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I was a white rose that wilted once upon a time, but was found and brought back to life by a certain person… And now I owe my life to him… I became his favorite. I became the treasure that he kept so dearly. I became his delicate white rose, as he became my protector, my companion dressed in black that I adore…
- Endellion Amaryllis
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[ Endellion's POV ]
The faint sound of chirping birds can be heard slowly emerging from the void of nothingness, and I soon feel a cold hand holding mine. Slowly, I opened my eyes to reality, to see the ceiling of my room, and soon heard the faint but familiar humming of a man’s gentle voice. I slowly turned my head to see if it was him. My companion, who’s always dressed in black with long silver hair, a green-chartreuse visible eye, and that smile that he always wears. He was sitting at my bedside as I heard him chuckling before I felt his gentle hand on my cheek and greeted me with, "Good morning, my dear, Endellion. Did you have a wonderful sleep tonight?"
"And good morning to you too, Ordell," I said, getting up from my bed and moving my long yet messy black hair off of my face to reveal a bright smile. "And yes, I had a good sleep last night. However, I am much more surprised but glad that you came to visit me, despite being this early— but I don’t mind it at all, honestly!"
He then placed his other hand on the other side of my cheek, making me look directly at him. The two of us stared at each other for a moment before suddenly feeling my cheeks squished playfully with both of his hands. "But of course, I had to visit you this early! I missed so much after all. And despite how your hot-headed General was the one who asked me to come here for his usual sermon, oh— Meeting I mean, I would always choose to visit you first, my dear, El."
I blinked twice in confusion. "You’re… You’re not afraid that you’ll get in trouble for this?... What if he punishes you severely for not coming to him early?"
"And why would I be afraid of him, hmm? It’s actually the other way around, my dear… But let’s not try to summon him here just yet…" He said this with a wink before soon standing up and facing the end table beside my bed.
I suppose I worry too much about everything nowadays… I thought before soon noticing the tray of biscuits and two tea cups filled with newly brewed tea. He then grabbed one and blew it a couple of times to cool off before giving it to me.
"Oh! Thank you!" I said, cheerfully as I carefully took the teacup and stared at it for now. "And I do miss these kinds of moments with you as well. I mean, I do miss you every time you’re not visiting after so long. B-But of course, I understand that you’re busy with other things too!... Traveling and getting information from places to places is not an easy job afterall. So I can’t just be selfish and…" I came to a halt when I felt his pale, cold hand on my shoulder.
"Yes, I do apologize for those times that I wasn’t able to visit you. Some other things started to occupy me from time to time. But even so..." he paused, which made me look at him and, surprisingly, seeing his face so close to mine made my face flush a bit. "There was never a time when I never thought about you, my El…"
As he slowly leaned his face much closer to mine, I closed my eyes and was waiting for it… until we heard that familiar man's voice that fully destroyed the moment. "Well, well… I'm not surprised to see you here, of all places, Ordell."
Immediately, we looked at the man who was standing by the doorway to see it was none other than Head General Valerio, who had his usual stern look on his face and had his arms crossed. To be honest, nothing is different from his everyday looks and poses, and this seemed to be the second time this week he did this. He continued, "I didn't ask you to come to the kingdom early for this and you know it."
But Ordell's face hasn't changed a bit. However, I could sense that he was annoyed at him for suddenly barging into the scene. Regardless of how he felt, he carefully rose from my bed and bowed to him, "Of course, of course. My apologies, The Oh So Magnificent General Valerio…" he said, exaggerating the last parts. "... But you know very well that I could not stop myself from visiting her first whenever I arrived here… However, since you just ruined my wonderful morning, yet again, I suppose that we should get going with our agenda for today then... Shall we?"
Valerio stared at him for a while before letting out a tired sigh and turning away from us. "Meet us in the library soon. Double time." were his final words, exaggerated seriously the last words before slamming the door shut behind him.
"Tsk Tsk. He's still as serious and pushy as ever," Ordell said, shaking his head before turning to look at me. "Hmm?... What’s wrong, my dear? Did he upset you?"
