Alrighty then guys, update time! Time kind of confused me a little, because I updated just after 12 on December 1st and then went to bed, I woke up later on thinking that I needed to update again…when I didn't! I then sped the rest of the day confused out of my mind because I thought I missed a day of my life because I slept…but I haven't so it's ok!
So, the two people that reviewed my stories have shown a lot of interest in this chapter which will be the Stella/Brandon chapter (which is of course, my forte!) So, sitting down at my computer, this idea clicked, I was going to do something different and I was listening to Christmas songs to get me in the mood to write, when 'Baby, it's cold outside' came on, thus creating this chapter!
I hope you all like it!
Thank you to Stardust and Everlasting Glory for reviewing; this chapter is dedicated to the both of you!
Chapter 2: Beautiful, What's your Hurry?
Visiting loved ones over Christmas is an absolute must for some people, to spend your Christmas holidays with someone that you care about and enjoy your time together.
That was the case for Stella, Princess of Solaria. The time had finally come for her to visit Brandon in Eraklyon, she had spent the entire day planning when to leave, what to take and most importantly, what to wear.
Stella had completely torn her wardrobe apart trying to find something decent to wear, however, every warm jacket and jeans she had just didn't seem to shine anymore.
Agitated she had started to fling clothes out from her wardrobe onto the floor behind her, with frantic maids behind her, neatly collecting them and placing them into neat piles, ready to put back into their original place when Stella was done.
"This is ridiculous!" She snapped angrily, as she threw a long green top out of her wardrobe, and onto the floor, "Every single piece of clothing I have just screams ugly!"
"Princess, may I suggest sitting down for a few minutes?" One of her maids, Mia, suggested, "I'll get you a drink?"
"I have no time for that!" Stella replied as more clothes were thrown over her shoulder, "I'm supposed to be leaving in a few hours and I haven't done my hair or anything".
"Might I suggest you start on your hair then?" Mia asked, "Maybe after you've had a long bath something will click?"
"NO!" Stella screamed angrily, Mia wasn't taken aback by this, whenever Stella had a 'fashion emergency' she was prone to snapping at anyone who crossed her path, she smiled at the other maids in the room and continued. She always seemed to be around whenever Stella had a problem and knew just how to cure it.
"As you wish" She quietly said as she walked out of the room and down to the kitchen, once there she collected a fresh pot of herbal tea that the cooks had made and took it back up to her room.
When Mia arrived back, Stella had created an even bigger mess than before, the maids were starting to struggle, Mia placed the tray with the teapot on the table close by and poured Stella a fresh cup, "There is some of your favourite herbal tea here, your Highness".
Stella paused for a second and threw the pink jacket she had in her hands on the floor before storming over to her bed and snatching the cup from Mia and sitting down on her bed in a huff, Mia watched quietly as Stella sipped the drink for a few seconds and then paused.
"Is it ok, Princess?" Mia asked.
Stella pursed her lips silently and then nodded, "It's perfect…unlike my life!"
"Now" Mia said softly, "You're just a little upset because you can't find anything to wear, don't you worry, like I said, it will come to you soon; you'll find the perfect outfit".
"Are you sure?" Stella asked quietly.
"Positive" Mia said, "Now, let's think about it, you went shopping yesterday, didn't you get anything then?"
Stella frowned, "Only clothes that I can wear in the spring, I like to get on top of the new fashion but clearly I wasn't prepared for winter! Every single shirt I have are at least three months old, I can't wear those! Brandon'll wonder if I've been living in a dumpster for the past few months".
"I doubt he'll think like that, he is your boyfriend after all, he will be happy to see you after all this time" Mia told Stella, who sighed and placed her head in her hands.
"I just want the ground to eat me up".
Mia chuckled softly, "Come on Princess, everything will turn out ok".
Stella gave Mia a weak smile, Mia had to be her most trustworthy maid, whenever she was down and needed someone to make her see some sense, she was always the one she would turn to, partly because she was always around. Plus Stella loved the fact that she kept her decorum but still talked to her like she was a normal human being, not a Princess.
"You know, that perfect outfit might just be staring at you in the face, it could be a dress or-."
"THAT'S IT!"
