Xianchi and Byron's Unlikely Love Affair

The sun was setting.

I tossed and turned in my sleep. My eyes fluttered open and I could see the shadows of the trees swaying outside my bedroom window. The breeze swayed the curtains to my bed with a soft rustle like dry leaves blowing across a forest floor on a windy day, or waves lapping against the shoreline of a lake on a breezy afternoon. My eyes adjusted as I slipped out from under the covers, letting them rest for a moment as I rubbed them awake. I walked over to the bay window and sat down against the sill, letting my bare feet dangle over the edge. My toes wiggled in the cool air, dangling just above the grass below.

"Xianchi!" A voice called. "Xianchi!" It called again.

I opened one eye, then another, looking around to find out where the sound had come from. "Xianchi! Where are you?" The voice sounded more clearly now that it was closer to me, but it still did not identify its source; it seemed to be coming from all directions at once. I looked around again but there was no one in sight; only the setting sun and darkening sky were visible as they were framed by the silhouettes of trees reaching up towards the sky from below.

"Xianchi! You're missing everything!" The voice said again, this time much closer, making me jump slightly as I looked down towards the front door of our home and found Byron standing there looking up at me with a grin on his face and an apple in each hand. He held one of them out towards me as he jumped up onto our porch to join me at the bay window where I sat, watching as he plucked his own apple from an unseen pocket within his green tunic with a flourish before taking a big bite out of it. He chewed noisily as I stared blankly at him, trying to figure out what he meant when it struck me that he was talking about something that he had seen while we were at court today. We had been told by his mother to dress up formally today so we had left early this morning and spent most of our afternoon listening to speeches about politics and sipping expensive wines amongst other nobles in court attire like this long green gown and high-collared tunic that Byron wore now along with his shiny black shoes and polished silver belt buckle that flashed brilliantly in the light whenever it caught some rays of sunlight poking through the clouds overhead. We would have eaten lunch together but Byron's mother had used her influence to get us seated far apart so we could not talk during meals; she said that we were too young for such things yet.

Byron took another bite of his apple before patting me on my head with one hand gently before reaching into his pocket again and pulling out something else: two more apples! He tossed them both into my lap then reached out towards me to help pull me back into my room through my window so we could meet in secret without drawing any suspicion from those who might be sitting nearby in case they were spying on us while pretending to be doing something else entirely.

We sat on opposite sides of my bed chewing silently for several minutes until we finished eating then Byron leaned forward in his seat with excitement written plainly across his face before leaning even further forward until his nose almost touched mine as he whispered conspiratorially "Did you hear him? Did you hear Prince William speak!?" His warm breath made me laugh softly, tickling my nose as I replied "No! How? Where?" He laughed too before telling me "Well... he spoke right there." He motioned toward the corner where our bathroom was located then said "He asked all of us if we'd rather be born noble or commoner."

"What did you say?" I asked curiously.

He thought for a moment before answering cheerfully "Noble!" He said confidently before leaning even closer towards me and whispering obnoxiously loudly "Because you are noble!" His words made me smile softly as I rested my head against his shoulder affectionately while he continued "I bet none of them chose commoner though!" He gestured wildly with one hand while keeping hold of mine with the other until he realized what he was doing and quickly dropped both arms back down at his sides after realizing how close we were sitting together before finishing quietly "...because that is what everyone wants: to be born noble like us! And... because most will never have such luck anyway."

I nodded sadly as I agreed with him silently then asked him trying to brighten our moods again "So... did Prince William give any advice?" Byron shook his head sadly at first but then perked up suddenly as he remembered something good "Yes! He said..." He paused for a moment then began speaking slowly, trying to remember exactly what Prince William had said before speaking quickly again "He said 'if you want power then