“After that, every day he would walk with the girl. Even when she didn’t come to the castle, he would go looking for her and walk beside her. And every day, his head continued to shrink.”
“It’s not going to go the other way, is it?”
Nico frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Shrink to an abnormally small size, like a speck of dust.”
Nico laughed. “No. Just listen. We’re almost at the end. One day, the girl told him she was tired of walking and she wanted to run. But the little prince insisted they walk. Secretly he was afraid, thinking maybe he couldn’t run, remembering what had happened the last timehe had tried. But the girl said she wanted to run, and that’s what she was going to do.
“She waved to the little prince and took off. He watched her and thought,I want to run too. And so he did, and the two of them ran side by side.
“They ran and ran and ran until they were too tired to run anymore.
“After that, the king and queen told the little prince they would cancel the proclamation that running and racing were forbidden. They told him he could resume the races he so loved. But the little prince didn’t want to.
“He went to the girl and told her he wanted to see where she came from. ‘Will you take me there?’ he asked.
“She smiled and said, ‘Yes.’
“And so, he waved goodbye to the king and queen, Knight Dario, and the villagers and said one day he would return.
“They all wished him well, and he and the girl set out.
“And that was just the beginning of their adventure. After seeing where the girl came from, they journeyed to other places. And the little prince got to see all the places he’d only dreamed of before, and he was happy.”
Rocco waited.
“That’s it?”
“You didn’t like it?”
“I did. But you know, it’s a fairy tale, so …”
“So … ?”
Rocco sighed. “‘And he lived …’”
“Oh, right. Andtheylived happily ever after.”
His phone buzzed.
“It’s probably my mamma,” he said as he reached for it. “I think she figured out we were going somewhere together after we left, and she wants us to come by there again for a couple days before the season starts. She hinted as much before we left. I didn’t commit to anything.”
Nico smiled. “Let’s go! I love your family.”
Rocco felt a pinch of jealousy. He knew it was foolish. It was his family. And he loved his family. He just felt such a deep want in him, a want to have her all to himself. But he saw the way her face lit up at themention of his family. She looked happy—really happy—which made him wonder. Had he ever seen her happy before? Like this happy? He couldn’t deny her that.
I have my whole future to be with her.
He paused at that thought. Surprised by it.
My whole future?
He’d think about that later.
He kissed Nico. “Okay, I’ll tell her we’ll cut short our stay here and head back there. We can leave tomorrow.”
He frowned as he stared at his phone.
