Locked Up Love

"Ok, so I’m not really much of a drinker, but this is my first shot.”

“Yeah, you’re right, it is.”

We pause for a moment, and he continues: “So anyway, I told you about that time I found all those coins in a locked chest?”

I look at him and nod, trying to act like I remember the story. I don’t, but I don’t want to interrupt him.

He goes on: “So yeah, after that I went back to the castle to find some more loot but there were too many guards around. I couldn’t get in. So then…”

I look at my new friend Patrick and smile. He has a great memory for details from his old life as a thief and pickpocket. It was so romantic when he told me how he met Gloriana. She was disguised as a peasant girl and had stolen some money from her step-father who was also her uncle or something like that before she met him. He looked out for her and they fell in love. They would steal together and split the profits.

But then he got caught stealing by the guards who used their magic powers to make him confess everything including where he hid his treasures. They took everything away even though they knew it belonged to them because of their special gift of re-energizing objects with magic powers since they needed money to pay for the queen's taxes or something like that. That's what he said happened anyway.

Then he said Gloriana made him work as a servant for a few years until one night when she took him into her room and shared with him her discontent about everything that was happening in the kingdom. She expressed her desire for change and for things to go back to normal again with her father instead of being stuck with Ferdinand, who always drank too much and never listened to anyone else's opinion, thinking he knew everything.

The existing state of the kingdom, wherein people were often subjected to suffering and injustice due to unfair taxation system and ruthless officials, caused great resentment among the citizens. They longed for a better ruler who would treat them fairly; however, their wishes remained unfulfilled, as they continued to pay taxes to avoid even worse consequences.

I snap back into reality as Patrick concludes his story about being discovered by Gloriana's men breaking into her bedroom, this time leaving out the parts regarding taxation and widespread unhappiness. "Anyway, after that, we lived happily ever after," he says with a grin on his face like a child looking forward to Christmas morning. "So can we try this again?"

The next day, Gloriana calls me over to her throne where I kneel down while she sits staring at me intently without saying a word. Finally, she speaks: "Catherine! Did you have anything to do with this?" She holds up two coins engraved with hearts covered in flower petals, each with two names engraved inside of them: Patrick/Catherine, written inside each heart with roses engraved between each name along with dates marking an anniversary of sorts, symbolizing lasting love.

She stares at me intensely, waiting for an answer, and begins pacing back and forth, mumbling about how Patrick's return was supposed to be impossible since his punishment involved vanishing into thin air, among other things. Now he shows up here with these coins, obviously made by someone within our own kingdom, displaying happiness at being reunited together while making us look like fools. Gloriana is clearly suspicious and questions whether everyone in the kingdom may be working against them, using magic to aid Patrick in some sort of rebellion.

As she continues to voice her concerns, Gloriana also wonders about the implications of the love tokens on her impending marriage plans involving her sister Silvia and Ferdinand. She fears losing the chance for Silvia to marry a suitable partner, questioning whether the revelation of this love affair will force Silvia into marrying Patrick instead. In her distress, Gloriana fervently wishes for stability and happiness, both for herself and for those she cares about; however, the turmoil and uncertainties now overshadowing her kingdom make it seemingly impossible to achieve that contentment.