Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part seven (the final part) of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
Nick doesn't hesitate, but strides swiftly over to my bed. Kneeling down, he takes my hand very gently. "Kim, what did you do?" he moans. "Are you ok? I was so worried about you!"
My brow furrows in confusion. Has he forgotten the conversation we had? Has he forgotten that I confessed to lying to him for two years?
"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" he asks, reading my expression of discomfort.
Still frowning, I bring up the scene in my mind. When I told Nick that I am really the queen, and that Lene is the servant, his whole face was a mask of shock. I can't imagine him forgetting that so soon. Yet here he is, the picture of kindness and concern...
"Don't you remember?" I whisper.
"Remember what?"
"What I told you..." I hesitate. If he somehow did forget, should I remind him? Maybe it would be better to keep quiet... The words bubble out before I give them permission to do so. I am so sick of lying. "I told you that I'm the queen. I saw you, before I ran. You were horrified."
"Kim, of course I was horrified," Nick says, cupping my face in his hand. "Someone tried to poison you, remember? Now that I know you're the queen, I know why. I also know that it will most likely happen again. Of course I was terrified for you. You're at so much risk, and I never knew to protect you..."
I close my eyes, trying to understand. My brain is still fuzzy from all of the smoke I inhaled. "Then... then you don't hate me for lying to you?"
Nick chuckles softly. "How could I ever hate you, Kim? You went through to much to keep this from me, all to protect me. You suffered so much so that I might be safe. Me, be mad at you? I love you. How could you ever think I would abandon you?"
A small part of me is a little ashamed for not believing in Nick, but mostly, I am relieved. Relieved and overjoyed. He doesn't hate me. It isn't over. A stray tear drips from my eye, getting caught in my smile.
"I love you," I mumble. It seems that the stress of the day is finally getting to me, and I can feel sleep coming for me, whether I like it or not. I have just enough strength left in my arm to pull the covers back.
"Is that allowed - a queen inviting a commoner into her bed?"
Nick is smiling, and a small giggle makes its way out of my mouth. "Anything is allowed when I'm the queen - I'll set a royal decree if I have to."
Nick needs no further persuasion. He climbs into bed with me and holds me as I drift off. In the few minutes before I fall asleep, I realise that something profound has changed. Not for Nick - he loves me no matter what, as I should have realised - but for me.
I had never realised how heavily the lies sat on my mind all these years. I did it to protect the people I love, but constantly pretending takes a toll on a person, one that I never even realised was there. With Nick here with me, knowing that there are no more secrets between us, I feel an invisible weight lifting off my chest. It is as though I can take a full breath for the first time in years.
I may never tell anyone else, not even Sophie, but I know in this moment that I will be ok, with Nick at my side.
As though reading my mind, he speaks softly in my ear. "This won't be forever. We'll get rid of your enemies, make the kingdom safe for you. Then everyone can know who you are, what you have done for them."
He paints a picture in my mind of cheering crowds, the ones that usually throw their adoration at Lene. All smiling at me... I close my eyes, and at peace for the first time in years, I drift off to sleep.
Three weeks later
"Are you sure they're all ok?" I ask for the fifth time.
"They're fine," Julun says, giving me the glowing look of love that he has worn in my presence ever since I saved his wife. "The messenger said they're just taking it slowly."
I wait, Nick's hand in mine, watching the doors. Heleta and her party don't keep us waiting long.
A wagon bearing a small tree is pulled by two horses. Heleta rides on top, with guards on either side. Though I knew her mission wasn't a dangerous one, I am still relieved she's safe.
Nick squeezes my hand, his eyes blazing. I can read his emotions through the slightest touch. Heleta is holding hope. For the first time, I can choose. I can choose whether to accept the vision which is both a blessing and a curse. With the tree, I will be able to take my life into my own hands.
"What happens if you decide to destroy it?" Nick asks softly, as they make their way up to the palace.
"Then I'll be free - I won't have the power, or the side effects. It'll grow back, though. I guess I'll have to decide each time whether I want to be able to tell truth from lies along with the hallucinations, or if we'll burn it again."
"We can do that," Nick says.
Lene is smiling at me. "We'll plant it somewhere out of sight," she says. "You will be able to decide at any time."
I nod, and she cocks her head enquiringly. I shake my head slightly. No, we are not ready for people to know I am the queen yet. As Lene walks down to formally greet the returning soldiers, Nick squeezes my hand. Just then, the sun crests the horizon, like a bright hope for a new life, starting now.
"We'll be ok," he says.
I lean my head against his shoulder, watching the light of the new day. "Yes, we will."
And for possibly the first time in my life, I really believe it.
The End
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