There were a lot of things about magic which you were unaware of, especially the magic which JR possessed. Elves generally did not possess such powers, however this was what set the royal family apart from normal elves; their magical abilities. The source of this magic lay within a small silver key, its bow laced with intricate patterns of leaves and vines, a small, spherical emerald stone set in the centre. This key was known as ‘The Aranthian Guard’, for without the key, Aranthi would be exposed and vulnerable to enemies. Essentially, Aranthi was the lock for this key, a key held by the great kings of the kingdom.
                Magic itself was limited in its uses for the majority of the royal family, but the King was able to do a great deal of things with it. He could heal others from the brink of death, he could make objects appear within his grasp at any moment, he could move at a rapid speed to gain an advantage over enemies-the list was endless! The skill of transportation in fact was one JR had quickly mastered not too long ago, and for that, he was incredibly grateful for. Many other elves with a high affinity for magic were able to transport too, but they could not transport to places too far. JR had a similar problem since he had only recently learnt the skill, for even though he could transport you both from one place to another, he was limited with distance as of yet.
                At that very moment, as you both travelled from one place to another, the young King JR had The Aranthian Guard tucked safely inside his shirt, dangling on an unbreakable chain around his neck. It was this very key which was allowing him to use magic in your world, something you were completely unaware of. Something else you were completely unaware of was that you could not use magic to force anyone to do anything against their will.
                If you had known all of this, perhaps the following could have been avoided…

                Your vision seemed blurry but your eyes were wide open, a faint feeling accompanying you as you spiralled through this vortex, transporting you from one place to another. All the colours around you seemed to blend into one and the scene in front of you seemed to merge together haphazardly, like paint on a messy palette. It was tempting to let go of JR completely but the uneasy feeling within you seemed to get worse at that notion somehow. Instead, you gripped him tighter, hoping you would both arrive safely wherever it was he was taking you both. Then a thought suddenly occurred to you; was this how he had transported himself from his world to your world? If so, what was stopping him from taking you there, right now, without your permission?
                Fear overrode sense and you released your grip on JR. For a moment, nothing happened. Then you felt yourself being pulled by an invisible force, almost like a cowboy had lassoed a rope around your waist and was hoisting you back at a tremendous velocity. Frightened, you realised that if you fell back, you would end up in the hands of the Goblin Prince and his goonies. You immediately felt trapped and a numb feeling washed over you, succumbing to your doom.
                JR however was not about to let anything happen to you. His hand shot out from somewhere within the spiralling mess, grabbing a hold of your hand and pulling you back towards him. The invisible lasso around your waist seemed to resist momentarily before releasing its grip, allowing JR to fully embrace you, holding you safely within his arms. It was just in time as well. The colours seemed to return to normal, but the scenery around had changed. You were no longer stood in the middle of a high street shop. Instead, you were both above the centre of a lake.

                Eyes wide in shock, you frantically glanced around, realising that there was no solid ground beneath your feet. You were both floating, hovering even, just above the surface of the still water during dusk. You were still too shell shocked by the fact that you were floating to notice when the light had faded away to dark.

                “Do not let go of me, because if you do, then you are going to fall straight into the water below.” You groaned, pushing away from JR a little whilst wondering if he had planned this deliberately to maintain the amount of close contact you were both having.
                “How are we doing this?” You asked naively, staring at the lake’s surface, noticing the reflection of the misty, cloudy skies up above you both. “Why are we levitating above a lake, JR?”
                “My magic allows me to do a great many things,” he vaguely told you, but the answer sufficed and you did not press him further, “Besides, Goblin are fearful of large expanses of water. You must not let go of me next time we transport from one place to another.”
                “We’re in the middle of a lake,” you continued stating the obvious, not really paying attention to what he was saying to you. “We’re levitating…above a lake…!”
                “Are you listening to me?” JR asked, raising an eyebrow and gently pressing your shoulder. “Do not let go of me when we are transporting.”
                “Okay, fine, whatever,” you flippantly replied, which did nothing but agitate JR.
                “Okay, fine, whatever? Do you understand what could have happened if you had fallen all the way back through?” He gently shook you, forcing you to look up at him. “Grinkel is ruthless and he is unforgiving. If you had fallen back through, the things he would have done to you, the torture you would have endured, the hurt he could have caused you-”
                “Stop it!” You exclaimed, closing your eyes and shaking your head vehemently. “I know, okay? I know! I made a mistake, I got scared and I made a mistake!” JR gently spoke your name to calm you but to no avail.

