Your Place Beside Me

How could it happen so fast?

It was a casual invitation of the young Gardener to the Duke, to have her show him all her prized collection of seeds and flowers but his lips against hers as the sky turn into a dark color of blue, was not part of her plan at all.

The Duke's eyes were filled with passion as he look into the Gardener's confused eyes. He was trying hard, holding himself back from taking the young woman into his embrace but being alone with her, he had only realized how much he wanted her.

Back in the palace was his cold wife, gambling the kingdom's riches, plotting against him, and taking delight by sleeping with other men. And, the warmth that the Gardener offers is something he have longed so much.

But she seems hesitant to accept his feelings, thus the reason he  was suddenly paralyzed to where he stands, caging the Gardener between his arms as her back lean on the door.

"Your Majesty... I—"

"Don't speak. I don't want this to stop. Even if it seems wrong, I can't help but feel this way for you.", The Duke's deep set of eyes seems to drown all the Gardener's worries away.

"The very first time, I saw you, I saw myself. Even now after spending much time with you, I can't forget how you looked that day."

But still, her mind won't let her indulge in the moment of passion the two of them are about to share.

"Your Majesty, this... this just cannot be! I-I have nothing to offer and you! You are the Duke! And, I'm just... I'm just a lowly commoner.",she looks down the wooden floor defeated.

It was too much for her to take, and things were moving too fast.

Everything just felt absurd... and unreal.

But it was her fault that this happened. She shouldn't have invited the Duke over, knowing her own feelings for him. She feels so stupid thinking everything was under control!

She knew deep down it was wrong for a young woman like herself who isn't married nor engage to invite a gentleman in her home but she just can't resist the urge to spend more time with the Duke, to get to know him more. No matter how complex things get, and even if it is forbidden, it was what her heart truly wanted.

Is it wrong for her to be honest about it?

And, to want to be taken in the arms of the person she so desire right here, right now? Is it?

Inside this small candle-lit room can't it be just a man and a woman who share the same feelings? To make love?

In truth, she doesn't care if he was the Duke who ruled over the land she daily stepped on, and as for the Duke himself, he doesn't care if she was a commoner, one of his people.

  And, it was another truth that for these two souls, all that matters is where their heart belongs and that is, with each other.

Still, refusing to look at the Duke's eyes, the Gardener felt her heart skip a beat as the Duke gently scoop her hand and gently brush it against his lips.

It felt like her heart would stop there and then.

"Milady, you are no lowly commoner. You have already stolen my heart. You are someone whom I would love to share my life with... You... are my person. I know what pursuing this forbidden love means to the both of us. But I can't stop, not now when I know for sure that you want me as much as I want you. If you don't want me to continue pursuing you, and that you don't feel the same, you can say it now, and I will not lay a finger on you. I promise, I will respect whatever it is you choose, for my love... I am nothing but a mere servant of yours right now at this moment. So please, I beg you, tell me what you really want. Because any more of this crushing silence between us, I'm not sure if my heart can bear it a second more.",His voice was gentle and pleading, it was as if his very life was at stake as he beg her for an answer.

    And, once she opens her mouth and speak with her melodic voice, the Gardener have already made her decision. She lean forward closing the gap between them, and as she cup his face with both hands her eyes lay bare what her true intentions are.

"This is wrong but I am as guilty as you when it comes to these feelings, I so desperately tried to hide. Having you near me like this it feels like my heart will burst out from my chest, and if today was my last, I would be happy to spend it with you. I love you, more than anything in this world. I love you...so much...so please... hold me and never let me go."

To love and be loved. It was simple as that.

And, the wheels of fate once more started turning for the Duke who has his time stopped and his heart left in the dark for too long.

"In this life, and the next. I'll always be with you. I love you very much.", And, he took her in his arms, and deepen the passionate kiss they shared once their lips met, hungry for each other.

That night as their forbidden love strips them bare naked,

seeking for each other's warmth,

it felt like a connection being made.

The sound of the Gardener's voice as she call out the Duke's name,

the sweat glistening in the candle-lit room,

and the movements of two figures making love... was enough to fill the silent night,

a song neither of the two lovers will forget.

  The next day the Duke returned to his duties, and as always, visits the Gardener while she tends to the flowers in the huge palace's gardens.

   The small moments they share only made the feelings they have for each other grow deeper. And, it shows on their faces, the happiness that they feel when they are with each other.

It was so obvious that it made the Duchess neglect her duties due to her following the Duke around when he take his morning strolls with the Gardener. It was no surprise that she  knows what is going on between the two for her loyal servant have already informed her about their secret meetings at night.

And, thinking that a mere commoner with no background will take the attention of the Duke from her is preposterous! It was obvious in terms of beauty and elegance, the Duchess has the upper hand.

But the Gardener was more than beauty and elegance. She was kind... and most of all her love for the Duke is true, with no other intention but to love him for who he is. It was something no one, not even the Duchess, can compare to.

Seething with rage and jealousy, the Duchess can only watch as her place beside the Duke was slowly vanishing into thin air, and as more days pass by... it was eventually nowhere to be found.

   And, all this being made painfully clear in front of her, she whisper these words to herself as she look at the man she so loaths ;

"I will make you pay for this! You lowly swine who dare choose a common girl over me! Your deaths will not be enough to appease me, and I swear to my ancestors that what is truly ours... WILL BE MINE!"

Unaware of the danger that lurks behind the palace's walls. The Duke and the Gardener could not hide their love for each other anymore, and the servants that sees their quite interactions at the palace was more than happy to see the Duke smiling again with the young gardener that they too adore because of her genuine kindness towards them.

They thought that they would never see the day again that the Duke smiles brightly, and let out a hearty laugh that sounds like a pleasant melody for everyone to hear. The colors at the palace looked like it returned just in time to celebrate the newfound love of the Duke, and it was all thanks to the young gardener who did not give up her feelings for the Duke.

But it may be fate once again playing her silly games or it may just be the bad luck of the Duke but it seems like whenever he do find love, that love is always, almost immediately taken away from him.

One can even assume that the Duke was bound for tragedy in terms of experiencing true love but all of this was just a piece of a grander plan for the future of Emerald City, and how the forgotten legend came into being.