Mia jumped a little at Stella's sudden outburst, she had jumped off the bed and handed Mia the cup and dashed towards her wardrobe again, Mia watched as Stella dug incredibly deep into the huge wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful turquoise dress.
"This…this is it" Stella said quietly, holding it up to the light.
Mia frowned at this, "Your Highness…are you sure? It's quite short and it is going to be freezing in Eraklyon, their winters aren't like Solaria".
"I don't care" Stella said, "It took me this long to find the perfect dress and here it is".
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Stella said as she placed it on her bed, "In fashion, it's not about being comfortable, it's about looking good!"
Stella then left to go into the salon they had in the palace, leaving Mia and the rest of the maids to clean up Stella's mess, Mia sighed, she wasn't at all comfortable with Stella's choice, but still, she was happy and that was all that she cared about.
Stella was now on a ship, flying across the realms, waiting to get to Eraklyon, she was very impatient and kept asking the drivers when they would be arriving, they were even starting to get slightly annoyed with their Princess and ha told her that they would be there when they arrived.
In a humph, Stella sat back down in her seat and fiddled with the hem of her turquoise dress, it was a short dress that fitted her body perfectly, Stella couldn't believe why she didn't think of it in the first place. She knew for a fact that Brandon would be drooling over her in this dress.
Her thoughts then turned to her loving boyfriend, it had taken her a while to persuade him to let her go over for Christmas, but soon he had accepted, he had told her that the man reason he had was just because their lives were so different that Brandon's house just wouldn't compare to her own lavish palace.
Stella had told him time and time again that she didn't care if he was poor or rich; she just wanted to be with him at Christmas, plus it would be nice to meet his parents, Brandon had been to Solaria countless amounts of times and meet her parents, so now was the time for a swap.
Soon the ship came to a halt; Stella quickly jumped out of her seat and ran to a nearby window.
"Hold on, Princess" The driver said, "I don't think we're in the right place".
Stella pressed her face up against the window and looked around the dark street, the only thing she saw were small suburban looking houses, they were small, but still they seemed to hold a lot of character.
"This doesn't look right at all and -."
"No" Stella quickly cut in, "This is right".
"Are you sure?"
"Yes" Stella said, standing up straight, she then left the ship and waited for it to fly out of sight before making another move, she pulled out a small piece of paper she had kept in her pocket and read the address, Brandon's address, she looked around the houses trying to find the right one and then she saw it, she could tell because Brandon's hovercraft from Red Fountain was outside, slowly she walked up to the front door, nervously straightening out her dress as she made her way.
Mia was right, it was freezing here, Solaria's winters stayed warm, just like the summers but this was a shock for her, she should have taken a jacket.
This was it, this was the chance she had to prove to his parents that she wasn't some sort of material girl Princess who only cared for herself, sure it had taken her ages to find an outfit and it took her a good four hours in hair and make up but that was just to look good.
Stella frowned, wow, she really was materialistic.
Next thing she knew she was standing outside Brandon's house and raised her right hand and knocked on the door twice, her heat pounding with every tap.
It didn't take long for someone to answer the door, and when it did she came face to face with her boyfriend, Brandon. He looked very smart and was dressed in a white shirt with a grey waistcoat over the top, a green tie was tied onto his collar however that didn't look so neat, his top button was undone and that seemed to complete his look, smart but a little scruffy, just like Stella would know him.
"Hey, you made it" Brandon said, a little excitedly, moving closer for a hug.
"I did" Stella said as she returned the hug, "Sorry it took so long, I…was held up on Solaria".
"Couldn't find anything to wear?"
Stella blushed at this comment, causing Brandon to laugh, "Come on Stell, I can read you like a book".
"Sorry" Stella mumbled, "I just wanted to look good and -."
She was cut off by Brandon's lips pressing against her own, she smiled and kissed him back, "Its cool" He said as he pulled away, "Come on in, dinner's almost ready".
"Great!" Stella said as she stepped into him home, she was instantly met by the warmth of indoors met her bare arms instantly, and so did the smell of the dinner that was being cooked, Stella could also hear the innocent laughter coming from the living room.
"You should know" Brandon mumbled, "Before we go in there, you are so far away from what your used to".
