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Alibaba still remembers the first time he kissed his beloved princess. It was years ago, when both of them were just carefree teenagers pretending to be adults while failing miserably at that. It was a summer on Sindria and both of them were just fooling around in the palace gardens. Back then, there was no sign of clouds for either of them. They were royal kids spending time in a foreign country and being ridiculously drown to each other. What could possible go wrong?
Alibaba still can recall with fondness how beautiful the princess looked that day. The sun was shining on her, reflecting the smile on her face. Gods, how much he grew to love that smile! It wasn’t a confident one; it was a very shy one revealing the insecure side of hers. Still it was so calm and relaxing that it made him feel butterflies on his stomach every time she cracked one smile at his direction.
But this particular day his princess wasn’t looking at him. She was smiling to herself as she was making a crown of flowers for him. She seemed so proud of her work that she made an adorable sight to look at and Alibaba had no problem to keep watching her as long as she worked on that little flower crown. After quite some time she finally raised up her head and looked at him.
''Here Alibaba-kun! This crown is for you, to match with your royal status!'' she proclaimed.
''You are still hopeless at making flower crowns, aren’t you?'' Alibaba asked her honestly while looking amused at the poor job she had done.
''You really don’t know how to talk to girls Alibaba!'' she replied trying to sound more annoyed than she actually was. She also narrowed her eyes to look more convincing. But she failed miserable anyway.
''It doesn’t suit you to be angry'' Alibaba said while he cracked a smile to her. Kougyoku’s cheeks were of a rose color as he approached her and sat next to her on the grass.
He took her small hands into his own and kept coming closer to her.
''Alibaba-chan w-what is…'' she managed to whisper as she blushed harder.
''Sshh! You don’t need to say anything more. Just enjoy this moment’s silence''.
Alibaba’s heart was beating fast in his chest. While he liked to talk for hours about all the girls he had dated in the past the truth was that he was almost unexperienced in this area. He had kissed a couple of girls in the past, but they were just local girls looking for someone to buy them a drink while he was looking for somebody to keep him company.
This time the situation was completely different. Not only because Kougyoku was far less experienced even than him but also because he wasn’t simply looking for company. He wanted Kougyoku’s company and only hers, and admitting that was a bit scary. Trying to figure out what would happen next was terrifying. He tried to relax, to think that she was probably was feeling the same insecurity if not even worse, but nothing seemed to help. Then he looked into her eyes and all the other thoughts disappeared.
Kougyoku filled his vision as she filled his mind and his heart. For that moment she was the only person that mattered in the world. As he was lost in her he leaned forward and kissed her like it was the most natural thing in the world. In a sense, it really was.
Alibaba still recalls her alluring scent and her cherry lips from that day. If he closes his eyes he can remember every moment from that day now long lost into the mists of the past.
I should have kept the crown she gave me that day he tells to himself.
Now, he has a real crown made by gold and given to him the day he was declared the King of Balbadd. Now, he’s no more an insecure teenager instead he’s a powerful man leading his own country. Now, Kougyoku isn’t among the living anymore and his life seems so miserably lonely.