oses, blood red and beautiful, are front and center. Alexa and I sit on a couch on the deck. She’s tucked beneath my arm, and I’m content to hold her close. We enjoy the garden together. Holding her here with her head on my chest is the best, the most complete and the most contented I think I have ever felt.
The brambles have been cleared away. The garden is restored to its full beauty. The lawn is gorgeous and the house is fully restored. At last, there is peace.
“Jagger?” Alexa asks me gently.
“Yes, Alexa?”
“What happened to the third prince and the princess? The ones who the king saw sitting in the courtyard together?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I kiss the top of her head. “Do you really want to know?”
“Of course I do.” She snuggles closer and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “I need to know if it’s a proper romance or not. I’m not letting you get away with an unfinished story, flyboy. You’re not off the hook yet.”
Flyboy. I’m glad to say the nickname’s still accurate. I am flying, but I’m flying on my own schedule now. No one’s going to fuck with me anymore, especially not Miss Karina.
“Alright, alright. Listen well.” I gather my thoughts, recalling the conclusion to the story I’ve woven. “We’ll finish the story today and you can pass your judgment. How does that sound?”
“Finally,” Alexa teases. “I’m ready.” And she looks up, “Captain.” With that she almost throws me off my purpose. It’s an effort not to sweep her up right now. But I manage to say,
“You’d better be ready, because I’m only going to tell the tale once.” I clear my throat. I don’t want to sound froggy when I conclude my best story yet.
“Another month passes before the prince comes to see the king, and in that month, the king sees the prince and the princess spend more and more time together. Sometimes they steal away during the day to sit in the courtyard, spending their days laughing. Sometimes they wander the castle halls as the prince speaks of his ambitions for the future and the princess shares her dreams. Sometimes they sit in silence in the library, reading beside each other and cherishing each other’s proximity. The king is pleased with what he sees, but he gives the prince the same offer he extended to the princes before him.”
“A test where failure is punishable by death,” Alexa says.
“The very same. And of course, the third prince is ready to accept. He swears he loves no one more than he loves the princess. But he says, ‘Sire, I feel sure that the test will be fair and no less than your daughter deserves, for she is the fairest princess of any land. I fear I may not prove worthy of her but, even if it costs me my life I must take the chance, for without her my life would be worthless.’
“And so he is brought to the same room as his brothers, exposed to the same slow music, given the same delicious foods, and left to relax on the same soft pillows. And of course, it’s not long before the first beautiful dancer makes her way into the room.”
As I speak, I play with Alexa’s hair. It’s soft and smooth, and I stroke it as though it’s the most precious thing in the world. Alexa shivers in delight.
“The prince looks at her with appreciation. And a friendly gaze. He smiles and offers her food and drink from the banquet set up in the room. The dancer is so shocked that she stops dancing, and the prince entertains her with stories and the luxuries gifted to him in the room.
“A second dancer enters and the music speeds up, she finds the prince standing and the first dancer sunk into the pillows. The prince is telling her a fabulous story of far away lands and wars he’s waged, and the dancer is captivated.”
Alexa nuzzles against my hand as I stroke her hair. Goddamn, is she cute.
“When the prince sees the second dancer, he extends the same kind of hospitality toward her. They drink wine, but the spirit is companionship and far from any hint of seduction.
“Reluctant to interrupt the prince’s tales and good humor, the dancers remember that they have a task to perform. They nuzzle close, either side of him and whisper temptation into his ears.
“‘Just one kiss, my prince,” whispers the first dancer, ‘Or maybe two,’ the other giggles. And they both say together, ‘No-one will know.’
“The prince laughs, ‘No-one will know,’ he says as he slaps them playfully, ‘For there will be nothing to know.’ He smiles, ‘You are very lovely and delightful, both of you,’ he says, ‘and any man would be delighted and honored to entwine in delicious intimacy with you.’ His eyes sparkle with mischief, but he says, ‘Any man, that is, who is not truly in love.’ They all laugh as he says, ‘Now, do you want to hear the rest of the story?’
The prince spends all night weaving tales for the dancers, and when morning breaks and the king enters the room with the guards, he finds the prince at the end of a story, the dancers just as enthralled as they had been all of that long night.”
A gentle breeze teases the hair on my arms and makes Alexa shiver. I hold her closer, keeping her warm.
“Another storyteller,” Alexa muses. “I wonder who you took that from.”
“Shh.” I hold a finger to her lips and Alexa kisses it. “We’re almost done. Don’t you want to hear the end?”
“I do.” Her lips move against my finger. It stirs me.
The fragrance of her perfume, the taste of her skin, the way she feels… how could I have been so blind before? I need her. She completes me.
“The king is elated. The prince has passed the test. Not only did he not fall victim to the two temptress dancers, but he deflected the situation through the kindness of his heart and treated the women like dear friends. This kind man is a perfect fit for the king’s daughter. And when the princess rushes into the room, crying with happiness, and the prince sweeps her into his arms and kisses away each and every one of her tears like she’s the most important thing in his world, the king knows he’s made a wise choice. His daughter has found the man who loves her more than anything, and she’s waited and waited for this day to come. At last they can be together.”
“At last,” Alexa murmurs dreamily. “It’s been months, hasn’t it? Months of waiting?”
“Months,” I agree. “But the wait has paid off. The hardest part is over. Now the prince and the princess can be happy together forever. The king has them quickly married, and they start their life as one.”
Alexa sighs and sinks back against me. “Alright,” she says. “That one was a pretty good one. Predictable, but it made me feel.”
“That’s because you connected with the story,” I tell her.
“I think it’s because you made me wait so long for it.” She winks. “So long that I’m thirsty. Do you have any wine, my prince? In fact, your mouth must be dry from talking so much. Share it with me. No one has to know.”
I laugh, and for what feels like the first time in decades, it’s uncomplicated by stress or outside pressures. In that moment, tucked away in our garden behind our house, it’s just me and Alexa. We share our world together, and we live the stories I weave.