Kaitlin R. Welliver

Rose Kissed Diamond

Chapter One

She put on the last of her street clothes which entailed of a regular, low-cut cotton blouse, and a hip hugging skirt that stopped right above the knees. The color of her clothes was a faded pink, and she had light pink heels to match. Her hair was made different than its usual do, because how else was she to be under cover? Her sunshine blonde hair was down, with the ends tickling the small of her back, just below her waist belt, complete with a bow on the back.

The outfit said classy with a touch of casual – a lot more comfortable than her usual formal wear. As she thought of it, she sent a glare to the pile of clothes in the corner of the room; a long white gown complete with corset and undergarments.

The freedom that the common women achieve with the wire bra never ceased to amaze her. She padded her bosom with satisfaction.

She looked at herself in the mirror and batted her eyelashes, making sure she applied enough mascara. Her bright, cerulean eyes stared back at her, complete with modest eyeliner and the faintest eye shadow. She smiled and puckered her lips at her reflection as she finished with some lip gloss. She then misted herself with her favorite, expensive perfume – apple, imported from… She furrowed her brow. Imported from somewhere far away, anyway. It didn't bother her where her apple scent came from, she only cared that she had it and that it was her smell.

She looked at herself in the mirror and she realized that she had forgotten something – jewelry! Her mother forbade her to pierce her ears, so they were bare. However, lay along her vanity was her favorite silver bracelet. On the bracelet was a single charm of a rabbit jumping over a crescent moon. Although the bracelet was very cute, it was very expensive and intended to suit her perfectly. Adorned on the moon was a red rose pattern, and the rabbit's eye was a twinkling diamond. It was a present from her mother on her 18th birthday.

She was already running late and she knew her friends would probably be waiting for her, so with one last brush through her hair, she went outside on the balcony into the brisk, autumn air. It was just after sunset and a slight breeze reminded her to grab her long, black cloak. She tugged the hood over her bright hair, and glanced back at her room.

She grumbled at her forgetfulness as she ruffled the blankets on her bed really quick to make it look like she was under them and turned on her bunny night light that made the dark room a shade of pink after she turned out the main lights. Her room looked just like it always did before she went to bed.

Satisfied, she closed the balcony door behind her and hopped over the railing beside the outside wall of the palace. Her room overlooked the palace gardens which were sprinkled with twenty-four hour fountains. It was a spectacular view to say the least. As the palace was built on higher ground than the surrounding areas, the horizon held distant lands.

She could see past the gardens with an occasional night guard walking the beautiful, flowered paths, and the fountains that were reflecting the star-filled sky, and past the palace grounds gate, and onto the sky-line of the local village beside the enormous Sea of Serenity.

She was headed to the docks of the Sea of Serenity this very evening to meet her friends. They did this excursion on each of their birthdays since she was 16 years old. She was 18 now, so thus it was tradition.

Beside her balcony, ivy climbed its way up the walls to her second-story bedroom. It had been growing long enough that it was more of a tree-vine than anything else.

She put the toes of her heels into the familiar foot holes she knew would hold her weight and eased her way down. She could recall the first couple tries she attempted this same thing… Of course, then it involved a couple pairs of ruined shoes and more than enough rips in the few plainclothes she owned. She knew now of the methods of sneaking out to her greatest advantage. She also knew who was on guard duty and what their routes throughout the gardens were.

She used her expertise to evade the guards with nothing other than a, "Did you hear something…?" Shaking his head as if he was crazy, the guard continued on without a second glance in the cloaked girl's direction.

For the last part of sneaking out, the girl always depended on serendipity, luck, and improvisation. It appeared that this particular night, to get through the palace grounds gate, she needed a diversion. Behind the brush, shielded by the darkness, she observed her surroundings. The two guardsmen stood at the gate gazing into the night. Towards the palace, she noticed a horse-drawn cart coming towards the gate. There was just a single figure manning the cart, and she knew this would be the perfect opportunity she would get tonight.

She was perfectly between the cart and the gate, and used the opportunity well. She threw a stone at the horse's feet and as it whinnied, she jumped into the cart and covered herself with the tarp that went over the cargo. The tarp was very scratchy and smelt of mold, and the girl made a point to cover her nose. She found herself in between wooden crates and was very uncomfortable.

She heard the guards pass clearance, and as the cart bumped along the road outside the palace grounds, she couldn't help but let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. She was free! And soon she'd be among friends. She smiled, satisfied with herself.

Then suddenly, the cart stopped abruptly and heard the sound of the person's feet hitting the ground as he came towards the back of the cart, as he came towards to her. She thought quickly and decided it'd be wisest to get out now and try her odds at getting to town on foot. After all, it was only a 15 minute walk.

Just as she was about to dash into the shadows along the road, strong arms enveloped her from behind and held her arms down to her sides. "Explain yourself," a confident male voice said into her ear, just loud enough for her to hear. His body was larger than hers by a lot, and stronger too. His hold on her body lit a panic inside her.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered, her voice small. This was the first time she had gotten caught!

"Who are you and why were you in the Royal Cargo? Release what you have stolen immediately, or else face the wrath of the Court." His grip on her tightened, and it was beginning to hurt.

