Story by Victoria O.

Once upon a time, on a gloomy Sunday morning I found love in the village of Paradisus. I lived here all my life but I was always inside the palace. My parents thought that if I went outside someone or something will hurt me. Our castle is located in the farthest edge of town. It’s surrounded by the beautiful view of mountain ranges and pine cone trees covered in the fresh white snow. The towers and walls of the castle climb up along a rock wall. As stunning as the view might be my world was painted black and white, this was until I met him, my life quickly became full of color in this empty palace. My father hired his mother as our cook and he stayed to help around in the garden. My mother called me down to the meeting room to greet the new workers who were going to be living with us. As soon as our eyes met, I forgot about the whole world around me, my stomach got butterflies, my palms got sweaty, I didn’t react what so ever and what made me even more nervous is that he didn’t either. Ever since that moment my gray skies became blue, the air turned a little lighter, and the sun seemed to shine brighter. I would see him every morning when I took my walks around the garden during the spring time and when it was winter he would take me on his horse around the woods. When I was with him I felt like a child again, I felt free and loved. He was truly my knight in shining armor. We were only sixteen but he still managed to open up my world and make me discover who I really am. He accepted my flaws, my past, and my decisions but, most importantly he accepted me. One night he climbed up to my balcony and gave me a scarlet rose. Despite the darkness of the night his eyes shined brighter then the stars. He stood close enough to me till the point I could feel his warmth. He lifted up my chin and staring straight into my eyes he said these words, “A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and a man cannot live without love.” (Muller, Max) I blushed and the dark night was surrounded by silence, looking in the sparkle of his eyes he reached down and I felt his lips touch mine. My body burned with passion and desire until I heard my door open. I looked over to see that my mother was starring blankly at us. She told me she was disappointed that that’s not what proper ladies do. I already knew she was going to tell my father. The weeks passed and he still didn’t approve of our relationship. My father believed that I should marry a prince not a peasant but I knew what I had with that boy was something special. If he accepted me for who I really was then I should do the same, I didn't judge him for the amount of money he had in his pocket even if my parents did. I was locked in my empty room ever since that day, sometimes the servants secretly brought me letters from him. He told me how much he loved me and that nothing would tear us apart. One cold winter night I heard a rock hit my window, I looked out and I saw that my prince finally came to save me. I sneaked outside of the castle where he was standing. I could feel the breeze of the cool air running through my hair. He just stared at me, his eyes were full of sorrow it. I asked what was troubling him but he wouldn't respond, he wouldn't even glare at me. He slowly reached into his pocket and took out a nicely folded note, he took my hands gently and cuffed the note in them. He told me to read it when he was gone I didn't ask him why because something deep inside me told me not to. He pulled me closer to him, His touch accelerated my senses. I wanted him to hold me forever, I wanted to spend eternity with him, I didn't care what other people thought, he was my other half. I could feel his muscular arms around me, basking in each others embrace, we searched for our lips to touch showing the deep passion we felt for each other knowing this could be the last day to prove our vigorous love. “I love you” he told me as he walked away and disappeared in the dead air. “I love you too” I responded. I didn't stop him, I knew what he was doing the right thing. I opened the note and read “The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving. I didn't want to destroy anything or anybody. I just wanted to slip quietly out the back door, without causing any fuss or consequences…” (Gilbert, Elizabeth)