What's Right In Front of You

Ronan almost turned his horse around. Although it took three long days to make the disgraceful journey back to the Kingdom of Carkhoun, the young prince couldn’t imagine any place he’d rather be farther away from right now. But he had nowhere else to go. He had already thrown away a good fortune during his…“leisurely” travels; he couldn’t even stay at a small inn if he wanted to.

The agonizing groans of the huge, iron black gates shook Ronan out of his thoughts. Within moments, the gates granted access to a large castle: its deep-blue bricks and golden towers serving as the pride and joy of House Carkhoun. Ronan couldn’t remember how many women he had bragged to about it, but now, the colors seemed darker than he remembered. Its towers appeared higher, as if piercing the heavens that loomed over him.

Ronan jumped in his saddle at the sound of the large, mighty doors slowly swinging open. Out emerged a man in a deep, dark green robe, wearing a golden crown adorned with emeralds. In his hand rested a large, brown book. Undoubtedly, it contained religious, historical, or some other content. Ronan could never keep track of his father’s interests.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, Ronan begrudgingly kicked his horse forward. Every step felt agonizing, like a weight pressing harder and harder on his heart. The urge to steer the horse away and sprint out of the kingdom felt increasingly stronger. Yet he strangely felt an equally strong urge to keep going forward.

The horse finally stopped at the castle entrance. Ronan paused for a moment before making himself climb off his noble steed. He didn’t want to, but he gazed into his father’s eyes. There was no anger or malice in them, but they still showed a hint of disapproval and sorrow. At the same time, they almost seemed kind and loving.

Ronan cleared his throat, fighting to hold back tears.

“Father, I…”

But instead, Ronan was scooped up in a big hug. Ronan was shocked, but that shock soon gave way to confusion, then sorrow, yet somehow joy. All of these feelings swirled around in his head like a storm, enough to make him consider releasing his tears. His father separated from him and gazed at him with similarly tearful eyes.

“Let’s go inside,” the king said softly. “We can talk about it once you’ve rested and had some good food.”

Finally, the young prince opened the floodgates and collapsed to the ground.

———————————————————————————————————————

Ronan barely looked at the countless bookshelves in the library. All he could do was sip some soothing tea that his father had prepared, while wrapped in a warm blanket. The earlier feast felt a bit excessive, even undeserved, hence why he retreated to the library soon after.

Of course, his father wasn’t far behind. After offering the tea and blanket, he sat down in the chair opposite Ronan’s and opened a large book, waiting for him to speak. Realizing this, Ronan sighed heavily and set down his tea.

“I was foolish and desperate,” he finally said.

His father quietly set the book down and folded his hands, giving him a look that told Ronan to continue.

“I thought I had finally found the right woman. Multiple times, actually.” Ronan stopped, folding his hands in front of his mouth, then continued. “Each one said they loved me, that they wanted to be with me, but they all asked for the same thing in return: money. All of my money. I didn’t care as long as I had one of them by my side, so I just spent everything I had on them. I don’t know why it took me that many times to realize…”

Ronan couldn’t even finish. He couldn’t even utter another word, not even in between sobs. Finally, he let himself wail once more, cursing himself for being so imbecilic.

However, that soon melted away when he felt his father’s arms around him in a comforting hug.

“I’m so sorry, my son,” he said. “I hope you know I’m not disappointed in you, nor do I disown you. I am, however, disappointed in your choices. I’m just glad you came home.”

“I should be the one to apologize!” Ronan said. “I wasted so much on a boy’s dream.”

His father let go and stood up, looking down at him.

“What do you mean by that?” The king asked.

“Oh, come on,” Ronan said. “All men dream of finding their bride, but clearly the fates have decided that is not my destiny.” Ronan chuckled again. “And to think for a moment, I actually thought if I kept trying, I’d actually find her.”

The king grabbed his son’s shoulders with the grip of a bear, and so fast that he didn’t even notice it.

“Listen to me, my son,” his father said in a gentle yet firm voice. “You’ve made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean your destiny is determined. All you need is some patience and self-control, and I promise she will come someday.”

Ronan wanted to believe him. He tried with every bit of strength he had to grab onto that small glimmer of hope, but he slipped and fell every time. But instead of showing it, he nodded until his father let go.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted his thoughts, and he looked at the library entrance to find one of the servants standing by.

“Forgive me for the intrusion, my lords,” the servant quickly apologized. “But Princess Solaa of House Bahkin has arrived.”

“Thank you, please show her inside,” the king replied.

The servant quickly bowed and hurried off.

“Solaa? She’s here? But…but…why?” Ronan asked, completely astonished.

“Well, I sent word that you were returning home, and I figured you could use the comfort of your dearest friend.”

He certainly wasn’t wrong about that. Ever since Ronan and his family moved farther into the country, he always felt alone and out of place. Until one fateful evening, at a grand ball hosting House Carkhoun and the neighboring House Bahkin, she approached like a gentle, warm breeze and hasn’t left his side since.

“Hello, Prince Ronan.”

Ronan looked back at the entrance and saw a woman adorned in a dress that was as golden as her flowing hair, skin as soft as pillows, and a smile that shone brighter than any star ever could. Solaa’s skills and studies primarily resided in the sciences, but Ronan always believed her true talents lay in improving anyone’s day just by being in the room. Especially right now.

“I’m so happy that you’re back, safe and sound.”

———————————————————————————————————————

“Wow, you are really bad at this,” Solaa laughed.

