Destined Love by Marline (i can read book club txt) 📕

gates and I stared out the window like in a trance. Everything was so incredibly beautiful, the bushes that had been cut into various shapes, the flowerbeds and the beautiful palace. I smiled as I saw it and realized that I would soon be able to take a warm bath. But first I had to do something else, I had to bring my new horse, who I had named Liberty, freedom, to the stables, and make sure that he had enough to eat and a warm place to stay. If it wasn’t for that beautiful horse, I would never have made it home.

I stepped out of the carriage and told my parents that I would be right back. Liberty was tied to the back of the carriage and I untied him and then pet his nose. He whinnied softly.
“This is your new home, Liberty.” I told him. “I hope you’ll be happy here.”
“I’m sure he will be.” I heard a voice behind me. “Especially since you’re his owner.” I turned around and smiled at Nathan.
“Thank you.” I said to him. “Do you want to come to the stables with me? I’m going to assure that Liberty is treated with the utmost care.”
“Liberty,” Nathan pondered. “Freedom. I like it.”
“If it wasn’t for this horse, I wouldn’t have made it to the army.” I told Nathan as we were walking towards the stables. When we arrived one of the servants took the horse from me and I told him to give Liberty an extra treat and to take good care of her. He promised and I kissed Liberty on his nose before leaving.

The path back to the palace was a quiet one, with neatly lined up trees on both sides. Nathan and I walked in silence until Nathan suddenly stopped me.
“Cleopatra,” he said, “I still feel like I haven’t thanked you properly for saving me from that island.” I turned towards him.
“It’s fine.” I said, “I’m just happy that everybody is all right. Besides, you saved my life so now I saved yours.” Nathan grinned and took a step towards me. He ran a finger over my cheek and I swallowed. He then leaned forwards and gently placed his lips on mine. I kept my eyes open for a few seconds, to make sure that this was really happening and then I closed them and surrendered to his kiss. I slipped my arms around his neck and he had one hand on my cheek and the other around my waist and pulled me closer and closer. I was slowly running out of breath but at that moment I would rather suffocate than make him stop kissing me. When we pulled away we were both gasping for air.
“That was a better thank you.” Nathan said, when he had gotten his breath back. I couldn’t answer, too stunned and happy to be able to speak.
“I’ve fallen in love with you, Cleo,” Nathan said gently. “And I was wondering if you feel something for me as well?”
I smiled and looked up into his dark brown eyes.
“You were all I could think about when I was sleeping on the forest floor or making beds or doing whatever other chore I did as a maid. I got annoyed at myself more than once because I just couldn’t keep my mind off you.” I bit my bottom lip and then said: “I think I’ve fallen in love with you too.” Before I knew it his lips had captured mine again and I knew that my skin would never stop responding to his touch.

With his arm around me we walked towards the palace. I lay my head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of my head and then smelt my hair. I looked up at him.
“I’m sorry,” I said, a little embarrassed, “but my hair probably does not smell very good at the moment.
“On the contrary,” he said, smiling, “I was wondering how it could still smell so good after all you’ve been through.” I smiled as well, and put my arm around his waist.
“Will you have dinner with me tomorrow evening?” Nathan suddenly asked me.
“I would love to.”

