I'm Forbidden To Love You

Beautiful… He didn't know what other word he could use to describe this. All he could think was beautiful. The sight was breathtaking in its beauty. He felt like he could not find any place more beautiful than this. A blue stream flowed its way through the forest. Burbling, the water leapt over the many rocks, looking like a series of steps made of water. The surface of the still water was sparkling when the light of the sun speared down from above. When you look down on the stream's surface, you can find pebbles of various sizes glistening. The mountains behind were covered with the morning mist, making their surroundings hard to see. The stream swerved through the tall trees. The riverbank was filled with berry bushes, grasses, small plants and wildflowers that could make anyone a poet with its beauty. He was in awe of the size and the magnificence of the trees, which looked almost dangerous with the way they filtered the sunlight and giving it an illusion of the darkness of night. The sound of the chirping birds filled the air, distracting him from his line of thought. He wriggled his toes to enjoy the feeling of grass under his feet. He could not help but to grin happily like a madman. This sight was peaceful and at the same time cheerful in its way. He wanted to be like one of the butterflies fluttering around the stream without any care, unlike the humans. This was one of the rare times he regretted being born as a human. Alas, his peace was not meant to last, as if to prove that, he found a stone being skipped over the surface of the still water, sending ripples of circles every time it skipped. "Stop drooling after the butterfly." He glared at the intruder; he was not drooling after the butterflies, only to be slashed with the water as he found himself falling. He was drenched from head to toe when he got up and ran after his friend, who started running away from him. "Just you wait until I catch you…." As he raced around with fake anger, his other friends joined him in the chase, and they fooled around in the stream, not caring if they would slip or fall. Later, when they finished playing around, one of his friends caught fishes from the stream while his other friend went towards the forest to hunt whatever his eyes saw. He moved towards the wooden huts they built amid the forest and removed his shirt to dry it off while he decided to leave his pants on as they were already a little dry. He had been staying here for weeks. Along with his friends, he decided to roam around wherever they felt and get to know about the villages near the forest and get to know about the country's roads and surroundings. He had left his home to travel around, but sometimes he missed his family and home…. As if to remind him that he was not alone, his friends gathered around in a circle outside of the wooden huts they built for each other, giving him a plate of the cooked meat. Even though it was tasty, he could not help but be reminded of his mother's cooking that would rival even heaven's food. "Drooling over butterflies again, Ryan?" Ryan shook his head at his friend's foolishness and rebuked him for teasing him like this all the time. "Ok, ok. I will leave you alone, happy now?" Ryan nodded, not bothering to answer him as his mouth was stuffed with tender meat. It seemed the day didn't seem to favor him as they all heard the sound of horse hooves. He drew the small knife he had kept in his pant just as his friends drew their weapons as it seemed that the horse was nearing where they are. Ryan knew that the forest area they resided in was very remote, and you cannot just lose your way and reach here. As he saw the figure riding the horse, he relaxed a little as it was one of the people he had seen around his father. Ryan was a little bit annoyed at the fact that his father had found him at last, even though he thought he had hidden well. The person got off the horse and bowed at him; he ignored it in favor of getting the letter from him, which he guessed probably from his father. In the letter, his father greeted him and that he needed Ryan there immediately. He gave the letter back to the messenger and looked around the place he had resided in for the past few weeks. This place had so many memories even though his stay had been short. He sighed and decided to give up on his freedom, but only temporarily, not that anyone has to know about this. He was, after all, not an ordinary person. He wasn't just Ryan as he wished to be. He was Ryan Burton. The second Prince of Avera country, which the Burton's had been ruling for hundreds of years and currently, his uncle ruled. Maybe, he shouldn't complain as he was not the crown prince, so he didn't have that many duties compared to his cousin, the Crown Prince, Ivor Burton. He grinned at his friend, who had been with him from his childhood, Norman Mirabel. He decided to call him out, "Nora" "My prince." He grimaced at his friend for addressing him formally with title and glared at him, "How many times I have asked you to not call me like that?" "Then, how many times I have asked you to not call me Nora? It's Norman. Sir Norman Mirabel, the bravest Knight of Avera." Saying that, his friend puffed up his chest in pride like a proud peacock. He couldn't keep up with the glaring and gave in to his laughter. His guards joined in his laugh while his friend glared daggers at them. To be honest, he sometimes forgot the fact that his childhood friend was the bravest Knight and sworn to serve him instead of his cousin, Ivor. He was grateful for him staying here with him, but at the same time, saddened that instead of reaching higher places, he decided to be with him. Nora wrestled him to the ground while he tried to push him off, just like the old times, the one person who saw him as Ryan and grounding him to the world, humbling him with his friendship and loyalty. After the messenger cleared his throat, he noticed that person again and sighed, getting up finally. "Leave." He ordered the messenger in a cold voice, masking everything as he was thought to, from his childhood. He could not afford to be