"I wish I could love you less."
- Unravel Me, by Tahereh Mafi.
♚
Sebastian had left long before her, but somehow Adela managed to walk through the snow, all alone, ever so slowly.
She felt dead inside. A part of her had died with Samantha, was now buried with her in the cold ground.
The other part had died the moment Sebastian had crushed it. Again and again. She had never known there was actually so much to Sebastian, she had never known he'd gone through so much. Now the whole of her heart ached for him, for the fifteen year old who had to bury a dead body with his own bare hands. A fifteen year old who loved a girl to such an extent that he still couldn't get over it. That was who Sebastian.
He really was a stranger, wasn't he?
But Adela had always been late. Too late on every occasion, and somehow when she reached back to the Palace, she was late over there as well.
Apparently, she'd just spent two hours out in the deserted streets, staring at nothing.
And now there were two large carriages being prepared to set off to their own Kingdoms. One to Silvetotia, one to Larcbost. And she hadn't realised how badly she'd miss the environment. The joy. The noises. This grand Palace would go back to being quiet and miserable again. Just like before.
She closed her eyes, and then regained her strength. And then she walked forward to stand with the King and the Queen of Archensheen, to see of the Kings of both the Kingdoms. Edgar was nowhere to be seen, but Adela stood quietly.
The King looked over at her daughter, and he smiled at her. Adela didn't feel like smiling at all.
The luggage was being loaded onto separate, smaller carriages by the servants, and Adela was standing there, lost in thought when she heard the King of Larcbost.
"Princess Adela." He said, and Adela bowed down.
"Your Majesty." She said quietly.
"I would like to have a word with you." He smiled, and Adela didn't seem to have any other choice but to walk with him, away from them all, in a corner. He stood there and smiled, and she tried to forget how his eyes were exactly like those of Sebastian.
"It has been great, spending our time here in Archensheen." He began, "And I took it upon me to... closely observe things, if you might say it in a polite way." He pouted at himself, "I observed you and Sebastian, together."
Adela was still. Too still to be normal.
"I saw you on the parties and everywhere else. And I've decided, Adela." He let out a defeated breath, "I'm not going to force Sebastian into marrying you, or anyone else."
"What..?" The word only came out breathless.
The King sighed again, "Yes, Adela. I talked with your father too. We are not going to force you two to marry now." He looked down, "It was a bad decision to do so in the first place, but we were too blinded by the need for alliance, and the severe need to do so.
"But Sebastian isn't like all of the other Princes." He continued, "He has gone through a lot, much more than a Prince as young as him should've gone through. He is broken, and I didn't know by doing so, I would be breaking him all over again. In years, I have never been able to see him think about anything but the poor girl." He smiled weakly, "I have decided, I won't repeat my mistakes."
Adela was still quiet, still staring at the King like it was a dream-
"But, for the first time in 5 years, I've seen him actually getting better." There was sadness in his tone, "When he was around you, he smiled. Despite of everything. He laughed. He did things he wasn't used to be doing in the cold winters, he never did before." Then he looked up to meet Adela's gaze, "For the first time in the last five years, he has managed to look at a girl like he does at you."
"But-"
"No." His smile was more painful now, "I know you are going to deny it. But I'm afraid you can't deny a King with almost eighty years of experience in everything, my dear Princess."
She went quiet then, but her heart was hammering painfully in her chest and she didn't know what to do, where to hide.
"And I've observed it, very closely." He went on, "Which is why, I won't force anyone of you to marry now. Because, each and every person deserves someone to look at like that." He held Adela's hands then.
"You deserve a person to light up your world. You deserve a person that you want more than you want Sunlight in the winters. You deserve a person who brings up a smile on your face without doing anything." And then he looked down, at the fragile hands that were now trembling in his, "And if I want that for my son, whom I love more than anything else on the face of this Earth, I will not want to snatch it away from anyone else."
When he looked up at her face, he smiled a sad smile, and wiped the tears away from Adela's cheeks.
"I'm afraid we must go." He said, and then looked down, over her shoulders, "Keep the coat with you." He winked, and then he was walking away.
She clenched the coat tightly and she almost dived into the smell that was so like him, the smell she wanted to live in forever, she was ready to give in to all the emotions that were too much for her, when a hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up to find Christian standing there.
That was where she broke. She went off crying, and clinging onto Christian, and he smoothed down her hair and held her closer to him. He murmured things that she assumed were reassuring, but she wasn't listening.
It was so tragic how he thought she was crying for him.
"It's okay." He smiled, his hands still on either side of her waist. They went over her back, caressing down again to her waist. He leaned down and kissed her, lightly on the lips and Adela tried to smile.
"I've left a gift behind for you." He said quietly, joining foreheads with her, "We will meet again very soon."
A gift?
And then he kissed her for the last time, before he pulled her away from the corner, and they walked towards where all the carriages were waiting.
"I will miss you, Christian." She sighed, and he ruffled her hair.
"You too." He groaned, "God, I'll miss you like hell, Adela."
They waited till everything was loaded, and Edgar patted her shoulder, holding a sympathetic expression on his face, and it was so understanding that she looked away. Lydia couldn't seem to be able to keep her eyes away from Edgar, but she was apparently trying very hard to control, as she was lifted into the carriage.
Christian went into the carriage next, his eyes never leaving Adela's. The King of Silvetotia gave Adela a cold smile, before he was helped onto the carriage too. Adela felt a chill run up her smile.
But she melted completely when she saw Sebastian coming out of the palace. He was prepared, ready for the journey, but then he stopped and he didn't seem to care he was standing amongst everyone, but he took his time taking her in.
His eyes slowly moved from down, to up, and he gulped in when his eyes reached her face and Adela wasn't even breathing, and she was holding on to his coat so tightly her fingers hurt.
Those eyes told her so much. Those beautiful, beautiful blue eyes. They were looking at her as if it was the last time. They were grieving, she realised. They were memorising her, she realised. He didn't plan to see her again. He didn't want to.
Goodbyes are painful, she realised after looking into his eyes.
But then he lowered them and went into the carriage awaiting him.
The King of Larcbost sighed, patted Adela's head once, and then he was seated in the Carriage too.
When everything was ready, the Royal carriages went off into the opposite directions.
Adela could only see Sebastian's shadow from behind, as the carriage moved away, and she didn't move her eyes away until the carriage disappeared, out of sight.
Without a word, she went back into the quiet, deserted palace.
♚
A/N: THANK YOU FOR 9K!
Do you know how close 9K is to 10K? YEAH. Only 1K needed to get us to 10K. I swear I've got the most amazing readers.
And also, I'd like to tell you all, as you must have guessed yourself as well that the book is moving towards it's end. So stay with me till then!
Love y'all! xoxo.