STORY: EVERLASTING PART III

“Thank you. But this is as far as we can go.”

“Why? At least please let me escort you till the forest.”

She smiled again and said, “Just meet me here in the morning a week later. See you.”

Instantly, he held her hand before she got on the canoe, leaned towards her face and kissed her gently. She was shocked and became speechless. Without any word, she got on a canoe. Then, she got someone he didn’t know to paddle and they disappeared in the mist of the river.

“I guess I’ll see you soon” A little joy overcame him. She kissed me back!

One week later…

The sunlight pierced through the massive window in Geoffrey’s room and shone upon his face. He winced and then opened his eyes. The feel of delight overwhelmed him as he noticed that today was the day he would meet Guinevere. He took a bath, he got his maids to put on his best clothes and coat and he also had his servant prepare his horse. He rode his horse as quick as possible so he could meet his first love sooner. From a distance, he could recognize a young lady was standing near the river. Guinevere had arrived. He could feel his heartbeat accelerating, his breath was uneven and he couldn’t strain himself to run into her. After he stopped his horse, he got down and approached Guinevere.

“Good morning, dear princess.”

“Morning to you too.”

“So, did you have a good night sleep?”

“Sure, I did. How about you?”

“Well, I dreamed about meeting a young lady who resembled you. In the dream, we had a wonderful time together for the whole day.”

She smiled. “My, my, what a wonderful dream you got there.”

“Yeah, sure. So, may I start our adventure?” He asked her while holding out his hand. Without any word, she held out her hand into his and they walked together, vanished into the woods of Calisto. They talked, they laughed and they were amazed by each other’s attractiveness. Unfortunately, time did flow very fast. It was dark and it’s time to leave. That day, Geoffrey hoped he had the chance to accompany Guinevere home but she wouldn’t let him. Finally, she went home alone, paddling the canoe, without any escort.

The meeting continued. Day by day, month by month, they got to know each other well and they realized something. Geoffrey always thought about Guinevere and so did Guinevere. They were attracted to each other. They felt that they couldn’t live in this cruel world without each other. Whenever the time for them to leave had arrived, they were worried; worried that they might not be able to see each other again; worried that someone might lure one of them; worried that something bad happened to one of them. Unfortunately, their love story had to end.

Geoffrey’s mom, the Queen of the Barlow, realized her son’s odd habit these days. To the Queen’s perception, Geoffrey hardly ever went outside, let alone the territory, he even didn’t pass the castle’s fortress. As a consequence, the Queen ordered her most trusted guard to follow where Geoffrey was going today.

Guinevere was waiting for Geoffrey to arrive when she realized she had a bad feeling just now. Oh God, something’s bad is going to happen. I hope it’s not Geoffrey. Please protect him, God.

Last night, Geoffrey couldn’t sleep. He was thinking about Guinevere when a brilliant idea popped into his head. They had known each other long enough and he was thinking to move on to a more serious relationship, marriage.

Tomorrow, I’m going to propose Guinevere. But I’ve got to figure out a way to propose her so it will be memorable for the rest of our lives. Hmm…

His mind went wild, thinking about the surprise. After he was sure of his plans, he went to sleep.

Geoffrey saw Guinevere standing between two oak trees when suddenly gentle wind blew, making the atmosphere more passionate. Moreover, the wind gently stroked her ebony hair, showing her beautiful face, her perfect cheekbone, her chin and her glistening eyes. Her scent lingered over his nose. The summer dress she wore that day somehow looked gorgeous on her. Guinevere turned towards him and their eyes met. He could see from her eyes that she did miss him, a lot. He was happier than ever that day.

“Hey, beautiful. How can you become even more beautiful since the last time I saw you? You’re making me fall in love with you again.”

She chuckled. By the time she stopped chuckling, she caught the sight of Geoffrey kneeling down on one knee and holding out his hand. He took Guinevere’s hand and kissed it gently. He put on a ring, made of dandelion’s stalk, to Guinevere’s ring-finger. The ring was almost invisible because of the dandelion itself but it fitted her finger perfectly. Guinevere was amazed.

“Guinevere, would you marry me?”