In a Heartbeat

The next day Matthew sent me on my way back home early, saying that there was nothing for him and his people to do today but clean up the mess the Tyronian soldiers had left, and I did not argue. Though his protection was a nice feeling, I missed Brian and my home. The farewell was short and sweet; a few kisses and a warm embrace. Then, I mounted my rested horse and headed back to my Kingdom that I had missed dearly. The trip was a bit longer this time as our horses worked slightly slower and needed more rests, but I did not mind. The sun was shining more this time and the scenery was relaxing and perfectly peaceful. It gave me more time to think about what I really wanted, as the previous night had left me with some confusing thoughts. Matthew had suddenly appeared as a better person and Brian had become slightly less appealing. But somehow that did not feel right to me…

I was greeted by my mother at the stables, as she was visiting her own mare, and I reported to her instantly, informing her of the attack. She panicked and rushed inside to relay the news to my father, who I knew would be extremely upset. Thankfully, after a long discussion, he relaxed and agreed it was a good occurrence as Matthew had proved his strength and kindness to his people. After listening to my father babble about how the Prince was such a great man, I was finally dismissed to my sleeping chambers, to which I almost ran to in excitement to see Brian again. Once I was inside, I shut the door and dropped my bag to the ground, eagerly searching the room for his presence. He was on the floor cleaning, but once he saw me he leapt to his feet.

“Evangeline!” he exclaimed while sprinting towards me. I had hardly taken a few steps forward when he crashed into me, embracing me so firmly. Giggling, I swung him back and forth in my arms, breathing in his unique scent and enjoying his body against mine once again. I casually shifted us to on the bed, taking care to not rip my gorgeous red dress as I did so, and then laid with him, gazing into his alluring brown eyes.

“I am very content to see you again. I missed you,” I told him and he smiled quite cheerfully.

“I missed you too,” he said before taking my hand in his. “I must ask; how was the trip to the Zilani Kingdom? Did anything exciting happen?” I hesitated before gripping his hand a bit harder.

“Um, yes… They were attacked during the night by the Tyronian Kingdom,” I told him and he froze.

“What? Are you alright? Did they injure you at all?” Brian demanded, his panic and concern rather comforting.

“I am fine. They did not harm me. Though, one of the enemy soldiers came for me and tried to capture me and take me to his King, but then Matthew saved me…” I answered. My response earned a disheartened look from Brian, probably because of the mention of what the Prince had done. “Is everything alright, Brian?”

“Yes... I am glad that you are safe…” he trailed off. Clearly, everything was not alright.

“Me too. What did you do when I was gone?” I changed the subject quickly, hoping that he would forget about Matthew, which I also wished to do.

“I was granted time off, so I spent that with my family. They are still very grateful for your delicious gifts and asked me to thank you again,” Brian replied, his smile growing larger as he spoke of the good deed and the people he loved. “It was good to spend more time with them. Even though I have friends here, they cannot compare to the love of my parents… Oh, and then today I have just been cleaning as usual, just serving my Princess…”

“I thought we discussed the Princess topic already?” I chuckled and he nodded.

“I’m sorry…”

“Is that part of that new speak you were talking about?”

“Oh, yes… The shortenings are catchy,” Brian laughed lightly, looking away. “I, um, I thought of one for you, if you would like to hear it…”

“Of course.”

“Well, as I learn more about the new way of speaking, I notice that they also shorten names too, when appropriate. My name is already short enough, but yours is fairly long, so I thought up a shortening for it…” he explained, pausing as if he needed my approval to continue. “I thought that, if you wished, I could begin to call you Eva.”

“Eva? That sounds slightly different to Evangeline…” I remarked and he grimaced a tad.

“Yes, the ‘a’ sound is different, but that’s because there is no ‘angeline’ at the end. I’m sorry for telling you, it was a mistake,” Brian said in a rushed voice, using a considerable amount of this new speak he was talking about.

“Say the new name again?” I asked and he looked down at the blanket we were lying on.

“Eva…”

“Brian…” I whispered, tilting his head up to look at me as I smiled. “I like it. Please use that name when it is just you and I.”

“Really?” Brian’s smile was unforgettable. My heart warmed as I realised how happy I had just made him. Once I nodded I was pulled into a gigantic hug and the momentum toppled us over so Brian was lying on top of me, his face just an inch away from my own. “Eva… You are really special to me…”

“You are to me too, Brian…” I replied, knowing that it was true. Matthew was not as special as Brian was. He could defend me with a sword, but he lacked something ‘special’ that Brian had a lot of. Brian’s lips met mine, bringing me out of my thoughts and back into reality. I kissed him back and he ran his hand through my hair, sweeping some of it out of my face, his other arm still underneath me. We continued to kiss, over and over again, and I felt myself seemingly become lost in the moment, only focusing on how wonderful and sensual his lips felt upon my own. Brian’s hand moved from playing with my hair to the side of my face, holding it firmly in the passionate kisses. I shifted my own hand to touch his hair. The sensation was different than I had expected. Mine was so silky and soft, so I had thought his would be similar, but instead his black hair felt oily. I wondered what the servants were required to put in their hair as I ceased to fiddle with the strands, not too fond of the feeling. As Brian’s hand moved to gently rest against my neck, my own hand laid comfortably atop his strong shoulder and I caressed the feeling of enlarged muscles on the wide bones, really enjoying touching it. A form of uneasiness was in my stomach, but it felt pleasant at the same time. Brian broke away from my lips.

“Eva… May I?” he asked cautiously and so softly that I hardly heard him. I was briefly puzzled, but then I saw that one of his hands was hovering above one of my breasts. Due to the corset that was embodied in the dress I was wearing, my breasts were pushed up greatly, being shown off above the material. He would be touching my skin in a private area. The feeling in my stomach became greater and I looked back at Brian’s slightly reddened face. After taking in a deep breath I nodded, trusting him completely. We both watched intently as Brian placed his hand down. My skin pricked up with excitement underneath his hand and I leaned up slightly, connecting our lips once again. Brian slowly fondled me and I enjoyed the sensation of someone else touching me there. It was my first time, since washing oneself cannot count. My breathing became heavier as I struggled to take in air properly, too distracted by Brian and what was happening.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. My eyes flung open, only to see Brian’s brown eyes widened with shock and panic. We both then looked down at where his hand was and noted how inappropriate that was, as well as our locked lips and our body position. Oh no… I pushed Brian away from me and he scurried off the bed as I walked over to the door as fast as I could. With a glance back, I saw that Brian was straightening his shirt as he walked away to the spot on the floor that he had been cleaning when I had entered earlier. Once he had dropped to his knees, I opened the door and saw one of my father’s slaves standing there.

“My Princess, your presence is requested by my King,” he announced with a small bow.

“Thank you. I will be there soon,” I told him before shutting the door. He looked confused, as if he expected to escort me to the room, but I did not care. I turned back around to see Brian on the floor, looking back over his shoulder. The shoulders I had been gripping onto moments ago and enjoying it so much…

“I have a feeling that we should not be doing what we are doing here,” Brian said quietly and I nodded.

“We should reconsider it,” I agreed. “But for now I shall go and visit my father. I shall see you when I return. Goodbye, Brian.”

“Goodbye, Eva,” he replied with a tiny smile. As I stepped out of my room, I was grinning from ear to ear at the shortening of my name. I really did like it, and I really liked Brian too…