Crimson Princess and Her Fated Lover

All Grown Up

20 years later...

An apple slammed into the side of King Alexander, who was the king from the Apollo Kingdom. He spun around on his horse and looked up into one of the trees in the apple Orchard of Adalon. There, he spotted a young lady with hair that shined like the sun. Her bright blue eyes were smiling down at the young man, as she burst out laughing. “Serenity! Ouch, that one really hurt. You do know you’re supposed to use the rotten apples while playing orchard tag?!” Alexander frowned, while rubbing his side. Serenity laughed and slid down the tree and walked over to Alexander. He was a towering, tall man with a height of 6 foot 7 inches. He had a slim muscular build, sandy colored hair, and dark blue eyes. She smiled at him as she watched him overact with the pain as he slid off of his horse.

“I thought that apple was rotten.” Serenity said with a mischievous grin.

Alexander gave her a playful shove and they both laughed. “Well, little Wren, next time I might throw a ripe apple by accident as well.” Alexander kidded.

Serenity rolled her eyes and let out a little sigh. He started giving her the nickname 'Wren' back when they were children. He said she was little like a little Wren bird, and you could take Ren short for Serenity, so it was a perfect nickname. She smiled up at her friend and said “You wouldn’t dare. I’m surprised you let me climb that tree since, heaven forbid, I get a splinter!”. Alexander had always been protective of her from the time they were children. Their parents often met up for political talks, and with the hope of the two of them becoming something more than friends, dragged them along. It never did turn into anything more, at least, not for Serenity. Alexander did voice his interest at one point in having a more intimate relationship, but she turned him down. She viewed him as her big lovable brother who was her best friend, but nothing like a love interest. He graciously understood and had continued to be part of her life as her dearest friend. To him, her happiness was the most important thing in the whole world. He had a very selfless love for her and decided that no matter what, he would always be there to support her.

He was only three years older than her, but acted like he was far more knowledgeable than she was. Perhaps it was so, since he lost both of his parents a few years back when their boat sank. At the age of eighteen, he had to bear the burden of taking the throne and ruling his kingdom. While this may have matured him faster, he still remained a happy and fun guy. He made a name for the kingdom of Apollo early by creating a mighty military force. Truth be told, there was none like it. It was by far the greatest force between any two kingdoms. Luckily, Alexander didn’t have an evil heart and used the force of his military to keep in check any who bore ill will.

Alexander turned and smiled down at Serenity. “Well, you little ankle-biter, I didn’t think you would climb the tree. I mean, it is going a little far for a simple game. Ooof” Serenity elbowed him and shot him a look. She wasn’t exactly short, coming in at 5 foot 5 inches, it was just that he was so tall. “Quit picking on me.” She pouted.

“Hey, who picked on who first? Remember the RIPE apple?” Alexander mused. Serenity shrugged defeated “Yea, you’re right. We are even.” and hurriedly dashed off.

“EVEN, PFFT MY ASS!” Alexander yelled out and took off after her. Serenity squealed and picked up speed.

Serenity glanced back to see Alexander closing the gap between them. She was fast, but he covered so much more ground, since his legs were longer. Serenity dashed into the village that surrounded the outside of the castle. She used the busy area to dash between people and street vendors. One of the street vendors even used his cart to help aid his princess in her escape. She waved a big thanks as she continued to giggle while sprinting.

Alexander also laughed at this and hurdled over the cart. A small smile spread over his face though, from the act of the villager. These people love their Princess, he thought.

It was true. Despite the prophecy that loomed around their princess, she was precious to them. She had a very loving and caring heart. She always made sure to take care of those who were weaker and were without. Those who met her, loved her. Unfortunately, some of the other kingdoms were more cautious and have been actively worrying about the Crimson Princess since the blood moon 20 years ago. Besides the kingdom of Adalon, and some select outsiders, most did not know the identity of the Crimson Princess. Sure, they had a general idea of the location, but did not know for certain who the girl was. After all, no where did it say that the Crimson Princess would be an actual princess.

Serenity knew she was done for and that he would reach her at any moment. With that, she decided it was time for a dirty tactic and she jumped behind a couple of kids who were playing swordsman. “Oh please protect me from the foul beast, brave knight.” She said, holding one of the small boys by his shoulders.

“Foul beast?….. Are you calling me a foul beast?” Alexander coughed out, acting insulted.

The little boy laughed and raised his stick towards Alexander. “Go back to the depths of darkness from which you came, let's get him!” He yelled, as the boys all raised their sticks and took off towards Alexander. Serenity stuck her tongue out and laughed as Alexander took off running away from his pursuers.