//------------------------------// // April 23rd, the Year MCCCXLV // Story: Love Letters of the Princess of the Sun // by Echo 27 //------------------------------// The moon is rising in the eastern sky as I set my pen to paper. Luna’s work is a beautiful thing to witness, the serenity of the stars aglow. It is a calming, comfortable thing to see. How strange that it is so akin to what has happened today. We… met again tonight. Ford and I somehow found the time to be with one another. Or more truthfully, I was able to create the opportunity for us. For some time now, we have been separate from one another, our individual duties preventing us from spending time with one another. He was not placed on Day Court guard, nor on guard outside my chambers for some time, leaving us to be spared only glances and brief words, much of them simple formality as we passed each other by. However, each time we met… I could feel the longing in his gaze. The desire that burned within him was evident, at least it was to me. Every time we meet, I see a change overtake him. A vibrancy courses through his bones, a happiness borne straight from his soul. I do not know how to feel about it. Part of me is embarrassed that I cause such a reaction in him, another part of me is flattered… and yet another part feels guilt for what I am doing to him. I still feel as if I am stringing him along down a path that will only bring him unhappiness. Nonetheless, I still found myself desiring to see him. Perhaps the more immature side of me won over sensibility. I requested the kitchens to prepare a dinner, a private banquet in the royal dining hall. As the word came to the Royal Guard, I was assigned two guards, a pair of young men named Fire Jewel and Cinder. I was going to be satisfied with the selection until I saw Ford walking past with a cohort of his, and an idea sprang to my mind. “Jewel, Cinder, both of you are exhausted,” I told them, much to their surprise. “I do not wish to ask more of you than what has been asked of you already.” The two, dutiful as any of my Guards, attempted to protest, but I held firm. I called over to Ford and his fellow, requesting that they take the place of their fellow Guardsmen. Instantly I saw Ford’s face light up with delight, only to be immediately quelled by his self-control. They both agreed, and so they took their place in the hall as I ate. Ford’s eyes never left me for a second, his gaze studying every inch of me. Yet every time I looked up at him, his gaze would swiftly dart away. I realized he had yet to understand my intent. Quietly, I motioned for his fellow to be dismissed, conjuring a task for him to do that would keep him away for some time. As he left the room, Ford’s gaze fell to me and I saw in his face he understood what was going on. “Come to me,” was all I said, and we soon found ourselves in each other’s arms, I pressing my lips against his- a gesture that surprised myself as much as it did him. Perhaps it was my fondness for him that made me do such a thing, or the heat of the moment. But as try as I might, I could not deny the comfort I felt as we held one another. I had equals -my dear sister, Twilight- but this was something much different. I motioned for him to join me, and he quietly removed his armor, the young man looking uncertain as he did when we first spent time together. We ate together, barely a word spoken between us, awkwardness slowly filling the void of silence. We had held one another, kissed yet again- yet somehow, something was wrong. I studied him as he dined with me, watching as he stole his glances of me. His eyes were filled with wonder, awe of me. But also uncertainty, a hesitancy. Perhaps it was his own, or he sensed my discomfort I do not know. I realized I would have to break the silence between us, so I simply asked him if something what was on his mind. His gaze lowered. “Is… is something wrong, Princess?” I had expected my name. Instead, he had greeted me with formality. I was taken aback. “Please, you know my name,” I told him. “You certainly have the right to use it.” Ford, if possible, became more hesitant. “Celestia, you- you seem like you’re- well, uncomfortable. Did I do something wrong? I haven’t gotten you in trouble, have I?” Did he have doubts about our secret romance as well? Was there a part of him that feared he would only leave me hurt? Or worse, did he still have me on a pedestal, something perfect and out of reach? “Are you troubled?” I asked, reaching out for his hand and taking it. He hesitated, looking down at my hand, moments passing until he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. The longer his armor remained off, the more the façade of the Guard fell away into the ether. There was no one left but Ford, a young man with all his worries and concerns that he possessed. “I just wonder sometimes,” he confessed. “If maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Suddenly you and I share something, something very private and personal. But it could get both of us into very real trouble, and I just wonder if I’ve put your place in the world at risk… for something kind of selfish.” He didn’t even think of himself in all of it. “I would survive,” I told him. “There have been far worse things said of me in my long life. But you… you are young, and I know the consequences if you are caught.” He nodded. “I know that, too,” he said. “It’s just…” “Strange?” I suggested, and for the first time a smile cracked his face. “Very much so,” he said. “I’ve dreamed about you since I was young, wanted you, and now here you are. And suddenly it’s dangerous, it’ll be hard to see one another, so many secrets we’ll have to keep. I guess I spent so much time thinking about you that I didn’t think how hard it would be.” “I do not believe either of us did that night,” I said. “Emotions were certainly running very high.” He turned to me, a strange dread upon his face. “You don’t regret what you said, did you?” “No, of course not!” I said firmly. “I… truth be told, I do not know what will come of this, either. Or how we will meet. I am as unfamiliar as you are.” We both sat in silence, watching as the first of the moon’s light began to creep over the horizon, the candles of the dining hall bringing a soft dim light to our surroundings. It was not a romantic scene, nor even a very happy one. Ford reached for his arm, slowly bringing up his shirtsleeve to reveal a white handkerchief bearing the colors of the sun- my mark that I had given him that night. “I wear it every day,” he said quietly. “I like to think of it as a good luck charm. It really has been one; I’ve been way calmer and focused with my duties. It’s like I have a little bit of you with me wherever I go, and I find it calming. So, even if things are a little awkward right now, you’ve made my life better already.” A smile, unbidden, fell across my features and I felt glad of his hand in mine. “Thank you,” I said. “Perhaps that is what I needed tonight to lift the melancholy.” “I’m your champion,” he said. “If you need me, just ask for me. I’ll be here by your side.” “How revealing,” I remarked, the two of us sharing a quick, quiet laugh. “Perhaps we will know what to do, in due time.” “I hope so. We’ll get better at this, as time goes on.” He studied me. “Do… do you WANT to continue?” I mulled over his words, truly considering them. True, there was still guilt for what I was doing, uncertainty that any of it would succeed at all. Yet, a small part of me grew that night, and it was from there that I spoke. “Yes, I do,” I said, more certainly than perhaps I realized. “Yes, I would like to see you again.” There was a knock on the door, Ford’s fellow Guardsman returning from his errand. A quick kiss as a goodbye and Ford donned his armor, opening the door and returning to his duties. And just like that, our dinner was over.