As the sky burned raspberry and mango, I wove through the trees, avoiding any thorns that might snag my dress and pierce my skin. Finally, I heard the soothing sound of a waterfall and the gurgling stream, with that soft familiar neigh of Moonstone as he nibbled on some grass. But someone else was there with Keith as he sat on a rock and skimmed pebbles across the stream, so I hid behind Moonstone and spied on them. I recognised the glossy wine-coloured hair and cackling laugh that sounded like a cat was having an asthma attack. I watched Francesca squeeze Keith's shoulders and stroke his hair as Keith shuffled away slightly, then I heard him say, "Stop it."

Francesca giggled. "You don't have to pretend you love Lavinia, you know."

Huh? What's this I was hearing?

"I'm not pretending. A man's heart simply cannot pretend,"  Keith responded.

Francesca moved closer and whispered something right in his ear, but Keith just pushed her away again and snapped, "Get away from me!"

"But Keith, I love you! I always have!" Fran cried desperately, her voice trembling.

"So? I don't care," Keith replied bitterly. "It doesn't affect me."

I watched Francesca's face crumble into tears for the second time as she stood up shakily and said, "Well, stop wasting yourself on Lavinia because she doesn't even love you!"

"What do you mean?" Keith asked. "Of course she loves me."

"Has she ever said so?" Fran asked harshly.

"She doesn't have to because I see it in her eyes," Keith said.

"Look into my eyes, Keith! Can't you see I love you, too?!" Fran cried. "Can't you see that I'm the one for you? Lavinia doesn't care for you. She loves that stupid jester! She always has!"

"That's not true," Keith whispered. "You are telling lies, Francesca!"

"Then ask her yourself!" Fran cried. "She's right there, you know!"

Uh-oh. They saw me. I crawled out from behind Moonstone just as he let out a fart and I covered my nose. "What have you been feeding him? Honestly!" I exclaimed, distracting them from the topic at hand.

"Lavinia!" Keith gasped. "You came!"

"Uh, of course I came! Ollie told me too," I replied, immediately regretting I mentioned Ollie at all.

"Ollie? Why would he tell you?" Francesca asked.

"Because he is a loyal subject," I replied calmly. "He was merely doing his job."

"Well, I did tell him to tell you to come," Keith said. "But I don't know why Francesca decided to come as well."

Francesca chewed her nail sheepishly and said, "I must go now..."

"Yes, you must," I said with my hands on my hips, glaring at her until she retreated, stumbling on a tree root and muttering under her breath.

I turned to Keith. He shuffled over and patted the space beside him on the rock, inviting me to join him. We simultaneously sighed and glanced at each other awkwardly, waiting on the other to begin the conversation.

"So..." Keith said finally. "Ollie told me everything."

"Yes, and I am truly sorry," I said, taking his hands into mine. "Please forgive me."

"I do, Lavinia, so worry no more," Keith smiled. "I trust you as much as I love you. Always remember that."

For some reason, that only made me feel worse because I couldn't even trust myself. Here was a person giving me his heart and saying to take care of it but I was afraid one day I would break it. This applied to both now in this world and the other world, assuming I ever returned, of course.

"Thank you, my prince. You are as loyal as you are kind," I said.

"And handsome," Keith added.

 "Maybe," I laughed. "Anyway, Ollie is as annoying as he is my friend, so don't you worry, Keith."

"Well, that clears things up a bit, doesn't it?" Keith said. "No more misunderstandments."

"Is that even a word?" I asked.

Keith laughed. "I think love has affected my vocabulary."

"Oh, I was wondering why you're such a half-wit," I joked. Oh no, now I was as cheesy as Keith! I guess love did funny things. Which might explain why I kissed Ollie...though that purely was by accident, or so I kept telling myself.

🌺

I saw myself in a hospital room, wired to a million different machines such as heart monitors, drips and oxygen tanks. Keith sat beside me in a chair with a crutch tilted on the wall and his foot wrapped up in a plaster. He was clasping my hand tightly and bowing his head, looking sad until a nurse walked in and told him to leave. Keith kissed my lips and stroked my cheek before grabbing his crutch and limping out of there.

Everything faded to darkness as the nurse checked the clipboard and adjusted the machines. I changed sides in my sleep, my mind tumbling into another bottomless hole of endless questions that could not be answered.

🌺

The next couple of days the castle was alive and buzzing with preparation for the wedding. And I was in the midst of it all, being the royal bride, of course. I hardly saw Keith, and I was constantly surrounded by servants that looked a lot like people from my high school. I found out Francesca was the daughter of the Duke, and that Hugo was supposed to marry her, but he had his eyes on Sally Anne. And Francesca wanted to marry Keith, of course, but that was never gonna happen. And Ollie was still trying his best to impress me by singing songs, cracking jokes and attempting to get me alone, but these days it was almost impossible.

Every night I'd dream of the other world and everyone I knew worrying about me being in a coma and never waking up. Even Ollie and Sally Anne were concerned, and Francesca was spreading rumours, as usual, about how I tried to commit suicide or something, and everyone believed her. I would see flashes of Keith by my side in the hospital room, crying, whispering my name and refusing to leave me. If only I could tell him all that was happening to me now and explain to everyone that I was trapped in my dreams and I couldn't wake up.

If only a true love's kiss was all I needed to wake me up, just like in a fairy tale. But if that were the case, then wouldn't I already be awake again? Keith probably kissed me every day before he left, so it couldn't work. I hardly had time to sneak away to the forest to talk to Aunt Zelda anymore, and every night I went to bed with a headache and woke up feeling groggy, wishing this nightmare would end. My heart didn't allow it to end because my heart was happy, but my brain wasn't. If only I could find a way to connect my heart and my brain so they'd both cooperate and agree with each other. But you couldn't have everything.