It was a sunny day when Lilyana decided to burst into my study office and forcefully invited me outside. We were both thirteen this year so I had more work to do.
"Your highness, let's go out and have a picnic today." she sweetly smiled, putting up an act in front of everyone that was present in the room.
I looked at them and nodded. Everyone bowed and left the room, closing the door behind them. Lilyana's fake smile dropped instantly, heaving out a sigh.
"This is tiring," she whined.
I snorted at her, leaning on my elbow as I rested my cheek on my palm, "So what about the picnic?"
"Oh that's right!" her eyes shone brightly, remembering why she came in here.
I felt something weird in my stomach. I shook my head, making fun of her, "How can you forget the reason you came here so easily?"
She glared at me, "Keep your mouth shut, pretty boy."
"Or what?"
"I made sandwiches shaped as a bear but I guess you aren't having any." she turned away, childishly stomping her foot.
I gasped, "Okay I'm sorry."
Lilyana giggled, turning back at me with a bright smile, "I forgive you. Now hurry up and let's go!"
Grabbing my hand, she pulled me out of the palace and headed to the place we were going to have our picnic at. I stare down at the hand she had grabbed onto. It felt warmer than my other hand and I could feel the same weird feeling back in my stomach. It felt like butterflies.
'If I recall, there was a saying about feeling butterflies in your stomach..' I thought to myself.
I continued staring at her small hand holding mine, her slender fingers wrapping around it. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks. This feeling felt weird but nice that I didn't want to let her hand go. I let her drag me to the destination without realising until she stopped and released her grip on me. I restrained myself from grabbing her hand back, composing myself as I looked around where we were.
We were in a field, further away from the palace so it was much more quiet and calm. No one except us were around. I felt my nerves calming down as I took in the beautiful view. Behind me, I heard some rustling.
"Liking the view?" Lilyana asked with a big smile on her face as she took out everything from the picnic basket she had brought out here before bringing me here.
I nodded, "Yeah. It's very peaceful.."
She nodded along, agreeing with my statement, "Right? That's why I chose this place. Today is a day for you and I to relax!"
I laughed, shaking my head, "Why you?"
She frowned at me, "Because I can plus I made everything we're having today so stop blabbering and come sit down to eat."
I sat down, knowing I couldn't say no to her. I accepted the sandwich from her and took a bite out of it. "I'm surprised that you decided to do all of this out of sudden."
She shrugged, taking a bite out of her own sandwich, "You've been cooped up in your study office, doing your work without resting. It's nice to go out and have a picnic once in a while don't you think?"
I didn't respond as she stared off into the distance, a gentle smile on her face as the wind gently blowing through her silver hair that was not styled in any way today.
Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. The word kept replaying in my mind for so long that I wonder when it started. I felt my chest tightening up, heart beating faster than usual. I felt like I couldn't breathe as I stared at her. Lilyana turned to me and warmly smiled making me feel warmer.
"I'm glad to be able to have a picnic here with you Phillip."
Lilyana then looked back at the front, slowly eating her sandwich as she got lost in her thoughts, admiring the scenery. A small smile plastered on her face, showing how peaceful and satisfied she was just by this picnic. The breeze continued blowing gently on her. It was so simple yet it made her feel happy.
"Beautiful..." the word slipped out of my mouth. I realised this and quickly shut my mouth, shoving the sandwich down.
Lilyana turned to me and laughed, "Are you that hungry?" she grabbed the plate of sandwiches and held it in front of me. "Have some more, the crown prince can't starve or else I'll be blamed."
I laughed at her joke, taking another sandwich, "Thanks."
Lilyana winked and showed an okay sign, "No problemo."
I shake my head at her weird word play. She was and still is the only person to do that. After finishing all the sandwiches, we only had our drinks left. Lilyana stretched her arms and fell back onto the picnic blanket she placed down for us.
"I'm sleepy~" she mumbled, yawning.
"Aren't I'm supposed to be feeling that?" I poked her cheek.
She glared at me but I knew it had no meaning to it, "Shut it pretty boy, I prepared all of this earlier on."
