Chapter 12
“Oh Lady Waverly, you had me petrified.” Nicole was holding her chest in a tight grip, heart pounding tenfold as the youngest Earp managed to slink behind her. She was unlocking the back door of her Aunt’s manor when she felt a tap on her shoulders, scaring her, made her almost leap out of her own skin. “You do not tiptoe on someone like that.”
“My apologies, your Majesty. I do not think I was being particularly sneaky as you can hear my footsteps from a mile away.” The younger girl explained. “I did not mean to frighten you. I only wanted to ask where you’re headed at this time of the night.”
Seeing how charming Lady Waverly appear with her hands clasped together on her chest, clearly as startled as Nicole, a miniscule smile found its way on the latter’s lips. “No, of course. You weren’t…” Nicole straightened up, mended herself and cleared her throat. “It’s already late, why are you still awake?”
“I could not sleep, and then I heard you walked past my door.” The younger girl replied. “So I followed you here.”
Not quite knowing what else to speak of, Nicole responded with an “Oh.” with her voice close to a hush. Her brain was clearly still too inebriated to function, more so when she noticed that the younger girl was only wearing her sleeping night gown. She averted her eyes, looking everywhere but the younger Earp.
They stood awkwardly in front of each other; both were waiting for the other to say something or anything, really, contemplating whether they should just go and leave each other on their own personal concerns. And then Nicole let go a mouthful of air she wasn’t aware she was holding when Lady Waverly shattered the deafening silence between them. “Where are you headed?”
“Out to the tower.” Nicole answered; feeling a little foolish as she animatedly pointed her finger at the door behind her, aiming comically for the tower’s direction. She slowly set her hand down and then hid it behind her back. “Do you want to come?”
“At this hour?” Lady Waverly looked at her like she had grown another pair of head, confused.
Nicole knew it was passed to prime, she heard the bell rang. She muttered a quiet “Yes.” before opening the door to head out without waiting for any reply.
Lady Waverly, who seemed curious as to why the King would set forth towards the tower at such hour, followed, rushing after him whom she found waiting for her at the other side of the door; a hand was already outstretched for her to take while the other is holding a torch to light their path with.
“Here, let me help you.” Nicole offered.
Once the youngest Earp’s hand joined hers, she felt a sudden pull at her heart; the immediate contact reminded her of the first time they’ve met and how her heart have reacted at such odd manner.
Lady Waverly’s hand was warm and soft against hers, and Nicole could not help herself from beaming; fortunately for her, Lady Waverly does not seem to notice.
Nicole led them towards the tower, up in a hill not too far away from the manor.
“Is it safe?” Lady Waverly asked cautiously as they stood by the entryway.
“You’re with me. There’s no safest place than with me.” Nicole boasted. It is true nonetheless, they are in England and she’s the King, she essentially owns the whole kingdom; no one would dare to harm them, even when she’s without any royal guards. “Come along now.” She pulled Lady Waverly into the tower and up the cemented steps, careful not to make them trip on the staircase.
By the time they’ve reached the top, part of the heavens was already gleaming with shades of cherries and a hint of golden hue across the horizon.
“Sublime scenery isn’t it?” Nicole asked and stilled as she glanced over to the younger girl next to her, enthralled by the view before her. It was probably the way the twilight glowed directly to Lady Waverly’s face that Nicole fell awestruck, fully captivated at the beauty in front of her. “You’re equally stunning.”
Realizing she had said her thoughts out loud, Nicole let the younger girl’s hand go and placed the torch on the wall stand. “I like watching the sunrise. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, not at all. It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She heard Lady Waverly said, to which she asked what she was thanking her for as she returned to her side.
Lady Waverly replied, “For sharing me this.”
Nicole felt as if her heart got stuck on her throat as she saw the look on the youngest Earp’s face; it was so genuine, so affectionate, and by the time she realized that she took a few steps closer and was reaching out to hold Lady Waverly’s face, it was already too late; fortunately for her though, she had managed to evade the discomforting scenario. She pulled the robe she had let the younger girl borrow to cover herself with earlier and fixed it over her shoulder as she said, “Here, so you will not get cold. It’s unpleasantly frosty here around this time.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.