@inbooks ✦ CONTINUED FROM HERE
She didn’t want him to move; it didn’t matter that there were droplets of rain landing on her shoulders or the top of her head, she simply wanted to stay there, holding him, kissing him, touching him in ways she had been entirely too cautious of before to even allow herself to imagine. & yet he was moving, he was talking, & what little amount of recklessness she had been feeling suddenly EVAPORATED with the heat around her just like the water of the lake onto the sky. But no, oh, no, even his proximity allowed her to continue dreaming, & though she had to force herself to move her head in a nod ( lest the sound of her own voice truly made s e n s e return into her brain ) she did not even dare to let go of him.
When she had thought about her outing with Peridan days before, many a time she had imagined getting a glimpse into the way he was without having to worry to much about taking care of her; how was he outside the palace, how was he with his friends, with his family, when he wore something other than a suit & all those cables that kept him in contact with the police, & all other sorts of necessary connections for the sake of her safety. But apparently, that had not been the ONLY one of her dreams; as she pulled him by the hand out of the lake she realised & accepted it: she had dreamed of kissing his lips, of touching him, & every single claim that she had wished to experience life as a ‘ c o m m o n w o m a n ’ had been nothing more than her own denial that she had wished for so much more than the very friendship barely allowed to her with her guard.
She wanted to know what it would be like to fall asleep by his side, to wake & know he was somewhere near, to have breakfast with him as if the two lived together & she were no one more than maybe a teacher, or a journalist, or… something that did not immediately made of her heart the country’s business; she had wanted to have a moment in which she truly could imagine everything that could have been. & yet, now… she had acted upon it. “ Race you? ” She asked before she could stop herself; & though her voice didn’t exactly return reason into her like she had feared, it did made her heart jump a beat for the danger of what she was allowing. Because she wanted MORE, she wanted to kiss him again, she wanted everything she could have & more… it was no simple fancy, she knew that now.
“ Come on, before we end up more s o a k e d than we already are. ”
𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄’𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌. though, of course, one might suggest that he had already been tempted beyond repair to follow her into a race. beneath the greying sky, perhaps the light of her eyes merely beckoned him forward in an inescapable allure — something dangerously charming glossing the eloquent words which graced her lips. a kiss & he is ensnared. a man of most gracious decorum & self-control has fallen into her grasps. peridan has always been h e r s, but the title has shifted almost entirely to a fresh meaning. he is no longer her guard... now a blissful secret hung between eager lips; a man who will follow this moment to the ends of the earth WITHOUT A SECOND GLANCE. for now, the future does not matter. for now, it is her & her alone which occupies his thoughts.
in a movement swift & ready, arms remove himself from the lake & feet take him to stand, a clutch of shoes and clothing damp at his side. the sense to take her hand, however, is OVERRULED... for a whirl of laughter & speed takes over & races ahead, the carpet of grass & flowers soothing under bare feet, the whispers of laughter muffling between the rumble of clouds overhead. it is not far to the cottage — their temporary home during misadventures and adventures all the like — & it is not far to shelter. hurried feet & teasing competitions make the journey shorter than it actually is. for after a while of chasing, forgetting that he is a trained military man & she but a queen, & aimlessly declaring ‘ catch up! ’ from the depth of his lungs, he cannot take a moment from his whirring mind to care that his breath is near exhausted; his lips swollen from biting in excitement.
seconds upon minutes pass, signalled by the firm press of a hand to the open kitchen door of their abode, a gleeful breath leaving in a huff whilst doing so. prideful, his torso twists & his body almost blockades anne’s entrance to the home. droplets fall in front of him, their origin being the overhang of a thatched roof; all the while the darkening clouds gain in intensity. ‘ i’m afraid it appears that I HAVE WON our little race home, ’ he says, a smirk painting across a red & proud expression. he leans back slightly, hands taking to deposit clothes on a reachable counter inside — palms soon coming to rest at his sides. it is unlike peridan to be so loud, yet it is anne who draws it out of him; he has uncovered a part of him he’d always thought was without reach. ‘ now, what is my reward? ’