"I don't care" Stella said, "This all looks pretty fab to me!"
Brandon smiled and clasped her hand into his and led her through to the living room.
It was decorated very old fashioned with light brown wallpaper and old painting over the cracked walls, there were floor boards on the floor and two cream sofas against the walls.
Stella then came face to face with several people; an old couple who Stella guessed was Brandon's grandparents were chatting together on the sofa; a man was sitting on the edge of his sofa, talking to someone in the nearby kitchen which had a female voice coming out from that. Three young children were all playing on the floor with several toys in their hands and a young boy was sitting on the other sofa with a handheld game tightly gripped in his hands.
"Everyone" Brandon called out, getting the attention of everyone in the room, "There is someone I would like you to meet".
He tugged at Stella's hand slightly, making her step forward, he then placed his hands on her shoulders, "This, is Stella".
Stella smiled meekly at the faces in the living room, "Hello" She shyly said.
"Oh my Gods" The man said standing up, "Julie! Get out of the kitchen, she's here!"
Immediately a woman came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing, she looked like a motherly kind of woman with long brown hair tied up in a bun behind her head; she stumbled over to Stella mumbling to herself as she did so.
"Oh my Goodness" She gasped, "Hello…your Highness-."
"Please, call me Stella" Stella quickly cut in; she didn't want any formalities here.
"Right…yes of course" The woman said, "Well…welcome to our home…Stella…I hope everything is ok here".
"Everything is fine" Stella said warmly, "I really like it, it's very cosy".
The woman blushed, before moving over to her son and hitting him gently on the arm, "Why didn't you tell me she was coming over so soon?" She growled, "I would have prepared myself".
"Hey! Ma" Brandon quickly said, taking his hands of Stella's shoulder to rub his arm, "I thought you knew!"
Brandon's Mother shook her head before turning back to Stella, "I'm Julie, Brandon's Mother" She said, and did a half bow, which after she did, hesitated, "Would you like a drink at all?"
"Yes please" Stella said politely as Julie bustled back off to the kitchen to get a drink, but not before slapping the man in the room angrily on the arm, "Go on Frank! Introduce yourself!"
The man stood up rubbing his arm too, "Mom always gets like this when we have guests" Brandon mumbled in Stella's ear as the man approached them both.
"I'm Frank, Brandon's Father" He said shaking Stella's hand, "So you must be the one that turned our Brandon into an honest man?"
"Hey!" Brandon cried out, "Stop making me look like a bad person!"
Stella laughed softly, "Yes I did" She said nudging Brandon's arm.
"Good to hear" Frank smiled, "I'll introduce you to the rest of the family, over there are my parents, Joan and Richard" He said pointing to the old couple, who smiled and waved at Stella, "And these are the rest of my children, Kelly, Mikey and Kate" He said pointing to the three young children on the floor that were playing, they all shyly nodded at Stella before going back to playing with their toys, "And my second oldest, Harry".
The boy who was playing on the game looked up at Stella and blushed, "Hello" He shyly muttered before going back to his game, Brandon couldn't help but laugh.
"He's…you know…getting to that age" Brandon then mumbled into her ear, causing Stella to laugh.
"I see!"
After being introduced to Brandon's family the time then came to eat dinner, Julie had cooked a fantastic Christmas dinner all from scratch, Stella adored this, normally she faced dinner from the cooks at the palace, it was nice but it wasn't made with effort or love like this, Stella could tell that Brandon's Mother had obviously been working for hours over the dinner. All in all it was good, aside from the fact when Brandon's Grandfather kept calling her Sally rather than her real name, but it was all confusing for him.
Soon after dinner the family got to know Stella little better, she refrained from talking about her royal life because she didn't want to intimidate them, so she talked about her time at Alfea and Earth, they seemed to like her at Stella didn't have to be anyone else, she was herself, they laughed when she told them about her struggle to find something nice for today and they felt sympathy when she talked about her parents divorce, but something else she loved was that they understood her, every word that came out of her mouth they all seemed to take in like she was some wise story teller. They made her feel special.
Soon came the time where Brandon's family decided to go to sleep, they had to take their children and grandparents to bed, and they also wanted to give the couple some alone time.
