It was late at night. The music played by the royal orchestra was now a low hum as the guests turned in for the night.

"You paint? I always wanted to learn how to paint, but my parents thought it was a waste of time." The Grand General's wife, a tiny, soft-spoken woman with a perpetual sleepy gaze, told Leyla.

With a smile, Leyla responded, "Yes, I do. I learned from a friend of mine. You can come over to the manor one day, and we can teach you if you want."

The Grand General's wife hid her delicate smile behind the shawl wrapped around her neck and shoulders. The pile of fabric swallowed her whole torso, reducing her to a walking mound of fine wool. "I would love that. I would really do."

At their sides, the Grand General and I stood avoiding each other's gaze. Unused to being in each other's presence out of the battlefield.

"Iskander," Leyla placed her hand on my arm to get my attention, and my body stiffened. Not because of her touch but the sound of my name. Iskander? Why is she using my name? Is she mad at me? "Iskander," Her hand tugged my sleeve.

Inwardly shaking off my initial shock, I responded, "Yes?"

"How about we invite them to stay with us next weekend?"

"Uh." My gaze darted from her face to the Grand General's wife, back to her face.

The Grand General's hand flew to his wife's lower back. "Darling, let's not impose ourselves on them."

Meeting the general's eyes for the first time in the past hour, I responded, "No, no. It's alright, sounds good. It's just next week..." In unspoken understanding that our wives were unaware of our current orders, we chorused, "We'll talk about it later."

The woman glanced at each other with curious eyes but ignored the strange response and continued their conversation.

Around us, servants busied themselves with the cleanup. Once or twice, they would glance in our direction with eyes that urged us to leave.

Nudging Leyla towards the large doors that led to the hallways, I muttered, "I think we should continue this conversation outside."

The women's voices were amplified in the quiet, high-ceilinged halls. Trailing behind them, the Grand General and I walked side by side in awkward silence.

Is she angry that I made her dance with me? Or maybe she's upset that I left her alone for a while. My eyes were glued to Leyla's back, trying to find the cause of her displeasure.

The sudden sound of the General's voice broke the silence. "It seems we'll be seeing each other quite often from now on."

With eyes still on Leyla's back, I responded, "Yes. It seems so, Grand General."

"Fergus Brando, you can call me Fergus."

Turning my head to look at the man, I nodded. "Iskander."

"How long have you been married?"

"Five years and you?"

"Ten." An awkward smile cracked his face and his hands clasped behind his back. Every several steps, a hand would rise to scratch the back of his head, and his throat would clear. He seemed very uncomfortable with the silence.

"What's your wife's name?" I asked.

"Emmie."

"Mine's Lehylany, but we call her Leyla."

He nodded, "Do you have any kids?"

The remnants of a two-night-old dream surfaced in my mind. Leyla, I, and our children—a boy and a girl—having a picnic in the manor's garden. Will I ever get to see that in my lifetime? No, I don't think so. A wistful exhale precedes my words. "No, you?"

"No, um, we can't."

"Oh, sorry about that."

"It's alright, I have her. That's what matters."

"This is our suite," Emmie said in front of one of the wooden doors. "It was such a pleasure to meet you, Leyla. I hope we get to see each other soon." She took Leyla's hands in hers with a sweet smile on her dainty features.

"Yes, I'll write to you as soon as I can to settle on a date for your visit."

"Yes, and after that, you can come to our house. Right, love?" Emmie turned to look at the man standing next to me.

"Yes, of course." Fergus turned to look at me, "You guys can come to visit anytime."

"Thank you."

Emmie pushed the door open, and before disappearing into the room, she said, "Well, we bid you good night."

"She is so nice. I really like her." Leyla commented as we walked further down the corridor. "We should totally invite them over in one or two weeks."

Guilt bit at my heart. I can't believe I'm going to leave her alone again. Is it a good time to tell her now? Did her previous anger subside? "Um, alright."

She whirled around in a flash, almost making me bump into her. "What's wrong? You're acting weird."

