Gardenia ~ These romantic flowers are generally gifted to those experiencing a secret love.

   "...and there you have it." I say once I finished retelling my horrid memory. I wipe my cheeks for any remaining tears before leaning back on Maroon's chest," It has been awhile since I have had that nightmare though."

Maroon stayed silent.

" Maroon? Are you-"

Maroon embraced me in from behind, pushing me closer to his bare chest," Jasmine...I'm so sorry you had to go through that...." He said, laying his head on my shoulder," You of all people deserved better."

" I-It's fine Maroon...really." I reply, running my hand up and down Maroon's arm, to help sooth him," Let me get dressed and I'll-"

Once I stepped out of bed, a wave of nausea fell over me. I cupped my hand over my mouth while holding the blanket around me," Jasmine?"

"..M-Maroon...I-I don't feel-" I gagged, trying to hold back my vomit. I raced towards the bedroom corner, were a bucket stood ( in case of emergencies like this) and began to vomit," Aaagggghhh...." I groaned as I laid my head on the bucket's rim.

Maroon rushed to my side, my sheets covering his lower half," Are you alright? Feeling better?" He questioned in a concerned tone, rubbing my back soothingly to help calm me down.

I nodded weakly," Y-Yeah...I'm-" I felt the vomit start to come back up my throat, and I began to puke once more. Maroon stayed at my side, whispering soothing words as he continued to rub my back.

About five minutes later, my stomach be to feel better," M-Maroon..." I question, wondering if he was still there since he had stopped rubbing my back.

" Hmm?" He looked over at me, his hand now creasing up and down my spine," Are you feeling better princess?

I smiled weakly," Y-Yeah...much better...." I say," I-I should be feeling better tomorrow..."

Maroon smiled at me," Let's hope." He then picked me up off the floor, blankets and all, carrying me bridal-style back to bed," Now, let's get some sleep."

He laid me gently under the sheets before tucking himself in as well, snuggling up next to me. Maroon's warmth brought a certain comfort to me as I nuzzled my head into his warm, bare chest," Love you Maroon..."

The next morning, I expected to wake up in Maroon's arms. But when I went to roll over, I felt no one near," Maroon...?" I slowly sat up on my bed, wrapping some blanket around my bare body. I looked around the room and saw no trace of him. Fear shot through, but it quickly went away once I spotted a letter sitting on my nightstand. I crawled over on my bed and reached for it, snatching the letter off the nightstand and began to read:

My dearest, Jasmine,

I am sorry that I am not with you this morning. I overheard some maids talking this morning about how the king will be upping the guards around to palace. And I decided that it would be best if I laid low for at least a week or two, in order to protect you. I know this will be hard for both of us, but I will try to leave you a letter out in the garden every other day. I love you princess and I hope you feel better.

Love,

Maroon.

A light smile graced my lips as my fingers traced down the paper. A sudden pit grew inside me; even though Maroon hasn't even been gone for more than a day, I feel lonely without his presence.

I would have sulked in bed longer if it wasn't for the wave of nausea that crashed over me. I once again raced over towards my bucket and puked into it.

I think I have the flu or something...

-----

It has almost been two weeks since Maroon has left, and I have missed him dearly. My days have been filled with nothing but reading and staring out my window, since my father won't allow me out into the garden. And if that was bad, every morning when I wake up, I get very nauseous and end up puking. But I always feel better afterwards. Plus, I have been having weird food cravings for spicy foods like Chilaquiles Verdes, Thai Chicken Coconut Soup, Spicy Eggplant Pasta, Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles, all those types of food! And I had never been good with spicy food, what in the world changed?!

But luckily, I have Maroon's letters to help get me through these horrid -and confusing- days. He writes to me on how much he misses me, and what he has planned for us when he comes back. And reading these always brings a smile to my face.

"...with love, Maroon." I let out a pleased sigh as I fall back on my bed, Maroon's latest letter laying on my chest. I thank the lord for bringing Maroon to me. Though we met in an...unusual way, Maroon is probably the best thing that has happened to me.

" Princess Jasmine?" I hear Carla call, softly knocking at my door," May I come in?"

I sat up on my bed, quickly placing Maroon's letter into my nightstand drawer before answering." Yes, you may."

Carla slowly crept into my chamber, shutting the door behind her," So, what do you-"

" How long?"

I looked at Carla in confusion," Umm...how long what?" I ask, as I remained to sit on my bed to prevent myself from getting nauseous and vomiting.

" Please don't play coy princess." Carla says, her tone getting more stern," You know what I'm talking about."

Did she find out about Maroon?

