Masked Love

I feel like I am about to faint. There he is. Standing in front of me. But he is not a little boy anymore. Would he remember me? I can barely remember him. Is this what mother wanted to warn me about? I can feel my breathing accelerate and so can Marthe.

“Nicola,” she looks worried and whispers into my ear. “What’s the matter? Are you ill?”
“I don’t think so. I just feel a little weak.”

“This should be over soon. Try not to draw too much attention to yourself and sneak out through the kitchen door.” She rubbed my head softly and sent me off. Once I’m out, I feet instant relief and run to the stables where I knew Addie and Noé would be. I almost trip over stirrups and buckets as I come in.

“Nikki! Be careful!” Noé runs over and grabs my arm before I fall into the water trough.

“I’m ok. Well, not completely ok. I saw Luca.” Luca’s name on my tongue felt so natural it's scary.

“And….What’s he like? Don’t keep this to yourself!” Adèlie pops up from one of the stalls and skip over.

“Familiar. Very familiar.” I hope they catch on to what I’m referring to. I can barely get the words out of my mouth.

“Oh no.” Addie’s cheerful face fades away.

“I don’t get it. What’s going on?” Noé looks at both of us. Suddenly his eyes grow wide. “Is that possible?”

“I think it is. He’s the boy from my dream. The resemblance is uncanny. The eyes, the hair, the skin, it’s all the same.” I started feeling faint again and Noé came over and helped me sit down. “I don’t know if this is a dream come true or another nightmare about to happen.”

“I think you need to talk to your mother now. Hopefully she can explain this. What’s the worst that can happen? And who knows? Maybe there’s no resemblance and it’s all in your head.”

“He’s right. You hardly slept last night. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you.”

“So I’m going mad.” I can’t believe what’s happening. Not only do I have to leave my home when Korine married, but now I’m going mad. This time, I actually faint.

In the darkness, I see two small figures, a boy and a girl. As I move closer I can hear them speaking.

“Luca! Look what I found!” I recognize the little girl as a younger me. I must be around five years old.

“I’m coming Nikki!” Luca calls back and runs over to me, his black curls bouncing. The two children seem very close and hug when they meet. “What did you find?”

“A dandelion. Look, it’s all puffy.” They giggle and pet the soft weed. “We can make a wish, Luca.”

“I know what I want to wish for.” Luca starts to blow, but younger Nikki pulls away quickly.

“We have to share it Luca.”

“Ok. I want to be friends forever and ever.”

“Really?”

“Yup!” Then Luca kisses me on the forehead and ran off. The little me started to dance and twirl until she finally falls over.

The impact of her fall wakes me up. I am on my bed surrounded by Addie, Noé, my mother and Marthe. “What happened?” Adèlie spoke up first.

“You saw Luca, came and told us, started to freak out, then fainted. Noé carried you to your room.”

“How are you feeling dear?” Mother looks like she had been crying.

“Better, but we need to talk. Marthe, can you explain my absence to Korine?”

“Of course.” Everyone leaves and I am left alone with my mother.

“I know Luca, don’t I.”

“Yes, you two knew each other a long time ago.” I can tell she’s ready to tell me everything.

“How?”

“He lived next door to us. You used to play together while your fathers were at court. I would have tea with his mother and the two of you were outside.”

“But they’re royalty. And we’re servants. How is that even possible?”

“Now I can’t tell that to you right now. I know you’re angry, but some secrets need to wait.”

“I’ve waited for eighteen years. Everything is changing now. How can I move on without knowing who I was?”

“I promise I will tell you soon. For now, you need to rest and get back to your duties. And you need to promise me, you will not tell Luca of your past.” Even though I want to tell him, I know what my mother means. This could potentially ruin my position in the palace. There is the possibility that my mother has lied to the court about her title. I cannot jeopardize this.

“I promise, mother. It’ll be as if I never knew him.” And with that I walk away. Because my head is feeling better, I don’t have an excuse for missing work. I go straight to the garden where lunch is being held.

The garden looks gorgeous. Thousands of flowers are aligned perfectly making the air smell sweet. There are arches on all of the walkways with roses climbing around them. Underneath a canopy in an open part of the garden, the king, queen, princess and prince are enjoying a light lunch. As soon as I see them, my name is called.

“Nicola! Are you alright?” Korine rises from her seat and practically runs over to me.

“Marthe told us about your fall. Are you sure you want to work? I give you my permission to rest for the rest of the day.” I am tempted by her offer, but I am curious about my long lost friend.

“I’m fine. Don’t let me spoil your meal. Did you need anything?”

“We have other servants to handle the food, so you are more than welcome to sit and eat with us.” I have never seen Korine this happy. Her face is almost glowing and I can see her looking over at Luca. A part of me feels jealous of Korine. She has so much time with Luca and my time with my former best friend had been suddenly snatched away from me. But I place that thought in the back of my mind and take a seat.

Because of my station, I keep my eyes down and only speak when I’m spoken to. However, I find my eyes being drawn to Luca. I start to notice things like the curve of his mouth, his slightly angular eyes, and the dimples when he laughs. He seems like a very happy person. He constantly smiles and laughs, but he doesn’t seem to talk much. Like me, he tends to only speak after he addressed first, allowing Korine to talk most of the time. She talks about their times together, whether they were traveling or just talking. She seems so happy, yet something about the lunch seems off. Thankfully it ends before I can spot what seems wrong and Korine and I take our leave.

Korine keeps talking as we head back to her room, and her happiness begins to get annoying. “Did you see the way he looked at me when I talked about Florence? I just know he’s going to propose.” The conversation continued like this until we reached her room on the other end of the palace.

“Your Highness, as much as I love to see you happy, we need to go over the schedule for tonight.”

“Oh, of course. Dinner is at eight tonight, then we have a short performance by Luca, then bed.”

“Performance?” I don’t remember Luca being able to play anything.

“He plays piano and flute beautifully.” Her eyes become glossy and I can tell she’s thinking about him. The churning in my stomach surprises me and I realize that I haven’t eaten in a while. I leave Korine lost in her thoughts and head towards the kitchen. As I turn around from shutting the door I find that I almost bump into someone.

“Pardon me.” Deep down I know that voice and I have to catch my breath. Keeping my eyes down, I try to hurry away. “Wait, you’re Nicola right?”

I whisper so he does not recognize my voice. “Yes, sir.”

“I haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Luca.” Finally I look up to see his face. Of course he’s smiling and he seems calmer than he was at lunch. That’s understandable though. He is not being judged by the entire court.

“Do you need anything sir?”

“Someone sane to talk to.” He chuckles and looks down at his feet. “I feel like there’s too much pressure on me with the whole marriage thing. I don’t want to be tied down so young to someone I barely know. But why am I telling you this?”

“I honestly don’t know, sir. But I should be going. I was going to get something to eat actually.” Why is he so easy to talk to? Am I the only one who notices?

“Oh, I’m sorry for keeping you.” He looks down at his feet. Was he upset I was leaving?

“You are welcome to join me, sir. I don’t mind.” I smile gently to reassure him. “I could show you around the palace and we can talk more if you like. I know how hard it is to find a person to talk to in a place as big as this.”

“Alright, that sounds nice.” Surprisingly he is not taken aback by my offer and we continue to walk down the hall like two good friends.