I walked for ten minutes in silence. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the sky in an orange hue. I glanced up at the trees, their leaves swayed gently in the afternoon breeze. The closer I got to the meadow, the more anxious I felt. When I finally reached the end of the trail, I stopped. I stood there motionless for a long period of time. After a couple of deep breaths, I closed my eyes and stepped into the clearing.
Sunlight engulfed the meadow completely. Birds and insects fluttered about as they enjoyed their last few minutes of light. In the center of the meadow he laid, his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. His golden locks reflecting the diminishing sunlight.
I walked forward nervously, one step at a time. My heart rate spiked when he turned his gaze towards me. The same ivory mask from that night framed his face. His eyes widened when he saw me. "Princess? What are you doing here?" he asked as he got up quickly and brushed himself off. My face flared crimson.
Croy. Damn it Mai! I cursed to myself. She'd done this on purpose. I had just told her a few days prior that I would keep our kiss a secret. We stood in front of each other silently for a few seconds, neither of us looking directly at the other. "Myra was wrong..." I began after a little while. "I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry!" I said as I turned around quickly. I couldn't face him.
"Myra?" he repeated incredulously. "Wait!" he said as he stopped me. I turned to see his fingers wrap around my wrist. "Please don't go." He begged. I swallowed thickly when he placed his hand beneath my chin and lifted my face to meet his. "You really do exist..." he trailed off.
"What do you mean?" I asked. He shook his head and chuckled. "All this time, I thought I had imagined the Princess from the dance that night. Since I never saw you again, I started to believe that you were a figment of my imagination." I shot him a sympathetic glance; I knew exactly how he felt. "But now I have you here in front of me." My heart raced as he pulled my face a bit closer. "If only I could prove this was real..." he whispered as he caressed my cheek with his thumb.
"Princess." He muttered as he nudged his nose against mine. His breath was minty like always. "Forgive me." My mouth watered as he leaned in all the way and closed the distance between us.
His lips were sweeter than I remembered. Perhaps it was the fact that now I knew who was behind the mask. I raised my hand timidly and touched his face. In response he wrapped his arm around my waist and deepened the kiss.
Without thinking, I entangled my fingers in his golden locks. After an uncountable amount of time, we both pulled away, breathless. "So, this is real." He affirmed as he rested his forehead against mine. His face was flushed. "I want to show you something." He began as he took my hand and placed it on the mask he wore.
"Wâwhat are you doing?" I asked nervously. My hand clammed up as he wrapped his fingers around it and helped me pull off his mask. "Croy. We should stop." His eyes widened when I said his name.
"You know me? Does that mean I know you too?!" he asked, confused. "Who are you!?" He demanded in a stern tone.
"You don't understand, this isn't right! You don't want me. I-I have to go!" I screamed as I took off at full speed into the woods.
"Princess!" he called as he came after me. I ran through the trees and shrubs as fast as I could manage. Leaves and ferns scraped me as I ran past. I wasn't heading anywhere specific. I just had to get away from him.
"If he finds out who I am..." My thoughts trailed off as I sprinted faster. I could hear his footsteps catching up to me. I glanced back to see he was right at my heels, "Crap!" I hissed fretfully and picked up speed. I should have watched where I was going. If I had been paying attention, I probably would've gotten away, and the beautiful Princess's identity would've remained a mystery.
But things didn't happen that way. Because I was glancing back, I didn't notice the boulder that stood out prominently from beneath the soil, constructing a miniature cliff. "Princess watch out!" I heard him scream as he realized where I was headed. It was too late. I had already lost my balance. Croy reached out for me, but I was already on my way down. In a final attempt, he swiped his hand trying to grasp mine.
Instead, he grabbed a hold of the mask. Time seemed to slow down when he clutched onto the mask and snapped the string that held it in place, revealing my terrified face as I plummeted backwards. "Hazel?" was the last thing I heard as I hit the ground.
I landed on the moist soil with a hard thud. "Ow..." I groaned as I glanced up to see where I'd fallen from. It had to be no less than 10 feet. Luckily, the shrubbery and small trees that surrounded the area cushioned my fall. I sat up and noticed that my right side was hurting. "I probably bruised a rib." I muttered as I stood up and brushed myself off. When I looked around I noticed that I had never been in this part of the woods before.
After a few seconds, I realized that I had no clue how to get back to the camp grounds. A short moment after, I was distracted by a pair of footsteps picking up speed. I watched as he gained impulse and leapt off the cliff, landing on his feet nimbly.
After he shook off the landing, he turned towards me.
"Crap!" I said to myself as I remembered that I was no longer wearing the mask. I looked away quickly, trying to hide my face. "Turn around." He said sternly. I turned around reluctantly. Croy took my hands in his and pulled them apart, revealing my blushing cheeks. For a while, he stared at me in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, he let out an exasperated laugh.
"What's so funny?" I asked bewildered.
"I should have known, this was all because of Mai. She got us." He said with a tired smile.
"What do you mean?"
"Myra and Jason knew about this all along. They'd been interrogating me for the past few days. They knew about us that night at the dance. They must've gotten tired of us running in circles, so they took matters into their own hands. " He clarified as he glanced down at his boots.
"Earlier today I ran into Mai and Jase on the field. We started talking and I mentioned that I had met someone at the dance a few months back. Jason said you had met someone as well and that this person was the one who gave you your first kiss. Eventually, he told me to go to the place where I had kissed that girl. He told me I might find her, but I had to wear my mask. Sure enough you showed up." He said with an amused smirk.
"I'm sorry." I began in a whisper as I turned away from him.
"Sorry for what?" he asked.
"Now that you know the truth, I'm sure I'm not the Princess you expected. That's why I think it's best if I leave." Croy placed his hand on my face gently.
"You're right." He croaked. "You're definitely not the Princess that I expected." My heart sank when he said that. "But you're the Princess I've been hoping for". A crooked smile spread across his face as I stood there, dumbfounded. "You really don't understand me at all, do you?" he asked as he pressed his forehead against mine. "This isn't how I was planning on asking you." he said as he pulled away and took my hands in his.
"Haze..." he continued. "You're outspoken, intelligent, hardworking, kind and beautiful. You're not like other girls. No matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about you." My heart raced at his kind words. "Now that I know you've always been my Princess, I need to know how you feel about me." His ocean eyes bore into mine as he awaited my answer. I blushed as I considered my feelings. It took a while for me to gather the courage that I needed to speak.
"Feel about you how?" I asked stupidly. He furrowed his brows. "I need to know if you like me." He said seriously. My face turned an even darker shade of red, my timidity getting the best of me. After what seemed like an eternity, Croy turned away from me and sighed. "Your silence says everything." He muttered as he let go of my hands and turned to walk away from me. I reached out and tugged on his shirt softly, causing him to stop.
"I do like you but..." I paused as I swallowed nervously. "But not as a friend. I really thought that much was already obvious to you." I confessed. After a few seconds, Croy turned around once more.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked in one quick sentence. I was unable to say anything. Instead, I nodded with a quick and jerky motion. A smile lit up his handsome face as he leaned in and embraced me.
His strong hold made me want to melt. After a small amount of time, he pulled away and placed his hand underneath my chin. "Are you okay?" He asked in almost a whisper. "I've never had a boyfriend before, so I don't know how to be a good girlfriend." I admitted, avoiding his gaze. "Just be yourself." He told me as he flicked me on the forehead. "Come on, let's go." He said as before taking my hand and leading the way back to the camp.