RESCUING HER HEART

The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky, casting a warm golden light over the vast field of flowers. Each flower stood tall and proud as they danced in the gentle breeze. There was something magical about gardens that I could never fully grasp. Maybe it was the colorful butterflies with their delicate wings shimmering in the sunlight or the melodious voices of the pretty birds or maybe it was the sweet fragrance that lingered in the air. Whatever it was, it prompted my love for gardens. This large field of flowers was my happy place.

It's a place I go to whenever I am down, angry or just need a temporary escape and that was just what I needed right now, a temporary escape. “This is simply not right, Arthur! Father's plans for me... It’s cruel and unfair,” I raved to my older brother, Arthur. “I have never seen the world beyond the walls of this kingdom and suddenly I am to be married o to some prince! Nonsense! I shall not stand for this.” I waited for some sort of comforting words from Arthur but none came. “Arthur? Arthur! Are you even listening to m-?” I turned around, pausing my question when I realized Arthur had been skipping rocks while I poured out my frustration to him. “Yes Anna, the flowers are lovely,” he replied absent-mindedly. The flowers? I made a comment on the flowers when we arrived and that was forty-five minutes ago! “Oh my word Arthur! Are you being serious right now?! Have I been talking to myself for forty minutes?” I was now making my way towards him with the intent of pushing him into the garden pond when he laughed. He laughed. He laughed at me. “Would you stop being so dramatic, Anna? I heard you. Forty minutes of my life are gone. Poof! Listening to you rant like you're going to do something about it when we both know you won't do a damn thing and father will have his way, like he always does.” Arthur threw his last rock, watched it skip across the pond before deeming it fit to turn to me. I had stopped only a few paces away from him, replaying the last line of his sentence in my head. He walked up to me with a smile on his face, “I heard you.” “Well, you're wrong.” “Oh?” “I am going to do something about it,” I said, looking up at him. I hated that he was taller than me, it was annoying. “Oh really?” He laughed, walking past me. “What are you going to do about it? Run away?” My eyes lit up at his suggestion. “Yes! Yes! That is exactly what I will do. I'll run away, go far from this place and be free!” I turned to look at Arthur, “do you know what that means? I will get my chance to see the world!” I will finally be able to live a normal life. It sounded like some made up fantasy, something that was not possible in my world. “You can't.” Arthur's voice shattered my delusional bubble and brought me back to reality. “What do you mean I can't? You got to leave! You left me here for five years to go study at Harvard. Why do you get to leave whenever you want while I am forced to stay here getting education from tutors almost as old as father!” I could see he was struggling to stop himself from laughing, maybe he could see I was really hurt or maybe he knew if he did, there was no one here to save him from me. It was probably the first option. My whole life was unfair. Being a princess wasn't fun or maybe I was just born into the wrong kingdom. All my life, I've been told my duties and obligations to the kingdom were more important than anything else. They always came first and everything else? A far second. To the world, I was princess Anastasia Lorelei Windsor of Valoria -a small European kingdom- but to one person, I was Anna. Only my brother, Arthur, who was four years my senior, was the only one I could let loose and just be Anastasia or Anna, as he likes to call me. You might think I am an ungrateful human, after all, being a princess was the dream life right? Well, it is not. Since the day I learned to walk and talk, my father, King Xavier, had made sure everything I did was perfect. The way I walked, spoke, interacted, ate, everything! It had to be perfect. We are in the twenty-first century for Pete’s sake but in here? I felt like a brigerton character. Trapped by obligations. Arthur had it worse. He was the next in line for the throne thereby making his training more intense. He and father were never on good terms, it was always one argument after the other and one day, Arthur couldn't take it anymore. He left. Five years passed without hearing a word from Arthur. I was so close to believing he would never come back until last year, when he drove in like he hadn’t just disappeared for five years. Father didn't speak to him and it's been like that since he returned. King Xavier has never been a father figure to either of us. He was simply our king. And my dearest mother, Queen Ophelia... Mother’s spirit was broken years ago. My brother and I watched her slowly become our father's shadow. She was always seen but never heard. “Father says I am lucky. He says I should have already been married since eighteen.” “That’s true. Princess Delphine of Eldoria’s getting married by next week to some awful ogre. I'm not kidding Anna, this guy's hideous!” I sighed at Arthur’s attempt to change the subject. “I do not care for your ex-girlfriend’s future husband, brother. Heaven forbid I marry an ogre,” I shivered at the thought for a moment and started making my way back to the car. Arthur has never had a girlfriend. What he has had was a bunch of girls he enjoyed swapping saliva with. It was quite an eyesore, especially because those girls were from respectable and noble families. Maybe it was some kind of Arthur eect, my brother is quite handsome even though I would never admit it to his face. “Girlfriend’s a strong word, don't you think? I mean, she was decent kisser and damn, her hands did wonders on my-” “Arthur!!!” I shrieked. “what?” he asked, feigning innocence. “As I was saying, her hands were amazing. Don't get me started on that tongue of hers.” I quickly covered my ears and started running while screaming as loud as I could. Arthur chased me, yelling something but I couldn't hear him. I closed my eyes and ran faster through the flowers. And a minute later, I was tumbling down a small hill. I landed on a bunch of daodils and started laughing hysterically. Running in the gardens was one of my favorite things to do. A second later, Arthur was right by my side. He too had tumbled down the hill, purposely. “Having fun?” he asked and he sneezed. He was allergic to daodils, nothing too serious. “We wouldn’t be here if you had kept your dirty stories to yourself, idiot.” I laughed harder, watching his nose turn bright red from sneezing too much. “what? Is there no love in sharing anymore?” he joked. I didn't speak after that and we both laid there in silence... Well, it was actually me who laid in silence. Arthur on the other hand kept squeezing every minute. “You know you can't escape this, Anna.” sneeze. “You're destined for a very sad life,” he turned to me and smiled. “You are the worst brother ever,” I rolled my eyes playfully. “I know,” he grinned, spreading out his arms for a hug which I accepted. A few seconds passed then Arthur spoke, “now let's get out of here before I pass out.”