02/12/2024
_CHAPTER ONE_
The garden smelt of the fragrance of freshly trimmed lavenders with a touch of the early morning dew. I ran towards it, hair flowing wild with a smile as broad as one could have ever imagined. Of course, I should have been happy; Cyrano sitting there at the garden's dwarf gate by a piano, he was playing my favorite tune, and all I could think of was dancing with him with the moon as our spotlight. I snapped out of my imagination when he approached slowly, but the look on his face wasn't what I had daydreamed. His brows were let down, his lips weren't as pink as they usually were; he was void of his happiness.
He drew closer, so I could feel his breath on my neck cape. "Lumina, the duke, your father, he has a secret. I'm afraid it has to do with your father." I felt my legs go numb, and my heart began beating faster and faster. My father, the sweetest man ever, would never hurt anyone. The people loved him... There were just a lot of questions up here in my head, and I weakly replied, "What, Rano? What did you find out?"
Cyrano hesitated before speaking, "Your father, on the day of the king's enthronement, the queen had born a child, so did your mother, the duchess. But, oh Lumina, the s*x of these babies was distressing to the heart of the royal family... I'm afraid I mustn't continue, for fear of being beheaded for a flattery mouth, my lady."
I sensed Cyrano wasn't afraid to reveal the truth but instead wanted something in return. I took the bait and replied, "Cyrano, what is it? What do you request? At your service, I will place it to you. Just tell me."
Cyrano smiled, "Let's get this straight with a riddle, Lumina. I want to taste the first juice from the part most important from a tree. I would like to pluck it and make it mine, produce more fruits from it."
I realized the riddle's meaning: Cyrano wanted to marry me, the "first fruit" of my father, the duke. I responded, "Marriage, Cyrano? You're so sly, yet stupid to think I'll marry you for