"Um, nothing. It's just... Are you mad at me?"

She blinked a couple of times before responding. "What? No. Why do you think that?"

My hands flew to scratch at the imaginary itch at the back of my head. "It's because you called me Iskander back at the ballroom."

She responded with a bashful smile, "Um, that's your name."

"Yes, but you normally call me Zander."

Behind the caramel skin of her cheeks, an alluring shade of pink emerged to highlight her high cheekbones. "Well, it's just that I thought that I would be embarrassing you if I called you Zander in public."

"What made you think that?" Leyla shrugged. "It's not embarrassing."

Her teeth worried her bottom lip. Looking at me from behind her lashes, she responded with a smirk, "Alright, Zander." Her words undid the knot of worry in my heart. "Is that all? Or is there something else on your mind? I saw the looks Fergus and the other men gave you when they called you over." She stopped for a beat and continued, "and heard what the king told you about going to camp tomorrow."

Another knot tied itself tight in my chest. "Um, let's talk about it in your room."

Curiosity sparked in her eyes. "Okay."

Moonlight filtered through the suite's window, permeating the room with its pale hue. The door closed with a click, and I stood there unmoving, facing the door, as I gathered my thoughts. What should I say? How do I even start?

"Yes?" Her voice urged.

Turning to face her, I started, "About that." My eyes darted around the room. "Yesterday, the king gave some orders to the generals, Calim and I." I breathed in and out, trying to buy some time for my thoughts to align. "We were ordered to head to a campsite tomorrow." My eyes locked onto hers. "And to await further orders."

Her eyes shook, "You're going on a mission?"

"Yes."

Her eyes went glossy with moisture. "For how much time?"

"I-I don't know."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but her voice remained calm. "You don't know? Is it a dangerous mission?"

I shook my head at the first question and swallowed the growing knot in my chest, "I-I'm not sure."

The dam holding back her tears burst, spilling a torrent of salt water down her cheeks. "This is not fair."

My body froze in shock. What do I do? Why is she crying? Is she afraid of being on her own again? Or is she... No, that can't be it.

"You've only been home for two months, and now they want to take you away again. That's not fair." She took a shuddering breath. "Will I have to wait five more years to see you again? Will you even return at all this time?" She sobbed.

Snapping out of my trance, I placed both hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry, you won't be alone, Benjamin will always be with you, and he will help you with anything that you need."

Leyla brushed my hands away and took a step back with downcast eyes. "It's not him who I want by my side." What does she mean? "Look, I didn't want to say anything until I made sure you felt the same. But, I need to get this out of my chest." Her watery eyes bore into mine, "I like you."

My heart did a somersault in my chest. Wait, does she mean she... No, she must mean like a friend. That must be it. "Same here. You've been a good friend to me. But, you will make new friends in the future." I added after several beats. "You already did make a new friend, Emmie. You won't be alone."

She pressed her lips together. After a while, she said, "That's not what I mean." She breathed, "What I mean is..." She took a trembling breath and continued after a beat, "I have feelings for you."Wait, what? No, she must not mean what I think she means. Nobody would love a man like me. Her eyes searched my face. "I have feelings for you. To be honest, I don't just like you. I love you." My throat went dry. No, I'm misunderstanding something here. Her eyes read the misbelief on my face. "I love you, and I'm sorry that I'm telling you this way. It's just that I won't be able to live with the what ifs if you..." She choked on her tears. "If you-If you died and I never told you about how I feel." When I didn't respond, she continued, "I would like to know if you feel the same way. Please, I need to know."

My heart fluttered as an answer to her question. "Um," I took a step back. No, these things don't happen to people like me.

Her face fell, "It's alright. You're entitled to your own feelings. I won't hold it against you." Leyla walked to the door and opened it. "This is as far as my boldness and confidence can take me for today. Now, please, if you may." Without looking at me, she gestured towards the empty hallway.

