The Fallen Prince

⋇- 33: Confessions -⋇

The moon had replaced the sun when Arisa finally found Zen. The sky sparkled even more with countless stars showing their presence across the dark atmosphere.

Arisa peered by the house's cold wall. Under the bright moonlight, several steps away behind the building, she saw Zen walking from one side to another, looking busy typing and reading something on his phone.

Arisa wondered who he was talking to. From his occasional smiles, it seemed to be a good friend. Zen rarely smiled like that. Arisa gazed at the grassy ground, her selfish part feeling a bit jealous. She then hid behind the wall, shaking her head as she couldn't believe she was feeling like that.

Knowing how Zen looked lonely when she first met him and how he wouldn't express an emotion besides seriousness, she should be happy to see him express his emotions freely like that. She also should be glad he had someone to talk to besides his cousin after he lost his father. Yet her selfish side was still jealous.

She touched her chest, feeling her skipping heart. She breathed in and out to silence her selfish self and calm the nervousness that wouldn't stop spreading in her veins whenever she thought of approaching Zen. She didn't know how long she had been hiding and debating whether she should approach him or leave.

This might be the only chance you have with him. She remembered Kazuya's words.

She inhaled. She had to approach him if she wanted to find out what he wanted to tell her that night at the Usual Spot. She had always been curious about it until their paths changed when she became a Guardian. Zen had risked traveling all over Celestia; she couldn't make his sacrifice to be in vain. She exhaled, taking the first step to leave her hideout.

The calm, cool breeze messed her hair a little as she strolled on the spacious garden. The more she walked toward Zen, the more she felt the sweat on her palms. It had been years since she felt this nervous whenever she saw him. She remembered feeling like this when she developed feelings for him and later realized them.

Zen still had his eyes focused on his phone when Arisa finally reached him with her heart spreading more nervousness.

"Oh." Zen's brows rose upon seeing her. "Arisa, I didn't expect you to approach..."

He gazed behind her and then at his surroundings as though he was looking for someone.

"You're by yourself?" He gazed back at her.

Arisa tilted her head. "Did you expect me to come with someone?"

"Well, yeah." Zen shoved his phone into the pocket of his dark pants. "After all, your grandfather made things clear for us not to approach one another."

Arisa shifted her view to the ground, noticing that the moonlight was so strong tonight; she could clearly see the short grass.

"I'm not a child anymore," she said, her voice quiet, "so I don't have to obey him."

"What's this?" teased Zen, pinching her cheek. "Arisa, the good girl, is rebelling against her grandfather? It must be snowing on a desert somewhere."

As Zen kept pinching her cheek, Arisa quickly grabbed his hand and glared at him.

Zen chuckled. "That face. Your goofy face never fails to crack me up."

Arisa stared at him, failing to come up with the right words to mock him back. Zen chuckled again. Despite knowing that her face was the reason he was laughing, hearing his laugh, Arisa couldn't help but smile. When was the last time they had a fun moment like this?

"I knew it would be a bad idea to approach you," said Arisa, crossing her arms and looking away. "By the way, this is not the first time I disobey my grandpa; I've rebelled before."