The Queen He Never Forgot”
1089 Words
PAST — YEARS AGO
The palace was loud that day, but the boy didn’t care.
Little Reagen slipped past the guards again.
He always did.
A narrow path behind the training grounds led him out—just enough to escape the walls that never seemed to end.
“Your Highness—!”
He was already running.
The wind felt better than rules.
But it didn’t last long.
A few streets away, trouble found him instead.
Older boys.
Sharper words.
Shoving him back until he hit the ground.
"you wear fancy clothes,you must be rich give us some money"one boy said
Reagen didn’t answer.
He just stood up again.
Even when they pushed him down a second time.
That was when someone stepped in.
“Leave him alone.”
A girl.
Barefoot.
Small but steady.
Ciara.
She didn’t look scared.
Just annoyed.
And before Reagen could react, she picked up a stick nearby and scared them off with more confidence than logic.
The boys ran.
Silence returned.
Reagen stared at her.
“…You didn’t have to do that,” he said.
Ciara shrugged. “You were going to get hurt.”
“I’ve been hurt before.”
“That doesn’t mean you should get used to it.”
That made him pause.
He looked at her properly now.
“You’re not from around here.”
Ciara: “Neither are you, I think.”
A beat.
That almost made him smile.
Then he reached into his pocket.
“i need to leave” he said simply.
Ciara frowned. “That’s it?”
Reagen: “I’ll come back.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
Just a promise stated like fact.
The next day, he returned.
He had something small in his hand.
A necklace.
Nothing fancy. Just simple.
He walked up to her like he had always known where she would be.
Ciara looked surprised. “You came back.”
Reagen: “I said I would.”
He placed the necklace in her hand.
Ciara: “What is this for?”
Reagen: “So you don’t forget me first.”
Ciara blinked. “Forget you?”
“I don’t like disappearing things.”
That made her laugh a little.
They talked longer that day.
Nothing important.
Just small things.
The kind people don’t realize they’ll remember later.
Then he looked toward the road.
“I have to go again.”
Ciara: “Again?”
Reagen: “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
And he left.
But tomorrow came.
And he didn’t.
Ciara waited anyway.
At first expecting.
Then confused.
Then patient.
Then less so.
Days passed.
Then more.
Until waiting became pointless.
And she stopped.
Not knowing his name.
Not knowing he was a prince.
Just knowing someone once said tomorrow and didn’t return.
PRESENT — KING’S CHAMBER
Silence settled after the door closed.
Ciara slowly exhaled, still processing everything.
Reagen stood near the window.
Not facing her fully.
Just speaking naturally, like continuing a conversation they hadn’t finished years ago.
Reagen: “You remember now.”
Ciara: “Pieces of it…”
A pause.
She looked at him. “You really came back that day?”
Reagen: “Yes.”
Ciara: “I waited for a while.”
Reagen turned slightly. “I know.”
That made her pause.
Not accusing.
Just… aware.
Ciara: “I didn’t know what happened.”
Reagen: “I didn’t get the chance to come again.”
No justification.
Just statement.
Another silence passed—but not uncomfortable.
More like unfinished timing.
Reagen: “You don’t have to think too deeply about it.”
Ciara let out a small breath. “I’m not.”
Reagen glanced at her.
“…You are.”
That made her roll her eyes slightly, but not argue.
She turned toward the door.
Reagen didn’t stop her.
But his voice followed naturally.
Reagen: “You walk like you’re still deciding things after they’re already done.”
Ciara paused.
Then without turning fully—
“Maybe I just don’t like being rushed.”
Reagen: “Noted.”
That was it.
She left.
No tension.
Just something unfinished sitting quietly between them.
GARDEN — EVENING
Ciara sat under the stone arch.
Thinking.
Not heavily.
Just… replaying things.
“Peaceful spot for someone who looks like she’s fighting a war inside her head.”
Rafael appeared with his usual bright smile.
“May I sit?”
Ciara nodded.
He sat beside her easily.
At first, it was light.
Easy conversation.
Small jokes.
Soft laughter.
Then Rafael leaned back slightly, watching the garden.
Rafael: “You’ve been around my brother more lately.”
Ciara: “A little.”
Rafael smiled faintly.
“He doesn’t usually bring people that close.”
Ciara: “He didn’t bring me. It just… happened.”
Rafael: “That’s how it always looks from the outside.”
A pause.
His tone stayed casual.
But shifted slightly.
“Reagen is… consistent.”
Ciara glanced at him.
Rafael continued, still smiling.
“Some people call it reliability. Others might call it… refusing to step outside what they already understand.”
Ciara frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
Rafael shrugged lightly.
“Nothing serious. Just observation.”
Then brighter again—
“He just doesn’t like unpredictability.”
A beat.
“Or people who don’t fit neatly where they’re placed.”
The words sounded simple.
But landed differently if you listened closely enough.
Ciara stood up slowly.
“I should go.”
Rafael: “Of course.”
He smiled as she left.
Watching.
Still bright.
Still polite.
Still unreadable to most.
ELENA & CHARLOTTE — ROOM
“What!!”
Charlotte’s voice cracked through the room.
Elena shut her eyes briefly. “Lower your voice.”
Charlotte: “How do you expect me to calm down?!”
She paced.
“How do they KNOW each other? From when they were children?!”
Elena stayed quiet.
Charlotte turned sharply.
“Fate is mocking me.”
Elena finally spoke.
“Fate doesn’t mock anyone.”
A pause.
“It just removes control.”
Charlotte froze.
Elena stepped closer.
“But control can be rebuilt.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “What are you planning?”
Elena leaned in and whispered.
Charlotte’s expression changed.
Shock.
Then calculation.
“…Will it work?”
Elena straightened.
“It doesn’t need to force anything.”
A slow smile.
“It only needs to make the king choose wisely… when the time comes to decide what kind of future his crown deserves.”
Charlotte exhaled slowly.
And smiled.
- Writer