"You are welcome here again any time you want" Julie told Stella, cupping her face in her hands, "It has been a joy having you here".
"I have had a great time too" Stella said smiling at the older woman, "Thank you for having me".
As the family all went upstairs for bed, Brandon slowly turned around to face Stella, he advanced her and pulled her in for a long passionate kiss, his hands pulling her in as close as he could possibly get her, Stella ran her hands through Brandon's brown hair and stroked the back of his head.
The two slowly pulled away and Brandon leant his forehead against hers, "I have wanted to do that all night" He said to her.
"Me too" Stella replied.
Brandon placed an arm around her shoulder and led her over to the sofa, where the two sat down and Stella immediately curled up into his arms.
"So, what is the plan for the rest of the night?" Brandon asked her, Stella sighed.
"Well, I told the pilots that I should be getting back to Solaria, so I should be leaving soon" Stella told him, causing Brandon to chuckle.
"I don't think that will be happening".
"Why not?"
Brandon moved Stella away from him and stood up, "Look out the window" He told her.
Stella, not suspecting anything, walked over to the window and lifted the curtain slightly, the sight in front of her shocked her.
Snow had covered the entire street, she gasped slightly, she was snowed in, pretty much.
"I do need to get back to Solaria" Stella told Brandon, "The pilots' can-."
"You are not going anywhere in this weather" Brandon ordered her.
"Oh really?" Stella asked cheekily, "And why is that?"
"I don't want you to go" Brandon said, "Simple".
Stella sighed and cupped her hands to his face, "I know, I don't want to go either, but I have to".
"Why?"
"Daddy will want to know where I am" Stella explained.
"So?" Brandon said shrugging his shoulders, "Send him a message and tell him that you're staying here".
"What?" Stella gasped, "I can't do that! He'll think we're…you know!"
"Well we could if you stayed?" Brandon said raising his eyebrows.
"Brandon, you're family are here! And I think we both know how loud you get?" Stella sniggered, causing Brandon to blush.
"Alright then, don't tell him that you're staying".
"What? And then get a search party here because I haven't come home?" Stella asked.
"I am not letting you go, Stella" Brandon told her again, "You'll freeze out there!"
"I'm fine!" Stella said.
"I don't think you are" Brandon said, running his eyes over her body, "You look amazing, but that dress is pretty short, I can tell your cold".
"Then lend me a coat?"
"No can do" Brandon chuckled.
"Well, Why not?"
"You'd go if I gave you my jacket".
Stella rolled her eyes, "Come on Brand, I have to go".
Brandon sighed, and pulled her into a hug; he then dropped his mouth to her ear and whispered several soft words to her.
"Beautiful, what's your hurry?"
Stella's legs went weak at this; she had nothing to say as Brandon pulled away he smirked at her blank expression, she adored it when he talked like that to her, it made her feel like she was the only girl in the world.
"I can't" She said again, her voice getting quieter.
"You won't be able to go home anyway, no craft can fly in that weather" Brandon said, "Take it from a good flyer!"
Stella bit her lip, it was cold and she could love to stay with Brandon for the night, but there was no doubt that the press and her father would be talking tomorrow morning, but did she care?
Right now, she surely didn't.
She grabbed Brandon by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, Brandon accepted it and wrapped his hands around her small waist, Stella soon pulled away and moved closer to his ear.
"Any you can try and be quieter tonight?"
Brandon's eyes widened, "Anything if it means that you're going to be in my arms tomorrow morning".
Stella smiled as she nodded, "Merry Christmas" She said smiling at him.
"And Merry Christmas to you too" He said as he led Stella up to his room, right now, Stella could have hated the snow, it was cold and nasty, but at this moment as she looked into Brandon's warms eyes, she couldn't care less.
"I love you" She whispered to him as they arrived to his room.
"I love you too" Brandon told her back, "Care to enter?" He asked opening the door for her.
"Please!"
This was very long! But hey! They're my favourite couple, I love favouritism!
Yes, things did get a little steamy, but come on we're all adults here…at least I think we are… but come on! They are my favourite couple!
Please review! And I will see you all tomorrow for the Flora/Helia chapter!