"N-No, but he's probably still upset with me for what happened last time…" I responded, curling up and sitting in my bed. "I was aware of what they did to those messengers before, I was aware of their plan of the ambush that night, and I found out what he planned and did to my older brother. Of course, as expected, he wasn’t very happy about any of that at all. He then tried to threaten to kill me, twice too— But I couldn’t just stand there and watch him hurt my family any further… That’s…"
I soon paused, not noticing that he had sat down in front of me until I felt a gentle kiss on my forehead, which made me quickly look at him, seeing his sincere and comforting smile at me. "Do not worry about it too much. I'll talk to him about it during my terrible (and very boring) usual meeting. And after that, I'll meet you at the ballroom, like we always do, alright?" He said with a smile and a boop on my nose. "But please do always remember, my dear, do not skip your meeting with Her Highness out of excitement or for my sake. We don’t want you to get punished too."
"Of course, of course... I promise that I won't skip Her Majesty just out of excitement or just for you. Even if I wanted to…" I mumbled the last part under my breath. "And I don’t believe that there was a time that I ever did such a thing, so there’s nothing for you to worry about. Well, except for the part that Head General Valerio might blow another fuse again if you don’t get moving now... You do remember what happened the last time you became late after a while, don’t you?"
"Ah, yes. That… I remember it very much, dear. But that won’t happen again... Maybe…" he chuckled as he soon stood up and stroked my hair gently. "I can assure you, my dear, it won't be long," he said before beginning to walk towards the door.
He gave me a look one more time, then soon left, which made me stare at the door for a while before I got off of my bed and stretched my arms a bit.
"Right… I suppose I should get this day started too. Afterall, I don’t want Queen Minerva to wait for me that long and get mad at me for that reason too…" I then looked down, holding tightly onto my nightgown. "And perhaps then, I would be able to ask her for help for Alessio, to be able to convince her, and finally be able to give her the two letters. I just need to stay strong… and stay determined, right?"
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[ Ordell's POV ]
Ah, my dear Endellion. You’re still as naive and kind as ever. And despite how it seems that you have forgotten some of what we talked about last night as expected of what I did, you were still able to remember what happened to Valerio and me before? Hmm… It seems your mind and memories seem to be working in different and interesting ways again… I should probably talk to the Queen about this matter later tonight…
I sighed at the thought as I stood outside her door for a short while with a smile on my face before slowly it faded to a thin line. As much as I wanted to talk to her a little more, stay by her side a little more, just another small amount of time, my legs and feet began to walk away and my hand let go of the door.
Right, right… I shouldn’t waste my time any further when the hot-headed General is waiting for me in the library, unfortunately… I waved my hand before my gaze soon began to look around in the hallways as I was heading to my destination.
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Nothing much seemed to have changed since my last visit here, except for the new paintings of portraits, and newly fresh red roses in each of the vases. How ironic… The Queen was never fond of the color red since it reminded her so much of what she did that night. It was the same night when he called me to get rid of some corpse and told me to keep my mouth shut about what happened. Ever since then, they’ve been calling me here to help them with their plan, but honestly, I truly couldn't care less about the differences between our definitions of ‘plans’. I just want to visit my dear, white rose.
"Good morning, Head General Valerio. Did I keep you waiting for too long?" I asked, opening the door without knocking then began to walk inside. Seeing him sitting in a chair with his arms crossed, and the same stern usual look on his face from earlier.
"You always come here late since you prioritize her too much," Valerio replied.
"Can a little visit hurt anyone?... And before we start our agenda for today..." I paused, carefully closing the door behind me before slowly approaching him.
"I heard that you're upset with my dear, El. Did she do something wrong that perhaps bothered you? Or are you just letting your anger out on her? And even dare to threaten her— twice— because of your own incompetence to keep your plans as quiet as possible?” He stared at me in the eyes before letting out a quiet grunt and looking away.
"She didn’t entirely ruin our plan... But I would much prefer it if she still didn’t know and kept her mouth shut about it as well..." he responded and soon… I couldn't help but laugh. Which of course, made him even more upset, and glared at me quickly.
