Chapter 8

he gentle spring breeze fluttered the leaves outside her window. The morning sun beamed upon her restful slumbering face and she became aware of the light showing through her eyelids. Slowly coming to her senses, she stretched her arm across the bed to touch him, to ensure herself that it was all not a fanciful dream. She realized that he was not there and she slowly opened her eyes.

Her focus, blurry as it was, found her attention on the candle that had burned down to a nub on the bed stand. When she became fully aware, she sat up and stretched. A soft fragrance filled the air. Her hands came to rest by her side and discovered a soft sensation that she could not recognize. Her vision clearing, she looked down to discover that she was completely surrounded by rose pedals. A smile crossed her lips as she grabbed a whole handful and lifted them to her nostrils.

The fragrance made her giddy and she giggled to herself. She closed her eyes and the memories of the evening prior began to flood her memory. Her head leaned by uncontrollably as she recalled his touch, his smell, his face. She fell backward onto the bed laughing happily.

Composing herself slightly, she looked around the room. She noticed that the clothes she had worn the night before were neatly folded and placed atop the chest at the foot of the bed. She would have never done that herself, she thought as images of her clothes strewn across the end of the bed suddenly entered her mind. She looked beside her and upon the pillow there she discovered a single white rose. A piece of parchment was wrapped tightly around the stem, neatly folded and held tight by a golden band.

She picked up the rose and removed the gold band by sliding it off slowly. It felt heavy in her hand and she examined it more closely. The craftsmanship was amazing as she studied it. She flipped it over to discover it was a gold rind, encrusted with many gemstones that sparkled in the morning sun light. The gems adorned the sides of a center piece depicting an ornate dragon and upon closer inspection she discovered the entire ring was the depiction of a dragon, it's tail making up the entire band. "How ingenious," she thought to herself. She placed the ring around her middle finger, because it was so large, she had to hold it there with her other fingers to keep it from turning on it's own.

She then turned her attention back to the rose. She brought it to her nose and breathed in it's fragrance. She removed the parchment and unrolled it. Before she even began to read, her eyes wandered over the penmanship. "What remarkable handwriting, mine looks like a child's," her mind bantered as her eyes drifted across the page. She began to read quietly to herself.

"Mi'lady," the note began, "my heart has never known such joy as it does at this time. If only I could find the words to express how I feel at this moment, they still would not begin to touch the very essence of the emotion." Her eyes closed for just a moment as she felt her heart skip a beat. "I regret having to part while you were sleeping, but I could not bear the thought of disturbing such beauty. I could not find the strength within me to do so. As I sit here gazing at your golden slumber, I find it very difficult to leave you without letting you know how I feel."

Her eyes began to cloud over. She paused for a moment, knowing to herself what was coming next and not wanting to believe it was so, "if you truly feel the same as I do, meet me tonight at the bridge just outside on the village. Meet me at midnight and let me know that you care as much for me as I do you. I shall be waiting for you."

Her heart began to leap in her chest as she felt a tremor of elation lift from her shoulders. She was wrong, and finally, she had found him. The one who made her quiver with every word he spoke and excited her with every touch. It was then that panic set in. "Who is this man, I don't even know his name, why am I so attracted to him, so much to do, what am I going to wear?" The questions flooded her mind and she leaped out of bed, totally forgetting she had no clothes on.