anything but a Prince role he was assigned to because of being born into the royal family. His personal guards, who were all sworn to protect him, had accompanied him on his journey away from the Palace life. They were also his friends more than his personal guards; that's why they followed him wherever he felt like going, just like today. "Alright guards. Get ready; we're going to the capital." He left the arena and moved towards the small wooden hut, took his clothes off to clean himself up before leaving. His days of freedom, no, his illusion of freedom seemed like coming to an end from the way his father had written in the letter with a note of urgency. Not that he hated going back to the palace. It had been months since he saw his family. He was a little upset that his carefree days were gone, but that didn't mean he was not ready to do his duty. He would do whatever was required of him if it was for the benefit of his country, no matter what. He concluded that something serious must have happened that made his father call him abruptly. He started to wear his armor along with his clothes. He decided not to waste any more time on this and went outside. He saw that his horse has been brought from the shed and was ready to travel. He saw that the messenger was still waiting along with a servant who must have accompanied him. He ordered them to gather their things and deliver them to the palace as he didn't have time to waste around here anymore. He moved to his horse, Willa, and petted her affectionately before climbing up and signaled his guards to start their journey. It will take a day to reach the capital, but they might reach the capital city within the evening if they rode faster without stopping for things. His guards seemed to agree with his desire to reach the capital quickly without him saying anything after looking at his attire and followed him silently, all the while protecting him, keeping vigilant of any threat on the road while they traveled. He didn't admire the beauty of nature like he usually did in his travels and pushed Willa to her maximum speed while apologizing mentally for this. ~~~~~~~~ He should have known… He should have known that his overprotective father would not call him into serious situations if he could avoid it. He expected something terrible and came here without giving rest to his guards or his horse. Not that this situation wasn't terrible, but he expected a different kind of horrific situation. He had ordered the servants to look after his horse, walked past the palace guards, and went straight to his father's quarters after asking about his whereabouts. He didn't even stop to meet his mother and sister. He went straight to his father, startling him and asking what had happened. He was worried about war breaking out, as the south border was disturbed by thieves and bandits of the neighboring country. His father hugged him before guiding him to the chair nearby and ordered his personal servants out, breaking the news, more like commanding him. He could see Norman biting his inner cheeks to not laugh at his situation. He shouldn't have brought him inside his father's room and should have left him where he had left his personal guards if this was how Nora behaved in his misery. "There is a gathering of princesses that will be held here, my son. This time, our country, Avera was chosen to host the courting season as decided in the neighboring countries' meeting. You're to participate in it and choose a worthy bride." Ryan hadn't expected this in his wildest dreams that he would have to attend this. Maybe he should have foreseen this as he was already reaching twenty. He was left off till this age was itself a miracle. He should consider himself lucky. He just nodded at his father after staring into space for a few minutes with the way his mind went completely blank. What a disaster this has turned out to be. How can he go through this? After speaking about his stay away from the palace and getting scolded by his father for not informing him about his whereabouts, he left his father's room in a daze. He could hear the snickers from his friend Nora but decided to ignore it for now. He had never interacted with any woman in his nineteen years of life. His mother had been strict about these kinds of things, and his father even more so; they didn't want any sort of woman claiming Ryan as their father in greed for the money his family owned and the name of the royal family for their children. He had been prohibited from interacting with women more than necessary as a Prince. Now, they expect him to court a lady. He was slightly nervous about this whole courting thing. He was about to turn around and get in a fight with his friend for still snickering about his situation but was stopped when a hand pulled his ear and twisted it lightly. He knew without even turning around that only one person in the whole world would dare to do this to him. "Mother…" "You… You dare to return here after spending months away from me without even writing a letter. And, you went straight to your father without even greeting me." He dragged him to the nearby room, which happened to be his sister's room. His mother's pressure on his ear was gentle yet, he faked his pain and tried to get out of her grasp, but she wasn't letting him and not listening to his excuses. As soon as they entered the room, she let go of his ear and hugged him. God, he missed his mother and the food she would cook for him, going as far as to order the servants in the kitchen away sometimes so that she could cook for him despite being a royal woman. He hugged her back and consoled her, trying to assure her that he won't leave like this anymore. Just as he was going to explain about his stay, a figure ran towards him, and he caught the running figure in his arms and twirled her around in happiness. "Oh my God, look at how you have grown, Joy." Joy Burton, his sister, the princess, and most importantly, the joy of their family. He twirled her around as she shrieked in delight, and he forgot all the worries about finding a bride in the gathering of Princes and Princesses.