breath. “She’s getting married to Zach. He proposed to her right after the ceremony,”

       Now it began to be clear. Of course Zach would do this now. How am I so oblivious? They’re in love. And this is also a great plan to get me away from Rose.

My world feels like it’s falling apart. I’ve never cared for someone as much as I cared about her. Actually, I’ve never had anyone to care for in my whole life, since everyone that I once cared for is gone…

I felt an ache in my chest. An ache that hurts even worse than my stomach. Even worse that any physical pain I’ve ever experienced. I was so stupid to think that I had a chance with her. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I kept telling myself.

Now I am left with a broken heart.

“Look, I’m sorry, man…” Jake tried to make me feel better.

“It’s… okay…” I lied. “You were right… You were right about everything. And I didn’t listen to you. I’m sorry,” I said.

The pain didn’t go away. Imagining her and Zach being together… It’s just too much. I felt jealous. I imagine her walking up the altar towards him. My heart ache more and more.

I look at the book on my hands, and hold on to it tight. I tried to remember the happy times that Rose and I spent together. I was so happy. But it doesn’t matter anymore now. I might as well try to forget it…

ROSE

       “OH MY GOSH ROSE!” Tessa shouted. We are now back in our room. Everyone is currently been talking about my engagement. I think they almost forgot about the fact that Adele is now a queen now. But she didn’t seem to mind. She’s not a fan of being the center of attention anyway.

       “Finally the princess and the prince charming are getting married!” Collins shouted out. She’s as excited as everyone else.

       “I can’t believe you’re getting married!” Tessa is freaking out, like everybody else.

       “I can’t believe it either!” I tried to sound excited. But I don’t think it’s working since Daphne went over to me and asked, “What’s wrong?”

       I looked at her. “Nothing! Nothing…” I lied. I don’t even know what’s wrong with me. Am I supposed to be happy? I am marrying the love of my life… right?

       Adele is staring at me. I stared at her back and sighed. I wanted to ask her for some advice. But I want to do it in private.

       “So… What kind of wedding do you want?” Phyllis asked.

       “Oh, you know, just anything. I don’t really mind. I mean, I am marrying Zach,” I said, tried to sound excited, but secretly putting sarcasm in it.

       I am not really in the mood to talk to anyone right now. I wanted some time alone to think. To think through what I just did. And what will happen.

       I decided to go to the side garden, where I usually spend my time at night. It’s peaceful there. It’s a perfect place to think.

       The hallway of the castle is empty. I was taking a step to the garden when I noticed someone is there. It’s Will. I froze. I wanted to come back to my room, to get away, but it’s too late. He noticed that I’m here.

       “Your highness,”

       I approach him. Something’s different. He usually call me by my name. He stepped towards me, with his hand holding on to the fence. I noticed that he still have some trouble walking around. He must’ve had some serious injury. But why didn’t he want me to call a doctor yesterday?

       “I could leave if you want to,” He said.

       I did want to be alone, but now… I think having him as a company wouldn’t be so bad.

       “No… It’s fine,” I said. “Why aren’t you resting?” I asked.

       He looked up to the night skies. “Ah… Well, I just got bored in my tiny old room,” He said, smiling. I smiled back.

       We just stood there next to each other quietly, watching the stars, and keeping each other’s company.

       I decided to ask him about the engagement. “Have you… heard about, you know, it?” I asked. He looked down and nodded slightly.

       “Congratulations,” He said quietly. I almost couldn’t hear it.

       “Thanks,” I thanked him.

       Then we just went back to complete silence for the rest of the night. Little did we know that it might be the last moments that we could spend together.