It had been four years since The Kingdom of Malachite was turned upside down. Julie was now twenty-one, and although she had healed from the ache and memories that came with remembering the war, some nights she would get a familiar sensation. A burn in her throat. A heart wrecking feeling that she wasn't safe that would jolt her body awake like an electric shock.
But in those moments, she'd drag herself out of bed and go look at the sunset. It always happened before sunset. She'd sometimes text Luke and ask if he was also looking at the rising sun. He always said yes.
They had a type of friendship that was low maintenance. They talked once or twice a month at most, and sometimes, they could go up to four months without talking. They were busy adults and although at one point in her late teenage years she was completely enamored by him, the distance made her lose those feelings that once tied her closely to him.
But that didn't mean she had eyes for anyone else. Even as her dad subtly brought up suitors, she wondered what it would be like to have Luke live in their kingdom. To have him around and to have their romance revive now that they were much older and better off than what they were. Less angsty and impulsive. Less traitorous.
Flynn told her she had to move on, and Julie replied by saying that she had. It had been four years. How could she have not moved on in that time? Especially when she had only seen him twice a year- on Alex and Reggie's birthdays for moments at a time before she forced herself to leave the party early.
Julie was in the helicopter next to her dad. They were heading to the Kingdom of Malachite for their annual banquet. It was a celebration of peace, and the Nation of Kingdoms summoned every ruler to attend. Julie was going for the first time, and the banquet just happened to land on her birthday. She didn't have plans until the weekend, so she was fine with spending the day smiling and being polite as exhausting as it could be.
She didn't have the courage to text Luke before she got there. She knew his mom was a political figure now, but she hoped she wouldn't have to see him still. She could not be in front of him. It's she would find an excuse to leave Alex and Reggie's parties. It got to be too much to have him in front of her when he seemed to get taller, more handsome, and more mature. She still felt like a child.
Their helicopter landed, and they were escorted into the rebuilt castle that was just now a government building. Nobody lived in there except occasional families who would lose their homes for environmental or financial reasons as a way to help them get back on their feet. It looked more colorful, a lot more different than the boring stone grey Julie remembered. She was passed out when she was taken in and scaling the walls at night didn't show her much. But she knew what it once looked like. She had often dreamt about it so long ago.
Julie and her dad were introduced to a few people of Silvone, and she shook the hand of a woman named Emily Patterson who she immediately ringed at Luke's mom. She gave Julie a soft smile and greeted her in that accent Luke had, one Julie failed to pick apart so long ago. Julie didn't even register what she said before she was moved along to the large dining room.
She scanned around for Luke, but the only other familiar faces she saw were Willie's parents and eldest sister who would one day be queen. She sighed in relief, passing off the slight tinge of disappointment from her skin. She distracted herself with the banquet, being silent and listening in on conversations that would sometimes stray from the political and give hints to royal family drama. She knew her family was the face of it at the banquet three years ago after the anniversary of her kidnapping which is why her dad didn't let her go for the longest time.
But there she was. Once again, being reminded that this was her life. She was unwillingly sworn into this life the second she was born and although for a while it wasn't her priority, it was again now. She played with the ruby ring on her finger. She wondered what her mom would think of her. Attending banquets at age twenty-one. On the day of her birthday. She was just used to dealing with things. Nothing could ever get worse she constantly reassured her. It was only up from there.
Julie noticed that people were starting to excuse themselves to go into the main room and continue chatting. Her dad put his hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm all done here. I'm going to make conversation." Julie smiled and nodded as her dad left her alone for the first time. She waited for him to find a group of people before getting up.
She slowly made her way to the corner door of the dining room, people not noticing her. Julie looked around one more time. Emily caught her eyes from a distance as she opened the door before smiling. Julie grinned back before going outside.
She had no idea where it led, but she needed to be outdoors. It's where she always felt better.
She was met with the lake at a short walking distance, and she walked through a path of dahlias to make her way to a bench that was placed right before its shore. She sat down and took a deep breath, feeling a lot better already.
She peered in the distance, wondering if she'd be able to see an island in the distance. Luke's island- specifically. She dreamt about his apartment sometimes. Sometimes they'd be stuck in his childhood bedroom, and they'd just stare at each other and smile. No dreams with Luke were bad dreams.
"Thought it was you," a voice said. A much deeper voice than one she knew, but she recognized it. Just like it had made her common sense dissipate over four years ago, it made the inside of her body stop working. She froze, not knowing what to do. She had to move before he got suspicious.
Julie forced her neck to turn around and caught sight of Luke standing there with his suit jacket over his shoulder, his white sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Damn those arms. His hair was in the same style, just kept shorter and his face was shaven clean. He wasn't a boy anymore.
"Hey, you," was all she could say. She was said it quiet, and she hated that she sounded shy. She turned around to stop herself from ogling him. She heard him walk closer and made his way in front of her vision.
"This seat taken?" he asked, pointing at the bench. Julie gave him a small smile and shook her head no. She scooted closer to the end as he sat down next to her, putting his jacket in between them. She realized it wasn't black but rather a darker navy blue.
"I didn't see you earlier," she said.
"I didn't feel like eating. Saw you leaving just as I went to find my mom." Maybe that's why Emily had smiled. Julie wondered if Luke was the type to tell his mom about his personal life. Their small, short-lived romance. Julie would have told her mom.
"How have you been doing?" she asked him. Luke chuckled under his breath and Julie couldn't help her brow from quirking up. "What?"
"Still so formal," he said to her. He looked at her and smiled, Julie realizing how much power that smile held over her after all those years.
"What do you mean?" she asked. Luke licked the bottom of his lip before looking out at the lake. It was like he was hesitating.
