I stumble into her firm chest. Immediately , she grabs me by the shoulder, stopping my fall “What is wrong, My- Princess.« My heart hurts. I got used to her calling me Myra, Princess feels too distant now.
“My. . .my. . .my. . .”, I stammer. I do not realise I am crying until Alexandra’s thumb stokes my cheeks. Gentle, so, so gentle.
“Shh, I don’t understand what’s happening. Use your hands.”, she whispers. The wall that has stood between us during the last three days is suddenly gone.
My sister is responsible for almost killing us. She is in love with the Prince and wants him for herself. This is all her fault. I am signing so fast, I am not even sure she gets what I want to tell her.
As soon as I am finished, Alexandra’s eyes dart towards the hall I just came from. Her expression hardens, looking like she wants to kill someone. Her hands leave my body and she stalks down the hall.
The only reason she is looking at me is because it is the only way she understands what I say. What are you doing?
“You do not really think I will let her get away with this?” I swear I never saw her this angry.
She is still my sister. I do not want anything to happen to her. I stop for a moment to let my words sink in, looking into her eyes. Let her marry her Prince.
»And let her kill you?” she spits out.
No, I give him to her willingly. I do not want him anyway. I want- I stop mid-sentence, my hands awkwardly hanging in the air between us. It all sinks in now. My mother does not want anything to do with me, my father sends me away because in his eyes I am useless and my sister wants to kill me for a man I do not even want. Why should I not be selfish this one time, when everyone around me has been doing it for years? I want you.
“Princess -” I cover her mouth with my hand, trying to ignore her soft lips on my palm. Because it is hard to sign with one hand I pull back but only when I make sure, she is not going to interrupt me again.
You said it is me above all. Why can it not be you above all too. Above the Prince, the crown, the kingdom. I do not want any of it. I only want you.
“Do you realise what you are about to give up?”, she whispers. She takes my hand and places it on her chest. I can feel her heartbeat racing. “For someone like me?”
I simply nod. For her I would give up myself, if it meant assuring her happiness. Alexandra presses her forehead against mine, the smile on her face, intoxicating. I want it to be mine, I want her to be mine for the rest of my life.
And it starts this evening. We leave without anything, and instead of taking the road we came on, we go in the opposite direction. We walk until we leave Alethon behind, Alexandra doesn’t have the urge to say Princess anymore, and we walk until no one knows of my sister’s wedding or her children with the Prince, until no one recognizes us or our names. Until it’s just us. For a long time I thought I knew everything about Alexandra, but the truth is, there are a lot of firsts. I discovered that Alexandra loves to cook and I love her food. She enjoys swimming in the lake behind our little house. I join her sometimes but I prefer to watch her from my little garden. Even if it is not much, I love this garden even more than the one back at my father’s palace. But it is enough, because I have Alexandra. We are here, together. Like it was always meant to be.
© Alena Nicolopoulos 2023-09-01