The Princess With The Jet Black Hair

"What's wrong with me? I should be used to this by now. It's natural that people dislike you, Emily! Why are you still acting this way?!" Emily's mind screamed at her as she running around the castle, feeling embarrassed of her sudden leave. She did not know where she was going, but she was just there... Well, going.

After running around for a few minutes, she ended up in the garden. She immediately just went to nearby pillar and sat next to it. She buried her head in her knees as her mind was continuously yelling at her, criticising her for looking like a idiot, who walked out of her declaration ceremony because of a mild panic attack. "How stupid am I?"

Out of nowhere the marriage that Isabella mentioned earlier popped up in her mind.

Honestly, both Beck and herself did not do a single 'couple related activity'. Sure, the two of them literally slept in the same room, but they had never EVER been on the same bed before. It was just as if they were roommates.

"I mean, if Beck really likes Isabella, I should just give in and not waste either of our time. After all, they do look good together."

She did not like Beck... Well, or least, she thought she did not like him. However, somehow, the idea of him leaving just made her a little melancholic and she did not know why.

"This sucks." She cursed under her breath as her head started to throb because of all things that she was thinking about.

She could hear the soughing of the wind as a gentle night breeze ċȧrėssed her cheeks, prompting her to let out an unwilling shiver. She hugged herself tightly for a few seconds and rubbed her arms, hoping to get some warmth. "Good thinking, Emily! Just continue sitting here on this cold night with your drenched dress. Isn't this a great idea? This is one of the best way to make yourself comfortable!"

Of course, like any other normal humans, she did thought of moving herself to somewhere else, but she could not mustered up the energy to move.

So, she just sat there...

Curled up in a ball.

Just then, she could feel something over her shoulders, warming her up a little. In the first second, she thought some animal had dropped onto her shoulders. But, when she reached out for it, she felt a fabric.

Raising her head from her arms, she noticed a black jacket draped around her shoulders. She then turned to her side and saw Beck, who had just plopped right next to her.

The two just sat there for a good few minutes, not saying a single word.

However, all that silence was broken when Beck cleared his throat abruptly, startling Emily. She jolted up and gave him her attention as he spoke, "Are you... Okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She ȧssured as she forced out a smile, "And thanks for the jacket."

"No problem, but what about about your lips? Does it still hurt?" He asked as he reached out for the cut at the side of her lips.

However, before he could reach for her, she grabbed his hand to stop him. "It's fine, I can bȧrėly feel it."

He was a little shocked when she did that, but his shock turned into concern when he realised how cold her hands were. He grabbed both her hands and placed them in his.

"...You're freezing." He muttered, almost sounding a little angry.

Her hands indeed felt warmer in his, so she did not want to pull them away from his. "His hands were strangely warm, oh wait, his element is fire. Well, that make sense. Wow, he is just like a human heat pack."

"Are you feeling better?"

His words broke her train of thought, jolting her up. She looked at him and blinked for a few times, before answering, "Oh, yeah. Thanks."

He then released one of her hands while still holding on to her other hand. Softly, he uttered, "...Sorry."

"What for?" She huffed as she pulled the jacket closer to her, "It's not your fault. Besides, it's just an accident. I'm just being the crazy one who ran out."

Well, that was not totally true, but it was, partially.

"Well, first of all, you're definitely not the crazy one. Anyone would freak out in that situation. Next, I guess I feel responsible for Isabella's actions. That's why, I'm sorry."

She stayed silent for a little while he continued, "Just don't take her words seriously. She tend to say certain things when she's controlled by her emotions."

"Oh, I see. I'll keep that in mi--"

"Look, I don't... actually, you know, not like you." He blurted out suddenly.

"...What?"

She swirled her head to face him. He was staring on the ground, sky, trees and everything, but just not her. The guy was trying his best to not make eye contact with her. She could not see his expression since it was dark, but somehow, she could feel embarrassment seeping out from him.

She did not fully understand what he meant by that. Was he talking about it in a friendly way? Or, was it something else? However, she did not want to overestimate herself, besides, why would someone like her? To her, she wasn't pretty and she definitely wasn't charming as well. Letting out an exhaustive sigh, she spoke, "I feel the same way too. You're a pretty nice guy."

She then looked away again and continued, "So, in five months time, I guess we should just break the engagement off and just be friends. I'm sure you and Isabella will be happy together."

For some reason, her heart ached when those words came out from her mouth.

Despite feeling that way, she mustered up the courage to look at him, "When are we going to discuss thi--"

In an instant, her words was drawn out of her when her lips was in contact with his. His lips was rather smooth and warm.

She felt shocked at first, as the urge to push him away was slowly crawling up her. However, part of her told her that it was alright.

All of this was alright.

Though her 'personal space' did not like it, she did not want to protest, she could not. Her body just would not listen to her. Closing her eyes, she gave in.

There were a good few seconds before he backed away from her as his face flushed a fresh shade of pink. He needed a second to calm himself down, before he explained himself, "...Look, I just don't dislike you and I don't want to break off the engagement just like that."

Emily heard none of those words, she was still stunned.

"Emily?" Beck called out, trying to get her back to reality, "Are you okay?"

"Oh! Oh... Yeah." She flustered as she turned to him. Once they made eye contact, they instantly turned away.

"Oh. My. God. Did he just kissed me? Did we just...?" She felt her cheek got warmer when she thought of that, but she was still confused of what the two of them just did.

"I've never seen Isabella in that sort of way." He admitted as hugged his knees, "She's just like my little sister."

He then let out an irritated sigh, he scratched the back of his head, "I didn't know Isabella will do such a thing. She changed a lot in the past seven years and she had became a completely different person. She used to be one of the nicest people I've ever met. She stood up for others, put others before herself and most of all, made someone feel like he or she was important."

"...But, I guess people change."

Sighing once again, his head dropped onto his laced fingers.

Taking a deep breath, Beck shook his thoughts away and shot to his feet.

He then put out his hand and informed, "The ceremony is going to start soon, you should get dry up. There should be some towels in the infirmary."

She slowly reached out for his hand, but she stopped as something was stopping her.

Well, for some reason, she feared.

"What if I embarrass myself again?"

Honestly, she just wanted to give up and run away from here.

Beck noticed her reluctance and questioned, "You're scared?"

She did not reply, she just looked away.

"I think that's a 'yes'." He chuckled before continuing, "Well, let's think about this way. This ceremony was planned and prepared for this day, it will be bad if you just give up now, right? I know, you're scared of how people might think of you. However, there's no need to be scared. Even if someone hates you, all you got to do is to give your best performance. That would just naturally change the way how others look at you. Sometimes if things doesn't go your way, you just need to make effort to make things go the way you wanted."

She was stunned by Beck's words. She usually cringed at these motivational speeches. But, this time, those words made her felt... Well, something.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he is right..."

Without any warning whatsoever, Beck grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her up, "We should go now. Otherwise we'll be late."

Staring at her, his lips curved up to form a comforting smile.

"Thanks, Beck."

"There's no need to thank me." He replied modestly, "I told you, didn't I? 'We will have your back'."