A naive young soul, a short story of fiction

There were at least 300 steps to the top of the palace, that much she knew, but she never really bothered to count, there were other things, more important, in her world. She didn't care about the grandeur and the graceful manner of the palace, the gold that shimmered in the sun, the gardens that spread for miles and miles, it was all lost on her.

She was young and thought of herself to be extremely wise for her age, just like so many others of us, she believed she knew what she wanted and she was going for it. Love. Isn't love the one thing that everyone strives for? Isn't it also a thing that shows us how inexperienced we are? But that is only after. After it is over, the sleepless nights and the crying, the time when a new day comes and brings more knowledge to us.

Her priority was love, or so she thought, she thought it was what was missing. Her family had moved all the way over the country for a land that was given to them, but she did not want to leave the capital behind, it was too exciting, it had bigger possibility to give her what she wanted. And so she demanded to stay, arguing that a sixteen-year old knew what she was doing, after all, she was almost an adult.

So her parents left her gold to spend, and from that moment forward she lived with a family of a friend, receiving letters from her birth family every so often. Her friend was a darling, a young woman her own age, somebody she had known since childhood and considered a close friend, naive but close. She had heard about the brother, but she had never met him before, her life had been revolving around different part of the city before. What a surprise was it that love fell on her so fast, just like she had dreamed, just like she had read in so many fairy-tales.

She felt like a princess, the brother of her friend and her were happy for months, they kissed and whispered in corners, they were under a spell. She was so excited for the unknown. They say young love is the purest, and it may be true, we just want to give and take care of the other one and that is what they did for each other, in a sense and up to an extent.

The story does not end with an uncovered love as it wasn't a forbidden one. The story might be of a love taking a different direction, or a different person. There was a soirée in the palace, a few months after the young girl had found butterflies in her stomach. She dressed up and her secret boyfriend followed the suit. There was no need for them to hide, but they had chosen to do just that as it brought adrenaline, it was more like in the fairy-tales and she loved those oh so much.

So they danced the night away, across from each other, glancing towards one another when they thought no one was looking. And somehow no one had noticed them sneaking away for months, or maybe nobody cared, but anywise, their secret was kept better than any government could hold theirs.

As she danced in the huge hall, with one partner after another, she came across a young, dark haired gentleman, a little older than her, but not by much. There was a spark in his eye, a determination in his gait, and an ease to his swing. In a couple of seconds she forgot about her love and it was replaced by a new one. After all, how could she have known that it was not real love before the dark haired stranger, if no one had explained her the feeling in a way that she understood?

She had never seen the prince before, but she felt the aura of authority around him, it was what pulled her in, made her waver in her commitment, yet there was not any shadow in her view on what true love was. In her mind she thought that she knew what was right and she just pretended the ''before'' never existed. There was only her and the prince from that moment forward. There was no way she could be wrong twice.

There were soirées and gifts and countless adventures without sneaking around. They did things she had never dreamed of doing and every waking moment they spent together. Oh, how easy it was, with no limitations, they had everything and they explored the palace that seemed to never end. Room after room, gallery after gallery. Oh and the library!

The memory of her first love got pushed deep down, she was not willing or able to admit that she did not know all, she wanted to be an adult, because that was what all kids want. That was after all when she thought she would be allowed to do anything and everything.

Even less time passed on this flame, before she found someone else, the only man that talked down to the prince, an even bigger force he had. No, it was not the king, but the thinker of their time. A man that was valued for the wisdom he would one day bring. He was studying in the royal library when the girl first noticed him, and day by day, even though she continued visiting the library with the prince, her eyes rested on him less and less.

This was the time when she started realizing that she was missing something from each of her loves. There was a void that was never filled, a void that had been there even before the naive affections of a young human set in. Only after she fell for the third time, she realized that no other could fill what was missing in her. She gave up love a while later and only with years came the realization that she was the missing piece, that youth was not when she had known all, nor there would ever come a time to be the wisest of them all. With years came new love, not just for others, but also for herself. She dealt with her insecurities, she learned for herself and then she took it upon her to find somebody to not not only escape loneliness, but to share life, to really celebrate it.

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This was actually a ridiculous dream I had tonight, somehow it was just focused on a girl falling for a guy, getting him to like her and when that happened, she would go for someone else, forgetting about the previous one like he had never been there.

I was once teenager, and I think more often than not, we are not ready to have a lover that early, it gets pushed on us(we take it upon ourselves to push on us) that you need a boyfriend/girlfriend, after all, it is cool, that is what adults do. But now, looking back, I realize that we have no idea how to take care of ourselves in those fragile years, how can we think for two when we are not even able to think of ourselves completely?

I know this is not my usual story, I tend to leave love out of the story because it is so overplayed in so many places, the only thing in love I see as worthy of writing is what I consider real love, plus I think a sci-fi story should be that, not a love story with space ships in the background. Adventure is what keeps readers engaged, love is that each story should have, but it should not overshadow the plot like it happens in this dream of mine.

On a funny note Elton John was in my dream and commented on my characters horrible clothing choice, she shot back, telling him that the huge earring he had was horrid, so that was fun.

P.S. I will post my dishes on Tuesdays for a while from now on as on Mondays I need to take care of a very special horse in my life :D

Have a great day, week and life,
Linda