Another year had gone by very quickly. This year, I turned sixteen. It was already time for me to enter the Royal Academy.
My uniform was a bit shorter skirt as I remembered, so I had trouble walking around with a large draft between my legs, but the gates covered in white roses that welcomed the new students was exactly as how I remembered.
I soon heard squealing near the large metal gates. In the center of the madness was a single being with the stature of an archangel with his flaxen colored hair and a smile more beautiful than any devil.
My eyes were unable to separate from the man I once loved the most. All I could do was stare blankly at the portrait of a man surrounded by hundreds of flowers.
For a moment, it appeared as if the mirage of Prince Erik was growing closer to me.
I gasped when I found that he was no mirage but Prince Erik himself.
He smiled softly as he handed me a red rose with a pink ribbon.
I took the flower with shaky hands.
"Thank you, Your Highness," I told him as I gave a curtsy.
This place is a royal playground for this person. I should not expect so much out of a simple flower.
"A flower for yourself," he said as he handed another girl a flower of a different species.
I looked back at Prince Erik once. He was a different person from the Erik I once knew. I thought that he would have snatched a young lady already. However, there are no news of His Highness playing around once again. I wonder what his aim was in giving me the flower...
I brought the flower back to my room before class and made my way to class where I bumped into Charlotte. She was holding the same white lily as before.
"Greetings, Charlotte."
"We are together again, Arielle," Charlotte said as she embraced me.
"I'm glad to see you again, Charlotte."
"We are going to have lunch together in the Library today," Charlotte said excitedly as it came to lunchtime.
"Have you seen Garett yet?" I asked.
"...Not particularly," she answered.
I felt slightly suspicious from her short delay in answering me.
"I see."
We later visited the second floor and asked around if anyone knew of Garett. He was nowhere to be found. No one knew or had heard of his name. When I asked who was at the top of their grade, only Prince Erik's name shown up. There was not a trace of Garett anywhere. It was as if he had never came to school.
Charlotte and I continued our search for Garett for the rest of the week. It almost seemed like Charlotte were on a missing person's case. The identity of Garett was almost nonexistent even in Arundel. It seems that Garett's name was an alias. The Alvin family was a not well known branch of the royal family.
When Charlotte had asked them if they had a Garett in the family, they seemed as if they were troubled by our appearance and quickly sent us away.
This made me wonder how my letters were being sent out. Were the replies even from Garett himself? His words and manners were identical to Garett himself...
"Either Garett has gotten better at hiding or he really does not attend school here," Charlotte said.
We made sent our search to the school library for a list of people whom had attended in the previous few years.
"I'm so confused...Are the last four years a lie?" I asked Charlotte.
"He is more honest than he lets on. Garett cares about you a lot more than you may think...I cannot imagine him writing letters to a girl he does not like," Charlotte reasoned.
I heart still felt sore even though I trusted Garett...
"Hardly...I have not seen Garett since our time by the ocean. Our relationship is just that simple," I said solemnly.
"Simple? Hm..."
"What is it, Charlotte?" I asked her.
"How do you feel about Garett?" Charlotte asked me. "You seem overly concerned about someone you worked with for a few years."
"What do I think? Garett is very serious at his work, humble towards his peers, and a very kind and caring person." I answered honestly.
Charlotte looked at me with wide eyes.
"The way you look right now..." she mumbled.
"Charlotte?" I called her name as I turned towards her.
I accidentally lost my footing at the top of the stairs and tripped.
"Arielle!"
Charlotte reached her hand out to me, but I was unable to grab her hand in time.
I'm falling!
All I could do was hold out my hands in hope that they would break my fall.
I felt my life pass me by within a matter of moments. I thought about all of the people I still wanted to see the most. In the end, the person that I wanted to see the most was not Erik.
The last person I imagined in my mind was Garett...
What embraced me later was not the afterlife, but an arm tightly wrapped around my waist.
I could tell that it was a man with a very sturdy figure holding onto me. My hands went around the collarbone of the man to the top of his shoulders. I opened my eyes to see peerless beautiful emerald green eyes staring right back at me.
My heart along with my breathing stopped. The only thing that moved was my hair in the wind.
The face I was so familiar with was only a few centimeters from me. I slowly narrowed my eyes and turned my head slightly as I tried to make those lips mine.
"Erik..."
"...Um?" he said with a confused expression.
I quickly snapped my head back and turned my head in the other direction.
I felt incredibly embarrassed.
Just what was I trying to do to him?
"Thank you for saving me, Your Highness," I said quietly.
I felt the arm around my waist tighten for a moment before he placed my body back on the ground and released me.
He coughed into his fist lightly.
"...It is of no problem," Prince Erik said.
"Then, I will take my leave," I said as I hurried down the stairs again.
"Arielle, wait up!" Charlotte said.
That was embarrassing...Prince Erik saw me in such a clumsy state and I almost tried to...
I am an animal!
If that was not all, I wanted to see Garett before I fell and I still do now. It was no coincidence.
It is almost as if I have feelings for both Prince Erik and Garett.
I do not understand...
Why does my heart hurt for both of them?