True Love's Kiss

 The world around him turned to light. He tried to hold on to it, but he couldn't feel it anymore. It was as if everything around him exploded into tiny sparks, making it hard to see or feel anything.

"Nanna..."

He couldn't even hear himself say her name as he moved his lips and his throat strained. But his heart kept beating furiously. That had to be a good sign, right? Even when he closed his eyes, the light around him was inescapable, unbearable, until everything was plunged into darkness again.

"Ah... um..."

He wanted to open his eyes, but before he could, he was caught in a whirling embrace.

"Paltar!"

It was undeniably Nanna, even if it didn't feel like it. There were two human arms around his neck, and long human hair tickled his nose. He couldn't say anything in return, and instead closed the embrace himself.

She smelled different. Before she didn't have much of a scent, but now she smelled both fresh and floral, reminding him of apples and roses. He smiled to himself.

"What have you been doing?"

She pulled away from him for a moment to look him in the eye accusingly. She was even more beautiful than he had imagined. Long, silver hair framed her face, and her eyes were the color of the vast, vibrant ocean. Through luck or magic, she was wearing wearing his original dress, the one he had thought lost. It was short and unfinished, but still, she made it look good. Quickly, Paltar turned away before the blush crept further up his head.

"Hey, I asked you a question!"

She jabbed a finger at his chest. Was that her substitute for biting him? He couldn't help but chuckle.

"This is not funny!"

She kept nudging him while he tried desperately to hold back a laugh.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," he finally gasped. "But we did it! You're free!"

For a moment, she stared at him, with her finger still outstretched as if she was frozen. Then, she quickly put her hands on her hips, straightening up. 

"Of course I am," she huffed, "I knew you could do it."

He looked at her. She didn't look him in the eye anymore, focusing instead on the gate next to him. He quickly looked away as well.

"Um... I guess an apology is in order," he finally muttered. "I'm sorry for kissing you out of the blue."

"Huh?!"

"I mean," he hastened to say, "it was part of Reod's plan! He said I had to confirm my choice with a kiss-"

"Ah, so what? You don't have to-"

"And, well, I couldn't quite ask you if it was okay, so I'm sorry-"

It was difficult for him to make out what he was even saying. The thoughts were rushing through his head, causing chaos while his mouth hurried to say them all. Suddenly she slapped him lightly on the forehead.

"Don't apologize for that," she said, her head as red as his own. "Unless... it was so terrible for you..."

"What? No, no, you misunderstand..."

He took a deep breath. How could he talk to her? How could he say what he wanted to say? It was even difficult for him to tell what he wanted to say.

"No, I mean, you didn't have to force yourself to..."

"I-it's not like..."

They both let out an exasperated sigh at the same time and fell silent. Nanna still didn't look at him, while Paltar did his best to avoid gazing at her as well.

"I mean," he began, "I didn't want to do anything you didn't want to do. So..."

"It's not like we could have talked about this before," she said. "I mean, I thought I was never going to see you again!"

"What?"

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Anyway," her voice grew louder and more confident, "you don't have to apologize. In fact, I'm really grateful for your help."

Then, she fidgeted with her dress.

"And... it's not like... I mean, I promised you to be my royal tailor, right? If you don't want to, we don't have to..."

He took a deep breath.

"That's not what I meant." He looked at her. "Nanna, you are my dear friend."

It felt as if he couldn't breathe. His heart was beating too loudly.

"But... I can't deny that there's more."

There. It was out, but somehow he didn't feel any lighter.

"I don't want anything to change between us, if you..." He stopped.

Nanna's head was red and she seemed on the verge of crying. He held up his hands.

"Really, it won't change anything between us," he continued quietly. "I can be your tailor and that's all. You don't have to worry."

"Worry?" She hissed at him. "Paltar, you're such an idiot!"

"Huh?"

"How about you ask me about my feelings before you assume something about me?"

He blinked at her. "I'm sorry?"

"You better be!" She puffed her cheeks. "Because I like you too!"

He blinked again.

"What?"

Somehow, her face managed to get redder.

"You heard me," she hissed. "I. Like. You. Are you daydreaming again?"

Indeed, it felt like a dream to him. For a moment, he could only blink and stare at her. What, if she pinched him, he would wake up? No, that couldn’t be. After all, she had already pinched and prodded him the moment she had hands to do so. This wasn’t a dream. This wasn’t a dream!

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "It's hard to think right now...

"When is it not for you?" She huffed. "That's why you have me."

Once more, she poked him lightly in the chest.

"You don't have to worry so much,” she mumbled.

It was cute to see her so bashful. When she had been a goose, it had been a bit more difficult to tell, but now, it was almost as if she was an open book. He smiled at her, and she looked at him with her big, blue eyes.

"I guess you're right."

They were close. Maybe too close.

Then slowly, ever so slowly, she closed the distance between them.