Rosella drove back home with a wide smile on her face.
Not just because she had managed to find a subject.
But due to the fact that she had met a man who finally made her smile.
What made the simple encounter even more close to her heart, was that it happened at a time when she needed it most.
"The last time I saw that smile on your face, Marcus was still alive."
Emmeline's voice coming from behind her, startled her into dropping the bag of fruit that she was carrying in her hands.
Marcus was Emmeline's one and only son.
He and Rosella practically grew up together.
They were best friends during their childhood.
And when adolescent stage hit for both of them, they realized that there was more to their bond than what met the eye.
Which led to the budding of their teenage relationship. Which was filled with nothing but the joys of young love.
They grew not only just mildly fond of one another, but fell deeply in love.
To a point where they promised each other that they would spend the rest of their life together, when they were just eighteen.
Which was of course an idea that her parents disapproved of, when they were let in on it the following year.
Because in their eyes Marcus was just a commoner.
A servant's son.
And therefore wasn't worthy of their blessing.
They went on and on about how much they wanted what's best for her.
And it was obvious to everyone in the palace, that by that- they basically meant that she was expected and to be married only to a prince.
Someone with royal blood like her.
Not only did their actions create a lot of resentment inside her, towards them.
But further pushed Marcus into making the drastic decision of joining the army.
In which just only six months after becoming a fully fledged soldier, led to his death in the war that was ongoing at the time.
A loss that she never recovered from.
A loss that she constantly blamed herself for.
"Emmeline!" She exclaimed, as she tried so hard not to think about her first and only love- Marcus.
As doing so, did nothing but shatter the little that was left of her already broken and bleeding heart.
"You scared me," she slowly turned to face her.
"People who get scared in their own kitchens are usually people who are hiding or even guilty of something," Emmeline teased.
Rosella bent and picked the fallen fruit from the floor and then placed it in the refrigerator, to avoid making eye contact with the older woman.
"You're done for the night, right?" She finally looked at her with a mysterious smile.
As she realized that of all the people she could keep secrets from in the entire palace, Emmeline wasn't one of them.
She was not just a good friend of hers.
But the closest she had to a mother figure too.
"Of course, I am." She chuckled. Probably because of how jittery and excited she looked.
"Good," Rosella said as she grabbed her hand.
"Come with me then," she led the eager woman all the way to the privacy of her bedroom.
"Okay," Emmeline sighed as soon as the door was closed behind them.
"Firstly I come looking for you, and you're nowhere to be found. Secondly you show up with a strange fruit bag, while wearing a disguise-"
"This isn't a disguise," Rosella cut her off mid sentence with a laugh.
"These are my casual clothes," she retorted.
"You're royalty, so you know what I mean." Emmeline sat on the couch overlooking the side of the room; with large windows, that gave the perfect view of the nearest mountain.
"Yep," Rosella nodded.
"There's no such thing as casual clothes for us, we have to be unnecessarily dolled up all the time." She said bitterly.
"Don't let it affect your high spirits," Emmeline soothingly stated as she patted the spot right next to her.
"Come sit, so you can tell me all about it."
As soon as she followed her instructions, she dived right into storytelling mode.
"You were right earlier," she began.
"About the smile that only Marcus could bring out, being visible tonight."
"I know I was," Emmeline smiled.
"I met a man, Emmeline." She was surprised to feel herself blushing, at just the thought of the stranger.
Whose name she didn't even know.
Whom she wasn't even sure if she'd see again.
"Uh oh," Emmeline laughed lightly.
But said nothing else, except gave her a simple nod to urge her to continue.
"I went for a drive earlier, in search for inspiration for my next sketch.
I had no destination in mind, when I left here.
And the next thing I knew, I was in a fruit aisle of a grocery store at the mall." She continued, still beaming with excitement.
"And where does the mystery man fit in?" Emmeline curiously asked.
And Rosella happily supplied the rest of the story.
Right up to the part where she told the stranger that she'd draw him.
"He reminded me a lot about Marcus, you know?" A sad smile broke into her face, as she thought about her lost and never coming back love of her life.
Emmeline only listened intently, as she usually did during nights like these.
Where she spent time venting to her about anything and everything, that happened to be weighing heavily on her mind at the time.
"His eagerness to help out a complete stranger, warmed my heart. In a way that surprised me. In a way that I haven't felt since him. You know better than anyone how my heart has been experiencing a cold and brutal winter, for the past five years. But his smile and kindness, reminded me of the warmth in summer." She slightly shook her head in disbelief.
Especially at how she felt so intensely, for a man she had only seen once in her life.
"I love hearing you sounding so happy and hopeful," Emmeline said.
