You're a Fool
1147 Words
Cassian was in his office, looking at the letter he had received from Alessandro when Maya entered, approached him, sat at the desk, and asked him:
"What's wrong? Since yesterday, you seem very worried."
"My brother sent me a letter asking for my help at the palace."
"Are you worried that he will overload you with work as he always does?"
"Yes, I don't want to be away from you."
"I'm fine, Cassian."
"You say that, but I know it's not true."
"It's true, I'm not feeling well, but I'll get better."
Maya started coughing, the handkerchief she covered her mouth with stained with blood. She tried to hide it, but Cassian saw it. He took her face in his hands and said to her:
"We should go see Abril, you're not well."
Maya could see the anxiety on Cassian's face. She hugged him and said:
"I think you're right, I'll go with you."
"We'll leave when you feel better."
"I'm fine, we can go now."
"Then I'll ask them to prepare the carriage."
"It's not necessary, we can go on your horse. If we use a teleportation scroll, we'll get there faster."
"No, we'll use the scrolls."
"Why not?"
"Because you're not well, Maya. Even though the carriage ride is longer, it'll be better for you. Scrolls put too much strain on the body."
Maya knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn't change his mind.
"Okay, then it'll be by carriage."
"I'll ask them to prepare it immediately."
Cassian gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and said to her:
"I won't be long."
"Alright, I'll wait for you here."
After Cassian left the office, Maya lay down on the nearest sofa, and a small fairy suddenly appeared.
"Why are you lying to the human?"
"I'm not lying to him."
"Yes, you are. You know that you're not well and that you won't be unless you return to the fairyland."
"I refuse to return to the land of fairies."
"Then you will die."
Maya clenched her fists tightly and said to him:
"You should go back to the land of fairies and tell the fairy queen that I refuse to return."
"You are foolish, you should accept your fate and come back with me."
"I already told you that I won't do it."
The little fairy was about to reply when she heard the noise of the door opening. She immediately disappeared.
Maya quickly sat up. She didn’t want Cassian to see her tired and dejected, as that only caused him suffering.
"They are already packing our things. We will leave in a while. Is there anything you want to do before we go?"
Maya felt her body heavy. She didn’t want to do anything, just close her eyes and sleep, but if she told him that, Cassian would overreact and cancel the trip, so she forced herself to put a smile on her lips and said:
"I would like to take a walk in the garden."
Cassian offered her his hand to help her up. Maya took his hand and said to him:
"You know you don’t need to treat me like an old lady, right?"
"I don't do that."
"It seems so to me."
"I just want to take care of you, pamper you, and protect you."
"I like being pampered, but I don’t think the rest is necessary. There is nothing you need to protect me from."
"Yes, there is, and you know it."
Maya didn’t want to continue that conversation, so she changed the subject.
"Will you accompany me on my walk or not?"
"Of course, I will accompany you wherever you wish, my lady."
Maya laughed. She found the formal language that Cassian used on some occasions amusing.
"My dear prince! Don’t waste any more time and take me for my long-awaited walk."
"I am no longer a prince, now I am a duke."
"To me, you will always be my prince in shining armor."
"Are you mocking me?"
"Of course not, I would never do such a thing."
Seeing Maya returning to her playful self, Cassian felt more at ease, and he wished to believe that she was truly doing better.
They took a short walk in the garden. While admiring the white flowers, Cassian suddenly asked:
"When will you accept to be my wife?"
"I don’t need marriage to prove that I love you. Why do you keep insisting on that?"
"Marriage is a bond that unites two strangers and turns them into family."
"Cassian, we're fine like this, and I already consider you my family."
"Maya, I want you to be my wife."
"I’m already your woman, isn’t that the same thing?"
"Maya..."
"Cassian, you know that I've never been interested in marriage."
"I know, but..."
"Cassian, I love you so much, and I think I show you that every day. Don’t you believe me?"
"Of course I believe you, but I want to have a wedding and introduce you to everyone as my wife. Why do you refuse to get married?"
"Are we really going to have this conversation again?"
"If you agree to marry me, this will be the last time we have this conversation."
"Cassian, I don’t want to continue with this conversation."
Maya started to walk away. Cassian took her hand and said:
"I will stop for now, but don’t think that I’ll forget about it."
"You won’t make me change my mind."
"We’ll see about that."
One of the servants approached them and said:
"The carriage is ready."
"We better leave. Your brother must be waiting for you."
"Alright, let's go."
Maya remembered that she had a gift for Abril's daughter.
"Wait, I'll go get something from my room."
"I'll wait for you at the entrance."
When Maya entered her room, the little fairy appeared before her again and asked:
"Why don’t you want to marry the human?"
"And why are you so meddling?"
"You say you love him. I don’t understand why you don’t accept to marry him."
Maya took out a small box from one of the dresser drawers, put it in her pocket, and replied:
"I know that I will die before him. That's why I refuse to be his wife. If I agree to marry him, I would be condemning him to live alone for the rest of his life as a widower. I don’t want that."
"Then return to the land of the fairies, so you won’t die."
"If I go back, the queen won’t let me see him again. It would be the same as dying, so I won’t do it. I prefer a short time by his side than a long life without him."
Maya headed towards the door. The little fairy said to her:
"You're a fool."
"Yes, I am. I won’t do what you ask, so you should go back home."
- Writer