"You always spoke this weird mix of formal and teenager. It was... fun." Julie frowned. How dare he go up to her, looking so handsome, smile at her, and then tease her? After four years? On her birthday!
"Fun?"
"Yeah." There was no such thing as silence near the lake, but they didn't say anything for a moment as Julie tried to cool down her overheating body. Too much had happened in just two minutes. Two and a half minutes ago, she thought she wasn't going to have to deal with him and now she was in a situation where she couldn't make an excuse to run home. This was his home.
"You never told me that," she finally said. He never did. He had said a lot of things about her to her but not that. She started playing with the ends of her hair. It had grown to her waist and although it was tiresome sometimes, she loved it how much more it made her look like her mom.
"I didn't want you to get self-conscious about it."
"Well, I'm not," Julie said a little too defensively. Luke laughed again, folding his hands together and not looking at her as she found herself staring at the side of his face. The words slipped out. "You look different." Luke looked at her from the corner of her eyes, and she was the one to quickly turn ahead now.
"So do you," he said. That caught Julie off guard, and she twisted in her seat. "Like," he paused again. "A good different. Great, even." Hm.
"You, too," Julie said. Okay so they just admitted that they were both hot to each other. Next! "So how have you been, Mr. Luke Patterson." Luke looked directly at her and grinned, a dimple showing.
"Not that formal." Julie was the one to smile now, and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Answer me or I'm going to think somethings wrong."
"I've been good," Luke said with a quick laugh. He sounded genuine. It was a steep contrast to how he spoke years ago. He didn't have to lie anymore, and she had no reason to mistrust him. "Figuring things out, you know." He crossed his arms and shifted in the bench. Julie hoped she was imagining that he scooted closer to her. "I'm on a transformative justice committee here, and it's good work. I enjoy it." Now he sounded like he was reading from a script.
"But?" she asked. She knew there was more. And he poured himself out.
"I still feel odd here. Never at home."
"Did you feel home in Inmarcsesible?" she asked him. He always looked like he belonged there with them. Even with his accent they never guessed he wasn't born there. Luke looked in her direction, but he was lost in thought as he searched for words.
"I mean, my whole childhood here was so dark and traumatizing. And over there, I at least had friends who I knew weren't going to die all the time. Like, I know the worse part is over. But there's still guilt about being one of the ones that survived." It was so strange to see him talk to her so easily when she the Luke she remembered held so much of him back. He wasn't scared of talking anymore. He was the Luke she was meant to know. A Luke healed from war. So talkative and expressive. Unchained.
"I don't think you should feel guilty," Julie said. "You did what you had to do to survive." Luke met her eyes, and gave her a half smile.
"I know. I think I just can't see myself here forever," Luke sighed. "But it's a good right now." Julie watched him run his fingers through his hair and look back out at the lake. The sun was lowering itself, and there was an orange tint glowing on them now. Luke looked flawless, so warm and cozy like her favorite blanket she misplaced for a couple of years.
"I wish I had that option," Julie said. "To not be somewhere forever. But you know me." She pointed at an invisible crown on her head.
"Sworn to the everlasting royal life," he said dramatically. Julie side eyed him, but he just laughed. "You think my oath is undone or do I still have to die for you?"
"An oath is an oath," she shrugged. "What's the most dangerous thing to do here?"
"Ha ha," he said sarcastically. They both sat smiling for a moment, staring out at the sun going down and the lake changing colors with it. "Happy birthday," Luke told her suddenly. Julie turned to look at him and he was already staring at her.
"You remembered?"
"I've never forgotten."
Julie didn't know how to pretend that there wasn't a huge blush sprawling across her face so she just said, "Thank you." Luke sucked in his bottom lip and nodded. He was also starting to blush and Julie felt sixteen again. Luke was her guard she liked to mess around with and now she had the upper hand in the game she invented. But she didn't want to play that game right now. She wanted to probe deeper. "Why didn't you come over more? I know twice a year is something but... still?" she asked. Luke sat up straight in his seat, pretending to stretch. He would not be looking at her for a while now.
"I thought that's what you wanted."
"No. It wasn't. Ever."
Luke sighed and scratched the back of his head, saying lowly, "Well you didn't really stick around to talk to me when I was there. It was always hi and bye."
"I was scared," she admitted without hesitation. There was no reason to hesitate now. "I was scared you weren't going to want to see me. Texting every once in a while is one thing. But seeing you was so heavy. I think at first I was nervous because it felt wonderful." Luke almost turned to look at her, but he played it off by looking up at the sky instead. Julie looked up, and they both noticed a flock of birds going above them. Too high up to be recognized. "And it was overwhelming, so I'd leave. I think.... After a while, I just let time wash you out. But I never forgot about you. I always hoped you'd come back. For real."
"I never forgot about you, Julie." Luke said. Julie. Not Princess. She smiled. "You." He stopped himself. He hadn't stopped himself that much since he sat down, but after a second, he lunged forward in the conversation as if something finished untying him, "You were my first love." Julie hated how big her smile got. They both continued to look up at the birds, getting further away.
"I think you were my first love, too," Julie said to him. Nothing to play. Nothing to lose. Nothing to break. They could not be bent back any further, especially by things that could not hurt them. They had survived the worst already.
"I know I was." Cocky bastard. Julie let out a laugh, and he joined her as their eyes found each other. He reached his hand out and Julie sat still, letting him put a wild curl behind her ear. His skin brushing against hers was like striking a match. "Your hair is longer. I like it."
"Me, too."
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A/N: I told y'all it was only going to be nice things from here on out hehe. I'm very happy about this time skip. I really think it saved the rest of this story because the OG ending was not it.
I do not know if the rest of the chapters will be this long but maybe they will. I want to linger in here a little more before I have to say goodbye. See you guys later and thank you for reading <3