Paradise

Cassius stood on the other side of the blue rose bush. He wore a white shirt, a silver jabot, and a black coat with silver borders. His breeches were grey.

The daylight filled the horizon, and a few butterflies danced upon the various flowers. The sound of trotting horses and people speaking as they passed by reminded me of where I was.

He locked eyes with me, stared at the ground, and then back at me.

“Prince Cassius,” I said.

I batted my eyelashes, then smiled.

“Janessa. See you soon.”

My smile vanished at once.

“Alright, dear Prince.”

I turned away and twirled around. Skipping away, I heard him call my name once again.

“Janessa, will you come with me?” he asked.

Heehee, I knew he couldn’t resist me.

“Certainly,” I said.

I grinned widely and followed him as he took the path to the hidden garden. There was a loose stone in the way that I had to jump over.

The tall trees stood far apart as their leaves had fallen. Of course, not a single blossom was in sight, and the pavement was a bit slippery.

We entered, and he walked straight to the bench.

“Sit down, Janessa.”

“Alright.”

Surely he means the bench and not his lap. Ugh.

I sat beside him, and he wrapped his arm around me at once.

His familiar scent, I feel like I’ll always want more of it.

“Janessa, I do not know what I should do,” said Cassius.

“Regarding what, your highness?”

“It has only been a month since they arrested Amelia, yet Evan is already throwing a grand celebration. He claims he hasn’t seen one in a long time. How can he be so indifferent?” remarked Cassius.

“Yeah, that does sound awful. I never figured that the princess would be such a traitor,” I said.

“Me neither,” he said.

He closed his eyes and breathed heavily. Upon seeing this, I also closed my eyes gently.

“Janessa, my love. Will you ever love me back?” he said.

Maybe I should tell him how I truly feel.

“Cassius…”

“No matter, as long as you are by my side, everything will be fine,” he said.

He let go of me and pressed his lips on my neck. I closed my eyes at once, bit my lip, and my face burned.

“Janessa, you look so adorable when you blush,” he said.

“Oh? T-thank you.”

Instantly, my face heated up even more.

“Cass… Cass…” I whispered.

“What is the matter?” he asked.

“You look so handsome today.”

“Oh? Much thanks! Hmm, something tells me you will learn to love me soon enough. Well, if you will excuse me, I have important matters to attend to.”

I still don’t know what makes him think I don’t love him. It must be that wretched lost soul.

He got up, and I said, “Bye!”

“Goodbye,” he said, turning to look at me.

As soon as he left, my lips curled into a frown. Then, I touched the part of my neck that was still fresh with his kiss.

Oh my God, I’m so lucky!

Soon, I rose from my bench, wiped off the dust from my green, long coat, and walked out of the garden. There were butterflies in my stomach.

A few hours later, the dark sky became cloudy, and I looked out my window.

“What happened?” asked Comet, buzzing over my head.

“Nothing.”

“No need to lie to me,” she said.

I looked overhead, and she had her hands on her waist as she landed on the windowsill.

“Right… What should I do? The prince seems so upset,” I said.

I sighed and continued to stare outside, where every tree was bare.

“Hmm… Whatever can we do? Oh. Oh, I know! Why not surprise the prince?” said Comet.

“That isn’t a bad idea. But what kind of surprise? He has everything when it comes to possessions. I doubt any gift would satisfy him,” I said.

“Hmm… you are quite right. Oh, yes! It must be something that money cannot buy.”

“Right. What might that be?”

Comet paced back and forth on the windowsill, hands behind her back. Her wings folded to a close.

“Ah. I overheard you singing in the shower. Why not sing a song for him?” she said.

“Sing a song?!” I exclaimed.

Memories of me in idol or popstar cosplay costumes popped up in my mind as I would sing with my guitar. It was Kevin who recorded all of those performances. Whenever I would stop, he’d tell me to keep going, because it was the only rule of the universe.

