Red String - Flash Fiction

His fiancée was having tea with the king and the prince didn’t even know about it. At least, I did not notice any uneasiness in his posture as he sat under the arc of the library window, reading in the peace of the ending day.

Why is he so unconcerned about where his fiancée is?

The prince had startled everyone by bringing her to the palace a week ago. The king - his older brother, still unwed - developed an interest in her, and asked me to take the prince away for the whole day. Today, of all days.

My heart hammered in my chest while I clutched the flask of love potion in my pocket.

It was Spring Eve, the one night of the year when the love potion could be used to bind to us our heart’s desire. This, undoubtedly, was what the king was doing in his chambers with the prince’s fiancée, and I was the only person who could tell the prince about it.

However…

The prince closed the volume - a magical chronicle - in his lap, and glanced at his watch. It was half an hour before midnight - the final minutes in which the potion would work. When both clock hands reached twelve, the magic of this day would wane… and I still had not had the opportunity to give the potion to the prince.

He stared off into the distance, his gaze upon the horizon. The Royal Garden was only just coming back to life, the first spring blossoms peeking through the ground, gently illuminated by torches with spherical cupolas. In the distance, the multi-domed hothouse scattered the rays of moonlight, making it look as though mist hovered above the ground, lending a magical, fairy-tale air to the scenery.

“Bernard, would you bring me a cup of tea?” the prince asked, without looking my way.

I couldn’t believe my ears. I had been with him the whole day. He had not eaten anything and only drank what he himself poured, so it’s not like he forgot what day it was.

Or is he simply certain no harm would come from me, his loyal bodyguard?

My chest clenched at the thought of betraying him, but there was no time to lose. I bowed and hastened to the kitchen.

The tea was ready. I took the flask containing the potion…and froze.

It wasn’t the first time I wanted to give the love potion to the prince. Last year and the year before… I had lost count of the number of times I almost gave him the potion. But at the last moment, I always backed away.

I could not betray his trust and did not want his interest in me to be due only to the potion. I sent him some anonymous notes and watched for his reaction, but never once did he give a sign that he had received something out of the ordinary.

There was no time left to try to win his attention. The prince had never shown his true colors in public. Even when we were alone, he would maintain his public image. He was always good at wearing a mask of indifference and behaved as he was expected to behave.

As for me, I tried hard to keep up my mask. I had to if I wanted to stay by his side. And, of course, there was nothing else I wanted more.

Only this year, everything was different– he had brought back a fiancée.

This was my last chance.

With a shaking hand, I poured half of the potion into the tea. The other half, I would drink after the prince. It was understood that the one who drank first would take the lead in the relationship, and I could not abuse my advantage any further.

As the flask disappeared into my pocket, a hand landed on my shoulder.
Startled, I almost spilled the tea, but the prince took the cup from my hands and -- before I even managed to say or do anything -- took a sip.

“What took you so long, Bernard?” he asked.

A smile playing on his lips, he waved me to follow him into his chambers. A few maids turned at seeing the prince, but none thought it strange to see the prince coming from the kitchen with his bodyguard.

Everyone knew the prince would be over-cautious tonight of all nights.

Still, he did not hesitate before taking the cup from my hands.

All that was left was for me to take my half of the potion, and the prince would be bound to me forever.

But, do I dare?

The door closed behind me. I was in the prince’s bed-chamber, standing there like a fool, with no idea of what to do next.

The prince sat on the love-seat at the foot of his bed and crossed his legs. Chin resting on one hand, he fixed his gaze upon me.

My eyes wandered to a stack of opened letters on his table. Neatly bound, they lay there -- each envelope of a different color. On top of the stack lay a royal blue envelope…

My heart skipped a beat as I recalled the color I picked each year to match the cravat he wore the day before I ended up not giving the love potion to him.

I gulped. Does he…suspect me?

“Do you remember our first meeting?” he asked.

There was no accusation in his voice and I sighed with relief.

He waved his hand, indicating the seat next to him.

I sat down gingerly, very conscious of where I was and how the final minutes of the day were slowly ticking away.

“Of course,” I said, tearing my thoughts away from the present and letting them travel back to the past. “You got yourself into trouble at the Royal Academy.”

I smiled, remembering how he had slipped away in the middle of the night to go to a festival and gorge himself on candy that was strictly prohibited by his physician. It felt so out of place for the perfect student image he was always careful to maintain.

“Remember the look on the Academy guards’ faces?“ He laughed at the memory. ”When they caught me on my return, all I could think of was, How do I get away with this? I don’t want to be punished for breaking curfew!” He glanced over at me. “And then you showed up, telling them you were the one who slipped out and that I had gone to haul you back?”

We both laughed.

As punishment for breaking curfew, we had both been assigned extra swordsmanship practice. What a great time that had been -- like a dream come true.

My gaze had always lingered on the prince during training sessions. As the best student in class, his sparring partners kept changing, each one better than the last. I almost despaired, until the extra practice with him brought my skills up to scratch.

Who would have thought the Fate Wheel would assign me as his personal bodyguard after that?

“It was Fate.”

The words slipped from my tongue and the prince stared at me, a serious expression on his face.

Does he suspect me, after all?

It didn’t matter. The clock was ticking the last moments to twelve – there was no way I could drink my half of the potion in time. The effects would disappear before the last chime faded away.

I clutched the flask in my pocket and sighed with relief.

I wanted the prince, but I did not want him bound to me solely by the magic of the potion.

He had opened all my letters and had not said anything… He let me see them tonight… It could only mean one thing - he wanted me to give up.

“Say, did you put something in my tea?” he asked, his tone deceptively casual.

I stared down at my clenched fists and nodded. I had already betrayed his trust and didn’t want to dig my own grave any further.

The clock struck twelve; chimes of the midnight hour sounded, one after another.

One…

The prince placed an arm along the back of the love-seat and leaned his head against it.

Two…

“I’ve heard,” he said, looking at me, “it can take a while for the effects of the potion to kick in.”

Three…

“How did you like your freshly brewed coffee this morning?” He sounded solicitous.

Four…

I blinked at him, remembering the unusual occurrence. The prince had got up very early and was by himself in the kitchen when I walked in. He already had the coffee brewed and was about to take a sip when I pointed out that he was holding my mug. He had apologized and handed it to me right away.

Five…

I looked across the love-seat at him. Did he…did he…put the love potion in that cup of coffee?

Six…He sidled over to sit right beside me and adjusted my watch to look at the time.

Seven…My heart hammered. His smile widened as his fingers brushed the skin at my wrist.

Eight…I wanted to pull my hand away, but my body was poised and ready to press forward.

Nine…My heart pounded as heat swept through me, the prince’s gaze encouraging me to close the gap between us.

Ten…My body screamed for me to press forward and claim what I had always wanted.

I hovered close, my lips mere inches from his. His breath felt warm against my cheek. I was about to lose my mind. Only honor and duty held me back, and both were fading fast.

Eleven…

“Obviously,” he said, “you weren’t the only one wishing to use the love potion.”

Twelve!

The last chime echoed away into silence, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing.

Mine? But the prince’s chest rose and fell like he had been running...

A red string appeared around my wrist and led to his. By magic or by Fate - we were bound together.

My prince raised a brow, prompting me to close the gap between us, to take the lead for the first time in my life.

After all, he made sure I drank the potion first. Unless…

I pulled back a little to glance at my prince, who was looking impatient.

…unless he took a sip before handing me the cup of coffee.

“Bernard,” he murmured, his lips against mine. “Focus, please.”

My prince had spoken. As always, I had no choice but to follow his orders.