The Monarch of Rosemary
As Edison lighthouse once sung “love grows where my Rosemary goes".. Well in this case our stubborn Rosemary didn't believe in such a foolish thing called love. That is until she met Xander. Xander was a god. At least to Rosemary. The way his dark curls waved like a sublime ocean and the way his eyes sparkled from across the room.. he was like a great ending to a magic trick. And oh how his baby blues could shine right through a person.. Starstruck. She was starstruck from that very first moment she saw him.
It was the night of Queen Victoria's Rose Ball and as all the royals dazzled and danced, Rosemary stood in a corner afraid to introduce herself to anyone. Her mother warned her before the ball not to act like such a maverick. These people were to be impressed, as her mother told her countless times when she'd practically obsessed over them. Thanks to her mother, Rosemary had to attend the ball tonight. Her mother couldn't make it so she wanted at least one conversative from their family to attend to make a good first impression. They'd just moved here and this was the first royal ball Rosemary had ever been to. The only reason they were even invited to this ridiculous ball was because her mother's new boyfriend was best friends with a prince. So stupid. What's the point of this lame thing anyway?
Royalty and riches filled the ballroom. Princesses with their prince’s, queens with their kings, and then there was just Rosemary.
Plain old Rosemary.No fancy billion dollar dress. No riches. No royal bloodline. No date..
Yuck. Why would she even want one? Love always ended badly in her family. Aunt Terry's been heartbroken ever since Uncle Paul died. Her cousin Lucy never shuts up about men cheating on her and “ughh how piggish they are”, she'd say. And after losing dad, mom just started dating again and is already on the fourth guy. Love wasn't really looking too enticing…
Besides, who would want to date a snobby rich guy with his nose in the air?
Rosemary watched as everyone danced so gracefully as she sipped her small fancy cocktail and stood by the back door hoping she'd become slick enough to escape without anyone noticing. Who would notice a poor old nobody anyway?
But then she saw him. His blue eyes sparkled from across the ballroom and looked directly into hers… his handsome face was perfect. His fine structured cheek bones, his dark curly hair.. and he was just staring at her. So serious.
Rosemary hadn't felt this nervous since the day she had to give a speech at her Uncle’s funeral. Her stomach was in knots. She paced back and forth, trying to catch her every scarpering breath.
Then she placed her cocktail down on the table and turned around too quickly. Just quick enough to bump into something.. or someone…
“Heading out?” spoke a deep voice. She looked up and here he was. Right in front of her. As she started to apologize, the man put his finger to her lips and whispered “Shh …. have a dance with me.”
Rosemary was so confused but so excited at the same time. And as she slow danced with him, she breathed in his masculinity. His expensive cologne and mint scented collar. His presence was paradise.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and stared down at her until her eyes met his and they both couldn't stop smiling. Was this what love felt like? Was falling for a man this quickly even possible?
The dance was over. They both walked back to the table together and sat down. He told her his name and it was one she's never heard before. Xander. She told him hers and they talked all night about the origin of names and herbs. He mentioned how much his mother loved roses and gardens and how her name would fit perfectly into his family. He told her that he didn't want his royalty and riches to be a reason for women to love him. He spoke of his family background and cousin's passing. How he took his place as a royal monarch. But Xander didn't want to be defined by all of those things. He just wanted to be recognized for his rich heart. A heart so anxiously waiting for someone so beautiful to come along and make it beat again.
Rosemary knew that the words he spoke were so real and though she never believed in love before, this was something so quick to change all of that. It was love at first sight for both of them. As midnight came and evening fell, the royals started to head out. She didn't want this night to end and she had a feeling that Xander didn't either. So, she wrote her address down on the only clean napkin she could find and stuffed it into his back pocket.
From that day on, she would meet him every noonday for lunch but not at his castle or golden abode. No, they'd meet by the river down the road and sit by the water, just talking for hours and hours. They’d hold hands from the river to the old brandy farm stables. He'd give her the softest kisses and the warmest hugs. They'd say goodbye to each other over and over because they dreaded night’s end just as much as the stars dreaded daylight. How can one man be so capable of zero imperfections? How could one human being know all the secrets hidden behind another's mask?
Xander was so unique. Had this light about him. Had this ability to control her mind and knew the smallest of things she was thinking. He could tell when she was sad or angry. When she was excited or scared. Hungry or tired. He'd always know what she was feeling at each moment. And he wasn't just a royal ruler of his family, but he was also a ruler of her it seemed. He had this almost unbelievable power over her. Like all she had to do was think about Xander and her heart would beat three times as fast. He would appear whenever she needed him.