"And what's suddenly so funny?" he asked in the calmest tone he could manage.
I finally stopped and caught my breath for a moment before soon responding, "You're blaming my dear— and sweet El for the reason that you got punished by the Queen?... Have you already forgotten she has the Mind Stone that you gave to her? Of course, she already knew what you've been up to, she just hasn't been saying or doing anything for a while since she was curious as to the reason why you've been doing it. And El gave her the answer and became the confirmation she was looking for. Now as for the plan..." I paused before grabbing a book from the shelves. "As you said, it wasn’t entirely ruined at all… Instead, it even made things easier for us and our goal."
"How? How is this any good news for us at all?!" he raised his voice.
"You're not seeing the bigger picture here, Valerio," I said, sitting down on a chair across from him, then began flipping the pages of the book. "If Endellion will be successful in changing her mind and melting her frozen heart, then the wedding bells will chime so joyously, and it isn't that much of a bad thing... Not only will there finally be some peace in both kingdoms, but you'll be able to gain trust with your enemies as well. And I know you have certain problems with the King, and your dear old friend, Alessio, may still be useful for us... but that's not what you're worried about, isn't it?"
"..." he refused to answer as kept himself quiet, with his gaze looking away.
"I know that you foolishly fell in love with the Queen, that’s why you’re against the idea of the whole peace treaty... It’s written all over your face you know... Though, you should have known by now that every forbidden love always ends very terribly."
"And how is it any different from the two of them? Or for a better example, you and your relationship with Endellion… Hypocrite." he added, glaring at me with crossed arms. "Weren’t you the one who told me that you’ll be the one who’ll take her life once her time is up? Don’t you think that will be more of a tragic ending for the both of you?"
I closed my eyes as I slowly closed the book after hearing him ask that.
"That’s true, and you are right. That is something that I cannot and won’t deny… Every mortal’s life is not infinite, it always has an end. They will all die one day, will all leave you behind, and you have no choice but to just accept it… But we both know that you and I cannot accept it that easily, that’s why we’re finding ways to keep our loved ones alive, for as long as we want, for as long as we can... and for no matter the price."
"Then… you wouldn’t mind it as I do if any sacrifices needed to be made here, just to make such a selfish wish come true?" he asked, his cold gaze meeting mine.
With my mouth in a thin line, I placed the closed book on the table, stood up from my seat, and walked closer to him. "Everything will have sacrifices for this plan of ours to work as intended, that’s unavoidable. But it doesn’t mean…" as quickly as I paused, I immediately kicked one of the back legs of his chair— surprising him— and quickly grabbed him by the collar of his clothes to keep him from falling back, staring him very closely and coldly in the eyes. "...That I would allow you to sacrifice my dear white rose, Endellion, for such a selfish and desperate wish of yours, Valerio Kono."
"You… You already know that Endellion has Alessio’s stone— the stone of Time itself, one of the most powerful stones of the six. With that, we have the upper hand—"
"And you’re going to threaten her again, just for that? Are you truly that desperate that you’re going as far to do horrible things to her when I’m not around, again? Just for the sake of two powerful stones?" I asked in the most calm tone I could manage, quickly interrupting him, gripping tighter on the collar of his clothes for a short moment before soon loosening a bit. I then closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Or is it perhaps… Am I misunderstanding our little situation here?"
Slowly and carefully, I pulled him up but let his chair fall off against the floor, making a loud sound that could be heard clearly as the room suddenly fell silent after my sudden action. "I will just assume that it was all because of the drawback of your stone that was talking to me just now, and it wasn’t entirely you. My sincere apologies."
After finally letting him go, he moved away from me a bit. His eyes glared at me before he scoffed. "You can’t tell me that I’m the only one who is that desperate here, Ordell… We both know that you would also take things too far as I do… Willing to sacrifice the world and everyone else to keep one important person in your life alive."
