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The first time David wanted to kiss Mykal was during their first reading session; the two were next to each other, she was explaining the letters to him while he tried not to stare at her.
an almost impossible challenge for the boy who fell head over heels for the princess at the wedding…
“You have to pay attention to certain pronunciations,” she said, pointing to some letters.
“Hmm, okay,” said David, looking at the princess, his eyes fixed on the letter. He could see the princess’s facial expressions, like when she tucked strands of her hair behind her ears while she spoke.
“She’s so beautiful… so intelligent,” David thought.
“When I was five years old, my brother made us believe that we had to pronounce each letter the same way… so Mirab and I pronounced the prayer incorrectly for two years… luckily it happened before my father came to power,” she said, laughing.
“Even his laughter is sweet,” David thinks, without listening to him.
“Has this kind of thing ever happened to you?” Mikal asked, looking at the young man.
After a few minutes of silence, he regained his composure, and David bit his lip and looked at the young woman... partly to try to remember his question, but also to resist the urge to kiss her.
He had to try not to look ridiculous or even talk about how his family had excluded him and the anointing….
“When we were little, my father used to tell us war stories, at least the ones he participated in, but until now no one believed his stories; they're all so crazy,” said David.
“He participated in many wars,” the young woman asked.
“Oh, you know… a few, and you’ve already seen the war chants,” David asked.
He felt like banging his head; it was a stupid question. David understood why Eliab had told him not to speak to the princess. She, in response, raised an eyelash before bursting into laughter.
That was the end for the young shepherd; he would have to go back to live with his father.
“No, my father always refused,” she said.
“I understand,” he said.
“I suppose your father would do it too; who would want to see their child die like that?” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
“My father,” he said without thinking again.
She makes an “o” with her head, after which their discussion turns to scriptures, Mikal talks about the miracles of Moses while teaching David to read.
David understands quite quickly, probably due to the young woman's lessons.
“If you like, we can meet once a week to teach you how to read,” she said with a smile.
“Why not two?” he said.
“If you want, but I’ll be busy with my lessons soon… but I think I can manage,” she said.
“If it bothers you, we can do it once a week!” he said, as fast as lightning.
“I’ll tell you, okay?” she said, handing him a piece of parchment; it was the one depicting Moses meeting God. They briefly touched hands.
The two looked at each other awkwardly before separating.
That evening he wanted to kiss her, but Kezia interrupted him, claiming that her mother wanted to see her. She got up and greeted David before leaving.
The young man then returned to his room to think about everything he had said.
The second time was when Mikal came to his room after David had cuts on his hand following a long music session with his father; she came with bandages, water, and a piece of fruit.
She was embarrassed by the situation.
“I’ve just brought you something to perk you up!” she said, approaching him and offering him the fruit.
He looked at it before taking the fruit; it was an apple from the garden. David liked to think that Mikal had really been looking for an apple in the courtyard and not one of his servants.
He bit into the apple, but it wasn't ripe.
“So?” she asks timidly, brushing some of the soil from her hands.
“It’s very good… thank you very much,” he replied, swallowing the apple and biting into it again.
His mother had always told him that you shouldn't lie to the person you loved, but given the secrets David was hiding from him... he could at least do it!
She approaches him again and takes out the bandages and a cup filled with water.
“What are you doing?” David asked innocently.
“I’ll heal your wounds, I already did it for Jonathan when we were little!” she said with a wide smile, just thinking about that memory.
“I’m willing to trust you, but I’m going to heal myself!” he said, showing his hands.
“Don’t be afraid, come on, give me your hand,” she said, wetting the strips in the cup several times before extending her hand.
“Very well,” he said, offering his hand without grumbling; he knew he couldn’t resist her.
Their hands touched again. Mikal examined his fingers, which were still bleeding after he had played for the king for over five hours. After tending to them, she took his other hand and a bandage, then placed it on his fingertips, causing the young man to tingle.
The first hand, the one she had treated, wasn't properly treated; he could still see the blood on her fingers.
“Tell me about your life… I mean, how did a princess like you grow up?” said David.
She laughed at this remark.
“To be honest, I grew up in a simple, very peaceful house. I played with dolls, I braided my father’s hair before every battle as a promise of a return. Of course, everything changed when he received the anointing,” she said, looking at the shepherd’s hands.
“How old were you when he received it?” David asked.
“I was almost ten years old, and imagine, afterwards I had to learn to read, write, and behave like a princess!” she said.
“If I told you I once beat a lion, you wouldn’t have been impressed!” he said.
all this under the eyes of David who was for the second time very close to the princess but also she held his hands full of earth and blood.
“Weren’t you afraid?” she asks.
“No, because I knew that God was with me,” said the confident young man.
“Now I see why my father likes you, you're very much like him,” she said with a small smile. “I wish I had that confidence,” she added, lowering her head.
