The Crown

Epilogue - 5

Epilogue Part Five
A Great Love

The next five months couldn't have been better for the Eaton family.

Tobias and Beatrice had worked through all their problems and were now anticipating baby number three's arrival any day now. They had redone the entire nursery - re-painted the walls, added brand new furniture, and took out one of the bassinets. It was now ready, and so were the King and Princess.

As for their already present children, Nathaniel had spent his days huddled in the library. He seemed to be flying from book to book ever couple of days. There wasn't anywhere he'd rather be.

And then there was Kristine who still couldn't completely adapt to this new life of hers. In fact, for the first few months, she had turned cold and distant from everyone, especially Aaron. She hated how she felt towards him - how she wanted him to wrap his arms around her at every moment of the day. But then again, she found him to be the only person she's ever met to completely understand her in ways no one else ever could.

Same thing went for Aaron - he had been holed up in this castle since he was a child, his time always consumed by tutors and an expensive education. Then he met Kristine, and it was like something inside of him wanted to know her better. Of course, he had always had a small crush on her, ever since they had first kissed when they were two.

He hadn't forgotten, but she had.

After breakfast today, Kristine and Aaron found themselves speaking to each other and walking towards the garden. She unloaded onto him her problems about being a princess, mainly that she couldn't have a sense of adventure anymore because people were always watching.

"You know, back in my little town, I had this neighbor - Cain - and we always got ourselves into trouble." she chuckled, remembering the memories.

Aaron frowned. "If he was such a bad influence, why spend time with him?"

She smiled. "Because he opened my eyes to something I had never thought of before..."

Kristine grabbed Aaron's hand and pulled him so that they were running through the grass. With her other free hand, she lifted the front of her dress to prevent her from falling as they raced. Finally, they got to the steep of a hill where Kristine smiled bigger and began to climb it. She reached the top and motioned for Aaron to come with her, but he shook his head.

"Are you crazy? Get down from there!" He called out, worried.

Kristine shook her head, running a hand through her hair. Her smile couldn't get bigger as she admired the view in front of her. Realizing she wasn't going to listen to him, Aaron took off his blazer and joined her at the top of the hill, admiring the same view she was looking at.

"It's fun to be crazy, Aaron," she looked at him. "It's fun to be impulsive, daring. It's fun to live."

"Living usually requires one to be alive, Kristine. Let's get down from here, okay?"

She shook her head and took both of his hands, looking into his eyes before drawing away. "I used to live in a little quiet town, full of little people, living a boring, provincial life. And then I came here, and everyone is still so provincial!"

"I'm sure once you get used to-"

"No, Aaron. I wanted so much more than that provincial life, and now that I'm here...I want so much more."

"What do you want, Kristine?"

Her hands let go of his. "I want adventure in the great wide, somewhere," a low chuckle escapes her lips. "I want it more than I can tell..." Kristine's head lifts as she turns and looks into Aaron's perfect eyes. "And for once, it might be grand, to have someone understand that I want so much more than they've got planned." she finishes, motioning to the castle.