Fragile Desires (18+)

Thirty-One | Cherry Blossoms

Worn leather, the color a deep, rich burgundy, felt smooth and cool against my fingertips. 

It wasn't extravagant, this diary—no velvet lining or gold-edged pages. 

But in my hands, it felt like a hidden fortress, a secret chamber within the imposing palace walls. 

Inside, crisp, unblemished pages awaited, each one a blank canvas for my unfiltered thoughts, my whispered dreams.

This unexpected treasure arrived on my twelfth birthday, a quiet rebellion against the usual parade of predictable gifts—etiquette lessons, suffocatingly formal gowns, and tiaras that felt more like crowns of constraint. 

This, though, was different. 

It was a gift from Antonio, my best friend.

A knowing flicker in his dark eyes as he presented it spoke volumes—he understood the unspoken desire for a space beyond the constant scrutiny.

I traced the inscription on the first page that read: For the thoughts that cannot be spoken aloud.

It was a tiny match igniting a hidden fire within me. 

From that day on, the diary became my confidante, the silent witness to the stifling weight of expectation, the thrilling escapes Antonio and I concocted, and the dreams I dared not to voice aloud.

In its pages, I shed the label of Princess Azura, future queen, and became simply Azura, a girl with a head full of rebellious desires and a heart wishing for even the smallest taste of freedom.

Each scribbled word, each tear-stained entry, became a tiny act of defiance, a carving of my own identity within the walls of my life. 

The diary, a simple gift from Antonio, became my sanctuary, a safe haven where my voice, unfiltered and raw, could finally be heard. 

It was a secret world within the world, a testament to the silent language shared between a princess and her bodyguard, a language of unspoken understanding and shared dreams.

- Azzy

♛Chapter Thirty-One: Cherry Blossoms♛

Time ticked by unbearably slow as I patiently awaited for the moment when Renata would open her door.

Is this odd?

Me at her door at such a late hour of the night?

Yes, the pie could hold some weight of an excuse, but it could only take me so far.

I suddenly glanced up, noticing the door opening to reveal the woman I had previously been anticipating seeing.

She wore the same thing as earlier, yet she somehow looked better.

Every time I see her she somehow looks better.

"Let me call you back," Renata said into the phone pressed to her ear, glancing between me and the man.