Unexpected Proposal

The moon is shining very bright, lighting up the sky. I am on my balcony gazing out at the moon's beauty when Alexander appears at my side.

"What are you doing out here? I missed you," I say smiling and grabbing his hand in mine.

"Did you really," he whispers against my cheek.

I nod my head when I see a smile appear on his face.

"Good," he says, pushing me gently up against the wall of the balcony.

"What are you doing," I whisper.

His lips are on mine in seconds. My arms wrap around his shoulders while his entangle around my waist. His kiss is so soft at first but is getting more and more intense by the second. I look up into his eyes to see the wanting in them. Pulling him closer, I tighten my hold and kiss him with as much strength as I can. He starts kissing my cheek before traveling down the side of my neck. I am about to relax in his grasp when I feel his teeth graze my skin. Immediately I push him away and run back into my bedroom. I try to go to my other home but the stupid door will not open.

"No, this cannot be happening. This is not real, I am dreaming."

I feel Alexander's arms wrap around me as he bends down to touch his lips to my neck once again.

"No, please stop. There is no way it is true. She never said the other fairytale stories were real too. It cannot all be true, please tell me I am right."

"Shhh, Celeste. Everything is going to be okay."

"No, I refuse to believe this is happening. Please, I am not ready to face the truth just yet," I whisper.

'It could not be true, can it? If the story my mother told me when I was younger about being a princess was true, then did that mean all of them are? If so, then do I really not know what I am?'

"You will like it. We can finally be together forever if you just accept who you are completely."

"I cannot do that, not yet."

He turns me around in his arms and smiles. My eyes widen as his teeth turn suddenly long gate into what look like fangs.

"Too late my dear."

His lips touch my neck suddenly as I go limp in his arms, feeling the worst pain ever in my entire life.

My eyes snap open and travel around the room in a panic until I notice that I am lying in bed.

'Oh good, it was just a dream.'

The hair on my arms stands up as I get the feeling that I am not alone. My eyes look over to rest on the person who happens to be laying next to me on the bed. A smile appears on my face as I see Alexander laying next to me, fast asleep. I gently get up off the bed, not to wake him and leave my bedroom. Walking the hallway, I do not plan to talk to my parents until I find myself standing right outside their bedroom door. I knock on the door before opening it and stepping inside. I find my mother out on her bedroom balcony, admiring the view of the land. I take a deep breath before walking over to join her.

"Mom, can you answer something for me?"

"Of course dear, what is it?"

"Can you tell me who I am?"

"What do you mean? You are Celeste Audriana Dragomir, princess of Andalucia."

"I meant can you tell me who I will become if I follow the path that has been laid out for me, if I choose to believe all the stories are true?"

She leads me over to the couch against their bedroom wall and sighs as we sit down.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"If the one story you told me when I was younger is true, does that mean they all are?"

"What if they are all true? What would that mean to you?"

"If that is true then what happens if I lose myself? I do not want to lose who I am right now," I explain to her.

"You will not lose yourself. The transition you will go through once you choose to follow your path will not change who you are. You will have to follow the path given to you but you may choose how soon ."

"So I do not have to right now then?"

"No, it is said that you will finally accept your destiny when you meet the one you are meant to be with and you both will rule happily over the kingdom together."

"Is Alexander the one from the prophecy?"

"Your father and I believe so but give it some more time and you will know."

"Do you think I should go through with it and marry him?"

My mother frowns, "do you want my honest opinion?"

"Yes please."

"I have never told you this but your father and I had an arranged marriage."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes and just like you, I was against the whole thing from the beginning. I did not want to get to know your father at all but I had a duty to uphold to my family and so we got married. Would you know it, I actually fell in love with him as time went on and we now rule the kingdom together in happiness. That is all I want for you."

"Huh, so you are saying that I might actually come to love Alexander over time?"

"Yes, you never know for sure but I would just give it some more time. Your father and I see the way you look at him now and we can tell that there is something between you two. It is okay to be scared of your feelings but you should have the courage to admit it to him."

"I guess I can do that then, thanks mom."

I wrap my arms around her in a hug, glad she is back in my life.

"Anytime you need help or advice, I am always here."

After talking to my mom, I decide it is time to go back to my bedroom and face Alexander. Surprisingly, my bed is completely made and Alexander is not laying on it or anywhere to be seen. I walk out on the balcony to see if I can see him somewhere outside but all I see are the flower gardens. When I go back inside, I notice there is a note suddenly taped to my vanity mirror that was not there a second ago. I walk over to see who it is from.

Audriana,

I am sorry for everything that I have put you through. I would like to make it up to you if possible with a surprise. Please follow the trail of rose petals and I will hopefully see you soon.

Truly yours,

Alexander

I look down and sure enough, there is a trail of red rose petals leading out of my room.

'Were those there earlier? Should I follow it?'

After staring at them for a while, I decide it is not going to hurt me to see where they lead to, plus it would be rude if I did not show up. I go over to my closet to try to find something to wear. When I open the door, there is a short sun dress hanging neatly in the very front of the rest of my clothes.

I take it off the hanger and slip it on to notice the red tint glistening in the sunlight from the balcony. I quickly put on a pair of black heels and decide to follow the rose petals before I change my mind. I follow them out to the big flower garden where they suddenly stop right at the stairs of a giant gazebo that is centered in the flower garden maze. I look up just in time to see Alexander coming from the other side of the gazebo up the other set of stairs, wearing a fitted black suit. He smiles and walks toward me with a rose in his hand.

"I see you had no trouble finding your way to me. Here, this is for you," he says as he hands me the beautiful red rose in his hand.

"Thank you. So what is all of this? Why leave me a note and have me follow a trail of rose petals, which was kind of cheesy if I might add."

"You did not like them?"

"No, I did. It was super sweet but still a little cheesy. So why did you want me to come all the way out here?"

"Well, first let me start off by saying how lovely you look in that red dress. It is my favorite color after all."

"Thank you, it was the one that stood out to me the most when I was looking at my clothes."

"Good choice."

I watch as he takes a deep breath, realizing only now that he looks super nervous.

'What is going on in his head right now?'

"There is something I would like to do; I have spoken with your parents about it and we all are hoping for a positive outcome."

"What are you talking about?"

He gently takes my hand in his and leads me up the stairs to stand in the center of the gazebo.

"I know we have not known each other for long but that does not matter to me because I feel like I have known you my whole life. I feel a bond with you and want to keep it. I have never felt this way toward anyone in my life and I do not want to lose what we have or could have in the future. I am completely crazy about you Celeste."

I watch as he takes my left hand in his and gets down on one knee.

'There is no way this is possibly happening right now, right? Am I really seeing this? Is Alexander doing what I think he is?'

My eyes shoot up in astonishment as he continues on.

"Celeste Audriana Dragomir, I promise to love and cherish you for all eternity, will you do me the honor of marrying me," he ask as he pulls out a black velvet box from his suit.

He opens the lid and I gasp in shock. Inside the box is the most beautiful diamond ring I have ever seen in my life.

'Is this real right now or am I still dreaming? Is he really proposing to me?'

I look up into those gorgeous brown eyes of his to see if he is being serious. All I see in them is love and admiration which tells me that he is definitely not kidding.

'I really do like Alexander but is it love? Should I give into my feelings for him and see where this goes for us? What if he is the one from the prophecy, then why would I say no if it is my destiny? Am I ready to admit my feelings and give us a chance?'

I place my hand on his cheek and smile.

"Yes, I will marry you."

He takes the ring out of the box and slides it on my finger. In the next second, I am picked up off the ground and spun around in his arms. When he finally sits me back down on my feet, I pull him in closer to me. I raise my eyebrows at him and smile, pleading him with my eyes to kiss me right now. He reads what I want from the look on my face and closes the space between us. Our lips connect fiercely as a shiver runs down throughout my body. When we separate, I rest my forehead against his. I notice we are both breathing very heavily. For some reason, I am always tired from kissing Alexander passionately.

'I wonder why that is? Could it be the build up fire between us is too much right now or am I just still tired?'

"You look like you are about to pass out again. Are you okay?"

I am about to tell him yes that I am okay and he should not worry until I feel very dizzy all of a sudden. I try to maintain my balance but fail. It feels like I am falling and then everything goes black.