Valor, Princes and Bad Guys

Two

Shounen Brave (English Cover)-JubyPhonic

The air was cool and dry as Chloe led them down the marble steps of the castle. Derek had let go of her hand, unfortunately; she was still curious as to where that cold man she'd heard about was.

"Hello, Chloe," said a voice. Chloe's skin prickled as she looked up from the ground to find a dark-skinned, copper-haired girl standing there. Rachelle. Her brown skirts swished against the cobblestone. A gemstone-encrusted necklace sat on her large breasts and Chloe thought it looked gaunty. Rachelle fluttered her eyelashes at Derek.

Chloe shifted a tiny bit closer to him, feeling the heat of his arm brush her sleeve. She relaxed as his fingers brushed hers once, twice. "Hello, Rachelle," Chloe replied in what she hoped was a calm voice as she curtsied—princesses curtsy to each other, Jennifer had told her one afternoon—and then straightened up.

"Who's this handsome fellow?" asked Rachelle, her dark eyes eyeballing Derek. "I'm Simon," blurted out the blonde. Tori elbowed him. "Tori," the dark-haired girl yawned out in a bored tone, examining her long, pretty nails. "This D-D-Derek," Chloe squeaked, letting her arm rest against his. His bicep was hard muscle.

"Her betrothed," Tori butted in, spite and dislike layering her words. Rachelle's eyes narrowed at her. And then she flashed a sugary smile that made Chloe's stomach knot up. That smile, she recognized as Rachelle chatted up Derek, promised trouble with a capital T.

oOo

Rachelle tagged along. Chloe sighed as she fixed her hair in the store window; the wind had messed it up after the painstaking hours Liz had taken to fix it. "Your hair looks fine," said a voice behind her and she saw Tori in the reflection.

Tori was beautiful, Chloe mused as she turned to the other girl. Her dark hair hung at neck-length and shone blue-black in the light; her skin was golden and she was slim, like a ballerina; she could've doubled as one with her grace. "You look beautiful," the strawberry-blonde blurted and felt her cheeks warm.

"Thank you." Tori was grinning like a boy as she mock-curtsied. "Looks like that bi—witch is getting up close with Derek," she observed, her eyes distastefully eyeballing the girl in question. Rachelle hadn't taken her eyes off Chloe's betrothed once since she arrived and it was beginning to grate on Chloe's nerves.

Derek, for his part, seemed more interested in speaking with his brother. He kept dislodging Rachelle from his arm and she stomped her foot like a child. She smiled. "He's not that bad," Chloe whispered, watching the sun glint off his raven hair. He looked like a gothic angel.

"Yeah. He's a total softie," laughed the dark-haired girl as she looped Chloe's arm through hers. They made their way to the group, Tori chattering her ear off and making the blonde relax and laugh in a loud, guffawing way.

Rachelle flashed her a dark, disgusted look and any happiness Chloe felt evaporated; she felt her hands trembling as Simon waved to her with a funny face. She couldn't seem to smile. "You okay?" Tori whispered in her ear.

Chloe glanced at Rachelle. "She's just being herself," she admitted shyly. "Chloe," Derek rumbled, making her jump out of her skin. His green, green eyes pierced her and her heart pounded like a drum; she gave Tori a wide-eyed look before obeying.

"Yes?"

"We found a puppy," Simon said with a smile. The dog was very thin and shied away from Derek, Simon and Rachelle. "Filthy mutt," she hissed under her breath. Chloe gave Rachelle an angry look, as did Derek. The dog was small, a puppy still, with a torn up ear and dirt clinging to its short coat. A nasty gash ran across its forehead.

It whined and shrank back, tail tucked between his legs. Derek motioned the others to step back and Rachelle took the opportunity to press herself against his arm, pretending to be frightened. He shook her off.

Chloe crouched down and held out a hand to the frightened animal. He growled at her, scared eyes staring up at her. "Come here, I won't hurt you," she whispered to him. His eyes locked on Rachelle and his fur stood on end, teeth bared. "Well, I'm not sure about her but the rest of us won't," she admitted with a smile.

The dog approached and then snapped his teeth at Rachelle, loud growls emitting deep from his throat. Chloe let her fingers brush the dog's forehead and he relaxed, calming down, his fur laying flat again. He whined and his tail wagged when Derek stooped down beside her, having shaken off Rachelle.

Tori let out a loud laugh.

"I'm taking you home," Chloe told the dog and scooped him up, feeling him lick her face. She laughed and she felt like a little girl again, her mother smiling as she played with some stray's puppies. She turned to Simon and Tori and Simon let out a very loud guffaw, a grin lighting up his handsome face.

"Real princesses don't fraternize with filthy, flea-ridden animals," sniffed Rachelle. Chloe rolled her eyes. "Real princesses are kind, not snooty," Tori snapped, her eyes alive with anger. Rachelle gave Tori a dark look.

"I think it would be b-best if we got going, Rachelle," Chloe suggested and it certainly didn't earn the dark, evil look it got. When she shrank back, she felt Derek against her.

"It was nice meeting you," Simon was saying as they began their way back to the castle. Rachelle let out a little huff.

"Well," Tori grumbled as Chloe stroked the dog's soft, soft fur, "she was a total bitch." A weak smile rose on Chloe's lips. "We used to be friends," she murmured as Derek's arm bumped her, warm and solid. She glanced up at him, and her cheeks warmed.

He was staring down at her, pieces of black hair hanging lank in his eyes. There was an unreadable look in his gaze, something that made her stomach knot up and her mouth go dry, her heart pound. Was it fear or something else?

He reached out, his big, veiny hand massive, and stroked the dog under the chin. The pup let out this little grunting sound and relaxed, staring up trustingly at them. It had hazel eyes.

"Good girl," he told her and Chloe's face flamed as she realized, watching him stride up to Simon to talk and leaving her with Tori, that he had been referring to her!

Tori laughed at the bright red blush on the blonde girl's cheeks. "You two are so cute."