13 Forward Insigh (1/2)
She elegantly walked with clear purpose in mind through the corridors of the castle, the moon was shining bright and beams of light shined through the colorful stained glass windows, it was a exuberant misc of shadows, lights and colors as the princess walked through the corridors.
Soon she reached the wing where the guests rooms were localized, remembering the afternoon when she tried to look for him she quickly went up the stairs as his room was on the higher level.
As she approached his doors, each step became harder... the focused mind with one single purpose was getting weak at the proximity to the door. With some struggle she reached the door, and was now standing in front of it, the turmoil in her mind and the questions she so wanted to ask became less and less, she was not sure anymore of what she wanted there... a few moments passed as she just stood there lost in her head. Was then she noticed a presence nearby, in the middle of the corridor there was a balcony, she moved away from the door towards it, curious to who it was there.
The sky was clear, no clouds could be seen... the stone balcony and its handrail were well detailed and carved in spirals and small twirls marked at the minimal details, giving the rail a great artistic touch to it.
As she approached it, the princess could feel a cool breeze gently blowing caressing her skin, and gently stroking her long straight loosened hair.
There was also a boy in nobles clothing, messy brown hair blown by the wind, he had his hand on the handrail and seemed to be carefully observing the the big bright sky, despite the small shadow in the moons bottom tip, it was still a bright night.
They were at the left side of the castle and of the plateau, very high that the ground seemed far away... being so high proportioned an extraordinary view, so far that it extended to the horizon... The boy could see a few elevations and smaller hills now and then through the landscape, but mostly he saw the familiar color shades of crops in the land, many farmlands were near the castle, and the wilds would start very far away... at the far horizon he could see a mountain chain of some sort, very small and very blurry at the end of the horizon.
She stood there for a moment, contemplating, it was the same view she was so used to, but this time it seemed completely different for some reason... a strange calmness took over her, the turmoil was no more, and she calmly approached taking the boy's side at the balcony.
He didn't move or got surprised, just calmly lowered his head and slightly turned his head towards her, he looked directly into her eyes acknowledging her presence, since she remained silent, he slowly turned back gazing once more into the distance.
She smiled and quietly laughed, it was the first time someone outside her family treated her like this, he didn't bow respectfully or eagerly trowed compliments at her beauty he didn't even tried to engage meaningless conversation to maintain her interest in him... He just acknowledge her, and got back to his own thing... And that truly moved her someway, despite her usual calm demeanor that moment was one of the few she truly felt at peace, and the words started to came to her.
<It's an amazing view isn't it?> - She asked very collected while gazing the horizon breaking the silence between them
<It truly is...> - Shortly answered the boy in an agreeing tone
A moment passed, and the silence started to become rather uncomfortable for Eileen, and as she glimpsed at the boy's face gazing the horizon she felt a sense of melancholy coming from him... so she asked trying to grasp what probablywas going through the boy's mind.
- <You came from a far away land didn't you? I can only imagine how different it must be from here>
He gently turned towards her looking her face directly
- <So different you wouldn't even believe...> he said smiling heartedly, but she could still sense the melancholy behind it... <and yet so many things are still the same it seems...>
She felt that the words had a much deeper meaning than she was able to understand... another silence fell between the two....
Mustering all the willpower she could she asked about the topic that weighted heavy in her heart
<What did you think of the duel this afternoon?>she asked very anxiously
<You were fast and precise, opted to a lighter gear while your opponent chose poorly the armor...very smart of you... also you took your time and stroke true into the armors breach... your fighting senses were amazing, a veteran of the First wouldn't be able to do it so efficiently as you> Answered the boy very quickly clearly and deliberately misinterpreting her question....
<I mean our duel...> She corrected with a clear certainty and now even higher anxiousness, she was having trouble to display the calmness she use to have, her hands twitched and moved as she couldn't keep still.
The boy moved around his body trying to get a more comfortable position, looking down and around as if caught red handed, he knew by the way she asked and was behaving that she was well aware now of everything. ”No point in struggling now” He thought to himself, and sigh calming himself down before saying...
<It was a good fight, you were clearly one of the bests I faced so far...> before he could continue she interjected
<Why have you gave the fight away?> She said quickly, her eyes were wide open and her breathing was erratic, this was clearly the core question she really wanted to ask all night long...
<well...> he began taking a calmer stance, after seeing the change in the princess... he felt this was really important to her.
<You see, I had just arrived and I didn't know about your customs, I didn't knew who you were, or what was that duel really about... I wasn't aware of your rite thing, Marriage through battle is really a strange concept to me...> he took a deep breath before continuing
ven you there, you were not enjoying yourself in the duel, seemed like an obligation to you, and I felt you desperately wanted to win... it was strange.... so it seemed really wrong to go all out in those circumstances... Losing to you felt as the right thing to do> Said him with sincerity in his voice and eyes.
She pondered on the words for a while and seemed to began to understand the boy's reasons... But then a question appeared in her head...
<But what about your honor? Didn't you care about the shame of loosing the duel?> She asked puzzled trying to figure that out... to her a warrior should always fight to win, the honor demanded such behavior... and losing would end up in shame and dishonor, as a matter of fact he was indeed ridiculed by the people there... ”doesn't he care?”
He turned completely towards her for the first time, and with a serene voice looking deep in her eyes...