Somehow, Solaa convinced Ronan to accompany her outside for a friendly game of Ringpath. Essentially, the goal is to throw ten rings onto a series of assorted poles, each one with its own set of points. But there’s a catch: the rings are enchanted, meaning they can either veer themselves off course at the last moment or do nothing at all.

So far, Solaa successfully stuck eight of her rings on the poles, but Ronan only had three. The other five were probably scattered around the ground somewhere, but he didn’t care enough to be sure.

“Well, I didn’t really practice on my travels,” Ronan said, forcing a small chuckle.

He tossed his eighth ring into the air, then it glowed pink and darted to the left, and immediately back to the right and landed onto a pole.

“Ha! See? I got one!” Ronan said with a smug grin.

“Yes, well, it sure took you long enough,” Solaa retorted.

She tossed her eighth one into the air; it also turned pink, but it shot very far to the right and landed in the grass.

“Ah! A chance to redeem myself!” Ronan said.

Tossing it into the air, Ronan prayed that the ring would find its target. And sure enough, it didn’t misbehave and landed right on the mark.

“Yes!” Ronan cheered.

“You know I’m still ahead of you,” Solaa jabbed.

“Anything can happen in this game, if those blasted rings are any indication.”

The pair laughed for a good minute before Solaa threw her final ring. Despite Ronan’s greatest hopes, the ring still landed on the pole with the greatest amount of points. Solaa laughed at the sight of Ronan’s mouth hanging open like a fish.

Regardless, Ronan shook it off and wound up for his last toss. If he could land this last ring, he probably wouldn’t win, but it would still help in some way. Breathing deeply, he tossed the ring with all his might, and it made a beeline for the same pole Solaa scored on. However, at the very last second, the ring glowed pink and dove into the grass.

“No!” Ronan screamed, kicking the dirt.

Solaa laughed in the background, and after a short minute of listening to it, Ronan couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“We’ll have to play this again sometime,” Solaa said.

“Why? So you can watch me fail again?” Ronan asked.

“Well, I was trying to be courteous and give you another chance, but fine,” she smirked. “If you insist on this barbaric behavior…”

“Hey, now!”

Ronan ran at her, but she skipped out of reach and ran away. Ronan laughed and chased after her.

“I won’t quit until I hear an apology!” Ronan called after her.

“Are you mad? I should be the one demanding an apology!” She called back.

But Ronan would not relent. As Solaa’s dress and hair waved in the wind, he couldn’t help but stare. Why though? She was his greatest friend, but usually, friends don’t stare at each other so intently. Ronan wanted to ponder the question some more, but an inexplicably strong sense of joy and peace chased the queries away. In fact, he felt all the more determined that he was not about to let her get away.

He pushed beyond his limits, reaching out and successfully grabbing her arm. Then he spun her around and drew her in, holding her tight.

“I thought you’d be harder to catch,” Ronan panted. “You’re usually a lot faster than that.”

“I am,” she said with a glint in her eye.

Ronan’s eyes narrowed in confusion, before widening with a sudden burst of understanding. He could feel his face flushing, turning as red as his mother’s pepper garden.

“Ronan.”

Ronan gushed. Usually they did drop the formalities when their parents or other noblemen weren’t around, but something about this particular moment felt different.

“I…I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. I…I’m a little scared, to be quite frank with you, but I need to do this.” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “Ronan, from the moment you left on your journey, I realized that…that I love you.”

Ronan’s mouth dropped low to the ground. He tried responding, even uttering a single word, but all that came out were pathetic croaks. But even before he had the chance, she covered his mouth.

“I don’t need an answer right away,” she said softly. “You’ve already been through so much, and you just got back, so I can’t imagine the shock you must be feeling. Oh, I hope this wasn’t insensitive of me!”

Ronan lightly grabbed her face and steered it to look up at him. “It’s alright,” he said. “I just…need some time before I answer.”

She nodded and smiled. “I will wait as long as it takes.”

———————————————————————————————————————

The sun began peeking above the horizon, illuminating Ronan’s bedroom window. He didn’t even flinch at the blazing glare as he sat on his bed, deeply lost in thought. He didn’t get much sleep last night, so he gave up and pondered yesterday’s events. He couldn’t get the mesmerizing sight of her golden eyes out of his head, nor could he forget how close her face was to his in that moment.

Had she really confessed her feelings to him, or was it just another wild fantasy? Either way, Ronan couldn’t deny that he deeply desired to return her affections right on the spot. But then again, this wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Another blind jump, another great fall, another disgraceful retreat.

Solaa wasn’t like any other woman, though. Sure, when they first met, maybe it was out of an obligation among royalty. But she stayed acquainted with him for years afterward, long after most royal families usually are. She never pursued his affections (at least, that he knew of), always supporting his political endeavors and believing in his strength when no one else seemed to.

Even so, something kept him from accepting this evidence as truth. Was this truly the woman he was waiting for? How much of his current feelings were genuine? Could he even trust her? Should he really go for it, or wait some more?

Ronan growled and clutched his head, the questions growing more and more overwhelming.

All at once, the darkness was chased away again. Solaa may not have been in the room, but the memory of her looking into his eyes shone just as bright. There was no deception in her eyes, no lust for his wealth, nothing except unparalleled affection and desire for him. Just him. Nothing else. Part of him wanted to deny it, but the other feeling was too strong.

A light tap on the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Ronan,” his father’s voice called. “Princess Solaa has returned today. She said she wanted to check on you.”

Ronan smiled widely and said, “Tell her I’ll be down in a moment.”

At last, for the first time in forever, he knew what he needed to do.