Page 53 of Tales of Earth and Leaves

“As in, royal prince? With a crown and stuff?” I remained unmoving from the realisation.

“With a crown and stuff yes, but I will only tell you more about it if you manage to follow me. The pixies will eat our food if we don’t get there soon,” he pointed, silently inviting me to join him outside. I did, managing to force my legs to listen to my body again. As I stepped out of the house, he grabbed the side of the door, touching only the carved wood and slammed it shut.

I must have waited until we were about ten or fifteen steps away from our departing point when the questions flooded my mouth and I made no effort to stop them from coming out.

“What do you mean you are a prince? How many princes are there? Are you super important in your country? What about that crown though?”

All of them made him chuckle but he held my hand and placed a few kisses on my knuckles, then turned towards me and cupped my face in big hands, forcing my stare to meet his.

“Anwen, I promised to answer any question you have, and I understand your impatience, but we are soon to be seated and the conversation will be plenty. Seeing as this is our first official courting, would you kindly parade alongside me a while longer and let me enjoy you?”

His shadow-grey eyes pierced me so deeply I almost forgot my name, let alone all the questions I had. I nodded in answer and he smiled, placing his lips over mine. Ansgar offered me his arm to hold onto, an elegant movement which no doubt came from all that prince training and started walking alongside me. We strolled across the forest, his fingers intertwined with mine in our first official courting, whatever that meant.

I followed him blindly, focused on the touch of our hands, the way he walked beside me, keeping his long steps in place so we could both advance the same length at a simultaneous pace. I relaxed into him and took a chance to admire the surroundings.

Ahead of us, a corridor of white flowers opened, growing everywhere and onto anything, they emerged from between the leaves of grass, spiking upwards and sideways from the tree barks, engrossed in the moss and every possible branch, forming a portal meant to transport us.

“Ansgar,” I stopped, my eyes wide from wonder at the beauty pouring around us.

He immediately stopped and took me in, scanning my face for whatever I was not saying. “What is this?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“It is for you. A courting gift,” he raised his palm towards the sea of flowers to further enunciate the movement and unnatural flowing of the petals and aromas.

“You did this...for me?” I pressed, looking around in awe.

His reply came with a proud smile.

“Come, we are almost there,” he encouraged, guarding my hand tightly into his. I followed his steps, noticing that he walked slower to keep up with me. I was constantly slowing down and stopping to take in all the details I missed, even bending to pick some of the flowers and form a bouquet of them in my free hand. Each time I reached for one, he did not comment or protest, letting me enjoy and take in his gift. By the time I formed a bouquet, I suspected he arranged a crown of petals into my hair, both of us managing to do so without letting go of each other’s hand.

We stopped in front of a dome created entirely from intertwined arches, in such a way to form an escape from the surrounding greenery and trees.

Six trees, along with their trunks and branches formed an arch where white flowers of hundreds of kinds continued to pour from the ceiling and grow alongside every space they could find, their leaves and petals interlacing to form a magnificent site, one designed for the two of us. At the centre of this magical snow globe-like-sculpture of trees and flowers waited a table and two chairs, with candles and white roses cradling alongside glasses and a diverse arrangement of food, sorted in several silver platters.

Ansgar kissed my hand for a third time and invited me in, helping me step across the branches and carpet of flowers until I sat comfortably in my chair.

“Ansgar, this is…” beautiful was not a satisfactory word for what I was witnessing, for what he was able to do with his power, for what he had planned and organised for me. “Thank you,” was all I could say, considering the mesmerizing shock I experienced. If only I had a camera to make sure this remained in my memory forever, with the exact details and the intricate sculptures he had created.

Ansgar took the seat opposite mine, while grabbing a glass and pouring white liquid into it. It looked like wine, but smelled of berries. And peaches.

“Why is everything so white?” Even his shirt and trousers of the day turned a white-creamed shade and his hair tied back with a white ribbon. Among all the questions my brain could have produced in that moment, after being in the presence of a fae, doing lots of sexy things with said fae and finding out the same fae is a prince, my brain concerned itself with aesthetics.

“You seem to enjoy white flowers. I wanted to guess anemones this morning, but I see my senses were distracted,” he pointed at the bouquet I settled on the table containing mostly gardenias, calla lilies and roses.

“It's gardenias,” I smiled, “but I love all white flowers,” I added quickly, making sure he understood how grateful and amazed I was with this ‘gift’, as he’d called it. More like the most romantic thing ever done on this earth, by anyone, ever.

He nodded, taking the information in and as I didn’t know what to say, still amazed by everything, I picked up the tall glass and took a sip. The aroma lingered with berries and peach, though it tasted different from any wine I had ever had.

“It is called lily essence,” he told me when I moved a second sip around my mouth, trying to taste the full palate of the drink. “It’s a softer kind of wine, designed for day drinking. Helps one get back to their duties in the afternoon,” he smiled. “As opposed to the sweet drink you shared with me last night,” he felt the need to add.

“It’s funny to see a supernatural drinking cocktails,” I almost laughed, remembering what the girl had stated in the video.

“The fae are not very different from humans, we are the ones who work to keep the realm in health and good condition, we have done so for millennia. Calling us supernatural is not only insulting, considering the history humans have in their beliefs, but erroneous, seeing as my kind are the ones who truly work to keep the natural order of all the things you know.”

“I am sorry, I did not mean anything by it,” I immediately reached for his hand and apologised. “You must understand, this is all very new to me and I am still to wrap my brain around all these events. Is there a ‘fae guide for dummies’ manual or something I can read?”

He chuckled, relaxing instantly, letting the piece of cheese he had in between his fingers slip onto the tablecloth. “What is a ‘fae guide for dummies’?” he threw me a curious expression, and let yet another chuckle escape.

“It’s a book that makes things simple for people to read. It gathers all the information and explains it very easily, so everyone can understand. For dummies,” I explained like it was the most obvious thing. I wondered how much of the world Ansgar actually knows and especially…

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