That question lurked in the back on my mind," U-Ummm...do I?"

Carla sighed, tucking a strand of her white hair behind her ear," Yes you do." I gave her another confused look," The pregnancy..?"

I looked at Carla as if she was crazy," Pregnancy? What pregnancy?"

Now Carla was the one with the confused expression," You mean...you don't know?" I shook my head in response," Princess...you're pregnant."

My eyes went wide with shock," P-Pregnant...? No...that isn't possible..."

" But it is child. I was here when your mother was pregnant, and she had the same symtoms as you; nausea, vomiting, weird food cravings." She states. I wanted to say something, but she raised her hand up, shushing me," Listen: I do not know who your lover is, nor do I care. But it would be wise for both of you to leave here as soon as you can."

" L-Leave..? But this is my home..." I say, tears brimming my eyes," I can't....I-I just can't...

Carla's cold expression softened once my tears began to race down my face. She walked over to me, bending down and cupping my face with her hands, wiping away my tears," You can, princess. You have grown into the women your mother was; you have her kindness, her love, her compassion. Now, you need her courage." I overlapped her hands with my own. A gentle smile graced her lips," I have had the honor of watching you grow up, and now, I know you must leave."

" B-But Carla...my father...the kingdom..."

" I know my child, but I can't just stand by and watch you get killed..." Carla sighed and pulled away, digging through her apron pocket and pulling out an old photo. She handed it to me and I gasped,"...I made a promise."

The photo was of my mother; she was dressed in some sort of dress armor, and looked around my age. She had her hair braided to the side as she smiled brightly at the camera, hugging another girl who was much shorter than her. The other women had long, white-looking hair and wore what looked like maid attire. She only had a small clip in her hair to hold back her bangs as she too smiled at the camera. It took me a moment to realize, but it was Carla. But the Carla now had short hair, and rarely ever smiled, and if she did, it wasn't nearly as bright at the one in the picture. I stare at the picture in shock before looking back at Carla," You two were-"

" Friends, Yes. We were very close when we were younger. I worked in the palace while your mother was the princess -just like you- and she too got bored of books and reading that she decided to take comfort with someone, and me of all people; I was the silent type back then, much like I am now. When I came to the kingdom and they asked if I wanted my memories . erased, I denied them. I couldn't bare to part with the memories of my past life. And I became homesick, so I tried to avoid people if I could. But your mother..." Carla smiled at the memory, looking down at the photo in my hands," She was so persistent on becoming friends with me -she began to reminded me so much of someone I use to know- that I finally gave in. She would come to talk to me every day, and we would hang out when I was on break. Your mother was such an amazing person....but after she met your father, we saw each other less and less. But she never forgot about me. She would always try to see me when she could, and when she got pregnant with you...she made me promise..."

" Promise what?"

Carla's smile flattened a bit, but remained on her face," She made me promise that..if something were to happen to her, that I would look after you, and protect you...And I have tried my best over the years, but I could have done better or-"

"Carla...." I embraced her in a hug, shutting her up for a moment," You have done such a good job, thank you, so much...."

Carla remained still for a moment before hugging me back," You remind me so much of her...."

I pulled back to meet Carla's gaze," Who?"

She shook her head," No need to worry about it. Now," she pulled away, straightening her dress out," I will try to keep this...pregnancy underwraps and away from your father, but you don't have much time. So you need to leave as soon as you can."

I nod my head," Now I must go. Please try to relax, you are now caring for two, not just yourself." Carla states as she begins to leave," Goodbye princess."

" Wait!" I stop Carla before she exits the room, I hand the photo back to her" Your photo-"

" Keep it." she says, pushing the photo back at me.

" What? No. This is yours and-"

" I want you to keep it. You'll need it more then me." She states, giving me another gently smile.

I return the smile and hug her one last time," Thank you...mom." I see Carla tense at the name, but a huge smile spreads across her face -like in the picture- before she squeezes me.

" I love you so much Jasmine...you might not be my daughter...but I love you as one." And with that, Carla left.

So many thought ran through my mind, but the only I concerned myself was, how will Maroon react to the news?

I shook my head and walked back over to my bed, tucking myself back under the covers. I still held the photo in the hand, and continued to stare at it.

I looked a lot like my mother, I thought, tracing my fingers down the photo. I placed the photo on my nightstand before placing both hands on my belly. It felt warmer than usual," I am pregnant...with Maroon's child," I mumbled; I don't know why, but it brought a smile on my face. I continued to rub circles around my belly, humming to myself as I did while I tried to imagine how he or she would look like.