I stare at the little box in awe. The moon's shine brings out the reflective gold embroidered into the surface of the rectangular box of red.

"What is it?" I ask just above a whisper.

He carefully takes off the ribbon that protects it, and opens the top to reveal... a rose. A rose with the softest of pinks at the tips and a darker shade towards the bottom of the fragile petals. It is tightly secured in a mold with soft white fabric.

"This flower is worth a great amount to my family. When my great, great, great, grandfather fell in love with his wife, he gave her this rose. She loved flowers almost as much as she loved him, which is why we have kept the tradition of the royal garden. They say that their love was so strong that it kept the flower alive for as long as they were and beyond. It is tradition for the king to give this flower to his bride. But, I do not love Adora. I just... didn't feel right giving something of such worth to her."

"So, why are you giving this to me?" Why would he give ME something of such importance? What did I do to deserve any of this?

"I'm giving it to you because I trust you more with it. I know Adora won't care for it. And..."

He looks piercingly deep into my eyes, as though he's thinking about his choice of words. He takes in a deep breathe, and parts his lips to speak his mind. As he utters the unspoken word, I hear a voice of great displeasure coming from down the hall.

"MAID! Where did you go, you little rat?" The Queen screams out.

The stress is really getting to her because she never screams like that in such an open space. I look up at Fredrick and instinctively grab a hold of his warm hand as I drag him into a near by room.

"What in the world is going on, Lily? Is everything alright? Why is my mother screaming with such volume? Why on earth would she call someone a name like that?"

Before I raise an eyebrow at his questions, I remember that he's never seen this side of Madia. All he's ever seen is the sweet and slightly controlling side of our beloved Queen. He puts his hands on my shoulders in a panic, as if he's seeking answers for her 'strange' behavior.

"Lily, who is she calling these things to?"

"MAID, I command you to come here this instant!"

She's getting closer as I can hear the slapping of her heels across the marbled floor. I can still hear some distance so I have maybe twenty seconds to explain her behavior.

"MAID!!"

Make that five seconds!

"Fredrick, she's calling... me. I need to go before she gets even more upset."

His hands suddenly drop to his sides as if they're too heavy to carry. His face is emotionless, until a look of pure anger boils up to his eyes.

"Why on earth would she say that to you?! How dare she-"

"Ssshhh, Fredrick, please! She'll hear you"

"Let her hear-"

Before he can finish his sentence, I place my hands on both sides of his face. My fingers softly graze his cheeks as I look into his green eyes.

"I need you to not say a word of this to anyone. Especially her. I need you to cover your eyes and ears and DO NOT open this door."

He searches my eyes for something I can never know, as they seem glossier than usual. I take my hands away before I give into the strange temptation that's almost taken over my mind. I grab onto the door handle and quickly exit the room, leaving poor Fredrick alone.

I run to the Queen's feet, which were about to turn the corner.

"My sincerest apologies, my Queen. I was cleaning the last of the lobby, and I got lost in my thoughts."

It's almost as though flames are shooting out of her eyes as she roughly kicks me away from her. I lay there on my scraped knees, wincing in pain. Though I usually don't scream or cry when she has her days, I will not let a single sound come out of my mouth.

"You ungrateful little brat! When I call you, you COME! Even if you are dying of a disease that restrains your efforts, you COME! I am much more important than your silly day dreaming"

She pushes and kicks me around the hallway until I end up getting thrown at the door where Fredrick's supposed to be. I sit up and cling to the doorframe. I feel a sense of protection as I hold close to those wooden sides, my nails digging into the paint. She pulls me by my leg and drags me to the middle of the large hallway. She makes her last blow by standing me up like a doll and kneeing my stomach, throwing me back on the floor, then huffing away. My chest lifts up and down, my breathing spiking up dramatically. With my hands like fists, I muster up enough inner strength to stand and keep my head held high in a warrior stance. I look up from my shawl to see the door is creaked open, hiding in the shadows of it is a weak looking Fredrick.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He says with his voice almost gone.

My instincts tell me to hide into my shawl in shame, but my gut tells me to look at him.

"I didn't want to distort your perfect image of your mother. Plus, I knew you had a lot on your plate, I didn't want to bother you with my minuscule problems."

"Minuscule?" He says in unbelief.

He steps closer with every word that spills out of his mouth next.

"Lily, your problems will never be minuscule to me! No matter what's going on in my life, you will ALWAYS be more important! You mean the world to me! You're the first person I've been able to have a real conversation with! You make me feel a happiness that I can't ever explain in enough words. Ever since I laid eyes on you when I was just ten years old, I knew you were special. When I was younger, Mincy and Jack were more parents to me than my actual parents ever were. One day, I came to them and asked them to take care of you and to make sure you were safe while I couldn't."

As he utters these words, I get slapped in the brain by a lost memory of Mincy coming up to me with the brightest smile on her face...

My little arms barely make the cut, as multiple cheeses fall from my hands and onto the floor. A woman comes near me, and picks up the cheeses that fell. She puts them in a bag and perfectly knots the top.

"Here you go, honey!" She says in her sweet southern accent.

"Thank you!" I say graciously, giving her a small smile.

"I'm Mincy! What's your name?" The tall woman with curly jet black hair says, kneeling to my small level.

"Lily." I say in my frail voice.

The woman hands me an apple, saying "Are you hungry, sweetheart?"

I nod my head, as I haven't had anything to eat all day.

"Tell you what! Since you seem like a very sweet girl, how about if you come to my farm for groceries from now on! I have many bags so that you don't have to carry them around like that."

Mincy knew me before I knew her! In fact, Fredrick has known me for a lot longer than I initially thought!

I then get transported back to reality as Fredrick is a mere couple steps away from me.

"After that, I haven't been able to see you again. Only glimpses while you were cleaning or when my mother called you into the throne room. Until just a couple weeks ago, when I accidentally bumped into you cleaning my room. Lily, that day, I felt something. Something I've never felt before. As I spent more time with you, I've grown to love you for who you are, inside and out. You always put others before yourself, you're sincere, you're... amazing. You are the most amazing girl I've ever met. And the most beautiful. And now I understand why you think you're worth less than everyone else. Because my idiotic mother's been feeding you lies that should've never been there!"

He stands in front of me now, leaving no space in between.

"You ARE worth it. You ARE amazing. You ARE gorgeous- no, beautiful! And I honestly wish I wasn't marrying Lady Adora, because my heart doesn't belong to her. It belongs to you."

Silent tears then stream down my cheeks as if I were Niagara Falls, dripping from my face to the cold floor.

Beautiful...

Amazing...

Worth it...

I've never been told these things in my life.

"Miss Lily,"

He cups my face in his palms as my tears of joy, confusion, and sadness run through them.

"I love you," Fredrick whispers with a shaky voice.

"I-I love you too, Fredrick," I say with my breathes cutting in and out.

He then tilts his head, and I do the same.

"I'm sorry," He utters, confusing me even further.

"For what?"

"For this."