Penny

I didn't think it was possible for someone to love me so passionately. 

Even with only pieces of my memory to rely on, I know that whoever I was before coming here didn't receive enough affection. How else can I explain the intense effect light, fluttery touches have on my stomach, the effects of the eyes looking at me with so much adoration on my heart? True love? Hardly. I barely know her. 

Yet, doubt lingers the corners of my mind as the princess grabs the reins on her white stallion, donned in steel armor and a fierce gleam in her eyes rivaled only by her horse's powerful trot. She looks so majestic, so strong, and protective that a part of me caves into the feeling of my arms around her waist, my legs dangling behind hers with each step her horse takes. 

If I'm not careful, I'll quickly become accustomed to her special late night visits, her kisses, and her world, one I suspect I'm not a part of. Sighing with my cheek against her back, I recall my earlier outburst. 

I'd said I'd search for answers elsewhere. She'd merely nodded quietly before gathering her things, defeated. 

"If the truth is what you want," she'd whispered, "It is what you will receive. Just not within the walls of this palace."

Allowing me to get dressed before grabbing me by the hand, she led us to the palace stables, finding her steed and preparing for a late night outing somewhere beyond her family home. Whatever she was going to tell me, she didn't want it reported back to her parents. 

And so, here we find ourselves, riding out into uncertain darkness so I may discover more about myself and my past. Allura may very well be risking her status as the eldest child of her mother and inheritance to the throne by coming out with me. Is it possible it's love spurring her to do so? Or something far less innocent?

"Allura, where are we headed?"

My voice comes out strained, tainted by something like fear. The princess doesn't acknowledge me, merely keeps a hold on the reigns as we ride past the palace gates, past the last pair of guards stationed at the entrance of the castle. Her stance is rigid, even her dangling legs bounce in stiff patterns. 

It isn't until we've passed several village homes and are miles away from the palace that she finally responds. 

"We're headed north, a couple miles away from the borders of the kingdom of Dolor."

I knit my brows, confused. 

"The kingdom of Dolor? Have you mentioned it before?"

With a hard set of her lips, the princess shakes her head. The motion was so subtle, I doubted I would have seen it had it not been for the moonlight's muted glow.

"I'll explain everything when we reach the Neodrach Fields."

"The Neodrach Fields?"

"Yes, the neutral grounds between the provinces of Dolor and Lovely."

Satisfied with her answer, I squeeze my arms around her once, shifting in place to further accommodate my cheek pressed on her steel back. I remain silent the rest of the way, enjoying the feel of her hair pooled on my right shoulder, some of its strands coming to rest in front of my eyes, tangling with my lashes with each of her stallion's thunderous gallops.

My heartbeat picks up pace as one of her hands searches behind her, coming to rest upon my thigh, slowly moving up my dress and sweeping her fingertips over my bare skin before sinking her fingernails, and rubbing again. The shivers the motion elicits shoot up my leg, making me bite my lip before someone hears my sounds. 

To hear a horse at midnight is one thing, to catch two unwed women engaging in certain activities, at this late hour, is another thing altogether. Especially if one of those women is of high social standing. Allura may assure me I'm of noble Lovelish birth, but if I was, there would be no need for escaping the palace in the midst of nightfall. 

The village is silent, save for the sounds of the princess' trotting horse, and my awkward attempts to keep quiet as her hands explore my leg underneath my dress. The stone path shudders underneath thick hooves, small pebbles crumbling under the pressure of our combined weights and their own age. 

The town looks serene at night, a complete contrast to the early morning liveliness I've witnessed from my bedroom's balcony. Even from afar, the village noises often summon me outside, waking me from slumber with its raucous laughter and sounds of moving horses, carriages, and wagons. Occasionally, I'll hear the shouts of vendors out to sell their merchandise-- whether it be produce, trinkets, fabrics or outlandish oddities. 

The streets are old, run down. Homes eroded by time and harsh weather. The only exceptions are the estates of the noble and wealthy, their homes are intact, decorated by welcoming green pastures and abundant stretches of land. There is a lot Allura has kept me in the dark from. When was the last time her parents saw to the well-being of their people?

Averting my eyes from the state of the village, I train my gaze to the gleaming armor the princess dons. I remain like that for a while until the village has long passed, as have the stone roads. We come to a halt in front of some empty, dry fields-- stretches of land devoid of plant life or vibrant wilderness. 

The princess dismounts her white steed, helping me do the same moments later. I look to our surroundings, finding only a lone tree standing in front of the province walls. Its roots are thick and twisted-- its leaves although certainly not the liveliest, do not show signs of impending death either. 

Someone must tend to this tree when no one is looking. Fixing my dress, I follow Allura as she ties down her horse by the tree's roots, taking a seat on its other side. She sighs as I take my spot next to her, looking down to her hands as I shuffle close to her.

We remain quiet for a few minutes, both looking out into the concealed distance, the vague outline of another wall barely peeking past the horizon of land, making its presence known. The kingdom of Dolor may have been unknown to me only minutes ago, but it is certainly there.

Allura reaches for me, her hand finding and enveloping my own.

"You and I met here."

She leans her head against the tree's trunk, angling her face to look at me. Her gaze is solemn, gaining the same faraway look it had when we were in my bedroom chambers. There's a softness to it, despite her best efforts to conceal it.

"They say it was here, under this very tree, that the heavens and the sun decided to build the kingdom of Lovely."

"Really? I don't think you've ever told me the story before."

The princess ignores me for a second as she leans forward, bringing her other hand to my jaw before bridging our distance, brushing her lips against mine. She stays in that position for a moment, her lips hovering above mine, sharing my breath and gazing into my eyes with an intensity I hadn't seen before. Then, she breaks our trance as she pulls away, settling against the tree again.

"That's because it has everything to do with you," she whispers, squeezing my palm in hers.

"I don't understand."

Allura returns her gaze to the outstretched land, sweeping the pad of her thumb over my knuckles.

"The province of Lovely and the province of Dolor were not always engaged in conflict. There was a time they were one and the same-- one kingdom created by the heavens."

I wait with bated breath for her to continue, feeling as though my future rides on whatever her next words are. 

"Long ago, the heavens looked upon the Earth and saw that it was barren. Its lands harbored no life. Deciding the Earth was not complete unless wilderness flourished on its surface, the Heavens sought out the Sun. Together, they fashioned a kingdom built among mountains. It was blessed with arable land, unsalted sources of water, and close proximity to the Sun, so that everything that was within the kingdom walls would flourish, and its people would never know hunger..."