Delilah throws herself on her bed. She has just found out that her lover has left her. They had had plans to meet up in the garden by the roses under the cover of the darkness tonight. It was Delilah’s favourite place to meet her love, the sweet smell of roses dancing around her nostrils, the light of the twinkling stars smiling down on her and her knight. She knew it had been his favourite too as he had told her so one night. She remembered it vividly. He had pulled her in for a hug and said “I think this is my favourite meeting spot we have”. They had spent the rest of that night together in the garden simply enjoying each other’s company and warmth, breathing in the sweet scent of the roses. Tonight had been the night she would tell him her secret. Well it wasn’t much of a secret as a confession. She had planned it out perfectly. They would embrace, hidden from view by the bushes and she would tell him she loved him. He would say he felt the same and he would pull her in close. She had waited and waited but he didn’t show up. Maybe he got held up at work, she thought but knew Mike would’ve found a way. He always did.

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Mike sat at a flat stump writing a letter to his love. The fire the men had built at their campsite crackled softly and he could hear the knights, laughing and talking though he knew that they, the same as him, were ready to spring into action at the slightest sign of trouble.The best knights at the castle had been suddenly chosen to guard the king as he trekked across the kingdom, visiting his subjects along the way. Of course he was honoured to have been entrusted with the safety of the king, along with 4 other knights. The only thing was he was supposed to meet Delilah, the love of his life tonight. Oh how he wished he could do both. Behind the rose bush was his favourite place to see her, the smell of roses always reminded him of the nights spent there, simply being together. He hadn’t had time to inform her of his departure so he was writing her this letter. In it he explained how sorry he was for leaving and that he would make up for it upon his return. It was like a regular letter one would write to a relative or friend but at the end he wrote “I love you”. His hand shook as he etched the letters on the paper but he knew deep down it was true. He had always loved her. The way she smiled, the tinkle of her laugh, the way her lips were always a little dry. He had just never said it. The next day they would reach the first town their path cut through, where he would mail his letter. He sealed the envelope and held it to his heart for just a beat, before tucking it into his uniform. He just hoped it would reach her quickly.