A normal life

The kiss

I burst out crying.

Anthony: "I am so sorry. I did not mean to upset you more. I just didn't want to take advantage of you while you are so vulnerable. I do want to kiss you; I have wanted to since we first met but I felt intimidated. You are a princess. Not that I knew that the first time I saw you."

I cry even louder. He passes me his nasal scarf. (Handkerchief).

Anthony: "I am so sorry, I did not mean it that way. I meant that I wanted to kiss you before I knew, and I still do. It is all I think about every time I see you. That day when we were fixing the kennels was so hard to keep my composure. When I leaned in to grab the hammer."

"I wanted you to kiss me so bad."

Anthony: "I wanted you to, but I was scared. That is saying something because I do not get scared easily."

"Neither do I."

Anthony: "One of the many things I admire about you. I just... I pulled away because you do not seem like yourself. I would not want to make your life more complicated than it already seems."

"Thank you. I kissed you back not because I am vulnerable but because I really wanted to and trust me, there is no way you can complicate it any more."

Anthony: "Your eyes, the grey is subsiding slightly. That's a good thing I guess."

Just then he pushes up against me and kisses me even harder. I know you expected my toes to curl, sorry to disappoint you but they didn't. My everything curled. My

heart rate accelerated faster than it ever did, and I felt my body slipping off the seat. If you understand what I am saying. I wanted him to do so much more than what he was already doing. I wanted him to touch me in ways I have only dreamed of him touching me.

Oh my goodness I am so glad Leonard was not here to hear this. Thinking of him got me out of my comfort zone. I pulled away realizing that we were still in the car.

Anthony:" I am so sorry I wasn't thinking. Thank you for stopping because I do not think that I would have been able to."

"I am surprised that I was able to, but you know, dragons."

Anthony: "Okay miss random, let's go with that. Thank you, dragon, for keeping us out of trouble. I would offer to walk you in but to be honest I don't think I can."

I stare at him confused and look downwards.

"Oh, I see, awkward I bet. It is extremely hard to miss. Excuse my pun. I think you might need to vacate the premises as fast as possible. We do not want my dad to call you in, not like that. Cold shower perhaps?"

Anthony (blushing): "I might not have a choice."

" Can we, for now, keep this between us? I don't want to mess up things with my dad. We have to think about your job. And let us not jinx things before it turns into so much more."

Anthony: "I agree."

I give him a peck kiss goodbye with one hand on his lap. A girl needs to know what she is letting herself in for.

Wow!

" Goodbye"

Anthony looks at me dumbfounded.

Yes, as you could guess he was speechless. I left him sitting there with nothing but his thoughts and his composition. One very high-pitched composition it was.

As I walk in, I notice Nessie's car was not in the driveway. Seemingly she was telling the truth when she said I would possibly not see her today. I don't know how dad is going to handle it. It was obvious he really wanted to continue the conversation at home.

Walking into the castle, I march straight to my room. What a day. An emotional roller-coaster of note. Have I met both my soulmates in one day? The two-thirds of me that complete me.

I have so many questions but that can wait. I think one might need to compile a list or a book depending on how many there are.

There are so many questions for my mom, dad, and Leonard. Though there does not seem to be a single one for Anthony. Considering I most likely already know those answers. This needs to be kept secret, especially from Nessy. She said that the game is over when one of us gets asked out. Strictly speaking, that did not happen.

My mother enters my room.

Mom: "I saw you coming in. Don't you greet anymore.?"

"Have you seen dad yet?"

Mom: "Yes, he told me you knew. I wanted to come and see how you are doing. I can see you have been crying, your face looks flustered. Do you want to talk?"

"I know, dad said I know? I have no idea what I know mom? I know you cheated on dad. I don't blame you. You have been unhappy forever. I would probably do the same if I were in your shoes."

Mom: "Do not speak about your father like that. He is not only your father. He is the king and you shall treat him with the respect he deserves! He is a good man and he loves all 3 of you, but he is also trying to protect us."

"Respect, like you did when you laid for another man forsaking your vows? I am taking your side in this and you are sticking up for him. And what exactly is he protecting us from?"

Mom: "Hold your tongue, you ungrateful girl! You have no idea what you speak of. I love you and you know that, but you have said too much!"

"I thought that maybe we could act civilized, but pinning your parents up against each other is a sign of utter disrespect."

Mom: "Yes, I made a mistake, but I owned up to it to the man I love. That man that you grew up believing to be Pieterre's father was not. Pieterre has always known that."

"Do you think it was easy for him? Place yourself in his shoes for a second. Knowing from birth that you are royalty, yet having to stay in the shadows. I gave him all the love he deserved. Your sister was still very young and could not remember him living in the castle as a baby. By the time you were born, we had already given him a fake father to raise him, having you believe that his mom had left or died or something would make it okay for me to play the loving mother figure."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me? Raising my own son as a stranger. Your father was gone for more than a cycle trying to find a way to stop my family curse even though he never planned on having a third child. My family has not had a third child for 500 cycles give or take. There was a scare some moons ago, but as you know your gran's twin died."

"Your father tried to stop it so that our children could have the option to have more kids. I got lonely one night. I am still an elf not only a wife and a queen and I still have needs. I made the worst mistake of my life, but it turned into one of my biggest secret blessings. I love your brother and so does your father. He forgave me and I thank the heavens every day for that. I could not have asked for a better husband. I had

So much trouble forgiving myself and to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to forgive him had he done the same."

She does seem sincere in saying all this.

"Then why do you fight all the time? If he is so wonderful then why do you keep pushing him away?"

Mom: "That is exactly why I push him away. I feel unworthy of his love. How can a man with all that power and so much heart, love a betrayer? I constantly wonder if he would have married me, should I have told him about the curse before he asked for my hand. I do believe he would but maybe with a bit of hesitation."

"Why is it called a curse? It does not feel like one to me. So, I can communicate with a dragon and have a soul split in three? That is not so bad."

Mom: "You met your dragon and you merged, that is only the first step, honey. The first of many. Your father failed, but there is still hope."