Triplet Queens' mysterious Guard

Goodbye my lady

December 1339

Outer ring of the capital city

Common folk district

Alicia, Nirvana

She had been asleep in his arms for a long time now. He was sure it had been hours already but he had no way of telling what the actual time was. He had spent the entire time studying the features of her beautiful face which was even more beautiful when her blonde hair was allowed to fall wherever it decided to fall. The shawl had fallen off during their wild moment earlier and while Valentine had vast experience with a variety of women he was not interested in having just a single shiny moment with this particular lady in his arms.

They had kissed once but it had been deep, sensual and mind blowing for both of them. For Elle it was her first kiss ever but for Jon in was the most heart stopping out of the many. They had kissed and slowly broken off the kiss before Elle snuggled into him and they lay together on the floor, she was asleep in a few minutes. She was fierce, confident and had an intimidating yet friendly aura when awake that would keep most men in check. When she was asleep however, she looked like a baby and an angel at the same time. Jon found himself running his fingers through her curly yet silk smooth hair. He lay there knowing pretty well that he could have tried to get more than a kiss from her, but he respected her way to much to do that on what could be their first and yet last day together. He didn’t like the thought of never seeing her again, it gave him a feeling he had never felt before and couldn’t put into words.

Elle felt a warm breath against her cheeks and got back to her senses slowly but steadily. She knew she was probably in the palace waking up from a long nap, so why was the bed so hard and why could she feel the warmth of someone else’s body wrapped around hers. Her eyes were wide open when the thought hit her and all the memories of her participation in the carnival came back to her all at once. The shocked look on her face got Jon by surprise and he slowly let go off her and sat up to give her time and some space to get her thoughts in order. She sat up seconds later and was getting up to her feet instantly. She remembered clearly with some bashfulness that she was the one who had initiated the kiss and this time there was no red face paint to cover her red cheeks, luckily for her the fire had died out already and the tent was dark. She strained to hear and heard nothing which made it clear that the rain had also stopped.

She felt like apologizing for kissing him, but she knew she didn’t regret it so she decided to say something else which was more important at the moment. “Jon how long have I been asleep?” Elle asked running her hand through her hair frantically before picking up the shawl and tying up her hair again.

“You have been asleep for a few hours” Jon said trying hard not to laugh now. He knew laughter could get him in trouble with how surprised she looked now.

“How could I have slept for so long?” she asked rhetorically while looking up at the roof of the tent with both her hands on her head. She walked past the dead fire place and towards the entrance.

“Maybe you slept so well because it was raining or because you were next to me.” Jon said loudly now deciding to tease her.

“Jon, don’t you dare.” She said without looking back and stepping out the tent partially to look up at the sky. She saw the moon looking down at her full and bright and she knew she had made a big mistake and overslept. She didn’t even think, in a split second she was running out the tent and up the alley as quickly as she could. Jon saw her begin to run and was after her in a flash. She ran and surprised Jon by not stopping to catch her breath for even a second. She ran and ran and ran till she saw the bright torches that always lined the fountains. She stopped to catch her breath when she saw her coach exactly where she had ordered it to be. Jon was beside her in a second. Unlike her though, he wasn’t breathing so hard. She looked up at him shocked by how composed he seemed after running that entire distance further confirming just how fit he was. He on the other hand was surprised by just how much she ran without her stopping till she saw that her coach was still here.

“You had to know he was never going to leave you alone in this part of town my lady. He would have waited till tomorrow if he had to.” Jon said laughing softly with a shake of his head.

“I know that, I just panicked for a second. Maybe a minute or two.” She responded flatly while avoiding his gaze now making him laugh even more. “When you are done laughing there is one last thing I want to tell you.” Elle said still looking at her coach across the fountain and not at his fine face, beautiful hair or perfectly chiseled jaw.

“What is this thing you want to say?” Jon asked with a shrug

“You’ll be calling me Elle from now on, no more titles. I think I am right if I say we are really good friends after today.” She said joining him as they shared another laugh that got the attention of the coach driver who had been worried about her for minutes. She went in for a hug trying to get back to her coach and be on her way to the palace quickly but Jon took her hand instead and placed a feather light kiss on her knuckles. He wasn’t sure he would want her to go if she hugged him again. She kissed then hugged him earlier before she slept and it had taken all his strength not to give in to his crazy desires. She walked past him and was at her coach already in few quick steps.

