Page 34 of A Valiant Prince

“Uh huh,” she murmurs.

“Why’d you wait so long to tell me?” I ask her.

“Tell you what?” she replies as she props herself up onto her elbow.

“In the Bahamas, why did you wait so long to tell me everything?” I rephrase.

“Oh…” She trails off and looks down at her hand. “I-I…didn’t know how to,” she stammers. “I mean, how do you tell someone you just met that you have this whole secret life, and you stumbled upon a plot to kill them and oh yeah, by the way, you’re a prince.” She raises an eyebrow.

I laugh. “Well, when you put it like that,” I say.

She shakes her head and her hair falls in her face. I reach out and slowly tuck it behind her ear. Her eyes seem bright in the dim light of the bedroom.

“Would you have believed me if I told you on day one?” she asks.

I shrug. “I…don’t know. I mean, maybe, but I guess by the end of that week…well, I still had a hard time believing you,” I admit.

She places her hand over mine. “I imagine it must be very hard for you,” she says. “I know we’ve talked about it a bit, but I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you for not shying away from all of this and for stepping up to the plate. You’ve shown strength and bravery that many would be unable to muster when faced with such revelations.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I guess I figure that there are only two options. One, to slink away from all of this and hide myself from the world. Or, two, face my future full-on and don’t look back,” I say.

She nods and snuggles back against me. “Do you remember when we first met?” she asks.

“Sure, you came aboard, and—”

She giggles, stopping me. “No, not that. I mean when we first met…Eddie?” she says, using my childhood nickname and something about that tugs hard on my heartstrings.

I cup her face and look at her. “I’ll never forget it,” I whisper to her because it’s the truth. “You were the first girl that I ever loved.” I don’t add that I’m hoping she’ll be the last one too. I’m suddenly jolted by that thought. I love her. I’m not falling for Anna, I fell for her years ago.

She bolts up and looks down at me. “You…loved me?” she asks, her eyes wide.

I grin. “I may have had the world’s biggest crush on you,” I admit.

She grins, a giant toothy grin at my admission. “I had a crush on you too,” she admits and settles back down into my arms.

“You were on the overlook rock,” I say.

“I was?” she asks.

“Yes, you were sitting up there, looking out over the valley. You were so small and by yourself. I was surprised you were able to climb up on it,” I say. “And then you turned when you heard me, and the wind picked up and blew your hair around. You looked like an angel.”

She giggles. “You looked like a puppy that hadn’t grown into his feet yet,” she remembers.

I laugh. “I suppose that’s accurate,” I say, recalling what it was like to be a gawky pre-teen, all arms, and legs.

“You were so cute,” she says.

“Cute, eh?” I ask, and she nudges my rib. I grin into the darkness of the room.

“I guess we’ve both changed a lot since then,” she considers.

“I suppose we have,” I agree.

“Goodnight, Eddie,” she says, and I can tell she’s grinning when she says my nickname.

“Goodnight, Suzy,” I reply, using the nickname she had at camp.

She leans her head on my chest and pulls her knees up so that she’s in a tight little ball at my side. I turn my head and plant a kiss on her hair, and she sighs a contented sigh. I lie awake for a long time after her breathing has slowed, trying to figure out the puzzle of our lives.

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