Xander was a master of love.
A superior. He had control over her heartstrings.
Xander was a monarch, yes…..
but right now he was just the monarch of Rosemary..
And their serendipitous love story was just beginning…
© Writer_At_Heart
It was the night of Queen Victoria's Rose Ball and as all the royals dazzled and danced, Rosemary stood in a corner afraid to introduce herself to anyone. Her mother warned her before the ball not to act like such a maverick. These people were to be impressed, as her mother told her countless times when she'd practically obsessed over them. Thanks to her mother, Rosemary had to attend the ball tonight. Her mother couldn't make it so she wanted at least one conversative from their family to attend to make a good first impression. They'd just moved here and this was the first royal ball Rosemary had ever been to. The only reason they were even invited to this ridiculous ball was because her mother's new boyfriend was best friends with a prince. So stupid. What's the point of this lame thing anyway?
Royalty and riches filled the ballroom. Princesses with their prince’s, queens with their kings, and then there was just Rosemary.
Plain old Rosemary.No fancy billion dollar dress. No riches. No royal bloodline. No date..
Yuck. Why would she even want one? Love always ended badly in her family. Aunt Terry's been heartbroken ever since Uncle Paul died. Her cousin Lucy never shuts up about men cheating on her and “ughh how piggish they are”, she'd say. And after losing dad, mom just started dating again and is already on the fourth guy. Love wasn't really looking too enticing…
Besides, who would want to date a snobby rich guy with his nose in the air?
Rosemary watched as everyone danced so gracefully as she sipped her small fancy cocktail and stood by the back door hoping she'd become slick enough to escape without anyone noticing. Who would notice a poor old nobody anyway?
But then she saw him. His blue eyes sparkled from across the ballroom and looked directly into hers… his handsome face was perfect. His fine structured cheek bones, his dark curly hair.. and he was just staring at her. So serious.
Rosemary hadn't felt this nervous since the day she had to give a speech at her Uncle’s funeral. Her stomach was in knots. She paced back and forth, trying to catch her every scarpering breath.
Then she placed her cocktail down on the table and turned around too quickly. Just quick enough to bump into something.. or someone…
“Heading out?” spoke a deep voice. She looked up and here he was. Right in front of her. As she started to apologize, the man put his finger to her lips and whispered “Shh …. have a dance with me.”
Rosemary was so confused but so excited at the same time. And as she slow danced with him, she breathed in his masculinity. His expensive cologne and mint scented collar. His presence was paradise.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and stared down at her until her eyes met his and they both couldn't stop smiling. Was this what love felt like? Was falling for a man this quickly even possible?
The dance was over. They both walked back to the table together and sat down. He told her his name and it was one she's never heard before. Xander. She told him hers and they talked all night about the origin of names and herbs. He mentioned how much his mother loved roses and gardens and how her name would fit perfectly into his family. He told her that he didn't want his royalty and riches to be a reason for women to love him. He spoke of his family background and cousin's passing. How he took his place as a royal monarch. But Xander didn't want to be defined by all of those things. He just wanted to be recognized for his rich heart. A heart so anxiously waiting for someone so beautiful to come along and make it beat again.
Rosemary knew that the words he spoke were so real and though she never believed in love before, this was something so quick to change all of that. It was love at first sight for both of them. As midnight came and evening fell, the royals started to head out. She didn't want this night to end and she had a feeling that Xander didn't either. So, she wrote her address down on the only clean napkin she could find and stuffed it into his back pocket.
From that day on, she would meet him every noonday for lunch but not at his castle or golden abode. No, they'd meet by the river down the road and sit by the water, just talking for hours and hours. They’d hold hands from the river to the old brandy farm stables. He'd give her the softest kisses and the warmest hugs. They'd say goodbye to each other over and over because they dreaded night’s end just as much as the stars dreaded daylight. How can one man be so capable of zero imperfections? How could one human being know all the secrets hidden behind another's mask?
Xander was so unique. Had this light about him. Had this ability to control her mind and knew the smallest of things she was thinking. He could tell when she was sad or angry. When she was excited or scared. Hungry or tired. He'd always know what she was feeling at each moment. And he wasn't just a royal ruler of his family, but he was also a ruler of her it seemed. He had this almost unbelievable power over her. Like all she had to do was think about Xander and her heart would beat three times as fast. He would appear whenever she needed him.
Xander was a master of love.
A superior. He had control over her heartstrings.
Xander was a monarch, yes…..
but right now he was just the monarch of Rosemary..
And their serendipitous love story was just beginning…
© Writer_At_Heart