Page 74 of Lost with a Scot
The royal charter had been revised to convert Ruritania’s government to a constitutional monarchy. The noble families had been happy to stand in support of the move, along with the commoners. It seemed the people of Ruritania had never lost faith in the rebel prince. Anna clapped along with the crowd as her brother walked down the aisle and headed out into the castle’s courtyard.
Anna remained behind in the hall and listened to the cheers continue outside. She walked over to the throne and touched the carved crown at the top of the chair. She felt those same ghosts again pressing in upon her. In the pocket of her dress, she held a letter that she’d received before the ceremony. Now that she was alone, she removed it from her pocket and finally broke the seal to read it.
My dearest Anna,
I am coming to join you in Ruritania to renew my suit. Although our parents already signed our betrothal contract, I believe it should be a binding promise only if you wish it to be. But I wonder if perhaps when I arrive you shall not be there. For I saw something in London that has given me pause. I saw you look at another man the way I have looked at you. My heart feels that perhaps another holds you in his arms even as I write this, and that in his arms is perhaps where you truly belong.
If that is so, please know that I believe it is a good thing that you have followed your heart. There was a summer once when I came to visit you and your mother spoke to me privately. Her words have always been at the back of my mind. She said that Alexei was born to live in Ruritania, but you had a destiny that would take you far away to a place that held no crowns, where you would be free to pursue other dreams.
She looked so sad when she said this to me, as if she’d always known that one day you would leave Ruritania. But if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we should not deny who we are, nor deny our calling, regardless of what form it takes. If I arrive to find you gone, I will know your answer. I will be sad, but at the same time there will be peace within me to know that you chose your path wisely.
Yours always,
Erich
She pressedthe letter to her chest. The last bit of guilt she felt at the thought of leaving was gone.
“You always knew I’d leave, didn’t you?” she whispered to the air, and for a moment she thought she felt a caress upon her cheek. “But I won’t be gone forever,” she promised. “I’ll be back,” she said.
“Anna?” Her brother’s voice at the far end of the hall made her spin.
Alexei walked toward her. The heavy crown was gone from his head, and the cloak no longer covered his shoulders. He was simply her brother again, yet also a king. Someday it would be hard to remember the days when they had both been young. There would be so much of her brother’s life she would miss when she left Ruritania, and she would no longer be here to act as Alexei’s private counsel. Before, they’d shared almost everything of their lives, but that was coming to an end, as all things must someday.
“Anna,” he said again as they met in the middle of the great hall.
“I—I have made my choice,” she said. The words caused actual pain inside her. She’d never handled saying goodbye very well.
“You’ve decided to leave, haven’t you?” He placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes a reflection of her own sorrow.
She nodded. “I will be leaving as soon as a ship can be made ready.”
“To Scotland?” he asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.
She nodded again, and the joy of the thought of her new home drew a smile from her.
“What’s it like there?” he asked curiously. “Perhaps one day, when things are peaceful here again, I shall visit you.”
“You had better,” she said. “I think you would like it. The land is wild, untamed, yet it welcomes you with its endless skies and fields of purple heather. Magic still exists there in the ancient forests and fairy pools. It’s home.” She hoped someday her brother could understand what it meant to feel the call of home like she did.
“And Kincade? You’ll stay married to him?”
“Yes, but I want to renew our vows before his family and our friends. There is an old kirk, a church upon a hill, that means a lot to his family. I should like to have a second wedding there. It’s not as if we won’t visit you at least once a year, but we can’t stay here.” Anna wiped away a tear. She wished she could have had a ceremony here with her parents before she left, but that was forever out of reach.
“You’ll be happy with him? You won’t mind giving up life at court?” Alexei asked.
Anna reached up to cup his cheek, the thread of invisible connection with him as strong as ever.
“I never really thought about happiness, not true happiness, until Aiden found me that day on the shore. It was as though everything missing within me was suddenly found. I didn’t feel alone or out of place. I felt I belonged, not just to him or the land, but to myself. Does that make any sense?”
Her brother smiled. “Lovealwaysmakes sense.”
Anna knew from the look in her brother’s eyes that he wanted to ask her to stay here permanently, to make Aiden stay here with her, but it wouldn’t be right for Aiden or for her. Their lives were in Scotland.
“He and I... we’re so alike, you see. I could not imagine staying at court any longer and letting the rules of others dictate my life. It wouldn’t make me happy.”
Alexei leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I shall miss you beyond words,” he said, his lips twitching as he tried to smile, but he seemed unable to manage it.
“I think that’s the best and worst part of loving someone. Someday you have to part, and the thought is painful, but not all parting is forever. We will come back, Alexei, every year, I promise.”
