THAT EVENING AFTER dinner, when everyone had retired to their rooms, Zoë and Tahani had agreed to meet in the east wing, planning on exiting through the staff entrance. Upon seeing each other, they could only stifle a laugh, for they had both dressed in their finer clothing, hair and makeup perfectly done despite the fact that it wouldn't be visible in the darkness outside.
Hooking her arm through her sister's, Tahani had to attempt to tip-toe in a way that wouldn't allow for her anklet bells to chime too loudly. She had forgotten about its jingle; it was second nature to her.
A recent gift from their oldest sister, she'd been asked never to take it off. She didn't mind it, however, the gorgeous kolusu being impeccably tailored to match her in every way possible, it had become one with her.
"Hurry," Zoë hissed, worried about the noise she was making, "Get outside."
"I'm going, I'm going," her heart was beginning to pick up speed, thinking about where she would be in an hour or so, who she would be seeing.
They finally left the palace, finding a carriage waiting. "What? There's—"
"Sh, sh," Zoë guided her to their vehicle, "It's okay, I trust him with my everything. Hop on."
And so she did, placing her hands flat on her lap when she was seated. Eyes staring at the front of the carriage, the space just left of Zoë's shoulder as she sat opposite her.
Tahani felt her heart rise a little, a heart that's been constantly begging to shine like the others slowly elate. It was starting to crack open, and she didn't know what that meant for her.
"Would you like to be dropped off at the place where the night market is, Tani?" Zoë snapped her out of her trance.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, that sounds good."
She and Jimin had agreed to meet at the beach that he had introduced her to previously, a five-minute walk from the night market.
Looking outside the window of the carriage, Tahani started to recognise the path she was on. The trees she passed, the houses in the distance, the little makeshift shops.
And just like the fast rhythm of the galloping of the horse, her heart continued to race.
Badum. Badum. Badum.
She was getting nearer to Jimin.
A moment later, the carriage slowed down, Tahani's heart pounding so hard in her chest that she couldn't feel it. If it weren't for Zoë's little pats on her knee, she would have continued to play with her hair until it was all braided at its ends.
"Okay," Tahani heaved in a deep breath as she held each side of the carriage door before stepping out. "Okay, I got this."
"You do, angelo," Zoë kissed the top of Tahani's head, an action that all the sisters seemed to do often, "Go get him."
"I'm going," she finally stepped out, "Okay, bye. Iloveyoupleasecomebacksoon."
"You don't mean that," Zoë whispered finally before the carriage scurried off again.
Shaking her head to herself, Tahani hiked up her dress before heading to the beach. The moonlight soaked the city in such a captivating silver, it took her breath away. The tiny houses that she had only seen painted in yellows and golds were now veiled in white, in a grey shimmer.
Eyes flying to the sky, she found her gorgeous, sterling moon, bathing in an onyx sea. It spilled its light onto the faint clouds surrounding it, and the view was so appealing it made her almost trip over her feet.
"You're going to end up bumping into a tree," a familiar dulcet voice spoke, and Tahani's gaze fell to reveal a masculine figure just in front of her, head tilted as he stared back, hands in pockets.
The moon had taken her breath away, but somehow he managed to do the same thing. Brown hair dipped in silver messily lay on his head, face half illuminated by the light but still accentuating his perfectly sculpted cheeks, eyes, jaw.
Tahani inhaled, finding herself gasp for air yet again. She was sure she had perfected the art of breathing over the past twenty-three years of living, but here she was, struggling to inhale enough oxygen to keep her sane.
"Hi," she exhaled, feeling the air leave her in a sigh. A dreamy sigh, because how could someone this beautiful even exist? Let alone be staring at her the way he was now, like she was just as beautiful as the moon?
Surely that wasn't what he was thinking, right?
However, there was something in his eyes that made her wonder, made her think he didn't want to look elsewhere.
"Hello," he took a step forward, and her heart started to thump wildly in her chest again.
"I came," she let out, mentally facepalming as soon as she did.
Could I say anything dumber?
"You did," he was finally close enough for her to see him properly in all his beauty. So she saw the way the side of his lips perked up in a small smile and eyes glint with cheer? Pleasure? She wasn't sure, but he looked happy.
"Should we—uhm—should we head to the beach?" she felt her hand come over her other arm, fiddling with her bangles.
"Yes," the smile never left his face, "let's get going."
"How was work today?" she asked as they walked on, thinking of ways to fill the silences that they kept falling into.
"It was alright," his voice in the ambience of that calm evening was all it took for Tahani's mind to fall into a bed of serenity. "Had a lot of orders on top of the bread I usually make for the people who live here."
"Wait," she spun to him, an action that made him quickly look up, "Does that mean the standard deliveries you do are all out of your own pocket? The people don't pay for that?"
He chuckled at her question as if she found her shock to be cute, "Yes. We're all in similar situations here, not everyone can afford to buy food on top of looking after themselves. So, I guess I try to help in the only way I can?"
