The Lies that Made Us

Amelia

Amelia made it to the palace steps, passing by confused guards before she collapsed against the stone wall that bordered the few stairs. She leaned her head against the cool stone and wrapped her shawl around her tighter. She was so weak and such a fool. Why did she let that woman get to her? She should have given her words back or ignored her completely. It was obvious the princess had too much to drink and that something had been bothering her for some time.

Amelia wondered if the princess had harbored feelings for Brynn for some time, resenting having to marry her husband for the alliance while Brynn had mourned Amelia. It would explain why Melwa had thrown Brynn’s attention to her in Amelia’s face and how much the princess appeared to enjoy telling Amelia she should give up Brynn as soon as she could.

Yes, Amelia should have ignored her or told her off, but instead, she had noticed the whispers around her. She had seen the eyes all on her as she listened to Princess Melwa. She heard her name and King Iver’s, and Amelia knew what they were speaking about. She knew that no matter where she went, there would always be at least a few people who knew her story and some who would always see her as guilty.

She had panicked, feeling the space closing in, the voices magnified in her ear. There were too many people, too many lights, and she couldn’t breathe. All she could do was run. Now, she sat against the palace, feeling the cold breeze across her face, and it hit her tears. She was crying, not just crying, sobbing. She broke down as she felt shame, anger, and despair. It was not fair what had happened to her, not fair that she had spent three years trapped in a tower all alone. It was not right that now she would have to pay by giving up Brynn.

Perhaps that is what hurt the most, knowing that Melwa had a point. Amelia had known for a while she wouldn’t be able to end up with Brynn. She had tried to push it aside and listen to his pretty words of devotion and how they would find a future together, but he would have to choose his kingdom and his position in the end. She would have to go somewhere far away to be forgotten by those in Evalmore and hopefully to somehow forget as well.

Amelia, what is wrong.

She tried to ignore it at first, Gareth’s voice in her head, but the darkness gathered in her, making her power flow through her body. “Leave me alone,” she whispered. “Not now, please.”

You are upset.

“Everything is ruined, everything,” she gasped. “I can’t go on, not like this.”

Did my brother hurt you? I knew he would disappoint you in the end. You are more than he can ever be.

“He could never hurt me. It is you who has destroyed my life. It is because of you I can’t have what I always wanted.”

There was silence for a moment. I can show you a better way, one where you will never be hurt again. You are too much for Brynn and almost everyone else, but with me, your power need never be dampened. You will have to bow to no one.

Amelia thought over her insistence that they find a better way to help the world and Achilia. She remembered Melwa scoffing at her and King Osian’s indulgent smiles as though she were a child. No one took her seriously. Even Brynn probably saw her as something to protect, something broken that needed fixing.

Amelia, you can come to me now. I will make it up to you for all I have done. I will never hurt you again, never force you to do anything. Come help me make a better world.

Words, just words,” she mumbled. “That is all it is. I know what you are, Gareth.” She raised her head to the moonlight. “Leave me alone.”

“Amelia?” A gentle voice caused her to turn. There standing in the moonlight with his dark gray cloak blowing in the breeze, stood Brynn, looking down at her with such concern and love, it made her sobs renew. “My love, please don’t listen to anything she said. She was not in her right mind. I don’t know what her problem is, but she is lashing out for some reason.”

“Is it not obvious, Brynn? She is most likely in love with you, and it sounds as if you had feelings for her at one time. Do you still?”

Brynn sat down next to Amelia and sighed. “I have never felt anything for Melwa beyond friendship. When I kissed her that night, I was even drunker than she was this evening. Beyond that, I was in a terrible place, Amelia. Father was gone. I thought I had lost you and failed you in the worst way. I did anything to ruin myself, and Melwa was the final straw. It was wrong of me to kiss her, and she set me straight very quickly.” He turned to Amelia and wiped some of the tears off her face. “I don’t think Mel is in love with me. Something is bothering her, but that isn’t it.”

“She is right about some things, though.”

