No, she couldn't be falling in love with him. Elvira kept her gaze at the ground refusing too look up. She could feel Apollo was looking at her but she still didn't move. She was paralyzed. Elvira knew if she looked up she would regret it immediately.
"Elvira?" Apollo questioned but she still didn't look at him. Her eyes where glued to a stick on the ground that seemed to be very interesting out of a sudden
After a while Apollo called her name again. If she didn't look up this time, she would be seen as rude and that's not at all what she wanted. She slowly looked up at the man and the two made eye contact.
Elvira could feel blood rushing to her face and her cheeks getting slightly pink. he was happy to see her friend again but she still refused to accept the signs that she wanted him to be something more.
every time the thought came to her, she just pushed it down again, ignoring its existence. but was that really the best way to follow? the best path to go down? probably not but what other options did she really have?
Apollo was her friend, but he was also a commoner. She knew one of the most important rules of a princess, and that is that a higher class cannot marry or have any closer relationship than friends to a lower class. she couldn't for sure know how the rules were here, maybe they were different, but she assumed that the rules were the same everywhere.
And with those rules, it would make her chances with Apollo slim to zero. so the best way to handle the situation in Elvira's mind was to just suck it up and pretend that she didn't feel anything towards the man standing in front of her.
"I want to show you something," Apollo stated snapping Elvira out of her thoughts. Apollo took a grip on Elvira's hand and held it gently as he started walking. Elvira had to hold her breath to try and hide the excitement she was feeling at that moment. He led her quietly to some kind of bridge stretching over the water. Apollo didn't say a word, just stepped a pit closer to the edge and let his elbows rest on the gray stone railing. Elvira, not really knowing what to do, also steeped a pit closer but still kept a bit of a gap between her and the edge.
they stood in silence for a while and Elvira felt her stiff shoulders relax a bit. it all was so calming in a way.
Elvira hasn't really got the time to relax, King Philip is still out there and could strike at any moment. Elvira had been up for days trying to come up with a plan so she could escape if something did happen. They already had some of the soldiers to do that but Elvira wanted to come up with her own plan. she did know the king better than anyone else. she knows how he sleeps, she knows how he eats, she even knows how he breathes.
so excluding her from this mission would just be a huge loss for all of them.
but despite all the things she knew about him, her mind was blank. she had no idea what his fighting strategy was because she never was interested in that sort of stuff. she kinda regretted that now.
She had no idea of how she would defeat the King if he ever did attack them. But Elvira was detrimental, detrimental to defeating the king.
Apollo noticed that Elvira was quiet. He knew that she thought about something. She started to tense up once more. Apollo frowned at the gesture and stood up straight. He walked over to Elvira and took her hand. She was brought back into reality for the second time today and if you look really closely you could see a spark in her eyes. It was small and you could barely notice it but Apollo managed to catch it and it brought a small smile to his face. It was small but genuine.
Apollo took Elvira's other hand. They had been at the bridge for so long that the sun had already settled and the street lamps had turned on.
"I didn't just bring you here to look at the water," he said. Elvira got kind of confused and raised one eyebrow. Apollo's smile grew wider. He motioned for Elvira to look at the sky.
He started counting down.
"3"
"2"
"1"
A big explosion of colors could be seen in the distance. Elvira's eyes grew wide at the sight. She had never seen fireworks before. They were beautiful. Another loud explosion could be heard.
It reminded Elvira of a poem she once read.
(THE POEM)
Fireworks light up the night,
A dazzling, colorful sight,
Bursts of red, green, and blue,
Sparkling like diamonds, it's true.
The sky comes alive with sound,
As the fireworks burst all around,
Crackling, popping, and booming,
It's a show that's truly consuming.
The smell of smoke fills the air,
As the fireworks continue to flare,
It's a moment of pure delight,
As we watch the fireworks take flight.
So let's enjoy this spectacle of light,
As the fireworks light up the night,
A beautiful display for all to see,
A moment of pure magic, just you and me.
~~~~
The poem had never really affected Elvira. She couldn't really relate so she never felt anything special. But now, it was different. Her heart grew twice its size and a wave of happiness rushed over her. She felt relaxed for the first time in a while.
She took a step closer to the edge letting go of one of Apollo's hands but still holding tightly in the other. The view was beautiful and Elvira had never seen anything like it. She closed her eyes and relaxed her whole body. A silent tear ran down her face.
Finally, after all those years being locked up and unhappy she could say that she felt 'At peace.'