Remember When

Chapter 24

Registering the emotion that was clearly painted on my face, Mathew swiftly placed his hand on my arm.

"There's more than one kind of love," he spoke quickly. "I'm certainly not in love with her, but I am fond of her... as a friend and companion. My parents seem to think she will make a good Queen."

I looked up at him, doing everything in my power to keep the tears at bay. So he wasn't in love with her. But did he want to marry her? Could he see himself falling in love with her?

Propriety be damned, what did I have to lose at this point? It didn't hurt to ask.

"Do you want to marry her?" I asked quietly, afraid to look at him this time.

One second went by.

Then two seconds.

Three.

Four.

"Come with me," Mathew held out his elbow for me to hold on to. "I want to show you something."

Silently, I wrapped my hand around his arm. It was surprisingly warm despite the bitter wind that was surrounding us. How could there possibly be wind in a forest when we were surrounded by trees?

Unless...

Mathew stepped out of a bush into a clearing and I followed suit. My breath immediately caught in my throat and I gasped.

Before me were fields of hills, the snow having fallen ever so slightly as to make it much more serene and picturesque. Off in the distance, the village twinkled with their candelabras shining through the various wooden windows. Snow trickled onto the rooftops, and it was made even more beautiful by the grand snow laden mountains in the distance. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Even as a child, I thought I had mapped out every inch of this palace and the surrounding grounds, but never had I ventured here.

"Sometimes I come here when I need a moment alone," Mathew said, still holding onto my hand.

"How did you come across this place?" I asked, unable to contain my excitement and awe.

He shrugged, "I guess I got lost and stumbled across it one day."

"It's beautiful," I admonished, taking a tantalizing step into the crunchy snow.

Mathew began following me down the snowy hill, taking the lead at some point or another. As I watched him from behind, I came up with an idea. Giving myself no time to back out, I quickly swooped down and gathered snow into the palm of my hand, shaping it into the form of a ball. It was something that we used to do as children and even though that seemed centuries ago, I figured it was worth the shot.

Lifting my arm up, I launched it toward him and it landed rather ungracefully on his shoulder.

He turned around in a state of shock, his eyes gazing between my uplifted hand and the snow that now stuck to his shirt.

"Did you just throw a snowball at me?" he asked quizzically with a hint of a smile.

"Who, me?" I asked, pretending to look around. "Why, of course not, Your Highness."

Mathew regarded me for a few seconds, an indiscernible look in his eyes, before it appeared as though he came to a decision.

"I'll give you three seconds to run," he mused, bending down to gather the snow in his hands.

I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to do so but my legs began sprinting down the hill as fast as they could muster.

"Three, two, one," Mathew yelled from behind me as I continued to make my way down the hill.