“She is not. Please do not start with how we cannot be together. You know I will not accept it. If you truly think that is where we are heading, you and I will leave tonight. We will run from here and never look back. I never wanted to be king, Amelia, and I won’t lose you for the position.”

“You cannot run. I cannot run, not until the world is safe. I feel responsible for what Gareth is doing. I should have seen it earlier. Had I not been so caught up in my own anger and hopelessness, I could have sensed the darkness building within him. I cannot just let him take over our kingdom, this one, or any other.”

Brynn moved some of her hair that was sticking to her face. “None of this is your fault. You have failed no one, Amelia. The world has failed you.”

She took a deep breath as she stared at Brynn. “Then I must see that it does not fail anyone else. All those people out there tonight look to their leaders to keep them safe. They look to us, the Guardians and Light Bearers, to secure their kingdoms. I will do my duty, and you will as well, as both a Guardian and a prince.”

Brynn took Amelia’s hand and threaded his fingers with hers. “We can do our duty and not lose each other. No one gets to say who we are to each other except us.”

“But I heard people tonight speaking of your father and me. There will always be those who believe I did it, Brynn. My past will follow me wherever I go.”

“So, mine will as well. You say that tonight. At the end of this, when we find a way to defeat Gareth and secure Achilia, then you and I will have a future. What it looks like is up to us. We don’t have to decide everything at this point, but I know we have to be together, you and me. I have seen my life without you, and trust me, no one wants that man as their king.”

“Brynn,” said Amelia as he leaned forward. His lips brushed hers.

“I love you, and I know you love me.” His lips pressed against her as his hand went up to her cheek. “Say you you believe me, Amelia. Say you know there is no way but us.”

She leaned into him as she felt his tongue against her lower lip. She parted her lips as he groaned, deepening their kiss as his hands wrapped around her, bringing her against him. He pulled back for a moment. “Please tell me you understand. Say it.”

“There can be no one for me but you,” she whispered as she held his face in her hands. “The only way forward is together.”

He smiled before kissing her again with no restraint or hesitation. She got lost in him for a few moments, not caring about where they were or the cold wind around him. Her shawl fell from her shoulders as Brynn’s hands worked their way up her body until one hand rested on her breast. A noise from the faraway crowd made Brynn draw back.

“There is something you have to see. I know the perfect place.” He stood up and offered his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up, leading her into the palace. It was dark and quiet as most servants had gone out to experience the festival as best they could. She followed Brynn up the stairs and into his room, where he took her out onto the balcony that faced the village.

She went to the edge and looked out towards the village, its lights shining in the distance. “What am I looking for?” she asked, turning to Brynn as he came to stand behind her.

“Wait, it’s almost time.”

She waited in quiet until she saw many of the lights were put out in the village, slowly at first, but then the place became almost dark. A moment later, she saw balls of dim light start to form just over the village. They started out small, looking almost white in the dark sky before they grew, becoming bright silver-white. They slowly rose into the air, followed by more.

“It’s the Guardians sending their offering to the goddess,” said Brynn. He held up his hand next to Amelia, and a small ball of light formed in his palm. “You can add a bit of your own power if you like.” She gently put her hand on his, sending some of her light magic to the orb. It grew brighter before Brynn lifted his hand and sent it into the air.

Amelia followed its progress as Brynn put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He leaned down and moved the shawl she wore, exposing her neck so he could place a kiss on it. “My brilliant, beautiful Amelia,” murmured Brynn against her skin. “Last year, I watched the festival alone from this balcony, dreaming of you in my arms. How could you ever think I could let you go now?”

She watched the lights dance over the village as Brynn kissed her neck, his hand rubbing against her side. She was enveloped in his warmth and scent, feeling more secure than she had in years. So much of her wanted to completely submit to him, not worrying about the present or the future, only focusing on the love she felt for him.

“What are you thinking?” he whispered into her ear before kissing just below it.

“About you, about us,” she breathed. “It all seems so simple when we are like this. Everything feels right.”

