AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the ninth chapter for my novel. Yes, it has taken a while again, hasn't it? I'm afraid to say that updates may be slow in the future, and they may cease eventually. I don't think it is logical to put everything up here. That's not to say I will stop working on it, of course, and I thank all of the people who have stuck with me this far, helping me along. Thank you. This one is for Zibbie. Happy late birthday!
Anita walked slowly through the forest, taking much needed breaths of fresh air as she went. As she looked around her, she was surprised that she hadn’t gone out here earlier. It was beautiful; perhaps more so than the castle garden itself. The forest had a certain life to it, something that the studiously maintained gardens could not match to.
Anita tried to concentrate on the scenery, but her thoughts went back to Alex. He was not the person she wanted to think about. She did not want to think of anyone. All she wanted was for her thoughts to be calm, no longer being about wars or marriages or her father’s wishes. For once she wanted to be free of any restrictions and simply be herself. Anita realized that being around Alex allowed her to do that in a way that she had never thought possible.
Anita jerked and shook her head. No, this is not a time for wistful thoughts. The images of him would not leave her head, however. In a desperate act, she decided to hum a tune that she had learned many years ago. She shuddered at the sound of her singing voice, but the sound kept her mind off of anything she didn’t want to think about.
She hummed, getting lost in the tune, concentrating on the melody and the rhythm. She thought she heard a drumming sound behind her, following the rhythm closely, but as it drew nearer she recognized the sound. It was the click clack of hooves. She looked behind herself and saw a large horse charging full speed at her. She couldn’t see who was riding the horse until she heard his voice.
“Anita! Why are you walking alone?” Alex shouted. He was even closer now.
Anita kept walking away from Alex, hoping that he would just go away. Now was not the time for a proposal, so why couldn’t he see that? The horse slowed its pace and clopped steadily beside her, but Anita kept her head on the path in front of her.
“Anita, I need to talk about something with you,” Alex said.
Anita did not respond. She began humming the same tune she had hummed earlier, except much louder and more out of key.
“Anita,” Alex said with a raised voice, “it is important.”
Just look ahead, Anita thought to herself, and he will go away.
“I cannot see why you are mad at me. Did I do something wrong?”
Only break my heart.
“Anita, look at me.” Alex pleaded.
She would not look at him. She did not want him to see the tears of frustration that were pooling in her eyes. The
humming sounded choked coming out of her mouth. Alex leaned over on his horse and looked at her closely. His eyes grew wide and he frowned.
“Are you okay? Come on, we’ll be late for dinner.”
Anita shook her head, but didn’t look at him. She kept her eyes focused on a long tree limb that jutted out into the forest path. Any sensible rider would have to duck under it. She glanced at Alex from the corner of her eye and saw that he was still looking at her.
“Duck.” Anita said.
“No, actually I think we are having roast boar for dinner.” Alex responded, his eyes still on her.
“No! Alex, duck!” Anita shouted.
“What-“ Alex’s question was interrupted when the tree limb connected with his face, knocking him off of his horse and onto the ground. The world buzzed around him in a spectacular spectrum of greens and browns, before he felt Anita’s soft hand brush against his head. The contact sent a stab of pain through his skull, making the world around him painfully clear.
“Alex? Are you okay?” Anita said.
The world around him darkened, and not having the energy for words he only responded with a simple,
“Gleh!”
And then he passed out.
_______
Alex woke up underneath a broad oak with a wonderful headache. He did not really want to move, but he was quite worried that he had lost Anita again. He opened his eyes, then shut them because the sun hurt his brain. He felt something press against his cheek, something soft, and he grabbed it and held it to his face like a pillow. Alex giggled to himself.
“The pillow smells like apricots,” Alex muttered happily, being quite fond of apricots.
“Alex? Are you awake?”
Alex heard Anita’s voice and peeked open an eye. Her eyebrows were knitted and her mouth set into a worried line. It was then that he realized he was holding her hand, quite forcefully, to his face. He pushed her hand away like it was one of the giant blue berries he loathed.
“Well, if you are well enough to do that, I’m sure your fine.”
Alex kept his eyes closed but nodded.
“Where are we? Where is my horse?”
“We are about five minutes away from the lake, and your horse abandoned you after you fell off it.”
“Oh, brilliant.”
Alex sat up and rubbed his forehead, and felt that a soft cloth was wrapped around it. Anita looked up at him and
shrugged.
“I do not know much about nursing, but I tried to stop the bleeding anyway. I hope it helped any.” Anita said.
Alex smiled.
“Thank you, Anita.”
Anita turned her head away and shrugged again. She bit her lip and sucked in deeply through her nose, a gesture that Alex did not understand. Anita stood up from where she had been sitting next to him and sighed. She started walking.
“Anita? Where are you-you aren’t leaving me are you?” Alex said.
“I’m going to the lake.” Anita said as if that were enough to discourage him, and it was.
Then Alex saw the torn hem on Anita’s dress where she had torn a reasonably large amount of cloth to wrap his wound. He saw the distraught look in her eyes, and the way she clenched her fists in a nervous way. He knew something was wrong. Suddenly, it did not matter to him if she was going to the lake or not, because now all he wanted to do was to make her feel better.