"Yes yes, you've worked very hard today."
She stared at me before looking away, a "hmph!" escaping her lips as she did so.
Staring at her figure, she looked like a tiny kitten. "You can get some rest. I'll wake you up later."
She flipped to the side and looked up at me, "Promise?"
I nodded, "Promise."
Lilyana nodded. Using her arm as the pillow, she quickly got comfortable and fell asleep. Her breathing evening-out within minutes. My eyes fell on her sleeping figure, unable to look away. My lips curved upwards as I reached out and pushed her hair away from her face.
A smile crept onto her face from my action causing my cheeks to flush red. I softly cleared my throat trying to calm myself down but it didn't work as Lilyana lightly pressed against my hand that was touching her cheek.
My eyes gazed down to her lips. Thumb lightly grazing it, I felt sparks running through in my fingers. The feeling of her lips lingered on my thumb as I pulled away, trying my best not to go overboard.
'What if I-' I quickly stopped my train of thoughts not wanting to think about it.
I heaved out a heavy sigh as I ran my fingers through her hair. It was soft and smooth, no tangles in her hair. I gazed down at her legs and noticed her dress had ridden up slightly. Taking my jacket that I had tied around my waist before we left, I draped it over her legs, covering her up.
My hand made its way back to her cheek, softly stroking it. I noticed her hand, openly resting on the blanket, revealing her palm. Trying to restraint myself from doing anything more, I looked away, trying to focus on the scenery in front of us but I unconsciously gazed back at Lilyana.
I took in a deep breath before slowly interlocking my fingers with her, pressing my palm against hers. Her hand was smaller against mine by inches. I didn't want to remove my hand from hers. The warmth that I felt before this came back along with the butterflies. I wanted more.
I felt Lilyana lightly tightening her fingers around mine. I hurriedly checked if she was awake but she was still peacefully sleeping. I let out a soft sigh that was both from relief and slight disappointment. I held her hand in mine as I continued looking at her, never getting bored from doing so.
"Lilyana..." I whispered, feeling my mouth going dry and my heart beating faster than ever. The wind blew stronger, messing up her hair. I reached out, tidying it up for her.
"...I'm in love with you.." I whispered almost inaudible, squeezing her hand just enough to make her not wake up.
The wind carried my words away, never to be heard again. I finally gave in. I finally accepted the fact. I removed my hand from hers and lightly pinched her cheeks. "Lilyana, wake up."
She stirred a bit before groggily speaking, "How long have I slept...?"
Laughing at how dazed she looked, I answered her question. "Around half an hour or more."
She sat back up and rubbed her eyes, "That long?"
I nodded, finishing up both her drink and mine before putting it back into the basket. Getting up, I dusted my pants before turning to her, "Shall we go back now?"
Lilyana nodded sleepily, slowly getting up and folding up the blanket before handing it to me. "Yeah.."
She noticed my jacket around her legs, picking it up she draped it around herself, "Sorry I feel a bit cold. Is it alright if I use it a while longer?" she asked.
The jacket was only slightly bigger on her figure yet it made me feel happy. I nodded, "Go ahead. I don't need it right now."
Lilyana grinned, snuggling into my jacket, "Thanks Phillip."
I kept glancing back at her, wanting to burn this image of her into my brain. It felt like she was mine when she wore my jacket and I couldn't get enough of it.
We took our time heading back to the palace, walking in comfortable silence. Then Lilyana turned to me and asked, "Did you like the picnic?"
I glanced at her before answering, "Yup. I learnt something new as well."
She looked at me, curious, "What did you learn?"
Staring at her blue eyes that shine in both the light and dark, I smiled, "That you snore."
She glared at me, "I do not!"
I laughed, sticking my tongue out as I ran away from her, "You do!"
"Phillip once I catch you, you're dead!" she shouted as she chased after me.
I laughed, smiling to myself, happy having these times with her. I love you, Lilyana and I wish to be able to tell you without any worry of rejection. So for now, I will keep this relationship until I am able to make it something more.
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Author's note: I forgot I had an extra written in my google docs HAHAH