Chapter 5

That night, Maia lay in bed, thinking, when there was a light knock on the door.

“Yes?” Maia called out, and Mr. Sween walked in.

“I just wanted to wish you a goodnight.” He smiled.

“You too. I do have a question.” Maia sat up.

“Yes?”

“What’s a boyfriend?”

“Why do you ask?” He smiled, already knowing the answer, and sat down on the foot of the bed.

“My father said I’d never have one. But Oliver says he wants to be my boyfriend. I said yes but... I’m not sure what that means.”

“Well, typically, a boy asks a girl out like that if he thinks she’s pretty. Which you are, very much so. You will have many boys chasing after you, you just have to choose the right one.”

“How do I know which is the right one?” Maia wondered.

“It will be the one you love.” Mr. Sween put a hand on her leg.

“What’s love?” Maia asked, never hearing that word before, causing Mr. Sween’s heart to ache.

“Love is a very special thing, my dear. Love means something different to everyone, but usually, it means you’d do anything for that person. You might even give up your life for them. And in some romantic cases, it could mean they want to spend the rest of their life with you.” He explained it the best he could in a way he hoped she could understand.

“Do you love me?” She asked as Mr. Sween got up to leave.

“Of course I do.”

“Well, I love you too. Do you think Oliver loves me?”

“Only time will tell, dear. Only time will tell. Now you try and get some sleep. Stop thinking about boys.” Mr. Sween laughed as he turned and left, gently closing the door behind him.

Maia’s heart fluttered. Someone loved her.

Maia and Oliver went on a walk almost every day. As soon as Oliver would get off work, he would rush to get Maia and they’d walk around and sit by the lake.

One day, they were sitting by the lake while the sun was setting.

“Hey Maia, I have a question.” Oliver almost whispered as a duck swam by.

“Yes?” Maia looked at Oliver and how the lake reflected in his light eyes and how his hair just fell right. It suited him.

“What are your goals in life?”

Maia looked back at the lake and the small ripples. She had never really thought about it. It’s a simple question but she didn’t have an answer.

“What are yours?” She turned the question back on him, hoping to get some ideas.

“I want to meet a girl and settle down somewhere. The King even said that once I had enough money, I was free to move somewhere else and live my own life.” He explained.

“I want the same thing. I want to be loved.” She said, looking at the lake with sadness in her eyes. She knew Mr. Sween loved her, but it was different. She wanted the romantic one he talked about.

“Well, so far I like you,” Oliver said nervously as Maia turned to look at him. “One day, I may be the one to love you and you may be the one I settle down with.”

“That would be nice.” Maia smiled. She did like Oliver. He was nice, and handsome, and treated her well.

“We should head back,” Oliver said after some time as the sun was almost done setting.

“Yeah.” Maia stood up and Oliver walked her back to her room.

“Same time tomorrow?” He asked.

“Yes.” She smiled, excited.

She walked into her room and it wasn’t long after that that Mr. Sween knocked on her door once more.

“How are you and Oliver doing?” He asked with a smile.

“Good.” She smiled back.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked as he sat at the foot of her bed watching her walk around and pick at things.

“Yes.”

“Do you love him?”

There was silence for a while.

“I think so.” She said quietly, looking down.

“Don’t be shy, dear. You should always make sure those you love know it. Just please be careful. You’re a pretty sixteen-year-old girl with little experience in life. Some people can be very mean and take advantage of that. I don’t want to see you hurting with a broken heart. But, if it comes to that, know I will always be there for you.” Mr. Sween went on to say.

“So should I tell him? Or do I wait?” Maia was confused by Mr. Sween’s information.

“You can. But I do recommend you wait a bit longer. Let him say it first. Make sure he’s not just trying to use you. Love is a very powerful emotion, Maia. It can build someone up, like you, but it can also break someone down to almost nothing. Don’t take the words ‘I love you’ lightly.” Mr. Sween raised his eyebrows as he stood up.

“Okay. I think I know what I have to do now.” Maia said as she sat down on the bed, looking at the wall.

“Good. Just follow your brain, not your heart, dear. Don’t let some boy come in and hurt you.”

“I won’t. No one will ever hurt me like before, right?”

