The Medallion

Nilla: A Princely Meeting

I decided to take a walk when the sun had just risen over the horizon. Morning air smelled so nice, especially when mixed with the scent of the ocean. I wondered what it would be like to find that special love. My parents hardly ever fought with each other, but it left little time for them to spend with me. Not to mention that every time I saw them kiss, I felt a twinge of jealousy for my own non-existent love life.

A sixteen-year-old girl should've had at least one guy she loved in her life by now, right? Not that I never had any boyfriends, it's just that I didn't really love any of them. Not really. They mostly just sort of hung out so people would think she was normal. What is normal anyway? Sometimes, I would get angry by the fact that love couldn't be forced so I could just see a nice someone, instantly love them, and have my own storybook romance.

I walked over the sandy beaches and out into a wooded hill area. I snapped a few pictures of things I found interesting and a few things that didn't just in case they looked better through the lens. I found a nice little grassy hill with a large, flat rock that was shaded by a willow tree that looked like a perfect place for a rest since I had been walking around with my camera for a few hours.

I looked around the lightly wooded area and wondered if I could find my way back. People with a bad sense of direction really shouldn't wander off. They probably shouldn't go diving and exploring caves either but that never stopped me before.

The breeze felt nice on my skin and blowing through my curls. As I watched the clouds drift by through the camera lens, a strange man walked into my line of sight. He was tall and lean but his skin wasn't as tan as the usual sun-baked beach lover. I focused the lens on his face. He had dark brown hair and his eyes were black as coal yet somehow soft and sparkling and deep as the sea. He stood in front of me and simply stared.

I let the camera fall to my lap and watched him back. He turned his head to one side, then to the other just looking at me, examining me, like he was scrutinizing my every move. I started to wonder how long he had been observing me because he emerged seemingly from nowhere. He was mostly very still.

"Hello," he said finally.

"Um, hi," I replied. His behavior was strange made me nervous. "Do you need something?" Clearly help of some kind. What kind of person just stalks someone else?

"No."

He continued to stare at me. It was beginning to make me feel uncomfortable.

"Well then, why do you stare at me like that?"

He turned his head. "I do apologize if I made you uncomfortable. It is just...well you remind me of someone."

Okay. This may sound strange. It was just a guy speaking a sentence, but with the length of his words, I could finally hear the full timbre of his voice. He had a soft way of speaking yet it demanded to be heard and obeyed, regal in a way. I felt like I had to struggle for air.

He took a cautious step towards me and knelt down just out of reach. On instinct, I remained perfectly still. The fear that was starting to build inside me seems to melt away and all that was left was curiosity, perhaps the same curiosity he had about me. I felt like, out of all the people in the world, he was looking for me specifically.

We stared at each other for a few moments. He studied me. I felt like he was examining the way I sat, the way I breathed, the slightest tilt in my head. His eyes darted to my fingers when they twitched in a nervous reaction. It was as if he was staring into my very soul. I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but the way he was looking must've meant he wasn't completely sure either.

As he leaned closer, I noticed a silver-looking chain hanging from his neck, only it didn't sparkle in the sun like silver. It sparkled more like diamonds. I tried to see the pendant but it was tucked into his shirt. I leaned in just a little thinking I could look down his shirt a tad to get a closer look. It was just a reaction. My own curiosity getting me into trouble. He noticed quickly pulled away.