No Greater Love {Completed}

Page 8

Love that we cannon have is the one that lasts the longest, hurts the deepest, and feels the strongest.
-Unknown

The palace had gotten busy lately, and no one really knew what was happening. Shannon and I had gotten separated as far as our duties went. After he had stopped a thief the queen became impressed with his strength and wanted him to begin defensive training. As for me I remained being entertainment for the queen, but recently even she had more pressing matters to attend to. I began to feel alone and helpless, and I often spent my days aimlessly wondering around the castle.

Today I decided to explore the garden. As long as I've been trapped here, I've never actually walked through it. It was very large with an assortment of flowers, trees, and bushes. There were statues of the queen and king sporadically throughout it, and it was a beautiful site to take in, but made me feel more alone than ever.

"Jared?" Kylie's voice sang sweetly.

I turned to look at her and lost my ability to breathe. The dress she wore was gold and fit closely to her curves. It had a long white train that her ladies in waiting were holding up to keep it from getting soiled, and her hair was pulled back into a waterfall braid cascading down her back. I wanted to kiss her then and there, but the two girls were keeping me from doing such.

"You look beautiful, Princess," I finally manage to say bowing. I heard the rustling of her dress as she came closer to me.

She aced her hand under my chin and lifted my face. There was something in her eyes, and I could see she wanted to say something but didn't. "It was nice seeing you, Jared. I hope we can find the time to talk more in the near future, but for now I must go. Take care." She gave me a slight wink and curtseyed before leaving.

It was clear that she wanted to meet me later, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk it. I continued through the garden and sitting on a bench was Aviana. She seemed distracted and deep in thought. I almost decided to leave her alone, but her posture signified that she was distraught.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked quietly.

She looked at me with her glowing eyes and nodded. She moved over giving me space to sit down.

"Are you ok?" I asked as I sat beside her.

"Have you ever... wanted something that you couldn't have?"

I looked at her quizzically, but she kept her head down and stared at the gravel walkway. "Everyday," I said thinking of Kylie and how stunning she looked.

"How do you deal with it?" Her voice sounded as if she were in pain.

"Well, the way I see it is there are three possible choices. You can force yourself to let it go and forget it, you can do nothing and keep longing for it, or you can fight for it."

"What would you do?"

I sighed and thought for a moment. "Can I be blunt with you?"

She looked at me and nodded.

"If you're referring to Shannon, you should fight for him. He's stubborn and I'll admit he isn't too fond your kind, but I don't think he's capable of hating anyone. So just don't give up, and he'll come around." I patted her lightly on the shoulder.

It was strange how different she was from the other Lurians. The others seemed to think of humans as rodents and anything less than superior, but the way she looked at Shannon made it seem as though she idolized and adored him.

"Thanks Jared," she gave me a weak smile. "Is it really that obvious?" She asked standing, and I stood with her shrugging.

"It depends. A human can see it, but I've noticed most Lurians can't. Most lack a sense of emotion, and I've been here long enough to notice that most rely on pure logic, and having emotions creates or leads to illogical thinking. Which is why Lurians think humans should be exterminated right?" I spoke as we walked.

"What makes you think we want to exterminate humans?"

"Well most of the human population is already killed off, and I've lived long enough to know that the queen doesn't intend on allowing humans to live other than a select few," I motioned to myself. "Human emotions cause rebellions, and that's something she wants to avoid at all cost. I can't figure out why though."

Aviana looked at me in shock. "How do you know all of this?"

"I watch, listen, learn. I'm very observant."

We stopped in front of the infirmary. She let out a sigh and leaned against the wall. "Thank you, Jared." She gave me another and opened the door.

"Oh and please don't be offended by what I said. You're different from the rest of them, and you seem more human than the rest of them."

She nodded waved goodbye before disappearing behind the door.