The Prince's Escape

Chapter 9|| Longing To Be Held

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It was supposed to be quick. I wasn't supposed to be there when he opened the door. I wasn't supposed to see the time capsule of our house, left just as they had left before the sickness tore them from me. It's not as if I haven't wandered around these grounds before. But this was different. Different because I had never been inside, and when Luca opened the door I stopped. I was transported back in time to when I was a little girl, waiting for my father to come home.

At last, he would swing open the door, lift my anxious body into the air, as I squealed with glee. His face is blurry from time trying to take his image from me, but I can still make out his gentle green eyes. His strong jaw scurfy from his black beard. He would glide over to Mama with me still firmly in his arms, and place a soft kiss on her cheek. Before we bounded over to the floorboards, where tucked under the third left of the table lay our practice swords Papa created out of wood, and we would practice until twilight shown all around us. Sometimes Mama would pretend to be the Queen that needed rescuing and papa was the mean ole villain.

The longing to be that little girl again, crept into my heart and soul, as I tried to suppress it. That image will never be again, and I know that. I feel them around me, but that is the extent. I hear Luca's words evade my thoughts as I look to him. He knows. I see it in his eyes; the queen. Before I can inch much closer to the place I once called home, I see Luca's hand, firm and planted in reality, and I realize that's what I need. I need the strength to stay in the present and not be swept into despair by the past, so I take it.

But I can feel myself allowing him to see more than I want. I don't need him having something over me. I don't need his pity or his anything. I really don't want to admit that I do need this, his hand in mine. So, I give one quick jab to keep him on his toes even now. But it's as though he's expecting it, for his lips pull up into a soft smile, I've seen a few times. "I wouldn't expect anything less," Luca stated as together, we walked into my parents home.

It's as though, they are still alive. If not for the dust and the closed windows, I would think any second Mama would be coming in from the garden with fresh herbs in her hand. She'd go straight to her table, and begin to create her newest concoction. There was never a day that went by when she didn't try something. Sometimes Feribus would be with her over the table. More than once Papa and I acted as test dummies. She wanted nothing more than to heal the world! Peering down at the rug, I see the doll, Gram had made me, longing to be held. I move to pick it up, but I'm held back, and see it's Luca's hand. Right.

"Up there, is the bed." I begin pointing at the stairs. "It's old and dusty, but it should serve you just fine for a few nights."

"Ember," Luca began, and I hear a note of sadness in his voice that I don't want. So, I shake my head, and wait for him to sigh, "The house held up nicely."

"I come by every now and then to touch up the house. I've just never had the courage to step foot inside. It's missing life, ya know?" I ask.

"More than you know," he sighs. "After my mother passed, I took every possible route to avoid any area that reminded me of her, which was difficult seeing as she was everywhere," he said solemnly, and I found myself peering over to his downcast eyes. "I don't have to stay here," he added, breaking the silence that had settled between us.

I shake my head at his absurd thought. "And where oh where would you go, my little lost Princey," I mocked. "No. You should stay and do whatever it is you need. The cupboards are bare and there is not firewood, but I can get a few things. Can you cook?"

Luca's blues eyes met mine and they were somewhere between confused and horrified. Of course, he's never needed to cook.

"Right. I'll be back later to help you with dinner. Do you need anything else, your highness?" I concluded with the formalities, just to get under his skin.