(Ophelia)
***
"Dearest Koko,
It's been a while since we've written letters to each other. Do you miss it? We used to do it out of necessity, but today, I do it only out of want and love for you.
Speaking of those days, you must know we met around two and half years ago. We have dated for a few months less than that, but the time before feels like it passed so quickly with the breeziness of our talks back then. These days, the Sun Kingdom almost seems like a figment of my imagination, and I would have forgotten about it entirely if it wasn't the place in which we met.
Really, I could not imagine a better person to be with during those lengthy, sunny nights of mine. I'm sure it was difficult and tense for you as well; it was tense for everyone, but you were the one who pushed me through those months. Do you know how I used to dread walking into the castle because Leo tasked me with fixing the political situation? He couldn't even be bothered to guide me! While I was confused and aimless as a rookie, it was you who made my days and nights worthwhile then. I thank you for that.
Ah, from here, where do I start now?
At first, you seemed kind of crazy. You always talked about things I couldn't understand because they seemed too optimistic—too fantastical—for anyone to even contemplate. I think that's what got us into so many fights when we were, you know, blasted into the future.
Then, I realized: I'm just a boring realist. You're this awesome idealist who looks to the stars for advice, following your own path as they illuminate your loveliness for the world to see. Your beauty radiates from head to toe, skin to heart. I'm always astounded by it. Leo once joked about me falling for the royalty, but how could I not when you're just… so amazing the way you are?"
I swallowed the anxious lump in my throat as Koharu flipped the note, which was written in my neatest, most condensed handwriting. Despite her not reading it aloud, my monologue played along to her tempo, coinciding with the swishing of the sheet.
"That idealism. It's my favorite thing about you. Believe it or not, I was once this bleak schoolgirl who liked to suck up to authority but had a bad attitude towards anything I deemed detrimental or useless.
You're the one who changed that for me.
You showed me how, sometimes, it's fine to reach for the stars and hope for a little more than I would have expected.
That way, we always find more new things together than we anticipate we would. It keeps life exciting, and I use my gravity to bring us back to the ground whenever it seems like we're flying out of the thermosphere. I love that balance we have that leaves us comfortably suspended in the air, and you're always the sweetest person to me about it, even when I deserve to be thrown up thirty feet for acting like an idiot.
And just looking at you, I can tell you're the most wonderful person in the world. I was convinced your eyes were green for so long that my breath still hitches in shock whenever I see them subvert my expectations, but the deepness of brown suits you so well—much better than I would have imagined. It's full of mystery, but under sunlight, it's beautifully translucent; I find myself in awe every time.
Your eyebrows flutter like butterflies atop the flowers of your eyes, and even the fading tips of your blonde hair are so dainty that I always want to blush when I'm around you. I love seeing your lips curl into a wide smile and hearing the little noises you make when you laugh. I love every detail about you, and you're the spitting image of a princess in my imagination (go figure).
I sometimes think I don't deserve you when I see how great you are, but you always pull me right back into your arms and kiss me enough times that you make me feel as loved as I hope you do when you're with me.
I want to forever be yours, and I'll always give myself up to you. Something tells me you feel the same, but I hope one day to hear it directly from the lyre of your lips."
As my hands shook in my lap, the paper rustled between Koharu's fingertips once more. I was certain she felt the vibration of my leg against hers, but she didn't say anything to me, far too invested in the back side of the letter to care. Both her hands were fixed on it like a vice grip while she smiled widely with teary eyes.
*If this moment drags on any longer, I'm going to flip out right here and now, and I might just inadvertently snap off a fingernail if I nip on it in the process.*
"Since you've made it to the end of this, if you're willing to put up with my grouchy ass (debatable), close your eyes, tilt your head down a little bit, and count to three aloud. Slowly.
Love,
Lia
(P.S. Fuck. I'm running out of space on this shitty piece of parchment.)"