The Two of Us

Get Real

I was sitting across Peter's Aunt. I barely spoke to her, so I didn't really remember her first name. I didn't really know how to address her, either. But the stories about her that I've heard from Edmund frighten me.

For some odd reason, she called me to speak with her in the dining hall. I nervously played with the hem of the table cloth, waiting for her to finish drinking her wine.

"So, a little birdy tells me you've heard a few fairytales from Edmund."

I sat up in surprise. How did she find out?

"Don't be afraid, Alice. I just want to talk."

She probably noticed my tense behavior.

"I just did what I had to do." She stood up from her large seat, slowly walking around the room with a wine glass in her hand. "A King could never marry anyone he pleases. Especially not her. A peasant."

"They were in love with each other, weren't they?" I murmured, regretting opening my mouth. She turned to me, speaking with an infuriated tone.

"That does not matter. You're missing the point, Alice. A King or Queen do not marry for love. Love does not exist for royals."

"Your saying that we're barely human. Marrying others for your own advantage?"

"Well, surely, you're doing to Peter. Don't be hypocritical."

No One's Point of View

Alice couldn't agree. She definitely wanted to protect her people, but she didn't agree to marry Peter only for the sake of the country. She had feelings for him, too.

It never left her mind: Was Peter just using her, or did he feel the same way?

After their conversation ended, Alice made her way to their private sanctuary in the hope of finding Peter. They definitely needed to talk, and there has been none of that for a long, long time. As soon as she arrived to the spot, she pushed the large branches apart to allow entrance.

To her luck, Peter was there. His back was facing her, arms folded as if he were expecting her. She walked to approach him, as he turned around. "Peter, Iㅡ" He interuppted her as soon as she begun talking.

"Alice, I'm sorry for last night. So sorry. I was drunk, and I didn't mean anything I did or said. I'm so sorry..."

This felt like a punch to her face. She would have understood if he apologized to her about what he said, but what he did to her made her realize how she had felt about him. She tried to hide her reaction with an expressionless face. "Don't worry about it."

"I didn't mean to, you know..."

"Yeah, I get it." There was slight irritation in her tone, which Peter had still not even noticed. How oblivious. Truthfully, Peter did notice her tone, but only thought that she was generally irritated at him.

After a brief silence, he decides to converse with Alice. "My Aunt told me that you found out about Olivia."

As soon as the topic came around, Alice turned away from him. Honestly, she hated talking about Olivia. Hated, not even dislike. She didn't bother responding this time. It was obvious that Peter wanted to talk about her.

"I hope she gave you the right things about her," Peter started, "What kind of things did my Aunt tell you?"

Because Alice was not facing him, he did not see her roll her eyes. "All good things. She told me how much you loved each other." Alice imagined him nodding his head and smiling to himself. "And that she was a peasant."

"You could have left out that last part."

"I thought it was important." Alice was obviously angry. She wouldn't have been so rude if she were being herself.

"You think so? You think that in love, social status still matters?"

Alice crossed her arms, glaring at Peter. "What are you trying to say?"

"Don't act like you don't know it, Alice. People fall in love naturally, not having to be arranged to meet each other like you and I. Like how I met Olivia by natural occurrence, and how you probably met some other man out there."

Alice's jaw was left slightly agape. "What are you trying to say, Peter?" Her voice was slightly shaky. She had felt daggers being thrown at her with every word that escaped Peter's mouth. Little did he know how much damage he was causing.

"Royals never fall in love. You and I, we're an example."

Alice was surprised to hear him say it so casually. Like it was no big deal. This time, Peter's back was facing her. She felt the heat rise up to her cheeks, planning to make a confession to him. Perhaps now was the right time to finally tell him how she truly felt.

"But Peter, I love you."

He laughed. "Get real, Alice. Why do you always try to oppose me?"

In seconds, tears were streaming down her cheeks. How could he be so cruel like that, even when he's completely sober? He hasn't been the same since he left for war.

"I was being serious, Peter." she gritted her teeth. "Why the hell would I be joking about this?"

"Because I know the truth. You're after Cair Paravel, aren't you?"

"You're joking," Alice almost whispered, "You've got to be bloody joking, Peter... And I actually thought you were different from the rest."

"All royals are the same. They all want the same things. You can't deny that, Alice."

He finally turned to face her, shocked to see Alice's tear-stained face.

"I thought that maybe for once, the two of us could be different, but I was wrong!" she wiped away a stray tear before continuing, "From the start, I've always liked you, Peter. Genuinely. But I didn't love you, yet. You probably didn't love me, either. But the more time I spent with you, I started falling for you. The way you spoke so caringly to me, the way you'd hold me as if I was something so precious to you. Even just the way you'd look at me."

Alice refused to let any more tears fall. "Especially that night you saved me from Caspian. And I realized I loved you when you left for weeks. I swear, I almost died missing you and it killed me knowing that what we had was never real."

Alice turned away from Peter, ready to leave the sanctuary. She took a deep breath before she finished her rant. "I thought that we were different from the rest of them, but I was wrong."

Before Peter could catch up, she had already left. He was too shocked. His knees were shaking, and soon came into contact with the ground. He was a jerk. He knew he was being a jerk to Alice, and was being completely selfish since his return from war. Everything he thought about Alice was wrong. His thoughts about her only using him were wrong. All of it.

He didn't expect her to feel the same way about him. Tears soon started forming in his eyes. He didn't bother wiping them away. He just fell forward, sobbing into his hands, realizing what he had just lost.

He had regretted everything he had said to her. Every single word. If only he had been more honest with himself, they could have been smiling together again. But his journey to war made him realize how greedy a King or Queen could be. Since then, he had been paranoid about Alice.

Tears continued to stream down his face as the thought of her struck him again. He missed her smile, and it was probably going to be a long time until he'd see it again. He shook his head in frustration.

Alice and Peter were supposed to prove the world wrong, but they obviously failed to.