She met him when she was only a teenager, the princess.
Princess Charlotte was an unusual princess so it was no surprise she would fall in with an unusual sort of person and that was just who her friend Lukas was. Some people whispered that Lukas was a prince, from the North, but Charlotte dismissed these rumors. She didn't care whether he was a prince or a peasant, he was also her closest friend. She talked to him of things she never disclosed to another human, such as her desire to travel and see the world. He was from the far North, that was assured, but no one knew much about him.
Charlotte herself knew that he was a magician, he would preform wonders for her when they were alone. He had an otherworldly aura. He was twenty at the time and her parents suggested that they marry, they were so close.
But, though Charlotte herself might have loved him, she remained sole queen, the throne falling to her cousin. She died after Lukas, but only one day after.
"Lukas? I can see...Luke."
"I'm right here, Charlotte."

~~~~~~~~

He was a pirate now, sailing the seven seas. He was no romantic but she was just as tough as she had been as a princess. Charlotte, barmaid, serving pirates while humming sea shanties and wishing for adventure. He still had that otherworldly quality to him and she bought into it and him with all her love.

He, however, was not a romantic. He did not love, and certainly not her. But she devotedly followed him on his ship, protecting him. They were, once again, the closest of friends. And in the end, her one-sided love drove her to take the bullets when the British Empire came for them. He held her as she died and she was smiling. He was hung for piracy after, and he didn't mind.
Reincarnation or no, there is no Lukas without Charlotte.
"I'm coming, old friend."
"I'm waiting."

~~~~~~~~~

It's the Second World War now. Charlotte grew in the states while Lukas lives in his home in Norway. Charlotte, tenacious as ever joins the ranks of the women spies. At a resistance meeting they meet. He teaches her proper Norwegian and Danish, two more languages she can add to her repertoire of Spanish, Dutch, English, Italian, French, Russian, and Greek.
He himself knew Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English, Japanese, and Finnish.
In this life he loved her but she did not love him. He rescued her from the Stasi- her rash nature did not often do them well- and they lived through the war until recently. Lukas gave her the pet name Haakon, he told her that she did a great service to his country, as great as the famous kings. She denied it modestly.
Lukas died yesterday and Charlotte today, he was eighty and she was seventy-five. He squeezed her hand as he went.
"See you soon, Haakon."
"You too, Luke."

~~~~~~~
Now today two children are born. One is born in Oslo and the other in Miami. One is christened Charlotte and the other Lukas.

As they grow into the years, Charlotte will develop her dream of visiting Norway. She'll cultivate her grades and attend the University of Oslo. Lukas, he'll do the same to attend a university that is prestigious even to Norwegians. They'll go to major in history. Charlotte will end with a degree in Computer Science, but Lukas will stick with his history.
And on that first day, she'll walk over to him in her first class- first of the three they end up sharing. She'll sit down next to him and look at his entrancing cobalt eyes. She will stare into them and take in his corn silk hair and c*** her head, brushing red strands away from her eyes and say quietly, "Haven't we met before?"

And he'll respond, "Maybe in another life."