Serendipity: We Bloom until We Ache

※{Think Of Me}※

(Emmeline POV)

"You are here Milady! Just in time, the flowers will bloom soon." It only got more addictive, every single time he would speak. That voice of his could calm the seas if he sang to a raging storm.

"Please accept this." I extend my hands, holding the flower for him that I had picked earlier. My nerves had taken over in a way I would have never allowed them to but perhaps it was the moonlight or the mixed scent of all these exquisite flowers around me or both even, compelling my heart to take this moment without much scrutiny tonight.

His wide eyes first looked at the flower I held and then his gaze travelled all the way to meet mine.

"This is for me?" he asked with a surprised expression over his face.

"Yes it is." I sounded a bit too assertive for someone brimming with timorousness. As he reached for the flower, his fingers, soft as a shadow brushed against my hand ever so earnestly. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary but right then, that little touch left my skin burning.

 He cupped his hands and held the flower so gently as if it were made of glass while he observed it before closing his eyes to take the scent in. The rings he wore glimmered in contrast to the dark blue petals that showed through in between his fingers. This was not the first time I had caught myself admiring his beauty but it certainly was a first that I let myself accept that I am captivated by it far more than I should let myself be.

"Milady, I too have something for you." He finally spoke, with a smirk that for unknown reasons appeared triumphant.

Before I could ask any questions, he pulled out a flower from the front pocket of his overcoat. A blue iris, identical to mine, he held it out to me to accept which I ardently did. Myriad questions and thoughts trailed through my intellect in that moment; as much as my eyes wanted to look at him, I kept them lowered knowing his were fixed on me. I did not know how to react upon meeting his gaze but I certainly did not want to make a fool of myself.

We had unanswered questions between us, but why did this feel pleasant? Why did receiving the same thought feel fulfilling? It might be mere infatuation but it is a strong one. The kind I had only heard of in the stories that all of a sudden made a lot more sense than what they did before.

Blue iris is the flower of choice within the empire when one wants to know whether their feelings are reciprocated, as it bears the message 'Think of me'. 

A local folklore that is a part of a much famous love story that involves the ancestors of the Emors, Duke Edwin and Duchess Aurelia says: 'One who bestows upon their subject of interest a mere floret of the blue iris with true feelings, it shall come to bloom in the most spectacular ways.' I do not know if he knows the connotations the flower holds, most likely not but my heart fluttered at the prospect of it nevertheless. I too am unsure as to what led me to confer him this bloom; I am well aware of its meaning and maybe this is the only way I can relay it to him.

"Milady, we have a lot to talk about, however the flowers are about to bloom just about now." He said, his fingers pointing upwards to the moon that was right overhead. I looked over to where the plants were and it appeared that the buds had begun to glitter faintly like crystals in a dark cave. It reminded me of what he looked like the first time i had seen him, on the stage on the night of the feast.

He moved his right hand forward for me to hold. I was reluctant in that moment, still diffident about what to make of it all. If these feelings still linger when the potency of a fairytale moonlit garden has faded and we see eye to eye in broad daylight, what will I do?