Eva's Journal

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Olivia was a kind soul who was lucky enough to meet and marry her soulmate. The two of them filled my heart with a very ugly emotion: jealousy. She invited me into her home and fed me with some delicious stew made from vegetables from her own garden. We spoke over dinner, just the two of us like it was when she visited the castle. Her father, before his passing, traded vegetables and would bring Olivia along. We met when she was playing in the maids' quarters and we bumped into each other. From then on, when her father was trading, we would play together. She then met her husband and married him when her father died.

"So, how is Atlas?" she asked giggling. She could always read me like a book.

"He is marrying princess Anastasia. They are soulmates, Olivia." I laughed as she raised her eyebrows at me, taking a large sip of her drink.

"Well, when we spoke in the garden, he made it seem like he didn't know who his soulmate was. He told me he felt something more intense with you than he ever did with Anna." I smiled looking down at my hands, playing with the family ring on my finger. I thought about the letter sat on the table. Chewing my lip, I looked up at Olivia. She smiled, took my hand and just said: "go".

I sped walked through the village to my home and opened the door. I took the letter and left the house, wanting somewhere private to read it. My horse looked at me as I got on him. He then galloped through the forest until we reached the stream where Atlas saw me naked. I laughed as the memory replayed in my head of his bright red face looking at my body.

I jumped off the horse and sat down on the riverbank allowing the water to nip at my toes. I breathed deeply before opening the envelope. I slipped the piece of paper out and carefully unfolded the sheets of paper.

Dear my sweet Eva,

I've tried writing a letter to you what seems like a million times. Every time I start to say how I feel it leads to my brain becoming so clouded. In a few days' time, I am supposed to marry Anna. I cannot marry her if my soulmate is someone else.

When I met you, I had this overwhelming feeling of protection over you. I saw that man trying to hurt you and I needed to save you, Eva. I couldn't breathe when we first touched but I put it all to one side because I was supposed to love Anna.

I know who and what I'm supposed to do. Please tell me to do the opposite. Tell me to do what I want to do. If you want me and feel what I feel, meet me at dawn on what's supposed to be my wedding day on the outskirts of the town. If you are there, I will live my life with you as my soulmate.

Yours, if you'll have me,

Atlas

I smiled as I read the letter over and over. He wanted me to meet him tomorrow morning. I looked up at the sky and saw I only really had the night to get myself prepared. My horse trotted back and we rode back into the town when the night was fully upon us.

I rushed inside, looking for a nice dress in my drawers. I muttered to myself as I pulled out dress after dress. Nothing was good enough for him.

"Eva, how about this dress?" Agatha walked in holding up a pure lace dress with pastel purple accents. I smiled engulfing her in a hug. She put the dress on my bed and left the room. I looked at the letter again and put it in my boot. I laced up the front of the dress and looked down on myself feeling pretty, which came rarely to me.

By the time I finished changing my hair ten times, finding a dress and not getting any sleep, the sun was peeking through the gaps in the mountain range. I knew I needed to hurry to find Atlas before he left to marry someone who wasn't his soulmate.

I rode through the forest until I saw the castle come into full view. It was heavily decorated with much grandeur to celebrate a royal wedding. My chest heaved up and down and I waited for Atlas to show. I paced back and forth until I heard a howl. It made me jump and my horse reared up and galloped off leaving me with a snarling wolf in front of me. I tripped on the floor, crawling away from him. I continued to back away until I felt as though I recognized him. As I reached out, he ran off back towards the castle. I flopped down on the floor breathing erratically as the adrenaline sped through my body. I knew who that was.