“Good to see that you are fine my lady, I was getting worried.” The much older coach driver said honestly relieved to see her. Elle noticed the questioning look on his face as he looked at her gown for a few extra seconds before stepping back to open the door for her and getting back to his seat at the front of the coach and taking the reins in his hand as well as the whip. She noticed him look at her funny before readying the coach for their departure, her mind was preoccupied so she didn’t care to ask why he looked at her that way or what he meant by it.

A part of Elle wished she could see Jon again sometime but she knew it wasn’t her move to make as a lady; she had made most of the first moves already starting from their first dance at the ball yesterday so she was not planning to do anymore. She turned to stare out the window and was visibly disappointed when she couldn’t see him anywhere, it was clear that he had left. It had been just a fun day for him and nothing more.

“You are already missing me Elle” Jon said in his low husky voice from the other side of the coach. He was a tall and well built man; she could see his face even from her sitting position inside the high coach.

“I haven’t decided if I will miss you yet.” Elle said hiding how happy she was that he was still here.

“I would really like to see you some more if that’s okay with you, you said we are good friends now and I think we should keep meeting up if we don’t want to end up being strangers again.” Jon said shrugging and nodding his head nonchalantly to cover up the fact that he really wanted to keep seeing her.

“How is that going to work when I live in the palace every normal day and you stay at the farthest place from the palace?” Elle asked moving to the other side of the coach and leaning out the window so she could see more than just his face.

“How about we see on Monday evenings? When you are less busy?” Jon asked looking into her bright eyes that seemed to radiate warmth even under the coolness of the moonlight.

“I run errands for her Majesty all through Monday.” Elle said with a shrug of her own.

“What about Tuesdays?” Jon asked

“No.” was her curt response

“What about Wednesdays?” Jon asked again

“No.” Was the quick reply

“Thursdays?” he asked refusing to give up

“No.” was the now repetitive response.

“What about Fridays?” Jon asked stepping forward and placing his hand on hers at the window of the coach. This time she didn’t say no. She just smiled and sat back down on her chair. Fridays and Saturdays were her days to be Queen Isabella and the only days she was permitted to leave the palace. Those were the only days she could try to see him.

“Henry we can go now.” Elle said to the older man driving her coach and immediately the coach began moving slowly down the street.

“An hour before sunset next week Friday, I’ll be waiting for you right here by the fountain. I will wait for as many weeks as it takes you to come find me.” Jon shouted from behind the coach as it moved down the street. Elle heard him loud and clear and though he got no response he knew he would see her again. “Goodnight my lady” was the last thing she heard him shout as the coach turned unto the main road leading to the middle district of the city. She smiled to herself from behind the coach finally looking down at her gown and realizing it was not a gown. She had left her wet clothes at the tent, now she knew why her much older coach driver Henry had given her the questioning look earlier. He had definitely concluded the worst about everything already which was funny to her because nothing even happened. She let out a tired sigh. She was getting home late and would have to sneak past the palace attendants using the secret passages. She hoped she could sneak into her room without being spotted by anyone in the palace including her sisters; they would not be happy seeing her in a man’s shirt this late at night and while nothing actually happened between her and any man, she doubted anyone would believe that once they saw her like this. She placed a tired hand on her head, it had been an exhausting day but she felt more alive than she had felt in almost a year. The fun and freedom she had around someone who seemed to like her even without knowing who she really was had been enough to make this entire experience one of her most memorable of all time.

September, 1340

She opened her eyes as the coach came to a halt, she was out of her thoughts now and was back in the same coach from many months ago that she had used to sneak into the commoner’s district for the very first time. She remembered everything about their first meeting and day together like it was just yesterday, many months had passed and many things had happened. There was something bothering her and she had made up her mind to bring it up with Jon today. She was finally at the fountain.

She planned to say those things that needed to be said between them. She knew by the end of today she would either be really hurt and heartbroken or really glad, but she couldn’t wait any longer. The royal ball in Cresha was just some weeks away. She had to make sure Jon knew everything that was going on before then but only if he proved himself worthy.