"Please, you're hurting me." He stayed still. Her hands searched for anything she could find clasped at her sides. The only thing her fingers found was her charm, the cute bunny jumping over the moon. "My name is- Bunny," she said, thinking as quickly as possible. If she told him the truth, she'd never leave the palace again alive; her mother would see to it.

"I didn't steal anything, I swear. I was just-," He let go of her, and she let out the air she was holding. "I was just delivering a message to the princess." She turned around to face him. "Please, you have to believe me." He patted her down her sides and felt for pockets, and upon finding nothing hidden, he stood to face her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him. He was taller than her by maybe seven inches and had dark violet eyes in contrast to his perfectly white skin. He was as strong looking as he felt with broad shoulders, that were being lightly tickled by his hair – his platinum hair. His hair came down just below his ears. He was beautiful in a way only a man can be.

As soon as he made eye contact with her, his eyes widened and he took a step back, clearly turning off the offense. Heart beating like a trapped thing, she quickly grabbed the hood of her cloak and tugged it down over her face. Stupid, she thought, stupid, stupid. What if he knows!

"I'm sorry to have frightened you… Bunny, was it?" his voice, suddenly gentle, said. "But I'm afraid I cannot allow you to illegally smuggle through the palace guards on my cart. I must take you back, even—"

"—No! No, you can't!" She scrambled for words. "Um, if you do, it will be ruined! Yes! The message is a secret message regarding a surprise the princess has for the queen next month! If you take me back there, it will ruin everything! The princess would never forgive you!" Bunny realized she was rambling and quickly shut her mouth. "Now, I'm sorry for using you like that, but I really must be on my way." Bunny felt her usual confidence seep back into her being as she straightened the front of her cloak. She turned towards town holding her hood close to her face.

"Wait, I'm not sure if all you're telling me is true, but I can't let a lady, even if she's hiding in carts at night, walk all the way to town in shoes like those." Bunny turned towards the taller, silver-haired man who had amusement in his violet eyes and then looked down at her footwear. Indeed, below the rim of her cloak, her light pink high heel shoes were clearly visible in the early evening starlight.

"Bunny, right?" He offered his right hand for her to take, the violent tension magically evaporated with the gentle smile on his face. "It's the least I can do to make up for scaring you tonight."

Bunny looked at his hand. Her feet were already starting to hurt as it was, and the walk would make her later than what she already was.

She took his hand, "Alright, but as long as you don't try anything." She mentally kicked herself. She had heard her mother talking about the politics between the Kingdoms lately, and knew that it wasn't safe to be about these days. She vowed to herself the next time she'd go out, she'd adorned a weapon of some kind.

The tall man lead her to the front of the cart just behind the horse and they sat next to each other as he held the reins and started the horse in motion.

As the gravel crunched under the wheels and the horse walked peacefully down the road, Bunny felt a bit nervous to be with him. He couldn't have been more than five years her senior and she didn't get out enough to really spend enough time with the opposite sex.

Sure, she's been sneaking out for about 2 years, but the first year and a half was just to her friend's hide-out. It sounds lame, but none of her friends got out much either; they really didn't have any ideas as to where to go until tonight, that is. Mina, one of her friends, said that she knew a good place to go, and that there were handsome men there. One must start somewhere.

"I'm Diamond," the man said looking over at her, interrupting her thoughts. "I make deliveries between the Kingdoms." When he said 'the Kingdoms', Bunny knew what he meant. Although there were ten kingdoms she knew of, Diamond was referring to the one other kingdom that had the closest relationship to hers. The relationship that was currently under a lot of political debate at the moment.

Sensing her uneasiness, he continued, "So… Secret message to the Princess Serenity, that's enticing." She flinched when he used her real name. "How did you manage to—"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you," she cut him off, glancing at him nervously. Her heart was beating too loud! Was she too obvious?

He sighed trying to make eye contact with her. "Listen. I'm really sorry about back there. You really shouldn't sneak into other people's carts…"

Bunny looked at him and felt bad for making him try so hard. After all, he did help her out a lot and he didn't turn her in. That had to be worth something. But she couldn't risk anything, not if he had business relations with the royal family – her family.

"Drop me off here, please," she said again avoiding his eyes, his deep violet eyes. He stopped the horse and jumped off his side fast to get to her side to help her off.

He offered his hand and out of habit more than anything else, she accepted his help. His hand was soft and warm. "Thank you," she said softly, her stomach turning upside down. She wasn't sure if it was from the adrenaline, or the feel of her hand in his.

"My pleasure," he said, helping her down. She was naturally taking her hand back when he didn't let go.

Startled, she looked at him. He simply laid a kiss along her knuckles, causing an intake of breath from the young girl and a slight case of goose bumps.

"I hope to meet you again, Mysterious Bunny."

Bunny dropped her gaze, turned, and walked quickly down a street in the calm evening; the only light from the stars above and the lights from insides the building illuminating her path.

Her dark silhouette disappeared long before Diamond stopped looking in her direction.

"Or shall I say, Princess Serenity."

He breathed in a lungful of the autumn air and as he let it out, he replayed the look on her face as they first made eye contact – the blush on her cheeks, her bright blue eyes, her soft bright hair framing her face from underneath her disguise.

Diamond never believed in love at first sight. No, not until tonight.