Moon's Embrace

Eve let out a loud gasp and quickly covered her mouth, still raising her eyes in shock as she looked at the tutor and he also looked back at her.

How did he find out? She asked herself and the more he was there looking at her, the more she started to get scared.

Moon pulled his brows and made himself comfortable in his crouching position and he suddenly laughed which died immediately. He laughed again, his set of teeth revealing and, in that moment, Eve slowly dropped her hands and blinked slowly.

What is this? She asked in her head as she stared at him. This was the first time she would see him laugh and smile wider and she could not help but admire the cuteness. But then, she suddenly thought, 'what was funny in all these?'

Moon wasn't laughing because his suspicion had been right all along, instead, he found it funny that his cousin actually played him and he fell for it. And now that he knows the reason he did that, he is going to tease him for it. Now facing the reality of what was in front of him, his suspicion started the day after the meeting with the King. The first thing he did was to observe and when he walked the Princess home that day, he knew how she talked and it was different from the way she talked when he tutored her later. He found it weird and then the night he followed the servant in the dark, he overheard one of the other servants say;

"If the Princess doesn't return, how do we prove that she entered the lecture room today?"

Moon cleared his throat and Eve stood up immediately before bowing her head.

"I'm really sorry," she apologized. "You shouldn't have found out like this. I was going to tell you myself."

"Having choices and not having…you are the one who said that the other day," Moon said and let the curtain fall back. He stood up and walked back to sit at his table. "I have been looking for you."

Eve still stood there and she looked at him through the curtain. She felt confused. Why wasn't he getting angry after he had been deceived? Why wasn't he reporting her? Why was he looking for her? Still, she dared not sit back down.

"Now, let's open to the page of confession," Moon said and the corner of his lips pulled into a smile. "How long have you been pretending to be the Princess?"

Eve knew she had no other choice than to confess to him, but this was not how she had wanted it to be. "Since the first lesson," she spilled out.

"No, it was since the last governess was here," he corrected and Eve felt sad immediately. "I was doing some evaluation and from what you already knew before I came, I saw no fault in what she was teaching. As a matter of fact, I saw no reason why she had to leave, except it's something personal. So now, I'm going to ask you…What happens when someone finds out about this?"

*

Eve groaned as she lifted the wooden pail of water and she dragged it along as she headed to where the flowers were to water them. It was somewhere along a narrow road and close to the tutor quarters. When she got there, she set the pail aside and looked around before she started to water the flowers. She sighed after a while and dropped the bowl. Earlier, the tutor had said to meet him around this place so they can finish what they didn't say in the lecture room. Eve knew she didn't have any other option, especially after the question he asked her. If anyone should find out about what she did and report it, that day would be her death.

She heard footsteps coming from the side and she stood up immediately to see the tutor who now came to stand in front of her. As she bowed to greet him, she wondered what he wanted to ask her this time and why he couldn't say it earlier.

Moon looked at Eve and he recognized her instantly from up close. He then lowered his eyes down to her leg which her long dress had covered. She was the one from the beginning all along, he thought; the servant who he saw crying that night, the one who had that old red bracelet tied to her hair, the one who had stood her ground with her words when they met at the lecture room. They were all the same person.

"Why did you ask to see me here? Eve asked. "As you know, a servant is not allowed to be seen like this with someone like you."

Moon raised his eyes to look at her and moving his eyes up a little, he saw the curls of her hairline which the gentle breeze is trying to move.

"I'll go straight to the point then. I see no reason for an introduction since I already know your name to be Genevieve." When Eve raised her brows, he said, "Don't be surprised, I heard the king call you that himself. He seems to be fond of you by what I've seen."

Eve kept silent and kept her hand folded down in front of her, waiting for him to say what he wanted.

"The lady who was rescued by me from getting trampled over by horses, that was you, right?"

"No!" Eve replied immediately, raising her eyes and inside, she wondered how he found out.

"Come on, one lie doesn't change anything," Moon said and asked again, "That was you, right?"

Eve turned her head to the side and bit her lips as she blinked. When she turned her head back to look at him, she put her palms together and started to plead, "Please, don't report this to anyone. If you do, you won't be able to stop what would happen. I take it that you are new here and you don't know things work in here. If words go out, people could really die. I don't think you want that, do you?"

Moon put his hands behind him and sighed. "I have no intentions of exposing what you did. I will like to believe that you were just following the princess orders. You two seem to be close enough and I am starting to question myself who you really are."

"I am just a mere servant. What more could I be?" Eve questioned.

"That's hard to believe," he said. "From all the servants I've come across in here, you stand out the most, and you amuse me."

"Amuse?", Eve thought. Yes, the word 'amuse' mean different things. Which one was he talking about in particular?

As she was busy thinking, she didn't know when Moon took out something from his pocket and stretched it to her.

"You lost this that day," he said and she blinked away from her thoughts to see what he was holding. Her brows pulled immediately and her expression changed when she saw him holding a similar red bracelet and she looked up at him.

"This isn't mine," she said.

"Hmn? But you dropped it that day," he said.

"No," Eve said firmly, "I am not so careless to lose something that belongs to me."

Moon could hear the change in her tone and how her expression had suddenly changed when she saw the bracelet. Without pestering her much further, he folded it in his hand and in one strength, he turned and threw it away, afar off. Dusting his hands together, he said, "I guess I don't have to keep holding something I don't own either."

Eve moved her eyes from him to look at the direction where he threw the bracelet. How could he do that? She thought and then bite down on her lips inside. Looking back at him, she asked, "Can I go now? I don't want people to be looking for me."

Moon nodded. "Sure, you are free to go. Or do you think I would ask you to go horse riding with me next?"

"Huh?" Eve raised her eyes in surprise. "You have a horse?"

Moon breathed out a smile, the corner of his lips curling up and he replied her, "Yes, but woman…why do you keep talking casually to me?"

"Woman?" Eve repeated in surprise and her shoulder slumped. He had just called her a woman.

"Would you rather prefer I call you servant?"

Eve stared up at him and bent her head slightly to the side and her expression made Moon even laugh because he found it funny.

"I didn't think so," he said and cleared his throat. "I'm leaving." He turned his feet and started to leave and while Eve was still thinking about what he had called her, Moon stopped walking when he saw someone in front of him and he raised his brows as he recognized him.

"Huh, aren't you that person from the other day?" Sullivan asked on seeing Moon whom he recognized instantly.

"Escorts, right?" Moon asked, remembering the word he used that day.

"That's right," Sullivan said with a smile. "Do you by chance, live here?"

"Yes, I stay close by," Moon answered.

As if remembering something, Sullivan asked, "Or are you the new tutor people are talking about?"

Moon gave a nod and Sullivan opened his mouth in surprise. "Then we were heading towards the same place that day. You could have said so."

"I guess I didn't want to make you walk more than you should, since you also seem to be heading somewhere."

"It doesn't matter. By the way, I am Sullivan."

"I know who you are," Moon said politely. "I am Moon Moriarty."

"What a unique name," Sullivan said. "Just like this kingdom. I see why the king gave you that." He looked at the royal insignia that he had with him and smiled. "You seem to be going somewhere. I guess we will be meeting again." He gave a slight bow and Moon returned it before going his way.

Sullivan looked straight ahead of him to see Eve who seem to be talking to herself and he smiled even wider before composing himself. He walked towards her and called, "Eve?"

Eve shook her head and looked at who had called her.

"Sullivan?" she called back in surprise and she smiled.

Moon looked back just in time to see Eve smiling and then he turned his head back before resuming walking where the red bracelet dangled in his hand. He didn't throw it away. He just made her believe he actually did.