"Perhaps so… Perhaps you’re right about that as well. But I must admit that I do believe that your desperate and selfish wish for a better future, and for a better world is not for the sake of only one person, unlike mine… And perhaps it’s one of the reasons why I want to help you with your plan in the first place…" I said, before soon slowly making my way towards the door. "And it may be true that we will be seen as the villains in their lives for having such selfish motives, but it’s better than being the blind, ignorant, ‘flawless’ heroes that the people love to praise so, so much… don’t you agree?"
He sighed as he pulled back his seat and sat down. "I believe that we could talk more about the next course of action at another time… You may now take your leave."
"Good, good… I was getting exhausted already with the grim topics we talked about afterall. But fortunately, I still have enough energy to dance with my dear, El..."
I chuckled upon the door but took a quick glance at him, turning my head and smirking, "I do truly hope that you still remember what I told you about threatening or harming her again, Valerio… I won’t hesitate to strike twice next time…"
There was only silence upon closing the door behind me, letting out a deep yet silent and tired sigh while looking down at the floor. I’m not usually concerned about the drawbacks of the stones when it comes to the other holders of the stones, but for her, and especially that tyrant, is something that I need to keep an eye on until I’m able to take her back, and away from him and this kingdom entirely… for her own safety…
After some time, I began walking away, heading to the ballroom where I usually— and will be meeting her soon. Thinking that perhaps once I saw her again, those bitter thoughts and talk I had with the Head General would disappear soon enough. But what I ended up seeing, once I almost got to her, was something that I least expected to see. I kept myself quiet, watching them interact, how he interacted with her for the moment.
She seemed happy, too innocent to see what his true intentions were for her or to be able to see how he looked at her how I could see every time he did. It boils my blood. And of course, once he noticed me, those glances he gave me, just made it much worse. But he knows that— He’s very much aware of that even. And it also got his blood boiling as well, just for the fact that I was now in the same room as him, or just seeing my face.
"Ordell!" she shouted, running to me with the brightest smile. "You’re here now!"
Seeing her in a new light green dress, and that headband with flower accessories on her head. The way she twirled to show me the full look, I couldn’t help but smile and feel mesmerized by her. "Did the Queen help you with that?... How beautiful you are!"
She nodded. "Thank you. It took me a little while to think that you were already here before me earlier… And don’t worry, I didn’t wait for a long time here, and Kareem was there for me to talk with me for a little while." She said, smiling and pointing at him.
"I see…" I responded with a smile while keeping my gaze on her instead of looking at him. There was no need to afterall. "I’m… very glad that he accompanied you… while I wasn’t here yet." Clearing my throat, I then reached my hand out to her. "Regardless… I am here now, m’lady. I hope that our usual dance with me would suffice as an apology?"
"Oh come on, Ordell. You know you don’t need to apologize to me when it comes to tardiness and such." She said, taking my hand as we soon got ourselves into our dancing positions. "And I don’t think you need to ask me every time when we are going to dance, you should already know by now that my answer would always be a "Yes"."
I blinked twice in surprise at her answer before letting out a soft chuckle.
"Oh, my sweet dear, El. You sure always know how to surprise me. But perhaps you’re right, I shouldn’t waste any more seconds than I already did, and let my actions do the speaking more now." I said, smiling at her before our legs began to move, and soon we began to dance. The piano was played, and our steps and pacing were in tune as we both enjoyed such a sweet moment together, after the bitterness the other people gave earlier. The same other people who are now watching us dance, and feeling their own bitterness and jealousy for something they cannot hope to achieve with the ones who they wanted.
Oh, how I wish that this wouldn’t stop. How I wish this moment would never end. That I would be able to stay by her side, like how she would stay on mine. No worries, no problems that we need to deal with, no expectations to fulfill, just blissful moments like this one. A miracle that may be— A long journey may even be for such wishful thinking to happen one day. Such a very selfish thought could be in the eyes of others, but I truly couldn’t care less. How are they any different from me for thinking the same thing…
Oh my dear El, if you only know how much I truly care and love you. How much I would sacrifice for the future we both could have. But of course, how could you see it?
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