"But?" A slight frown appeared on her face, because she already knew that she wasn't going to like whatever the older and wiser woman was about to say to her.
"But I have to tell you, that you're playing with fire." Came the bomb.
That instantly changed her heart into cold stone.
"Yeah, I know." She nodded. "That's why I need to tread carefully."
"Or not at all," Emmeline gave her a look of disapproval.
One that she still managed to give her, with love and care.
Rosella only nodded in understanding.
In her heart of hearts she longed to see the stranger again.
To talk to him again.
And to even smile with him again.
Even if it was for the last time.
But in the same heart of hearts, she knew that Emmeline was right.
Even if she knew where to find him, her presence near him would put him in danger. William was a dangerous man; one not to be questioned, or even crossed.
She knew this too, just like everyone else did.
"I know it felt wonderful to be touch with those positive feelings again, for a change. But don't forget who you are. Which lines you can cross, and which ones you can't." Emmeline gently told her as she began to stand.
"Have a goodnight sleep, princess." She kissed her forehead.
"You too Em," she smiled a little sadly.
As she realized that the older woman only referred to her as princess, during times when she needed her to take something that she had just seriously.
"Think carefully about what I said," she urged as she cracked the door open.
"I will," her heart felt hollow again as she made the promise.
Because even though she didn't like making it, she knew that it was the right thing to say and even see through.
"I'm just a prisoner, in this big prestigious castle." She icily muttered to herself.
As she thought more about Emmeline's words, where she urged her to think more and remember who she was.
"Just a well taken care of prisoner," she sighed to herself again.
After spending a few moments feeling sorry for herself; she decided to pull herself out of the pity party she had just hosted, and find something exciting to do.
To uplift her currently in the dumps spirits, she took out her sketch pad and stand.
And got cracking on the stranger's face.
She was smiling the whole time as she drew his evenly spaced eyebrows, his perfect forehead and the lines of his hair cut.
She had gotten a perfect glimpse of him in the bright lighting of the store, from all angles.
Angles of his face and entire physique that now resided in her long term memory.
His ears came next.
Before she went back to the empty space below his already drawn eyebrows.
Where she fit his emerald green eyes, perfectly shaped nose, and the full lips of his mouth.
Fitting his chin completed the stranger's face.
Which slightly increased her longing to see him again, only to immediately push the thoughts away.
She knew that it would be quite difficult for another person to understand, why she was so torn up over a man she hardly knew.
But as she closed her sketch pad and crawled into bed, she realized that it was more than just about the stranger.
If anything, in the duration of the day; where she had to smile her way through a celebration she didn't care about.
And the evening; where she met a man who made her long for a normal life, both reminded her of how much of a prisoner she was in her very own life.
She cried a lot in the early days of her forced marriage to King William.
Until her tears ran dry.
Until she toughened up and accepted her current unhappily married situation, as her fate.
But as she lay in bed tonight. She wondered what life outside the palace would be life.
Life shared with someone she genuinely loved and cared about.
A normal life, like the one she used to dream of having with Marcus while growing up.
The more she thought about it, the more the tears sprang free from her eyes.
And soaked her pillow, until sleep took her in the early hours of the morning.
"Good morning, my Queen." William's words and face were the first that she heard and saw, upon opening her eyes the next morning.
"Oh goodness!" She groaned and turned to look away from him. "What now?"
"You'll love me one day," he stated matter of factly.
"And I can't wait to see how all this hatred that I see in your eyes right now, will translate into passion."
"I've told you time and again to keep your wishful thinking very far away from me," she sat up. "And your presence too, might I add."
"Every passing moment I find myself looking more and more forward to that day," he carried on as if she hadn't said anything at all.
"What do you want William?" She too pretended not to have heard what he had just said.
It was a game that they both knew how to play very well.
"I'm flying out to Netherlands tonight," he stated.
"To attend a summit there, for a whole week."
"Fly safely," she dismissively said.
And grabbed her covers, and pulled them over herself until they concealed even her head.
"We need to discuss your contract anew upon my return," she heard him saying as he loudly closed the door behind him.
She wanted to scream and tell him that she had nothing to discuss with him.
But a light bulb went on in her head, and immediately sucked out all the negativity that he had brought to her bedroom.
She rushed out to find Emmeline, whom she finally located in the kitchen.
"What is it?" She asked with wide and concerned eyes.
"Is everything okay?"
"More than okay," she broadly smiled at her.
Then told her all about King William's upcoming departure, which was happening in just a few hours.
"Can't you see it, Emmeline?" She asked in disbelief when she saw the older woman frowning in confusion.
"This is finally my chance."
"Chance for what?" Emmeline's frown deepened.
To which she grinned widely before whispering.
"A chance for me to see the stranger again!"