The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Chapter 46

Rapunzel's POV
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My heart pounds with anticipation, my whole body tight with nerves as I stare out into the darkness before me.

"He should be here by now, right? He said he'd be here..." I mutter to myself quietly, trying my best not to completely freak out.

I tighten my hands on the balcony railing. But he should be. At this point, at least. I've been standing here for what feels like hours. He should be here by now, if he hasn't bailed on me, that is...

Think of the positives, Rapunzel. Worrying does you no good.

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment. Once I feel the tightness of my chest loosen partway, I release the breath before repeating the process. After the second time, much of my stress and negativity have ebbed, and I find myself no longer feeling on the verge of panic.

"He's just a guy. You really need to get a hold of yourself," I admonish myself, absently beginning to pace on the long balcony. I hear a small padding sound and pause, turning as Pastel jumps towards me across the ground. I smile softly, bending down to scoop him up in my hands.

"I'm going crazy over some stupid guy, aren't I?" I laugh, beginning to realize just how ridiculous this whole situation is. I've never felt this way before for any one else; ever. As princess of Corona, I've had plenty of princes and nobles seeking after my hand in marriage, even some with fairly decent looks and personalities. But they all lacked one, tini-tiny important detail that I just could not overlook.

What they want isn't love, or anything as honest as that. They want to become king, especially if they are pretty far down the line and have an extremely slim chance at taking the throne.

In other words, I'm just an advantage to them, a means to get them to where they want.

So every time, I've refused without fail.

In a way, I have had a lot of experience when it comes to meeting guys and having "dates" (if you can count balls as dates). Those guys have, rarely, but occasionally, been late too. But that, for some reason, isn't helping me here at all.

"But why not?" I ask myself, sighing deeply before turning again to lean against the balcony railing. Pascal scurries up my arm and nestles into my shoulder, and a smile turns up the corners of my lips as I reach up to stroke his head.

"He'll come. I know he will. And everything will work out just fine." I reassure him, even though, in reality, I'm really only reassuring myself.

Returning my attention back to the dark night before me, I release a deep breath through my nose. Even if he doesn't end up showing up, which would be so incredibly rude, the night won't have been entirely uselessly spent. It really is beautiful, Corona. The whole kingdom is warm, light glowing within various houses down on the cobblestone streets below my balcony in the castle.

The houses and streets aren't my favorite part of these nights, however. I lift my eyes upwards and take in the breathtaking sight of the stars, stretching for miles and miles across the sky. They remind me of lanterns floating against a dark night, illuminating the space around them together to form an entire blanket of twinkling lights that those who love the sky have the chance to truly appreciate.

The breeze picks up, blowing my brown hair around my face. I shiver involuntarily, bringing up my arms to wrap them around myself.

It's beautiful, but I don't know how much longer I can stay out here...

"Cold?"

I jump, gasping as my eyes wildly search the space in front of me. Pascal squeaks and jumps as well, landing on my shoulder only to hide in my hair.