“Well princess, you’ll be pleased to know that I am going with you.” Alex said. He stood up, but started to teeter when a wave of nausea hit him. He felt Anita’s arm against his shoulder, propping him up.
“Are you sure?” Anita asked.
“Yes. It’s about time I told you something.”
“Okay, then.” said Anita. The two walked on (Or, rather stumbled on due to Alex’s disorientation,) and continued their pace to the lake. After walking through the lush scenery and stepping over miscellaneous rocks, Alex decided to speak.
“Anita, why did you decide to head out into the wilderness, anyway?”
Anita did not answer for a moment but said, “I find natural environments soothing, don’t you?”
Alex frowned and shook his head, happy to realize that the dizziness had passed.
“Ah, nature is overrated. Why fumble along through the trees all day when you could be inside, eating toast and jam?”
“You can eat toast and jam outdoors,” Anita said.
“Yes, but the bugs will get into the jam and ruin it. How would you like to eat Bug Jam, Anita? Really, you should think
through these things.” said Alex.
Anita giggled and gave Alex a push that caught him off guard and teetered him over. Bizarre strength aside, Alex loved
the sound of her laugh.
“Prince Alex,” Anita said, “It sounds as if you think that nature is out to get you.”
“It is out to get me,” Alex said, continuing his path forward, “If you wait out here long enough you’ll see what I mean.”
“I can’t possibly see what you-ah!” Anita gasped as they finally cleared the trees, where they finally saw the lake.
The water was clear and quiet, just as Alex remembered it. The sand, the ten foot cliffs that dotted the shore were all too familiar also. The sun was just setting, its light piercing through the trees and leaving an orange glow about the
place. Nothing could be heard except for Anita and Alex’s breathing, and small splashes of animal life. Alex bit his lip.
How could such a small piece of heaven be the cause of so much pain?
Alex did not seem to notice as Anita took off and ran for the shore, her shoes off and her skirts hitched up so she could run better. She ran past the mossy boulders and stones and onto the rocky sand. She walked up to the edge of the water and let it wash against her feet, and watched the sun cast its beauty across the water.
“Alex! You have to come see this!”
Alex was still at the top of the hill that she had just run down, and was of course horribly startled when he heard her voice call out for him so distantly. His head jerked at he searched for Anita until he saw her small figure in the distance, waving at him. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, he noticed. He found them next to a boulder as he descended, and he picked the small things up. By the time he had walked to Anita she had already started running to another part of the shore, kicking up small rocks as she went. Alex chuckled to himself, but he felt empty. He bent down and picked up a small stone, which was smooth and round. He rubbed it with his thumb and absently regarded Anita as she hopped around, her hair blowing in her face. Then she paused, and looked at him. All she could make out was his sulking figure in the dimming light.
“Alex, aren’t you going to frolic with me?” she called out.
“I frolicked last Monday,” Alex called back.
“Oh, there is always time for frolicking!” Anita said. Then she noticed something sparkle from the corner of her eye.
She turned around and saw something unexpected.
It was a cross. It was made of drift wood, and it was old looking and cracking. A dried wreathe of plants hung on it. The wreathe looked as if it had been made of weeds and kelp and anything one could find on a beach. Something glinted on the cross and she saw that it was a necklace. She could only see that it was a diamond attached to a string, no fine workmanship or the like, but it still held a certain air to it. Anita reached for it, but a loud and close voice stopped her.
“Don’t touch that! Don’t ever touch that!”
Two arms pulled her back from the cross and spun her around so quickly she almost lost her balance. She looked up to see Alex glaring at her. His hands tightened around her arms painfully, and she winced.
“Don’t touch her,” Alex said, almost pleadingly.
Anita tried to push him away but he was too strong.
“Alex, okay, okay! I am not touching it, Alex. I’m not touching it.”
Alex couldn’t explain it, but he only grew angrier. Everything that had happened on that day suddenly flashed across his
mind. Guilt, anger, even hate built up and it felt as if he was going to explode. He closed his eyes and unconsciously
squeezed his hands tighter, and then Anita screamed,
“Alex! You’re hurting me!”
Alex opened his eyes. He looked down and saw Anita, her eyes welling up with tears and her body shaking. She was no
longer trying to shove him away, but only looking up at him with such emotion that Alex hated himself.
“I’m sorry,” Anita whimpered, “I didn’t mean to-I just wanted-“
Alex pulled her to him, smothering any words she was going to say. He stroked the back of her shaking head and swallowed the rage that had built up in him. It wasn’t worth it.
It wasn’t worth hurting the people you love for the sake of a memory.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said.
Anita believed him, but she didn’t feel as if he was talking directly to her. It felt as if he were talking to the sky, everything in the world, even. Alex pulled her to him more closely and rested his chin on her head.
“I’m sorry.”
Anita didn’t move, but stood there in his embrace. She felt something wet fall onto the top of her head, and she thought
for a moment it was to rain. When she lifted her head up to look at him, a drop fell on her nose and glided down to her lips.
Salty.
“I’m sorry.”
Then Alex gently pushed her away and sat down on the sand, his head low. Anita didn’t hesitate to lean next to him. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and held it to his face.
“Alex, do you need this?” she asked.
Alex shook his head and inhaled, rocking gently back and forth. When he stopped he glanced over to Anita.
“Her name was Elise,” he said simply.
____
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