“Because it is right.” His hand moved up her side as he pulled her even further against him, where she could feel his arousal. “No one has ever affected me like you. I could never love another.”

She reached, moving his cloak, so she could rub his strong thigh. He groaned quietly as his hand continued its track up to trace her breast over her dress. She felt her body react to him, and she was not in the mood for waiting, abruptly turning in his arms to claim his lips. He backed her up against the wide stone railing, Amelia slipping her hands under his cloak as he did, running her hands up his chest and to his back.

He broke their kiss for a moment to pick her up and sit her on the railing, one of his hands gathering up her skirt as he leaned down to kiss her again. She dropped her wrap completely, letting it fall to the side as Brynn’s lips moved from her mouth, down her neck to the exposed tops of her breast, his hand going under her skirt and up her thigh.

She leaned back with her eyes open as one of his hands went to the back of her dress, pulling at the ties there. The lights over the village were high overhead, some floating towards the palace. She watched them in wonder as Brynn managed to pull her bodice down, the night air hitting her breast before he took one of her nipples into his mouth, his tongue swirling around it.

She made a noise of appreciation and want, needing more and more of him. He moved over to her other breast as his hand went higher, pushing aside her underclothes to brush against her sex. He sighed as his hands lingered against her wetness, looking up at her with a wicked grin.

“You should no better than to argue with me about anything. I have decided you are my future, and that is it. I can be very convincing.”

She laughed slightly. “Remind me then. Show me how convincing you can be.”

He raised his eyebrows at her challenge before dropping to his knees, pulling up her skirt with both of his hands. He stared at her for one moment before he dove in, devouring her without warning. She moaned his name as she leaned further back on the railing, gripping tight more out of the agony and ecstasy his attentions were providing than fear of falling.

His tongue buried deep within her, swirling around until he slowly brought it out and replaced it with two of his fingers. His mouth went up to surround the bundle of nerves at her center while his fingers worked their way in and out. She forgot about the cold air or the fall that could await her on the other side. She entangled one of her hands in his hair, pulling it through until the tie came out, so it all fell free, cascading as a dark curtain around his face.

Her first peak came quickly as she cried out Brynn’s name, seeing the mist of her breath in the air. He did not stop, slowly working her up into a frenzy again until she was shaking, barely able to stay on the railing. Brynn stood up and steadied her, his hands on her hips. He kissed her, his tongue brushing over hers so she could taste herself on it.

“Now,” she practically growled. “I want you, need you.”

He answered by undoing his pants while he kissed her again. He put one hand on her hip and used the other to guide himself, groaning as he slowly moved deep within her. She wanted all of him, for both of them to be so completely consumed that there was no question of belonging to one another. This was not some shallow first love that faded over time. It was a deep abiding connection that strengthened even when apart. She wanted to feel as though she would almost burn alive from his love, be convinced she could not live without it.

Her hands went to his back, and she pulled him against her. He moaned her name as she kissed just under his chin, her fingernails digging into him as he thrust in and out of her. She urged him to go faster, harder. She didn’t need gentleness and consideration. She needed wild abandonment.

Her release came hard and quick as he hit deep within her. She cried out his name, and it encouraged him to go faster, to take her hips and lift her off the railing so he could plunge deep within her. She wrapped her legs around him, and after a couple more thrusts, he cried out her name, burying his head into her neck as he shuddered and moved within her until he finished his release.

She lifted his head and kissed him. “I love you.” She kissed him again. “I love you, Brynn.”

He adjusted her in his arms and carried her into his room, placing her on the bed before fulling take his clothes off. He helped her shed her dress and underclothes and then held her close, his hands slowly roving over her body as though he was trying to memorize every curve.

“Amelia,” he whispered. “There are no words to tell you what you mean to me. Love sounds too simple, too direct for it to encompass what I feel for you. Do not make me try to live without you. I cannot do it.”

She kissed him as her hand came up to caress his cheek. “I will always choose you, Brynn. Always.”

He loved her again, slowly, both of them taking time to savor every moment of the night, hoping they had many more ahead but making sure this one counted if not.