A single teardrop gathered at the corner of my eye. Part of my vision blurred.

“Janessa? Janessa?” she asked. “I did not know that singing makes you so nervous. If so, we can think of something else.”

“No, Comet. You’re right. I should let go of my past and sing a song for my dear prince,” I said.

I wiped the teardrop away, and Comet stared at me with widened eyes. She tapped her foot on the ground a few times.

“Huh? You wish to let go of your past? You can be honest with me. I will not tell a soul.”

Comet grinned, and her hands were on her waist. She landed on my hand, and I shook her off. My eyebrows furrowed as I pouted.

“What?!” she said.

“Comet, you literally told everything to the other pixies! Even stuff like the weird things I said in my sleep.”

“You did not tell me to keep those a secret.”

“Whatever. I have to practice my singing,” I said, walking away.

I took my coat and put it on. Holding on to my pendant, I summoned my staff and entered the sewing room.

Cutting out a navy blue and white dress with a headbow, it wrapped around my figure, and glitter dusted all over. A microphone and guitar appeared in a case.

I returned to the main dimension and said, “Allison the Idol. This’ll work. She has the same hair color as mine, no need to wear a wig! Well, I’ll be back.”

“Wait, I will accompany you to the music room,” she said.

I shut the door behind me before Comet could follow me.

“Forgive me, Janessa! Please,” she said.

I opened the door and found Comet on the floor.

“Come on,” I said, picking her up.

Locking the door, I searched the castle map on my phone. The music room was in the center of the third floor.

As we walked up the stairs, a woman with black hair, in a woolen, red dress, stood next to Prince Evan, and the King grinned from ear to ear.

“Oh, she must be his betrothed,” said Comet.

“Shush, quiet, Comet,” I said, walking up the stairs.

“Is that Janessa?” asked Evan.

“It must be. Who else has that shade of hair?” said the King. “Janessa, come here. You must greet your future sister-in-law.”

“Of course,” I said, turning around. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

I curtseyed and she did the same.

“The pleasure is all mine,” she said, smiling brightly.

“Well, if you need anything, you can ask me,” I said.

“Of course. How splendid.”

I smiled in return.

Hopefully, this sister-in-law turns out normal.

“Where might you be going?” asked the King.

“The music room. I want to practice my singing.”

“Oh, how splendid. May we listen to it?” she asked.

“Umm, I haven’t practiced in ages,” I said.

“Very well,” she said, losing her smile.

“You can listen, I can’t guarantee it’ll be any good,” I said.

She smiled once again and said, “Well, Evan, what do you say?”

“Anything for you, Catherine.”

She clasped her hands together, and her eyes lit up.

We all headed in the direction of the music room when Cassius said, “Sorry, I am late. May I inquire where all of you are headed?”

“The music room. Your future fiancée will perform a song for us.”

“Oh, is that so? How lovely. I will surely join you,” he said.

We all walked up the stairs and opened the door where there were two musicians seated. One had a cello, the other had a violin.

“Is it just me, or is your C completely out of tune?” one of them said.

“Probably.”

Their eyes followed us, and they rose from their chairs, bowing profusely.

“Sorry, your majesty, we will be on our way,” one of them said.

“No, stay. Our Janessa wishes to sing a song for us. Some instrumental support is required,” said the King.

“Oh, alright, your majesty.”

The pair stopped bowing and exchanged glances. Sitting down, I unzipped my guitar from its case and began tuning it with an app on my phone.

I began singing, “Never would I ever think I would meet someone like you… Not even in my wildest dreams…”

I looked around for affirmation, and they all smiled and nodded.

By the time I reached the chorus, to my surprise, Cassius joined me in singing. We harmonized in sync.

I didn’t think he’d have such a wide vocal range!

I went on to the next verses, and Cass joined me for the chorus again. When we finished the song, they all clapped and said, “Again! Encore.”

This is paradise. It must be. Nothing can turn my mood sour now! I'm glad I chose to sing again.