“I hope not. But I will say emotional pain is much different. It’s harder to heal.” With a smile from them both Mr. Sween left the room, leaving Maia alone,

Mr. Sween had been paying for her to have classes to learn how to read and write. They said she was advancing quickly. So, she sat down at her small vanity and grabbed some paper and a pen, and started writing.

She had already written a letter to Jasmine with a lot of help from Mr. Sween and was waiting for a response. But this letter wouldn’t be mailed. She planned to hand deliver this one when the time was right. She just had to be patient.

She stayed up all night writing. By morning, her eyes were burning and she was exhausted both mentally and physically.

Finishing the last bit of her long letter, she folded it up and put it in the pocket of her dress, and laid down. Oliver wouldn’t be by until later this afternoon and she didn’t have any classes so she figured a quick nap wouldn’t hurt.

As soon as she laid down, she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

She was awoken by the sound of a few soft knocks on her door. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up.

“Yes?” She called out, thinking it was Mr. Sween coming to get her for supper or something else.

“Maia? It’s me, Oliver.” She jumped up and tried to fix her messy hair and look more awake than she was. As soon as she felt ready, she opened the door.

“Hi.” She smiled.

“Hi.” He laughed. “Did I wake you?”

“Oh, I was just practicing my writing and must have dozed off.” She laughed it off.

“Well, do you want to go on our walk now? Or would you rather stay in and get some rest?”

“I’d love to go for a walk. I need the sunshine.” She smiled and closed the door behind her and she followed Oliver up the stairs and they took the route they always took - through the gardens, the fields, then the woods, and finishing by the lake.

While they were going through the woods, Maia stopped.

“I want to sit down for a moment.” They both went off the path a few feet and sat on an old fallen tree.

“Nature sure is beautiful.” She looked around at all the trees and overgrown grass, the birds chirping above them.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” Oliver said, causing Maia to look away and blush.

She felt the note in her pocket.

No, not yet. Maybe next time.

She turned back to Oliver.

“Thank you.” She smiled. They resumed their walk and ended up at the lake like always. Maia looked around and saw Mr. Sween watching from afar while he finished work with his hands on his hips. Once he had resumed his activities, she went back to looking at the lake.

She stared at their reflection, or more so, Oliver’s reflection.

He made her feel happy. She couldn’t deny that she had some feelings for him, even if it wasn’t true love.

She thought once again about the note, tracing the folded edges with her fingers, but ultimately decided to wait until another time.

“What were your parents like?” Maia asked, wondering what normal parents acted like and if they were all nice as Mr. Sween.

“Well, they both died when I was pretty young. But from what I remember, my mother was very sweet and helped everyone she could. My father was a hard worker and would sometimes bring in fresh pastries for me and my mom.” Oliver smiled at the thought. “What about yours?”

Maia felt like she had been punched in the gut.

“My mom died giving birth to me. I don’t want to talk about my father.” She said simply, every trace of a smile being replaced by pain and sadness.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.” Oliver raised, now nervous.

“It’s okay. A lot of people don’t know the truth, and this is a different universe so word wouldn’t have gotten around.” She shrugged.

“Do you want to continue sitting here or return to your room?” He offered.

“I’d like to go back to my room now. But I want to spend time with you too.” She gave a small smile. The sun was starting to set.

“Well, I’m off tomorrow so we can spend all day together if you like. I’ll even take you to your classes.” He smiled at her. She returned the smile as they both stood up.

Maia started walking back towards the castle and Oliver took a step to follow when he noticed a folded piece of paper on the ground.

She must have dropped this. He was about to return it when he saw his name scribbled on the outside. He started running to catch up with her and shoved the paper in his jacket to read later. He hoped he could return it first thing tomorrow when he went to pick her up and she wouldn’t notice its absence.

They wished each other goodnight, and Maia closed her door, taking a deep breath. She reached into her pockets and her heart dropped. The note was gone.

She started to panic and looked all over the room but saw no sign of it.

Her heart stopped as she thought of someone finding it and reading it. And Lord forbid that person to be Oliver.

She felt tears fill her eyes as she frantically looked over everything, ripping the pockets off her dress and throwing the contents of her vanity on the floor, going through everything.

There was a soft knock on the door. Mr. Sween had come to say goodnight.

“Go away!” She screamed as she continued to search.

“Maia? Are you okay?” Mr. Sween asked as he entered and saw Maia sitting on the floor and sobbing into her hands.