Flora

꧁Chapter 17꧂

Playing: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- Lacrimosa

Her mind was in shambles, how could she recklessly punch Prince Ben unconscious? Ah yes, instinct. Instinct it is. As she retracted her arm, she stared at the unconscious being of the lad. The sight of it somehow gave her solace and a sense of serenity and it was as if the anxiousness that filled her heart to its brim were suddenly spilled to its last drop upon taking in the sight of him sleeping peacefully.

He looked angelic. She was motionlessly staring at him closely as if to scrutinize every features of him but then soon the sound of Ben snoring suddenly erupted, causing Joanne to jolt up and snap out of her reverie just to finally realize that she was still bare naked. She dashed towards her clothes and hurriedly put them on.

Now that she thinks of it, she had always been the one who keeps running away from him. For what purpose does running away from him serve her? What benefit can she gain by continuing this setup? Her mind was in conflict and she does not deny it although it was an enormous disappointment in her part given that she had always been the collected type with her thoughts constantly organized.

But what she had been suspecting these days was her mind seemingly being in conflict with her heart. Her frigid heart that had been impossible to break into for not a single soul knows how long. If she has a single fear, it would be fully opening herself to someone. She hated being vulnerable. She views the feeling of fear as irksome and with this reason, she never unveiled her vulnerable side to anyone. Not even Lucy whom she considered the closest to her. She was close yet distant to everyone and that only made it even harder for her to deal with what she has been feeling lately.

Scanning herself in front of the vanity mirror, she heaved a sigh she wasn't aware she was holding in and proceeded to trace the room she very seldomly stays in. It was ravishing and she somewhat does not like it. Every room in the said Palace was like a carbon copy of each other and changing something major in it is forbidden to maintain the uniformity it had since it was built all those centuries ago.

As she scanned the room, she traced her hands across the book frames every book that was stored in the bookshelf she had in the corner. Even after all those times she wasn't around, everything was well-maintained and clean as servants would regularly visit her room to tidy everything up from floor to the ceiling.

As she was tracing her fingers, it touched a familiar book frame. It was way too familiar to not be recognized even with touch. Pursing her lips, she grabbed the book and pulled it out of its position at the bookshelf. She dusted it off from the non-existent dust it theoretically accumulated.

She opened it and memories came flashing in her mind. Those were fond memories of her reading bedtime stories for Catherine whenever she feels too scared to fall asleep. Those times when Bahiyyih still weren't by her side to keep her accompanied.
And those times when she was still vulnerable.

As she flipped through the pages, memories of Catherine's exaggerated reactions played back in her mind which caused a small smile to be paint on her lips. The bond they had with each other was indeed worth cherishing.

As she got to the last page of the book, a familiar piece of folded paper caught her attention. From the way it was all crumpled up and how it appeared brownish in color, she could tell that it was indeed old. Without much pondering, she picked it up and unfolded it to reveal what was written, who wrote it, when it was written and for whom it was written to. She read it and her eyelashes trembled upon recalling who it was. Her B.

Dear Ji, I am well-aware of the fact that we cannot disclose any information with regards to our identity in accordance to the rules you've set since the beginning but I just want you to somehow imagine what I look like so that someday, somewhere in this vast and crazy world, if we ever meet each other, you would call out my nickname and I would turn to you with sheer joy and excitement knowing the moment we've been waiting for has finally come. Believe it or not but I am tall, I have long eyelashes, small face and pale skin complexion. Many people say and claim that I looked like a bear but every time I look into the mirror I can't seem to see any resemblance whatsoever. But if you call me bear, I would not mind it because it's you. I know there is an impending consequence with this rule I broke so you can freely pinch my ear when we finally meet, as hard and as much as you desire. I believe that would be all, thank you Ji!