“You don’t realize it, but you have this confidence, Mykal. I can see it,” he said, lifting Mikal’s face with his free hand. The two were now looking at each other. “You have the confidence of a future queen.”
She felt a warmth rising to her cheeks, and to avoid him noticing, Mikal turned his head, but David turned his head, his chin pointing to face her again, and moved his face close to the princess's.
“Mikal, I never told you this, but…” he began to say before being interrupted by Mikal.
“David, you…” said Mykal before the door opened to reveal Eliab. They both jumped, dropping the cup of water onto David’s tunic.
“Oh… hello princess, what are you doing here?” asked the eldest of the Jesse family.
She glances at Eliab before turning her head to look at the trophy and lifts it. Embarrassed by the situation, the princess begins to yawn, and of course, the fact that David had just placed his hand on hers doesn't help matters.
“Why aren’t you with Jonathan?” she said.
“Princess, if my brother has made advances towards you or anything like that, please allow me to apologize on behalf of the family,” he said, noticing David was almost completely detached from the situation.
“I didn’t do anything,” he said, standing up. You could see all the water on his tunic.
“He’s right. I just came to bring him some fruit, but we started chatting. David, we’ll probably see each other again at dinner, and Eliab… see you soon,” she said, leaving the room.
“Goodbye princess,” said Eliab and David in unison.
Eliab joined his brother and threw him a tunic. Even though he hadn't seen anything of the situation, he was already quite annoyed that David had been causing him trouble since his arrival at court. Furthermore, the fact that Abner didn't like him only made matters worse.
He hoped that neither the king nor Jonathan would find out about this conversation.
“You idiot,” he said before giving the future king another lesson.
And at mealtimes, David does not look at the princess; he simply plays music for the king and the rest of the family.
“I see you’ve taken care of yourself!” exclaimed the king.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” he said, looking at the ground to avoid seeing the princess.
Jonathan leans his head towards David and sees the partially glued bandages, a detail that reminds him of a distant memory near a farm. He looks at his youngest sister, who is calmly looking at her plate.
“Mirab, look at the shepherd,” he said in a low voice.
Mirab complies and then sees the bandages; at this simple sight she smiles before looking at Mikal.
“Do we think the same thing?” Jonathan asks.
“Yes, I wonder if Father saw that,” she said, amused by the situation.
“Very well, I would like you to play the piece you played for me yesterday. Are you able to?” asked the king.
“Of course,” he said, starting to play, of course, with the wounds still open. Mirab smiled for the first time while listening to David’s music, and Mikal left the table quite quickly, claiming to be sleepy. The king paid little attention.
Fortunately for them, neither the king nor the queen noticed David's "care" and that same evening Kezia brought him other care from the princess to limit the scar.
The third time, and the one he succeeded, was just before he faced the giant. He had just put on his armor and was praying that his plan would succeed. Mikal arrived, distraught at the thought of him facing a giant; she was afraid David would die.
“You look like a king,” she said, stepping inside the tent. David turned around to see his beautiful girlfriend, whom he hadn’t seen since their “argument.”
“I feel like I’m not myself,” he said, pointing to the armor that was too big for him.
“Here, this is a passage from Joshua. You told me once that you loved this part of our history. I hope it will help you in your duel against the giant,” she said, slipping the scroll under David’s tunic.
“Thank you…” he said.
“Are you afraid?” the princess asked, taking his hands and trying to make contact with him.
“I am terrified,” he said.
“Then why do you want to do that?” replied the princess.
“For God’s people, I know He is with us, but for the moment I must try to be myself and not a young man in oversized armor,” he said, removing his armor.
“David… I…” Mikal begins to say before being interrupted by the latter
“I’m sorry I left without telling you, and also for the words I used, but Mikal, I promise you I’ll give you a good life!” he said confidently.
“Oh David, we’re not going to start that again,” she said.
“Please, while I am on the battlefield, think about the life we will have later. Together, free and in love like so many others, you will not just be Saul’s daughter and I the son of Jesse, but just David and Mikal!” he said, with all the confidence he had in him, and as if it were the last time the two would see each other.
David wanted freedom and to share it with the one who had lost him; the princess understood this very well… and loved him for it.
“For now, just come back to me alive,” she said, on the verge of tears, before quickly kissing him on the lips, but he placed his hands on her burning cheeks and returned her kiss; it was a sincere and passionate kiss.
The kiss between two soulmates, like Moses and his wife or Abraham and his wife…
a true love that began with passion…
“I’ll be back, Mykal. I promise,” he said, before kissing her forehead and heading off to fight.
David had fulfilled that promise because he returned to her, wounded but alive, to give her a hug and a kiss.
It was the beginning of their life as a couple.
The future king had fulfilled his promise; he had kissed the woman he loved and given thanks to God…