2 Months Later

My parents were having a ball that evening and I spent more time standing in front of the mirror than usual because I knew that Nathan was coming too. When I was finally satisfied with my appearance, I descended the stairs and slipped into the already crowded room. I had asked my parents not to give me a formal entrance because I didn’t feel like getting all that attention tonight.
I walked into the room and within a few seconds I felt his arm around my waist. He observed me sideways.
“Now that you’re wearing lip gloss I can still kiss you right?” He asked, grinning.
“Of course, I would never take lip gloss over a kiss from you.” I smiled. He laughed and kissed me. I loved the fact that we couldn’t care less what others thought about us.
“You know, we really shouldn’t do this, what if we declare war on each other when we break up?” I asked out of the blue.
“Well, let’s just not break up.” He suggested. I actually thought that was a perfect idea. And achievable. For the time being.
“You know what I really feel like doing right now? I feel like going out riding. We haven’t ridden together since that first day.” Nathan looked at me anxiously. I looked down at my dress and then decided I could ride sidesaddle for today.
“Sure,” I said, “but don’t be surprised if I fall off riding sidesaddle. And I certainly won’t win in a race.” He laughed. I loved his laugh, I could listen to it all day. Every time I looked at him I could not believe that I had disliked him at first, that I hadn’t trusted him. He was absolutely perfect, physically and mentally. I should really stop misjudging people before I’ve even met them, I thought to myself.
“What are you thinking?” Nathan asked, as we slipped out of the ballroom and walked towards the stables.
“I’m was just wondering how it was possible that I didn’t like you at first and I reminded myself that I shouldn’t misjudge people.” I said, a little embarrassed.
“Well, turns out I taught you a very important lesson in life.” He teased me.
I punched him playfully. “That’s not the only thing you taught me,” I mused.
“What else have I taught you?” He asked, curious.
“Hmm.. You taught me that Prince Durwald isn’t the arrogant player that he is rumored to be and you taught me what having a boyfriend is like.” I answered.
“I still can’t believe that you’ve never had a boyfriend.” He said unbelievably.
“What about you! There are thousands of girls who would be your girlfriend instantly. The last thing I expected from you was to have never had a girlfriend.” He turned me towards him and looked me deeply in the eyes. We were standing in the middle of the courtyard, in a little house built right in the middle. It smelled like roses all around and added to the romantic atmosphere. “I was waiting for the right one.” He said softly. His hand ran over my cheek. “I love you.” He plucked one of the roses and handed it to me. It was red and had little water drops from the rain which had fallen a few moments ago. It was perfect. I couldn’t believe he had just said that to me and I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t say anything. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to reply.
“I love you too.” I finally managed to whisper. We leaned towards each other and shared a long, passionate kiss. But I felt like something was wrong, something was bothering him. I pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“I don’t know. You seem nervous.” I said.
“I just told a girl I loved her, guys get nervous when they have to do stuff like that.” He laughed it off. But I could see there was something wrong.
“Nathan..” He sensed that I would not let it go and he noticed that I knew him too well to see there was nothing wrong.
“Wait until we get to the tower.” He said as he took me by the hand and we continued walking towards the stables. I was extremely curious but knew he would not tell me anymore and therefore decided to wait patiently.
The horses were saddled quickly and I got on, sidesaddle. I had needed to learn this for official ceremonies but I rarely did it when I went out riding for fun and I did not enjoy it. But it was a bit difficult to ride normally in the dress I was wearing. We went slowly at first but then gradually went faster.
“You want to race?” He asked, with a twinkle in his eye. It reminded me so much of the first day I had met him and I laughed when I realized how much had changed since then.
“It’s your fault if I fall off!” I shouted at him but our horses were already galloping at full speed. Breathless we arrived at the tower.
“You’re still a pro, even in sidesaddle!” He laughed as he got off and then walked over to my horse to help me down. His hands were around my waist and when I was on the floor he did not let go. Instead, he leaned forwards and kissed me once again. I put my arms around his neck, he put his around my waist and then lifted me up. I giggled as he spun me around.

With his arm around me we stood on top of the tower, gazing at the beauty before us. There were mountains and behind the mountains was the sea. Above us were thousands of twinkling stars and it was nearly full moon. There was no light but we didn’t need it. I leaned my head against Nathan’s shoulder. Suddenly I remembered that he was going to tell me something on the tower and I lifted my head to look at him. He sensed what I was going to ask him and let me go. He got something out of his pocket and then bent down on one knee. I was stunned as I realized what he was about to do.
“Cleopatra, I love you and I will always love you. Will you marry me?” He asked as he held out a ring towards me. I couldn’t speak for the second time today. Had Nathan gone crazy? He was proposing to me but I was only 16! He got up, slid the ring back in his pocket and took my hands.
“You probably think I’ve gone mad but I can explain. It’s a long and complicated story but in the end I had to choose between an instant marriage and loosing Tokito. And since there’s no other girl I’d rather spend the rest of my life with, I chose to ask you to marry me.” I gasped and stared at him for a few seconds before I forced the words out of my mouth.
“Could I have some time to think about it?”
“Of course, take all the time you need as long as it is no longer than 5 days. I need to know before that.” He answered.
“Who knows about this?” I asked.
“Your parents know about it but said that it was up to you to decide. After all, it