The Royal Contract

She had no intention of hurting him. But she also did not like feeling guilty for not remembering anything about her past, especially memories involving him.

Rosella wished more than anything to get her memories back, but if that was not happening, she also dreamt of finding her place in this new world.

"The food is delicious." She knew she should say more, but nothing else came to mind. "I loved it." She wiped the remaining moisture of the wine on her lips after putting her empty glass on the table.

She could tell that he had put a great deal of preparing the food, the place, and even the ambiance. He had always considered all her favorites based on what she learned from them.

"I am glad." He took the wine bottle from the cold bucket and refilled their glasses.

She might not remember her favorites, but she loved the taste of the food and even the expensive wine. Maybe they were right about that.

Maybe they knew more about her preferences than she could remember. But somehow, she remembered this place for an unknown reason.

"Thank you for taking me to this place." She told him as she looked past him and into the open sea. "I think this is my new favorite spot."

She was in the middle of the top deck, sailing toward the unknown darkness with only the moon and the stars as their guide.

"It is my pleasure." He responded while watching her. His eyes seemed more focused on her than on the magnificent scenery around them. "I am happy to bring you back to this place."

Suddenly, she felt her legs pulling her up on her feet. With a mind of their own, she stepped outside of the table and walked across the deck.

Slowly, she moved closer to the boat's edge, holding on to the metal railings, admiring the view as they sailed further away from the docks.

"I saw this in my dream." She pointed to the view of the water as the moonlight and the bright stars reflected on its wavy waters. "And it is more beautiful than what I imagined."

She had this recurring dream of sailing to the ends of the world. She enjoyed how the strong gust of salty wind blew her hair in all directions. She loved watching the open ocean as it brought peace, even in the deepest part of her soul.

She could not explain why she felt that way. But now, she guessed she might find the answer as her dream finally met reality.

It was not entirely a dream, conjured from her imagination. But something that must have been part of her past.

"You always loved the sea as far as I know," David told her, but he did not add any explanation for his statement.

Instead, he stood beside her on the railings, quietly staring at the vast ocean before them. It was like, just like her, he was in deep thought.

"Did I ever mention why I loved it so much?" She asked, wondering if she could remember any part of her past if only she knew the reason behind it.

If she managed to dream about this part of her life, then maybe her other dreams might not be a concoction of her mind.

Probably, those were memories trapped in the deepest part of her brain that was trying to resurface back into her consciousness.

"Yeah, you mentioned it to me a couple of times before," David responded with a silly smile. "I sort of enjoy hearing about it."

Now, she was curious as to why. "Can you tell me the story?" She wanted to hear about this part of her life that her parents had not mentioned when they told her about her childhood.

"Well, you grew up in a big and loud family, with all your family, relatives, and friends living in one tiny community. And you said you never had a quiet time around your house." He smiled again as if he also recalled a few bits and pieces of that past.

She wished she could remember those memories of growing up with her loving family. All they told her was that they might be poor, but she always had everything she needed. She grew up happy and well-loved.

"And not that you are complaining since I know how much you love your family. But sometimes, you feel you want some space for yourself.

Then, one day, your parents brought you on a short trip where you had to travel by ship. And you told me how much you loved being out on the open sea."

She did not remember that trip, but it sounded like something a family would do. She wished she could remember every detail of that time, but for now, she would settle for his narrative.

In her dream, she loved the serenity of being away from land, where all she could hear were the calming waves as the water moved with the tide.

Then, she could feel the relaxing breeze that buzzed in her ears as the wind grazed her skin. She felt free even for just an hour or so, which was more than enough to rejuvenate her again.

"There were no voices from miles away. It was just you, the wind on your face, the sun on your skin, the sprinkles of clouds, the vast sky, and the endless water.

You said it was your piece of heaven on earth." He continued his narration of how she had come to love the ocean.

She guessed he had perfectly described her dream. Or what seemed to be her reality, if only she could remember most of it.

"What about you? Why do you want to be in the ocean?" She asked, suddenly curious why he was out there with her.

She finally looked away from the darkness and into his face. At least the silhouette of the other half of his features faced her.

She noticed he was looking far beyond the sky as his face tilted upward. Was he looking at the stars or the moon? She could not tell.

"I love being with you." He finally answered after a considerable silence. "I want to be where you are." Then, he closed his eyes tightly as if shutting out a memory.

Then, she felt trapped in an awkward silence where she had nothing to say to his statement. She could not come up with any response to his words.

After a few more minutes, he finally opened his eyes and turned to her. Somewhat, she felt that the scene was familiar. It was like she had seen this before.

De ja vu.

Nonetheless, she could not confirm it since it was just a feeling. She still could not determine if it was a memory or simply an image she produced with her fantasy.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to dump that on you. I know you want to take things slow..." He was apologizing profusely, but she stopped him.

"No, that is ok." She understood that this must be as hard for him as it was for her. "Please, stop apologizing for loving me."

She did not want him to continue being sorry for feeling the way he did, just like she did not want to be guilty of forgetting how she should feel.

Truthfully, a lot of stuff had become her norm, but whether it was old memory or new, she could not tell anymore. But one thing was for sure. She still could not remember him.

But in fairness, he was not the only one she still could not seem to recall. Her entire family was still strangers to her. Her past remained blank pages in her mind.

"But..." She was about to say she could not tell if she felt the same way. Until now, she was confused about how she felt about him.

She could not honestly foresee if she would learn to love him the way she loved him before. She knew she cared for him, but was that enough?

"No. You don't have to say anything." David suddenly spoke again, probably sensing her hesitation to break his heart. "I know you are trying your best, but it is just too goddamn difficult."

But instead of getting mad, he was smiling as he faced her and stared into her eyes. She could not see any hint of anger in them, but only acceptance.

"I love you then, and I love you still, Rosella. And I probably will never stop loving you." David uttered so emotionally that it pierced her heart like a sharp knife, cutting a hole in it.

Then, she saw him pull something out of his pocket. She could not see it at first because of the darkness, but she could tell it was a small object.

He did not move for a few seconds as he stared at her. But when he did, he opened his palm and showed her a gift in his hand.

"What is this?" She asked, confused by this turn of events and with his odd behavior.

She felt her entire body tremble as she stared at the blue box in his hand. Was it a ring? Was he proposing to her again?

"No, this is not what you think." He spoke up, opening the box and revealing the jewelry inside it. "This is a promise ring."

"A promise ring?" It was the first time she heard about it.

"If you decide to accept this ring, it means you are agreeing with my conditions." He pulled the ring out of the box and showed it closer to her.

It was not a fancy ring, like the first engagement ring he gave her. It only had three small diamond stones embedded in the gold band, molded with an infinity symbol at the center.

It was still as beautiful as the other one he gave her. But what conditions was he talking about?