I look up out of subtle shock that she would say such a thing to me. No one has ever said to me before and she is the last person I would expect to say that.
She continues, "I say this because I know you will not hit me to cause pain...I know what it will feel like to have the power sucked out of me...but I did not know how badly it would hurt to be hit by him...so I would rather you kill me even though you might make it last longer...that way I know what to expect."
She scoffs with tears in her eyes, "And you will free me from having to create an heir and get married..." I smirk as she continues, "I do not...I do not fret getting married per se...but I do not know what to expect other than to create an heir...we never finished our...conversation before you betrayed me."
I sigh and speak after a couple seconds, "I'll have you know Alorina...I did not betray you on purpose...my father snuck up behind me and before I could do anything, he had one of his guards shoot me with the sleeping viper..."
She furrows her brows, "It should not work on you Liten..." I sigh once again, "Well it did...the last thing I remember doing is finishing our snack...and then before I knew it, I was woken up by my mother in the basement cells...I did not know he wanted to get you pregnant Alorina...if you do not believe me...please believe that..."
She gulps and speaks, "Fine...I believe you but if you try anything to betray me again, I will attempt to kill you." I nod and smirk, "You say that like you could not win..."
She looks away from me and speaks truthfully and my smirk fades at her expression, "Because I will not be able to...you are too strong for me to fight."
"How do you know that?" I ask, a small smirk tugging on the corners of my mouth. She looks over at me and smirks as well, "Because if I can not break a simple curse or bear a child...there is no way I will be able to fight you off mentally and physically, especially with little power I have."
She continues, "You are much stronger than me in all aspects..." I watch her and my eyes lower with hers as we both look at each other and then away towards the mossy terrain and leaf coated ground.
I speak on the weather, "It has rained here a lot..." She nods as she looks up at the tree branches covered with leaves starting to morph into a range of colors. "Yes...I have been in here almost everyday since you left...it has rained for nearly the entire year. Everyday has had a little rain or a lot...but what's weird is it never floods the ground..."
I look over at her as I sit down on a stump beside her, "Is that so?" I ask as I look up at the trees too. I wonder why that is...that would be a question for the weather guy though.
Alorina speaks as she looks out at the vast and dark forest ahead of us. "Earlier in the venue...you said my nickname."
I look over at her and she returns my stare as I nod, "I did...and you did not correct me..." She parts her lips and avoids my eye contact, "Some might say...that it did not bother me that time...you sound like you meant it..."
I keep staring at her. I can't help it. I do not particularly like her right now but this conversation is nice...civil.
I speak, "I did..." She looks out to the forest again and she smirks angrily, "I know...but I am angry with you Liten...I understand that you did not betray me but...I just..."
She trails off and shakes her head and scoffs, "I can not stand you but I can not stay away...and that thought scares me to death..."
She lowers her eyes and continues as tears brim her green eyes, they are still green but he that has stopped growing brown. I actually miss her golden blonde hair...and blue/teal eyes. Her hair is almost as white as her skin...except for the brown at her roots.
"I do not want to get married...or bear a child..." I look up at her and feel my eyes water too. Why am I crying!? It is just a girl...get a grip Liten.
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A/N- hey guys if you see anywhere in the story where it says "bare a child" instead of bear, let me know so I can correct it please! Thankyou!
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I speak, "Why not?" She turns her head to look away, "Because it will hurt...both marriage and child bearing...after I find a man...he could lie and be as sweet as pie...and then after we get married, he could show his true colors and hit and force me to do intimate things...I've heard a lot of stories about men who have done that...Madam Delaware is one of the women who had that experience..."
I tilt my head and speak, "I understand that but...not all men are like that Miss Harrell...there are horrible ones but there are good ones too..." She looks over at me and my brows furrow at her expression. She is angry. Very angry. I speak, "I apologize Miss Harrell, I do not mean to upset you but can you explain to me what I said wrong? I want to understand."
She sighs and faces me as best she can, "It is not all men...but it is enough...no woman in the village that is married trusts her man to be faithful or even believe that they are truly in love with them...I do not want someone is only wanting to have an heir...I want a connection...a bond...a true love."
I blink normally a couple times out of shock and confusion. Much like how Alorina did not know much about reproduction and marriage...I do not know much about the ideal notion of love and pure happiness.
As a kid I always wondered how Alorina knew so much about dragons and fairies and herbs. She read about them. Just like how I read about science and history. I liked more practical ideas while she loved artistic and out of the box ideas.
We were so opposite but we both had one thing in common. We loved learning. We even were open to the idea of the others views and perspectives. That is why we fit so well back then.
Now we are very set in our ways...
I speak, "Alorina..." She turns to look at me and I continue, "Since you did not know much about reproduction and marriage...can you help me understand the idea of love and happiness?"
She smirks, "Will we continue our conversation about marriage and such later?" I nod, "If you wish to do so then yes, I suppose." She nods, "Okay...what do you want to know?"
I think for a moment, "How about happiness first...what is happiness?"
