My Midnight Love

Chapter 12

Our quest was long and hard, harder then it had been before. Even now that my brothers were with me it still seemed that many obstacles were impassable. We struggled on for days on end, each new daybreak weighing me down further as I realised I would spend yet another day without my Hayley.

I let out a long mournful sigh and received several anguished glances. I knew I wasn't the only one suffering, but I was the one that was human! I was the one that tired far to easily and at times had to carried or otherwise assisted by my brothers.

It was humiliating, I didn't know how Hayley could of put up with me helping her for so long. But somehow she had. I smiled as I though of her and kept my feet plodding along. I wanted more then anything for her to be here beside me, but it was too dangerous.

“Aelfric stop sighing.” Alston, my second eldest brother growled.

I shot him a dark look and picked up the pace, I hated how I was lagging behind everyone else. If only we hadn't left the horses back at the river, I was so sure they would have been able to cross it. If we still had them I would be leading, but as it was we had to travel on foot and I was flagging.

He bumped my shoulder with his own. “Buck up. It's a few days, weeks at most.”

I gritted my teeth. “And meanwhile people are dying, what if something happens to her? She's been left with Aelfgar of all people!”

He exhaled heavily and cast his gaze up to the leaves above us.“Do you want this or not?”

I didn't need to answer that question, we both knew what I would say. Between my crown and my Hayley I would pick her in an instant, but the possibility of having both was overpowering. I loved who I was, my heritage, my people. I loved her more, but I could balance them neither would ever be forgotten.

“So,” Alston grunted. “I know Hayley, but not well. I was wondering, why you chose her?”

“She's perfect.”I shrugged. “I can't explain. It's all the little things.”

Bil, popped up from behind him and grinned. “Tell us some.”

Adolfo dropped back from where he was joking around with Quinlan Aedan and Penn. “Yes brother dearest, tell us everything.”

I groaned, my eldest brothers were always joined in forces to bring me down.

If I gave in and told them then maybe they would see how much I needed to be by her side. Most had girls they loved, I just wanted to get back to mine.

I sighed, just this once I would explain to them. “Like I said it's all the little things.”

“Like what?” Alston probed his eye slighting up at the idea of new material for mocking me with. He was pulling the strange grin where his lower jaw jutted out further then his top one. The entire male side of the family did it, none of us knew why. We just always have, I caught Hayley doing it sometimes, when she's thinking. It never ceased to make me smile.

I chose the thing I knew they would find most confusing to say first, a test to see if they were actually interested or not. “She moves with the grace of a Degas Dancer.” I'd printed off several of Degas paintings weeks ago and had been carrying them with me ever since. I found them calming, the delicate colours and smooth lines. There was one particular ballerina that looked so exactly like Hayley. It was resting in my breast pocket, I could feel the fold of the paper pressing against the material of my shirt. I wanted to take photos that held as much meaning as Degas paintings, as much grace and natural beauty. Of course now that I was to become king once more I would have to put photography on the sidelines.