"Oh," was all she could make out. Speechless yet again, she could only stare at him. Partly because she couldn't comprehend the concept of people not being able to afford basic necessities, let alone bread. And partly because this man couldn't seem to afford his own needs, but here he was trying to provide for others.
"Sorry," he mumbled, "Did I ruin the mood?"
"No!" she waved her hands in front of her, "No, of course not. I love to listen to you speak. About anything."
She was a little past the point of feeling humiliated when she would say something so stupid to him. Because she started to realise it would be a crime to speak to the gentle-eyed man without forgetting how to string together letters to form words, words to form sentences.
"Right," he cleared his throat then, scratching the back of his neck, "Well, that's it, I suppose. Here we all just try to support each other the best we can, with all we have."
"I'm—" Tahani bit her lip, trying to think of what to say to that, "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologise for," she saw him shrug, "That's how it's always been."
When they arrived at the beach, she spotted an area where a large mat had been placed over the sand, a small basket sitting at the front of it. He continued to walk towards it, and her heart ignited at the thought of Jimin setting it out before she got there.
Slipping his loafers off, he settled down and patted the spot next to him. Tahani sent him a small smile before putting her flats next to his shoes, gathering her dress together and sitting down with her legs outstretched.
Both of them then sat there, letting the silence envelop them whole and the soft waves fill their ears. It was comfortable; it was safe.
"Do you ever wonder what it sounds like up there?" Jimin spoke, and she turned her head to the side. Meeting his side profile as he had his chin tilted up, eyes boring into the night sky.
Following his gaze, she let her eyes trace the speckled stars, trying to form images of warriors, of animals, of mountains that her mother had shown her when she was younger.
"I'd imagine it to be quite silent," Tahani offered, and she heard him shift in his spot. Through the corner of her eyes, she saw him lay back, placing his hands beneath his head and stretching his legs out.
"Silent?" he questioned, humming a little to himself, "But wouldn't that be quite sad?"
"Sad?" pulling her legs up to hug them around her chest, she rested the side of her face against her dress as she watched him.
"Yeah," his eyes were still trained to the sky, "I would imagine the sun wanting to tell the moon of her beauty. Of how brightly she shines and how she illuminates up the sky for people like me as we tread home in the middle of the night. But if it's quiet, how can they speak?"
She was sure her heart would end up imploding on itself. She knew he was watching the stars, but she couldn't miss the glint in his own eyes, the way stardust seemed to swirl in them, the way they gleaned as he was talking of the beauty in the moon.
"Perhaps they don't need to," she whispered, because it seemed like a sin to talk to someone who looked the way he did then. As luminous as the sun. As ethereal as a meteor shower. As beautiful as... well, as Jimin.
At her words, he slowly met her gaze, and the entire world fell away. The eyes that were just absorbing the appeal of the night sky were now on her. And in a way, it seemed as though they deemed her just as stunning.
"Perhaps they don't need words; perhaps their light is more than enough."
"Perhaps you're right," the faint moonlight painted his lips when he smiled, their eyes never breaking contact.
She could basically hear the snigger from her sisters in the back of her mind. For, she finally found something more beautiful than the moon.
They continued to watch each other, a heartbeat longer, before he spoke again.
"When can I see you again?"
And one more time, somewhere in the corner of her heart, she felt a firecracker go off.
The man who spoke stars into existence wanted to see her again.
Her; a woman who didn't hold her own light but imitated that of others. He wanted to see her again.
"You-you want to see me again?"
The words spilled from her before she could stop herself, but he had spared her from the embarrassment as he replied.
"I do," he stated, as plainly as if he were telling her that water is wet, "I like to surround myself with beautiful things. With people who make me feel happy. I want to see you again."
Tahani didn't know if she was breathing anymore. She couldn't be.
It would only be immoral to breathe after hearing something like that.
"I'm sure I could come back in a couple of days," when she said this, he sat up straight. Her heart, already blazing in her chest, started to race again from their closeness.
"I would really like that," he said before reaching forward into the basket that lay there.
It didn't cease to amaze her, the way he could continue to say words that would whip out all the air from her lungs as if it was nothing.
Bringing the basket closer, he pulled out some baked goods, miniature pastries and croissants that smelled divine and were decorated with splashes of chocolate and berries.
"I made these," and for once, she could have sworn he sounded almost timid when he presented his food, "In case we got hungry. I'm hungry."
Lifting her gaze from the delights, she looked at him. Taking in the innocence in his eyes, she felt a laugh bubble inside of her. And so she laughed. Before she knew it, he was laughing too, instantly the serenity of the beach vanishing.
"Thank you," she finally managed to say between breaths, "Thank you, I'm hungry too."
Gorgeous face splitting into a grin, he held up the food for her to take, "I hope you like it."
She was going mad. He was beginning to become the biggest reason behind her smile, and she didn't know how she felt about that.
She was falling. Oh, she was falling heart first into the hearth that was Jimin.
And all she knew was that she was begging him to catch her.
and there we have another chapter! i hope you guys like it!!! please let me know what you think!
you have no idea how fond i am of tahani and jimin, omg, and of tahani and the other princesses uwu i love my girls
have a great day/night sweethearts!!