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“Waltz, tell me a story.”
As always when Lucette had a particularly stressful day coming up, she was snuggled up in Waltz’s room for the night. She found comfort there, knowing that he loved her and would always protect her with everything in him. It made it easier for her to fall asleep if she knew his arms would be around her. He always made a token resistance before giving in though. It had become almost like a game.
Tonight he had put up less of a fight than usual, seeming almost eager to get her into the bed beside him where he could curl his arms around her and hold her close.
“What kind of story would you like, my little star?” His voice was soft and deep in her ear, his words caressing her heart as his breath tickled her skin.
She looked into his ruby eyes, loving the way the skin crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her. They had been together for almost a year now, and her heart still raced in her chest when he called her by that nickname. It was a reminder that he had always cared for her, even when no one else did, even when she hadn’t known herself. Nothing had ever made her feel so cherished.
“Tell me a story about us,” she pleaded, fingering the strings that tied his shirt closed, “something from our childhood together.”
His smile grew softer at her request, his eyes shining with his love for her. Fingers brushed down her back, calming and reassuring as he opened his mouth to begin. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young princess with who radiated light and beauty like the morning star…”
Lucette let out a sigh of happiness as she settled herself against his chest and listened to his warm and wonderful voice tell her a story just for her. He was the perfect storyteller, and she enjoyed his puppet shows more than she would ever admit aloud, but her favorite stories were always the ones he told just for her. His royal audience.
“...down in the village lived a boy who loved the princess more than anything in the world,” Waltz continued, winking at her as he brought himself into the narrative. Lucette smiled, but said nothing. She didn’t want to interrupt the story. “One day, while visiting the palace to learn from his teacher, the boy came across the princess, who was hiding in the garden and crying. The boy squeezed into the hiding place with the princess and dried her tears with his handkerchief, asking what had upset her so. The princess said that she had asked her mother about the true love in fairy tales, wondering if it was real and she would meet her own prince charming someday. Her mother said that true love didn’t exist, and no one really loved another person selflessly. At the thought that no one but her mother would ever love her, the princess grew sad. She told the boy that someday she wanted to find her true love and have her own happily ever after. The boy, who already loved the princess very much, promised her that someday, when they were older, he would marry her and they would live happily ever after together. Years later, they found each other again, and the boy was able to fulfill his promise…”
Lucette rubbed away the tears that had welled up in her eyes at his story. She didn’t want to let him know how emotional his words had made her, so she adopted a business-like attitude. “But we aren’t married,” she pointed out, “so your ending needs a little work.”
Waltz laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re right, little star. We aren’t married yet. But, I’d like to think that I made good on the ‘happily ever after’ part of the deal.”
She couldn’t stop the soft smile that blossomed on her lips, or the gentle kiss she pressed to his neck. She loved him so much that it was impossible to keep it all contained. “I love you, Waltz.”
He tilted her chin up and then pressed his lips to hers in a warm kiss that promised more to follow. “And I love you, Lucette. I always have and I always will.”