The Curse of the Moon

Eight

After showing me the room with the piano, Finn and I had spent the next couple of hours exploring the various rooms of the house. It surprised me how quickly time was escaping me as I spent it with him. He told me stories of his previous visits here, like the time he found a tree crashed through the window and splayed out across the printed mug, or the time a stray cat had wandered in and made itself a bed of the luxury couches. They weren’t like the stories people shared around the kingdom. Maybe it was the way these stories had to be held secret, that made me hang off their every word.

As we both approached the archway where we’d first entered the building, he slowed down to turn in my direction. Ahead of him the horizon was beginning to lighten and I knew our night was coming to an end, even if I wasn't ready to let go of it. And by the glimmer in his eyes, I suspected he wasn't either. "So are you going back?" He asked me finally and all I could do was shrug my shoulders in response. I wasn't sure about my answer to that yet, but deep down I also knew I had no other choice. My eyes glanced in the direction of my kingdom. As angry as I was at my father, I refused to let my people down.

Brushing by Finn, I began heading down the walkway, and maybe he accepted that as my answer, following me back towards the bike. “It wasn’t a wedding I ran from,” I began, correcting our conversation from earlier. “It was just my rehearsal dinner.” I wasn’t sure why I was trying to justify my actions to him, as if there were any way to justify what I'd done tonight.

Finn chuckled, walking only a few steps behind me. I could almost feel his hot breath rushing over my neck and making my skin tingle. “Is there a difference?” He asked, and I rolled my eyes.

“Of course there’s a difference. One involves a ceremony with vows while the other is just a gathering of people to celebrate,” I explained.

He let out a quiet, disproving chuckle but pushed forwards anyway. “And you ran from your gathering because?”

I took a deep breath, not even sure if I could offer my reasoning out loud. I wasn’t even certain I’d made sense of it in my own mind. Yet, as I stopped on a flatter patch of grass and turned my attention, those sharp eyes caught me and the story began to spill out. Explaining the way my father had arranged the wedding, the benefits for the kingdom, my overhearing of his decision. I had suddenly decided no details were too small to leave out until I came to my most basic conclusion, “He wants the kingdom to go to a king, he doesn’t believe the people will follow me.”

Finn wasted no time in his response. “So naturally, you ran away instead of having a conversation about it?” His words caught me by surprise, so sharp and without a hint of doubt.

“I didn’t run away!” I blurted back in defence. No one had ever spoken to me that way before, no one had ever so bluntly accused me of making a mistake, never mind having such an insulting tone simultaneously. But as his words sunk in, I had to admit he was right. That was exactly what I had done. I could have approached my father in private, but rather I’d let my emotions get the best of me in front of everyone.

Shame flooded over me, showing a faint pink burn on my cheeks. “Okay fine, maybe I did. But you don’t understand, my father wasn’t going to change his mind. I know how stubborn he is. He wants to pass the throne to a man, a king. I’ve worked my entire life to claim this throne, to do what’s best for my people. Even this wedding is for the best of my people! But it will never be enough, because I’ll never be a king.” I let out a exasperated sigh at the end, not sure if I was seeking understanding anymore or just a place to let it all out. Never before had I opened up to someone so easily, but under his gaze, secrets didn’t seem to exist.

“Seems the stubborn gene runs in your family,” he mumbled, but his eyes carefully watched my reaction. I dipped my head back, staring up to the moon above us and letting the wind wash my tension away.

“I would let you rule,” Finn’s words hit me harder than I’d expected, jerking my attention back to him.

“You don’t know me,” I argued. He hardly knew anyone in the kingdom. His opinion of who should rule should be nearly irrelevant, but somewhere deep down inside of me that sense of approval hit a sore spot. My stomach filled with butterflies, every nerve in my body seeming to buzz in hope of hearing those words again.

“Maybe not,” he nodded, taking a step closer to me. His hand came to rest on my hip, holding my attention as if he were afraid I might brush him off on this one. There was no way I was walking away from this conversation this time. And it wasn’t just because these were the words I’d been dying for anyone to say to me since overhearing my father’s doubt. This was about the way he looked down to me with such pride in his eyes, even though I had no idea where it was coming from.

“I do see the way you talk about your kingdom though, and your people. I saw the way your eyes lit up, looking at your village in the distance from the balcony upstairs. It was the first place you looked, checking in. And I can see it in your eyes, the way being here both intrigues you but also terrifies you. You value the history of this land, but you’re afraid your kingdom might end up the same,”

“Wow,” I breathed. “You really pay attention when people talk.”

He smirked, “not really, but around you I’m finding it hard to pay attention to anything else.” The moonlight seemed to dance playfully in his eyes before they fluttered closed. Leaning towards me, my heart leapt in my chest and I met him halfway, my lips brushing against his. A desperate need I hadn’t realized I’d been holding back had suddenly been let loose. My arm hooked around his neck, allowing him to pull my body up against his as the electricity danced between us. Kissing him was like letting fireworks spark all over my skin, a feeling I’d never knew I’d needed until I’d given in.

The brush of his tongue against my bottom lip was enough to make worlds collide all on it’s own. The shock of it gratefully enough though to send me reeling backwards, breaking the connection between us and bringing me right back to this world. What was I doing? Standing under the shadows of the forbidden forest and remains of the Northern Kingdom, nearly making out with a man I’d only just met on the eve of my wedding.

“Sorry,” Finn muttered, seeming to catch the panic that had taken over my eyes. His hold released me, taking a few slow steps away from me before spinning entirely. His hands ran over his face and this time it was his head that hung back. The moon shining down onto his face, and all I could do was wait, for a reaction, for anything. My own shell shock was far from wearing off.

“I-I just,” I stuttered trying to form a logical sentence. “I’m getting married tomorrow,” I blurted out all too quickly. He spun back to me, the darkening look in his gaze suddenly telling me I had just said exactly the wrong thing. Even my own heart seemed to beat in agreement, knowing all too well that there was no way Caleb and I would ever share this kind of connection.

“So you’ve made a decision then? You’re going through with the wedding?” He asked and I had no choice but to nod. Whether the panic rushing through me right now was making me think more clearly or not, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that returning to that wedding, seemed to be the only rational choice right now. The idea of continuing this forbidden night with Finn was becoming far too dangerous, unable to trust even myself to make the right choices around him.

“I feel a connection between us, I’ll admit, but I am engaged and I have duties to my kingdom,” I tried to rationalize, repeating the same words over and over again within my own mind hoping that somehow they might stick. Finn’s lips pressed to a thin line, the only reaction he gave me was a slow nod of his head.

“Shall I take you home then?” He offered. My mind screamed yes, begging me to return to the quiet safety of my kingdom, to return to the version of me dressed in ball gowns with prim and proper etiquette who never stepped out of line. My heart, though, was long lost to other lands. Standing here in the field with this man, wearing attire I had never once imagined myself in and staring up at the moon above us.

“In a moment,” was all I could say, and Finn returned to my side. His arm wrapped loosely around me and I made no effort to back away. He understood me in that moment, better than anyone had before. Somehow I knew he did.