Plagued by never-ending nightmares and cursed with a mysterious ability to sense others' emotions, 19-year-old Diana Massey is no stranger to the peculiar. Bizarre events start piling up when a young man named Casimir comes to live at her family far...
Casimir leaned in close, pressing his forehead against mine. He squeezed my hands tightly and I could feel his fear.
"He can never know Taya," Casimir said. "Your father is not a forgiving man."
"This I know," I replied. When I was younger I thought so much of that man, the stories and the way others treated him placed him on a pedestal in my eyes. It was only later that I had begun to see the cracks in his mask. The more time I spent with him and really paid attention, the more I began to fear, even despise my father.
"We cannot be together anymore," Casimir lamented, releasing my hands and pulling back from my touch. As he moved to step away I reached out, grasping him tightly.
"No, I refuse!"
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He looked down at me, smirking sadly. "You are a stubborn woman."
I snaked my arms around his waist, pressing myself closer to him. His armor felt hard and cold. "I thought you liked that about me."
Casimir looked down at me, examining my face for a moment. "I like many things about you Taya."
"Then why are you trying to end our relationship?!" I shouted, my fury returning. His indecision was aggravating.
"Because there cannot be one," he prompted, pulling away from my hug. "A relationship I mean."
"Don't say that," I snapped, trying to keep myself from crying.
"Taya, maybe in another lifetime we could be together but the way things are now..."
"But we belong together, we always have. You and I are-"
"You are a princess," he stressed, cutting me off, "and I am just a simple knight."
I scoffed at him, wanting very much to smack him upside his head. I couldn't stand when he threw our status around, especially when he knew I never cared about such things.
"You were a stable boy who became a royal guard and then one of the best knights in the royal army," I pressed, gesturing at his armor and sword. These were all things he worked very hard to earn but it was never impossible. I looked up at him, my face full of sorrow. "And then perhaps someday we could become..."
"What? Become husband and wife?" Casimir huffed, glancing away, his brow furrowed. "It really does sound like a fairytale when you say it out loud."
"Do not mock my dreams," I replied sternly. He may have thought them to be silly but this simple fantasy had kept me happy for so long. It broke my heart that he did not think it would come to pass, even a little.
"Dreams, huh? That is all they should ever be," he said simply. I bit down on my lip, holding back my outrage and tears. I was desperately trying to think of some way to change his mind, but no ideas came to pass. Casimir pulled out a small case from the pocket of his cloak, handing it to me. "Here, I want you to keep this safe for me."