An irrational fear drove my feet towards the door. Is this really happening? Am I going to get what I've always wished for? But what if I mess up? What if this is all a big misunderstanding? But as soon as I crossed the threshold, another type of fear set in. What if she does love me? Will I regret walking away? My hand shot out and stopped the door from closing halfway. With wide eyes, she took a step back and watched me walk back into the suite. Do I love her? My heart somersaulted in my chest, it seems like it was a yes. My throat constricted with emotion rendering me unable to talk. So, I did the next best thing.

Warm, soft lips made contact with mine, and tasting the salt of her tears, I promised to never be the cause of her heartache ever again.

⚜⚜⚜

The sound of my snoring startled me awake. "Oh, for god's sake, why is it morning already?" I hid my face under my pillow. This is the last time I'll be sleeping in a comfortable bed for a while. Better make the best of it. I attempted to fall asleep again, but sleep didn't come.

Throwing the sheets to the side. I walked to the bathroom and looked myself over in the mirror. "Wow, I look like I've been trampled by a horse." My nose wrinkled when I took a whiff of my shirt, "And I smell like the butt of one too."

After taking a warm soak in the bathroom's tub, I padded over to the foot of my bed to grab a fresh pair of clothes. Before I could dress, a sudden strange feeling washed over me. Like when someone takes candy from your tent without telling you and you can feel that the universe has got off balance because of it. Yes, that's the feeling. Stupid Greg. "Something's missing," My gaze went around the room. "What is it?' I walked around the bed and stumbled into an empty pile of pillows and blankets. Crouching to touch one of the pillows, I mumbled, "It's cold." Did he come back last night? When was the last time I saw him? Hmm, I don't think so. I gasped, "What if he got drunk and fell over a balcony railing?" I ran to the window and looked for any craters in the yard. "No, he doesn't like to drink much." Walking back to my bed, I started to dress. My hands were working on buckling my belt when a sudden realization stilled my hands. "No way," A grin split across my face. "Did he finally put his big boy pants on and went to his wife?" There was a knock at the door, and I dressed in a flash.

My smile faltered when a maid came into view with a tray full of toast, cheese, and scrambled eggs. Dang, I thought it was him.

"Breakfast, Mr. Acoma." She smiled.

"Thanks," Stepping aside, she walked in and set the plates on the small table next to the door.

Heavy steps approach the open door. "Good morning," Iskander greeted as he busted into the room.

"Hey, where you've been, little brother? I was worried." I asked with an ear-to-ear grin.

He grabbed his travel bag and gathered his things. "Somewhere," He mumbled.

I sauntered over to him. "Where?"

His eyes locked into mine with a look that said 'stop asking'.

"Somewhere."

"Okay." There was a peculiar flowery scent coming off him, and to mess with him, I took a deep sniff of his shoulder. "That's a pleasant perfume." Pretending to be a perfume enthusiast, I took another deep sniff and listed the supposed combination of scents. "Jasmine rose and lavender, I think. Where can I get it?" He shoved his clothes into his bag without saying a word. "Okay, don't tell me then." Grabbing some parchment paper and a quill, I sat at the table.

"Well, I think that's everything."

A hummed yes vibrated in my throat as I scribbled on the paper. "Before you go. Since you're an expert in writing letters, I want you to listen to mine and see if it sounds ok."

He stopped next to the door, and with eyes full of suspicion, he said, "Go ahead."

Clearing my throat, I read, "Dear Benjamin, It's me, Calim. I hope you're doing great. Iskander and I have been having so much fun in the capital. Well, he more than I, to be honest. I don't want to take much of your time, so I'll be brief. I'm just writing you to let you know beforehand that the young madam will be returning without her husband, sadly. You know, kingdom safety matters. But don't worry, she won't be returning on her own. Iskander has made sure that she would return in great company. I hope you have the nursery ready because your dear adoptive son doesn't waste time. Love, Calim."

Iskander's responding death glare brought back fond memories. Wow, I haven't seen that look since I vowed to become his friend. The slam of the door punctuated my inner thought, making me chuckle. Good job, little brother. You learned from my mistake.