Chapter 22 #3
Each time he caught me, I lingered a little longer…and he never seemed in a hurry to send me away. Somewhere between my attempts to evade him and his quiet determination to catch me, an unconventional friendship formed. And before I realized it, I had stopped coming to steal at all.
A faint smile touched my lips as the memory faded. “No matter how often you caught me, I kept returning…not for the prize, but for you. Just to steal another moment in your presence.”
The words settled between us, soft but undeniable. Emotion tightened in his expression. “You shouldn’t have,” he said.
I held his gaze, refusing to let him retreat into that distance again. “And you should have called for the guards the moment you first caught me.”
“I’ve told you already that you intrigued me.”
“You’re not the only one, or else I wouldn’t have kept coming back once I discovered that even in living in a palace, you didn’t have anything worth stealing,” I said.
“You’re mistaken if you think I only admired the version of you you showed me.
The composed, charming prince.” I held his gaze.
“You told me once that I notice hidden truths that lie beneath the surface, so you can be certain what I see in you is truth. You say that you admired my confidence and purpose, but I saw in you what I was missing—stability, honesty, people who cared about you.”
His breath caught. “That was from a time before the curse. Do you remember…the time we spent together before?”
As if his hopeful question acted as a key, the rest of my forgotten memories came in fragments, as though they’d been waiting for me to rediscover them ever since I awoke: A midnight tea party where he attempted to guess my favorite drink, while I regarded each cup with wary suspicion, convinced they might be poisoned.
The time he saw through my disguise when I infiltrated the palace as a maid—and he accepted the drink I offered with a knowing, infuriating wink.
The quiet warmth of his gaze as he watched me pick a lock, and the teasing that followed when I taught him to do the same.
A torchlit corridor, the echo of my footsteps trailing behind me…
until I turned and found him already watching, anticipation lingering in his eyes.
So many, each snippet brighter than last, like rediscovering stories that had been on a shelf too long, but each time I opened them, tender nostalgia touched my heart.
“The more I remember…” My voice faltered slightly, but I didn’t look away. “…the more certain I am that I can’t lose you. I love you, Evander.” The beautiful words broke free at last—no longer something to be hidden or held back, but something that demanded to be spoken.
“While I’m honored by your consideration…you shouldn’t care for someone like me. Not after everything I’ve failed to be.”
“You don’t get to decide that either,” I replied softly.
A flicker of something fragile crossed his expression. “I tried to let you go,” he admitted, his voice roughening. “I told myself it was the right thing, that if I pushed you far enough away, you’d find someone better.”
His gaze held mine, unguarded now in a way I had never seen before, as if he’d finally offered me a glimpse of who lay beyond the mask.
“But even then, I couldn’t stop wanting you to choose me anyway, as imperfect as I am.
” Something in his expression broke completely.
“I love you. Not the version of you I imagined or even the one I thought I should admire from a distance, but you exactly as you are.”
Tears blurred my vision, even as something warm and bright unfurled within my chest. “Then how can we remain apart?” I asked softly.
In the reverent silence that followed, something in his expression shifted—subtle, but undeniable. This time, when I stepped closer, he did not retreat. There was no distance left between us now. No barrier or hesitation, only him.
I met his gaze fully. “Your resilience and endurance in staying when you could have let go and fighting for a kingdom that couldn’t even remember you has more than proven you to be a worthy ruler.”
His breath caught. “Truly, Mirelle?”
I nodded. “I choose you,” I said, the words quiet yet absolute, leaving no room for doubt.
“Every part of you. The man who doubted himself, the one who wore the mask. The one who tried to push me away to protect me, the one who stayed when everything else fell apart. The imperfect prince with all of his weaknesses and insecurities, and the worthy man he’s become. ”
My fingers tightened around his, anchoring him to something beyond the fractured remnants of the dream. “I choose all of you.”
For a moment, he simply stared at me—like someone standing on the edge of something vast and unknown. Then he smiled.
“And I choose you,” he said, his voice steadier now, filled with something deeper than certainty. “Stubborn. Fierce. Brave. Determined. The woman who refused to give up on me, even when I had already given up on myself.” His hand tightened around mine. “Most of all, the woman I love.”
His tender feelings enfolded my heart. “Then it’s time to return to your kingdom and people, to the life that’s been waiting for you as the true crown prince.”
Taking a deep breath, I lifted the crown I’d been holding as I fell asleep next to him. Evander blinked in surprise, then shot me a puzzled look.
“My crown? Why did you bring that?”
“You’ve never actually worn it,” I reminded him. “You were afraid to even touch it, and then believed that your touch began the curse even though it was my magic that released it. The kingdom is asleep because it is waiting for its rightful ruler.”
“But it’s broken. Will the magic even work?”
I reached in my pocket for the broken piece. “I’ve always been good at unlocking things, not putting them back together. But if I hold this in place…” I fitted the shard into position, noting a muted flare from within the crown. Evander reached out a tentative hand, placing it on top of mine.
The crown flared again, and this time the mangled edges of metal stretched, softened. Like tiny tendrils of vine, they wove together, binding into a whole.
“How?” Evander traced the now-smooth edge with wonder.
I smiled as understanding filled me. “It’s your gift,” I whispered. “You’re a healer, a tender. When you were trapped in the real world alone, you cared for the gardens. You never even realized it was magic that the roses responded to you.”
“But nothing like this has ever happened before, and believe me, I’ve broken plenty of things.”
I turned my hand to entwine our fingers. “I think my magic of finding memories awakened a buried memory within you, a magic you never knew you inherited. When our power combines, it enables something beautiful. Something that can save this kingdom.”
Slowly he knelt before me, head bowed. Holding my breath, I extended the crown and placed it softly on his head. Then I knelt beside him.
When I reached for him this time, there was no resistance. My hand found his and held. He squeezed mine back, his touch real and present, his acceptance.
For a single, suspended heartbeat, everything held…before the world suddenly broke. Not with violence, but with release—like something long restrained finally giving way.
The cracks beneath our feet sealed, the fractures knitting themselves whole. Above us, the stars flared to life, their light steadying, filling the sky with something vast and enduring. Something in Evander shifted, settling back into place as though it had only ever been waiting to return.
The dream around us dissolve around us—not into nothingness, but into something brighter and whole…allowing us to at last wake up together.