                “You think I wanted to let go?” you fought the vivid images which he had been conjured in your mind of violence and pain at your expense, those gross, vile creatures cackling in hysteria as they pulled you apart physically, little by little. “You think I wanted to let go? I didn’t, but I got scared at the thought of you transporting me back to your world without me knowing that it just-happened. I got scared!”
                There was a long forbidding silence which hung in the air, surrounding and suffocating you both for quite some time. JR’s expression had morphed into something quite unreadable, something you had not seen before and it worried you a little.

                “What if I had transported you back to my world?” JR asked you, his tone of voice monotone.
                “I…I don’t know…” you stammered, beginning to feel more than a little uneasy. “I would have…asked you to bring me back…I guess…” it was a ridiculous answer and you partly regretted it the moment you had said it.
                “And what if I refused to bring you back?” he asked you, and it was a fair question, but it was not one you had expected.
                “…as a King, aren’t you meant to honour and respect the wishes of other people?” you answered quickly.
                “You are quite right,” he replied and said no more.

                You both continued to levitate above the lake, in silence for some time, both absorbed in your own thoughts. Somehow, even though there was still snow falling, the temperature colder than ever, you had not even noticed it, despite the lack of coat. When you had transported out of your flat that morning, neither of you had been wearing any warm clothing. Perhaps this was something JR had used his magic for too, doing something to the temperature around you both to make things a little more comfortable. It made you wonder just what his magic could and could not do, whether you too would gain these powers, should you accept his offer of being his Queen…but of course, you could not possibly accept…could you?
                The looming silence continued and it was beginning to unnerve you now. Your gaze continued to rest upon the lake’s surface as you could not bring yourself to look at JR. Deep inside, you knew you had upset him much more than you ever had done before and you were unsure of how he was going to react. If silence was to be your punishment, then you could handle that. You partly wished it would remain that way, or that the tension would break into an awkward laughter so that things could pass and you could both forget about what had just been said.
                There was no forgetting though.

                “Could you ever love me?” the words were barely audible, but you heard JR whisper them.
                “Love is…a strong emotion…” you flippantly replied, glancing up at him and regretting it instantly, guilt enveloping you whole as you saw the expression upon his face.
                “Maybe I ask too much of you, but I cannot do this on my own,” he was practically pleading now, his voice wavering and his eyes watering. “I need you more than you realise and perhaps it is selfish for me to ask you to do this for me, but if not for me, please, think of my Kingdom, of my people. All of it belongs to you also, should you choose to accept it, as returning to Aranthi does not just mean becoming my Queen, it means helping to rule and watch over the realm. It means to help others, to help those less fortunate, to create happiness in the darkest of places, to help the kingdom thrive. It means-it means so much more.”
                “It is frightening,” he continued, taking a deep breath, “Perhaps it is a feat you do not feel you can accomplish, but you will not be alone,” he moved his hands gently down from your shoulders to your hands, squeezing them gently. “I will not ever leave your side. I will always keep on trying to do right by you, because what you think, what you say, what you feel, it all matters. If I was not in such a predicament, I would have respected your wishes and left long ago, but I need you, and only you. You have within you so much greatness, a greatness which only you were born with and only you can accomplish.” He took one of your hands and placed it upon his chest.
                “My heart is heavy, burdened with far too much which I cannot carry alone. You are much stronger than I am, believe me when I say that. All of which you have witnessed and become exposed to these past days has been shocking and troublesome, but even though you are so frightened that you cannot separate all of your thoughts and emotions clearly, you have managed to push through. That is true strength, true courage and true bravery,” he forced a smile and you instantly saw through it.
                “We all feel frightened from time to time,” his voice faltered even more and it was taking all of your self-control to not react to his overflowing emotions. “Right now, I can understand your fears well, but know that I am equally as fearful of all that is happening. Our fates have been thrown together at such great speed that we cannot hold steady. We are spiralling out of control, but if we only trusted one another, we could make sense of things more. If we trusted one another whole heartedly, we could accomplish so much more.” He raised your hands to his lips, planting a kiss gently upon them as he held them there.
                “So I ask you, one more time,” you watched as he closed his eyes, a tear rolling down his face and landing upon your hand, “Could you ever love me?”

                Silence.