She smiles, "There is a hormone called Dopamine that causes you to feel pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. It is a neurotransmitter that transmits messages from one nerve cell to another and it can be triggered by many things. Dancing, cooking, talking, outdoor activities, reading and much more. And fun fact! It can spike during intimate relations." She gives me a cocky smile and I chuckle, "You really paid attention to those books I brought you that night huh, Harrell?"
She nods, "Yes. It was interesting to me. I can see why you like science and history so much..." We both laugh and I throw an acorn in the forest. "You are becoming corrupted Harrell...I am not used to seeing you joke about such vulgar and unpure things..."
She chuckles softly, "You don't have anything to worry about Liten...I almost vomited while saying those words...I am still very sheltered and pure...even more so since no one in the village will talk to me...and the most human contact I have ever had was kissing you when we were younger...kissing you to wake you up from the slumber you were in, dancing with Blake tonight...and you carrying me earlier...I am still very sheltered."
I smirk, "You kissed me to wake me up?" She looks at me and blushes, "Don't feel so special. Fleet kissed you too...I do not remember if Nex kissed you or not though."
My smirk drops when I hear Fleet's name and my eyes widen when I she says Nex's. I speak, appald, "You let those vermin put their lips to mine!? Ugh! What a preposterous thing to let happen, Harrell!"
She giggles and speaks, defending herself, "Do not get mad at me, Liten. It was Madam Delaware who suggested it!" She laughs harder and when I speak, "Well then she should have kissed me too to make it even if she was so he'll bent on having all of you kiss me..." I shake my head and smirk and side eye her as she laughs harder, unable to breathe.
I chuckle, "Breathe rabbit...breathe before you pass out." She giggles a little more after she calms down and I speak as I look over at her, "You are a lot stronger than you think Harrell...you stood up for yourself in that little side rant."
She hums in satisfaction and it makes me watch her lips without me realizing. I am not one for romance or physical interaction but I get the urge to kiss her.
We are not dating and even if we were...we are not technically allowed to touch...and I do not know if I would want to touch Alorina in that way if I would date her...to be frank, I do not see myself dating her.
Suddenly she speaks, "Liten, do have anymore questions about happiness?" I shake my head, "No." She nods, "What about love?"
Love?
I do have a couple questions. "Yes...may I ask?" She nods and I nod too, preparing for the blush that is fixing to appear on my face. "How does it occur?"
I bite my lip as I fight the hotness of the atmosphere but it wins and I feel my cheeks grow a little hot. She speaks with a smile, definitely aware of my bashfulness but she does not judge me for it...
"I have always loved books and I like the idea of romance even though I do not see it happening to me...but in the books I've read, I think of love as a warm feeling...a feeling you can control...a feeling that just...washes over you without warning and doesn't let up no matter how much you try. With the different tropes...it depends on how the characters deal with the love overwhelming them...villains tend to push it down and be afraid of it while heros are open to it but can still be frightful of it. If both are enemies and villains, it seems to be more passionate and if the trope is true love...then it will conquer all obstacles...of course they also describe love as an unbreakable bond or a loving friendship...but my favorite has always been romance."
I watch her smile grow and her eyes almost glow. I watch her intently. I could listen to her talk all day...but we are running out of time unfortunately.
But a couple more minutes won't hurt.
She continues, "Love also has its obstacles and not all couple snake it through in the books I've read...some of the characters die, some live and grieve the loss of of the love of their life...even villains." She looks over at me and smiles a cute closed lip smile.
She doesn't mean to but she is affecting me...I need to shut it down. I nod, "We should get going Little rabbit...we need to break the curse on you and the village."
Her smile fades and it's replaced with an relaxed one as she tries her best to get up but falls back against the tree and huffs, "I can not get up Liten...my body is too weak and I am not healing from your power. I had a little more power than when I started out with when you hurt me in Nex's bar...I should be feeling better by now if I have that same amount of power...I'm afraid I am powerless."
I sigh, "I will have to carry you...even if it will hurt." I step closer to her slowly and I speak as she whimpers, "I apologize Alorina...I do not mean to hurt you right now."
She whispers, "Please do not let me fade away. Do not let me fall into darkness Liten...please keep me safe and I will do my best to return the favor..."
Suddenly she grabs onto my jacket and my eyes widen as I speak, "Harrell! What are you thinking! You will make your condition worse by even touching my clothing!"
I watch as her fingers are overcome with a shadow that turns black. It keepss going and I yell, "Alorina! Let go! You will die!"
I pull away and her arm drops to the ground and she huffs and shrugs, "It was worth a shot..." She...she did that on purpose?
I hesitate on my question, "You...you want me to kill you? Why?" She scoffs and chuckles, "Come on Liten...it's not like I am going to have a happy life...my parents are dead...your parents hate me...you hate me...my friends hate me...the village hates me...I am as good as dead."
I stay standing as I watch her. I can not fathom why she would think such things...people do hate her...but she should not die to run away from it...just like I should not run from this Kingdom.
I speak, "You will alright Alorina..." I am going to make sure of it...
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