Kapitel 36: Chapter 34
I didn't see Ashton or Samuel for a few days before and after the funeral. We all attended the funeral and I saw him there, but only from a distance. I hate to say it, but I don't feel a lot of sympathy for the king. My heart is broken at the thought of Samuel and Ashton loosing him, but his death alone doesn't bother me too much.
My year of training is over and it's time for me to head home. Mother has written to me a couple of times, telling me that everything is going well.
I depart early in the morning. The previous day I said a temporary goodbye to my new friends. Caleb is joining me on my journey.
Once I've packed everything up, I grab my few bags and head out to the stables where two horses are waiting. Caleb isn't there yet so I just position my bags on the horse while I wait. I can't help but feel a little disappointed that I won't see Ashton or Samuel before I leave. I haven't spoken to him in about two weeks.
When Caleb finally comes out, he gives me a smile.
"Ready to go home?" He asks me.
"Yes," I nod.
We hop onto our horses and ride off.
The two day journey goes smoothly. We don't run into any trouble. As my home appears in the distance, a huge smile lights up my face. I urge my white steed to go faster. My blonde hair whips back in the wind. My heart beats quickly, and the wind chills my arms. Just like that, I'm home.
I jump off my horse and dart into the house.
"Mother?" I call out.
"In here!" I hear her yell from our kitchen.
I walk into the room and smell fresh baked bread. My stomach automatically growls. Mother turns and looks at me. There's a joyful twinkle in her eyes. Her hair has begun to gray and small wrinkles now line her face. I run into her out held arms. We just stand there hugging for who knows how long.
When we finally let go, she asks, "How are you?"
"Great!"
"Iris!" Caleb calls out from the other room. "I'm going to go home now!"
"Okay!" I call back.
I hear the front door shut and turn towards what my mother is making. Seeing my hungry eyes, she prepares a small plate of food for me. I gobble it up quickly. As I'm finishing, I hear a voice from behind me.
"I've never seen you eat so ravenously."
I freeze at the voice. Slowly, I turn to face to bright green eyes staring at me.
"Ashton!"
I hop off my chair and grab him into a quick hug.
"Hi," he says into my hair.
"I missed you."
"I've only been gone for a couple of weeks."
"That's long enough."
"Ahem," I hear my mother clear her throat.
"Oh um, mother, I think you remember Ashton," I say with a sheepish grin.
"Well of course I do! Would you like anything to eat?"
"No thank you," the prince responds. "Iris, my I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," I shrug.
He leads me outside where we sit down on the bench that my father and I sat at many years ago. The cold weather is gone, replaced by the hot sun. I can smell the grass and wild flowers that grow everywhere. The sun beats down on my back as we sit there, not worrying about anything.
"You know," I start. "Before I came to the castle, my father and I would sit here together. We wouldn't talk, just think and listen to the world around us."
He smile lovingly at me and grabs onto my hand when he see the sadness in my eyes.
"Well I wanted to talk to you about something very-"
He's cut off by my mother calling us in to eat.
"Just a second!" I yell back. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Uh... Never mind. Let's just go in and eat."
I give him a suspicious look, but don't question him any further.
After a delicious meal, we all sit around the fireplace. We don't light it though because the weather is much warmer. The three of us happily talk about the past few months. My mother frowns when I tell her some of the more depressing things, and everyone laughs and smiles when we talk about the happy things.
After saying out good nights, mother leads Ashton to a guest room on the second floor. I retire to my old room on the first floor.
I sigh contentedly when I plop down on my bed. I missed being at home. My mother must be lonely when we're not around. Just the thought makes me frown. My mind then wanders to Ashton's conversation with me. What did he want to ask me? Oh well.
The next morning I wake up forgetting where I am. I sit up quickly but lie back down when I remember that I'm at home. I close my eyes at the same time my door bursts open.
"Iris!" The voice says.
"Yes mother?" I ask groggily.
"It's time to get up," she says in a singsong voice.
"But-"
"No buts. I have some stuff planned for today."
"Fine."
I just got back. Shouldn't I be able to sleep? At the castle I had to wake up early every morning to train.
Once I'm dressed in a long blue skirt, a white shirt, and a belt around my waist, I head downstairs.
My mother is carrying a bucket of water from our well, and Ashton is hungrily munching on his breakfast. His face lights up when he sees me.
Swallowing he says, "Morning!"
"Hi."
"So today," my mother starts. "We're going over to the neighbors to celebrate yours and Caleb's homecoming."
Inwardly I groan, but I say, "Sounds like fun."
"Oh and we're leaving anytime around now."
"What? This early?"
"We wanted to spend the day together."
"It's okay," Ashton pipes up. "I'll stay back with Iris. You can go along now."
"Thank you my dear," my mother says giving him a kiss. Then she fake glares at me. "You better be there soon." And with that she leaves.
"So Ashton... I was um... Wondering what you wanted to talk about yesterday."
Ashton looks up at me nervously and smiles. He runs his hand through his hair, and I return the smile.
"Come with me."
We go outside and sit on the same bench as we did yesterday. He looks at me with his beautiful, emerald green eyes.
Taking my hand he says, "Iris, I love you. The first time I realized that was when I saw you hurt. It broke my heart and I wondered why I felt like this. When it finally dawned on me, I was scared that you wouldn't like me back. That day in the garden, you broke my heart. Thankfully, I now know that you think differently. We've been through so much together, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"You will. I'll continue training and someday be a palace guard until I'm to weak to hold a sword anymore," I say.
He smiles and shakes his head at me. "That's not what I meant. I want you to marry me Iris. I want you to be queen and rule along with me. I want you to help me up when I fall. I want you to raise a family with me."
I'm at a loss for words. My heart beats fast, and my head spins at his words. I always knew that this was a possibility, but now it's reality.
"Will you marry my Iris?" He asks.
"Yes," I breathe.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein