The Rose That Blooms In North
Chapter 28: Destin's

The weather that night in Nordhalbinsel was as cold as ever. No snow falls, but the air is always cold. But somehow, the sky looks darker, unlike the other nights. There were no stars at all, as if a sign of rain. And in the darkness of that night, the full moon shone brightly.

Anna would probably find this situation quite romantic if only she was walking in the rose garden in Schiereiland Palace with warm air and filled with the scent of roses. If only she was still Princess Anastasia with a happy life. And if only this man beside him were not the son of the King who had killed his father, taken his country and destroyed his life. If only Xavier was just a kind-hearted guy he had just met at a party. Unfortunately, it was all just a mere swindle.

"Your hands are cold." Xavier took off his fur coat and put it on Anna. "I've been living in this cold place for twenty-three years. I'm immune to this cold."

"Thank you." Said Anna who was immediately shocked by herself as she should not have said anything.

As surprised as Anna was, Xavier smiled with satisfaction as he managed to get the girl to talk. "Finally you said something. I should have done this earlier. Unfortunately, Eleanor was very smart, so she also managed to change your voice to be very similar to her voice. I can't guess who you really are."

"You don't have to try. I have no intention of revealing who I really am." said Anna, imitating Eleanor's speech with a typical northern accent and not using the formal language she used to speak with Xavier.

"Well, even you can mimic the way he speaks well. I admit it." Xavier then looked down at Anna's feet and realized something. Eyebrows. "Why did you hold him back from earlier? That must have hurt a lot."

Anna turned to him with a puzzled expression on the face, "Sorry?"

Without explaining what he meant, Xavier immediately carried Anna and asked her to take off the high-heeled shoes she was wearing. "Sorry, I almost forgot. Eleanor loves high heels. These vile shoes hurt your feet until your ankles bleed, miss. Even if you're Eleanor right now, when you get back to being yourself, the wound won't go away and it'll still hurt."

"I'm fine. Put me down." Said Anna. More like an order.

"I promise I won't drop you, calm down. In the middle of this park is a chair, I'll drop you there." Xavier said as he continued to walk carrying Anna.

"I'm heavy." Anna said, looking for an excuse to get him down. His face was red, he knew it.

"Who said? You're as light as a goose feather."

"What if someone sees?"

Xavier laughed, "What's wrong? People only saw the Crown Prince holding his fiancee in the garden. Not something unusual. They'll take him. They'll even enjoy this spectacle."

Anna was at a loss for words to get Xavier to take her down, so she just kept quiet and resigned. His feet were very painful after all. Part of him thanked Xavier for knowing that. But most of him felt embarrassed and awkward. In his heart he scolded his heart that was unwilling to stop pounding.

From that position Anna could clearly see Xavier's face. For some reason, it felt as if he already knew that face very well. A face that feels very familiar at the same time feels foreign. From such a close distance, Anna realized how perfect her facial skin, the shape of her face, her emerald eyes, her nose and her lips were looking seductive...

“Ah, sucks!” Anna scolded herself who could be charmed at that face at a time like this. He usually doesn't feel that easily fascinated on a guy—besides Leon. But it just felt like he was being bewitched. Anna thought it must be the influence of the wine she drank. He shouldn't drink too much.

“Who?”

“Nobody... It's just... I'm so ashamed. Can you put me down now?”

“No." Xavier said firmly. "Your foot is hurt and it'll get worse if you wear those shoes again. We will soon arrive.”

Anna took a long breath.

“You don't have to be ashamed of me. Act like Eleanor, aren't you now her now?”

“True. What would the Crown Princess normally do if I was in my position now?”

Xavier fell silent, thinking as he continued walking. “No.” Answer then.

“He's just quiet? Letting you carry her like this?”

“Not. I never carried her like this.“

“Then put me down.”

“Elle never hurt when wearing high heels. Even if he was injured, he could use his magic. She doesn't need my help at all.” Xavier smiled as he saw Anna scowling in annoyance. "Please, we'll be here soon."

His words proved to be true. Shortly after, they reached the center of the flower garden. There are two garden chairs and a small table that is used for drinking tea there. Xavier lowered Anna slowly and made sure Anna was sitting comfortably before herself sitting on the other chair beside her.

"Don't wear these shoes anymore." Xavier said, then threw the shoe away until Anna could not see where it had fallen.

"What are you doing! Those are your fiance's shoes."

"Elle has a lot of shoes. He won't dispute it. I bought those shoes for him anyway. He doesn't usually like my gifts. So let it go." Xavier saw Anna still staring into the distance, towards Xavier throwing the pair of high heels that had already hurt him. "Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility for that if Elle asks you."

"Well, you think so." Anna said while grunting in annoyance.

"In exchange, I have something for you. Think of this as my gratitude because you, Miss, whoever you are, have accompanied me tonight."

Xavier took out a jewelry box made of ice crystals and studded with diamonds. She opened the jewelry box and showed it to Anna. Inside was a necklace. But it's no ordinary necklace.

The necklace was a gold necklace with a red rose-shaped pendant decorated with red gemstones that Anna was very familiar with. It was Anna's necklace that she sold in a market in Schiereiland. Necklace which is a national treasure as well as hereditary inheritance from the mother to her daughter. Anna was very surprised when she saw the necklace that was not supposed to be in Xavier's hands. Anna thought hard how could the necklace she sold in the market in the small village of Schiereiland now be in the hands of Crown Prince Nordhalbinsel.

"I can't take it." Anna said finally after a long time staring at the necklace full of longing.

"You must have a good reason to reject it, Miss."

"The necklace looks very expensive."

"It's not expensive. I bought it at a market. It cost only two hundred gold. But it does look very expensive. The rose symbol used to be highly regarded as a symbol of the Kingdom of Schiereiland. If you don't accept this necklace, then I have to find another gift for you that's better. Maybe I should send the best diamond craftsmen in Nordhalbinsel to make jewelry."

Anna took a long breath. There was no point in him trying to refuse a gift from Xavier. The necklace is his own. Even though he had already let it go. But now seeing the necklace return, Anna feels again the almost lost hope that her life as Princess Schiereiland will return someday.

“Alright, I'll take it.” Anna finally said.

Xavier smiled with satisfaction at hearing that. “Then, I'll put it on." She then put the rose on Anna.

“Let me just—“

“If only wear necklaces, I can do it.”

"Thank you." Anna said as Xavier finally finished putting the necklace on her.

As Anna said that, Xavier saw a collection of purple fireflies flying around Anna. At first there was only one, then five until finally there were too many purple fireflies to count. The purple fireflies illuminated the crystal Tulip garden and the dark sky between them.

“Surprising once..” Xavier said half-whispering as he looked at the cluster of purple fireflies.

Anna looked around. The purple firefly was exactly what he had seen in the lake where he had bathed in the Schiereiland forest a while ago.

“Violet sunburns..”

“This is called destiny.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It was just the belief of the ancients in Nordhalbinsel. They say fireflies with a bright purple-colored light that come suddenly are referred to as the Markers of Destiny.”

“What does it mean?”

“They will appear to tell that person, that event or that moment is your destiny. No matter how you try, even by repeating time, it won't change. I don't really understand what that means either. It's just an ancient belief. There are also those who say that purple fireflies only appear when the air feels warmer than usual. And some others believe that purple fireflies are the spirits of witches watching you. It's up to you to trust which version.”

Anna looked at the purple fireflies. Now that she heard Xavier's explanation, Anna saw the purple fireflies in a different way.

Destinies.

That one word seemed to ring in his mind. What was the fate for him that made the purple fireflies appear at this time in the crystal Tulip garden? What is the rose necklace that is her symbol as Princess Schiereiland? His whereabouts with Xavier in the park tonight? Or was Xavier his own destiny? Anna herself does not know.

“Are they commonly seen in Nordhalbinsel?” Anna asked, trying to shift her mind.

“No. This was also the first time I saw him in person. All this time I've only heard stories about purple fireflies from people.” Then Xavier added, “So... You're not from here, are you? A Lady who is not from Nordhalbinsel.”

Anna's panicking. He shouldn't have said anything that could expose his identity. So he just kept quiet and didn't answer Xavier.

“I do not know many noble women from outside Nordhalbinsel other than Princess Eugene of Westeria and Lady Constanza Smirnoff of Schiereiland who is the fiance of my sister, Prince Ludwig.”

“What? Constanza is the fiancee of Prince Lud—“ Anna did not finish her sentence. He realizes he has just caught Xavier's lure to uncover his identity. But hearing the name Constanza Smirnoff who was his rival once made him unable to hold back.

Constanza Smirnoff is a distant cousin. His father Constanza, Grand Duke Smirnoff was a cousin of Queen Isabella. She was the most popular woman among the upper class noble circles, apart from because her father was a Grand Duke, she was also intelligent, as well, broad-minded and very beautiful with black hair and greenish-blue eyes similar to the eyes of Queen Isabella. But Anna's relationship with Constanza was never good and they were always at odds.

“Oh, so you know him? Then it looks like you're from Schiereiland.” Xavier smiled triumphantly as he could finally begin to find out a bit of information about the girl before him.

“I think Lady Constanza is very famous not only in Schiereiland but also in Westeria and Orient.” Anna's Refutation.

“Alright, just think of it like that.” Xavier said, holding a smile.

For a while neither of the two spoke. The cold night air felt warmer for them. Either because the weather is indeed warm or the effects of the wine they drank before. Anna and Xavier simply looked at the full moon before them in silence. They are busy with their own thoughts. Anna was thinking about how she could end this. He didn't want to be with Xavier for too long in such a beautiful place.

He didn't want to get dissolved in the atmosphere that night. So she thought of her mother and her sister who were somewhere in the Palace, out of nowhere. He also thinks of Leon who might be watching him because Leon has promised to be on guard at the point they have determined not far from the Palace if at any time Anna manages to find her Mother and Sister. Leon will come to Anna's aid when she needs him.

Then suddenly he began to recall the words of Prince Ludwig. Anna wanted to find out what Prince Ludwig meant and find out firsthand by going to the back garden of the Queen's Palace as soon as possible. Although Anna had to admit that she still felt afraid of Prince Ludwig.

"You're thinking of someone?" xavier asked, breaking the silence between them.

"I'm thinking about my mother and sister." Anna answered, again feeling guilty because she was too dissolved in her daydream. He should not be so forthright as that before the Crown Prince of the State who had colonized his Country. Or maybe this is the effect of the wine he drank. Anna was indeed not very resistant to the influence of alcohol which was why she very rarely drank wine at parties. But because of her nervousness earlier, Anna forgot about it and drank quite a lot even though it did not make her drunk. "What about you? You seem to be thinking of someone, too." Reply Anna.

"I also thought of my mother." Xavier looked grim for a moment. "But I don't think about my sister. I have too many sisters to think about so I don't even memorize most of their names." Xavier said casually.

Anna laughs. "That's because you have twenty-two sisters."

"true." Xavier laughed too. "And that number might increase. There may be little brothers outside the Palace whom I do not know of. The number of concubines is also increasing day by day. Until sometimes, there have been several times a pregnant woman who came to the Palace and claimed to be the 'Woman of the King'." Xavier's story while laughing recalls the incident.

"God. That's not true, is it?"

"I don't know either. Me and the King aren't too close so I don't really know the affairs of his love life. But the King also did not care whether it was true or not. She let the women stay in the Consort Palace if the baby was a baby boy."

Anna is thrilled to be able to take Xavier's mind off her late mother and see him laughing again. Although what he said when viewed from the other side was quite sad, but Xavier responded casually even laughed at him as if the irony in his life was something ridiculous.

Then they spent the rest of the night talking about the many things that happened in the Palace. Sometimes they make jokes at each other. Anna had never felt this familiar when she was with Xavier before because their relationship had only been limited to a professional relationship. Either because of the influence of the wine they drank, or the weather strangely became warmer that night, but Anna felt comfortable chatting and joking with Xavier like this. He seemed to forget about everything that had been the burden of his mind all this time, all the sadness and great loss after the death of his father. All of that felt very faint in his memory.

"Oh, sorry if I talk too much. I think it's because of the wine. This is why I don't really like drinking alcohol." Xavier. Then Xavier looked up at the night sky and frowned when he saw a gray cloud cover the sky and there was not a single star in the sky. "It's weird, but it looks like it's going to rain any minute. I'll take you inside."

Xavier was just about to carry Anna back into the palace hall, just then, there was a thunderous roar and a small drizzle slowly started to descend.

"Dam. We're too far from the party room." Xavier finally turned towards the greenhouse located not far from them. He held Anna and ran towards the greenhouse. "Get a tight grip, Lady."

Anna wrapped her hands around Xavier's neck.

The longer it takes, the rain falls the more intense. Arriving at the greenhouse, their clothes were already drenched. Xavier lowers Anna down and notices the girl looking frozen. His skin paled and his pupils trembled like they were frightened at something.

"You all right? Your face is pale." Xavier grasps Anna's frozen hand and attempts to channel her warm body temperature to Anna. "Your hands are icy cold."

Anna didn't respond. Anna shivered violently and her gaze seemed blank.

A larger sound of lightning was heard once more, and the rain was getting heavier outside the greenhouse.

"No!" Anna shouted hysterically and pulled her hand from Xavier's grasp.

Her tears are flowing. He closed both his ears. Breathing violently. Oxygen disappeared from the surroundings. He tried to breathe air, but could not. He feels so claustrophobic. The shadow of that night was now clearly visible before his eyes and his vision began to blur. Anna tried to close her eyes, but the more she closed her eyes, the more the shadowy pieces of the night's events became apparent as if the same thing was happening again before her at this moment. "Don't do that. Please. Don't kill us."

***