confession

Lotus and Bala escorted Seren to her room, Lotus brushed Seren's hair while Seren was thinking about what had happened, how could it happen, why would she let it be? She bit her lip, thinking further, “I don't care,” she thought. “He is but a subject… I shouldn't care… But why do I keep thinking… Maybe because he is right, ”

“Your Grace, don't mind him,” Lotus said, braiding Seren's low ponytail.

“He can be sensitive sometimes,”

“Well… it's not like that,”.

“But… The thing is… I think he is right,” Seren added, looking at Lotus from the mirror.

“He crossed the line, you are a royalty and…”

Seren interrupted Lotus, “I said to be treated normally as equals, yet the moment I get my demand, I take it back.”

“He is right, I only want to be equal with everyone until it is inconvenient to me…” Seren sighed.

“I was being inconvenient…”

Lotus had finally finished Seren's hair and backed away, preparing the bed for Seren. “Your Grace… If I can be honest, both of you lack perspective. If he sees your point of view, he wouldn't have been as harsh, and if you were to see his, you would have been more responsible.”

“In short, everyone makes mistakes. You can rest and sleep for now, and when you wake up, do as you please,” she said, turning off the lights and closing the curtains.

Seren thanked Lotus as Lotus left the room, leaving Seren in the empty room alone with her mind.

Seren lay on the bed, hugging the “black swan” plushie, replaying what Owen had said over and over again. She clutched the plushie tight, her face grew red, and pearls started falling down her cheeks.

She knew she shouldn't care, but she couldn't not care. She made a mistake, introducing an image she could not uphold; worse, she had hurt someone by her ignorance, but how could she have known any better? She was sheltered, and when a noble said something, no one dared to oppose or criticise them.

But she can't leave it there, ignore it, or demand to dismiss it, her words are supposed to be sacred, not because she was nobility but because she was her; she should fix what she had broken. The trust between her and Owen, but she knew she had to fix not only the trust, but also keep her word that she is indeed equal to him and everyone else.

Seren finally drifted to sleep, determined to fix whatever she had broken.

On the other side Owen was going to return to the palace furious, while walking he remembered the king's order to keep Seren safe and to stay by her side, the king was dear to Owen, and Owen never failed a mission that was given to him by the king, so he decided to cool down, to rethink the matter, he was walking in the woods so he decided to rest on a tree watching the sunset go. He thought to himself, “I should have stayed away.” he reached for his pocket and pulled out Seren's hairpin, watching the hairpin. He thought further.

“You deceived me… did you do it on purpose or unintentionally…”.

He raised the pin to the sunset “or… did I project onto you my insecurity. Maybe I never thought of myself being on the same ground as you” he thought, and realised that he had reacted harshly towards her, accusing her of assumptions built on his conception, he put the pin back into his pocket and went to the nearest bank, deciding to cover the rest of the trip, and went to meet Seren again.

By the time he reached the hotel's location it had been midnight, Seren had woken up and opened the curtains and window of her room Owen stood under that the window waiting, Seren was looking around until she noticed a figure, she squinted her eyes and stretched out her body trying to figure out who was the suspicious figure, till she noticed the hat, Owen raised his head and there eyes met, Seren ears got red and quickly she pulled back and stood next to the window. Next to Seren's window, there was a tree that rose till it reached Seren's room. Owen climbed the tree, sitting on the branch that stretched out to her room. Seren was still standing next to the window, thinking about how she would apologize, how she would face him, and why she was blushing. Questions flooded her mind, and she decided to peek to see if Owen had gone, but to her surprise, he was sitting on the branch of the tree waiting for her.

“Snap!” She turned her back quickly. Why can't she face him? Why can't she say something?

Owen was confused by her attitude, She was acting a bit different. But wasting no time, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of coins and threw it on the frame of the window. Seren’s startled by the sound, turned quickly.

“I was harsh on you…” Owen said.

Seren looked at the pouch and opened it, surprised.

She looked at him with a soft gaze and a smile, “You were indeed harsh…”

hesitant, she paused a bit then continued, “But, if you have pricked me with a rose thorn, then I have stabbed you with a dagger…”

“I am s… I didn't mean to build an image I couldn't keep…”

“I …am… sorry…”She gripped the window frame.

Owen rested on the branch log, crossing his arms. “No, you didn't know better, I could have patiently taught you…”

“But I made an image of you based on my insecurity…. I projected it onto you…”

“Will you forgive me… My Highness…”

Seren, while still gripping the frame of the window, pushed herself forward, jumping out the window, and throwing herself at the tree, but her hand missed the branch. Owen quickly caught her hand and pulled her up, helping her to sit properly on the branch, both of them looking at the moon shimmering at night.

“Of course I forgive you, but I actually wanna thank you, you opened my eyes. I didn't notice my hypocrisy,” she said, drifting her eyes from the moon to him, smiling.

“ Well, it is my job to keep you sunny,” he snickered, putting his plum on his face.

“But I must say you also taught me, you taught me to better myself…”

“Thank you,” Owen smiled genuinely, a smile that made his dimples appear.

Seren stood up, “Owen, I want you to stay by my side, keep me in check.” She then turned, facing her room.

“It would be an honour to stay by you,” he said, smiling, Seren jumping back to her room.