Chapter Three:
I knocked when we made it to the room Megan and Danny were staying in. "Come in." I heard Megan say. I opened the door and saw her sitting by the fire reading a book. Danny wasn't in the room.
"Where's Danny?" I asked.
"Asleep. Apparently being held and kept awake all night in freezing water wears a person out." She smiled and looked behind me. "You must be Eric." She stood up and tried to curtsy.
"Megan it's okay." I laughed. Eric smiled and bowed to Megan.
"It's nice to meet you. Aria talks of almost nothing else but her family." He slipped his hand back into mine and squeezed.
"I hope you get the chance to meet the others. Aria said that you'd see if you can help our siblings?" She probed.
"Yes, with all of the visiting royalty for the wedding we will have help reasoning with your father and finding out what his reasons are for locking you all away. I'm working on getting some more information at the moment. For now though you should relax and enjoy the celebrations coming for the next few weeks." He explained.
"Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you better. I do wonder though how you caught Aria. She was never one to sit still and settle down." Megan grinned mischievously. I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed.
"I told you how we met Megan." I replied before Eric could say anything.
"Yes I got the general meaning of what you said. But that isn't how he caught you." She smiled as I shook my head.
"At dinner tonight I'm sure Emma will ask the same questions." Eric smirked. I saw his eyes flick to the door to the bedroom. I looked over and saw Danny standing there, wrapped in a blanket.
"Hey Danny. Did you sleep okay?" I waved. He looked down at the floor and shrugged. Megan went over and picked him up in her arms. She walked over to us.
"Aria can I have a cookie?" I heard him whisper. I smiled.
"Yes we can get you a cookie." I turned to the door and saw a maid there with a tray. I looked over at Megan questioningly.
"I asked her to bring up some tea right before you guys showed up." She shrugged. Danny squirmed in her arms so she put him down and he ran over to where the maid had set the tray.
"Thank you." I nodded at the maid. I caught the hint of a smile as she left the room.
"Who's that?" I heard Danny ask. I crouched down so that he could see my eyes.
"This is Eric. He's going to be your brother in a few weeks. He was really excited to meet you." I smiled as he shoved a cookie in his mouth. He took a minute to chew.
After he swallowed he bent closer to me. "Is he the one that took you away from us?" He wrapped his arms around my neck and held on tight as I smiled gently.
"No Danny he didn't take me away from you. He actually was the one that told me to go home and see you." I tried to explain without scaring him. He pulled away to look at my face.
"You won't leave again? I can stay with you?" He stared at me waiting for my answer. A tear rolled down my cheek.
"Yes Danny you can stay with me as long as you want. I won't leave you again." I pulled him back into a hug. I picked him up. "Do you want to say hello to Eric?"
"Okay." He mumbled. I took him over to see Eric who was watching me. There was a gentle smile on his face as he watched me step closer to him.
"Hello Danny. It's good to meet you." Eric bowed to Danny.
Danny started giggling. "Why did you bow?"
"Because you are a very important person here at my castle." He grinned.
"This is your castle?" Danny asked him when Eric had straightened. He nodded in response to Danny, giving him his full attention. I glanced over at Megan. She was watching us with a shocked look on her face. I caught her eye, silently asking what was up with her expression. She shook her head at me.
"Yes, this is my castle." Eric replied.
"You must be a king then." Danny nodded to himself. Eric chuckled.
"I'm a prince. My father is the king right now. But I will be king one day." Eric explained. I smiled at him.
"Aria, are there any toys here?" Danny turned toward me so I could hear him.
"I'm not sure. Why don't you ask Eric? He has a lot of things you might like." I told him. He turned back to look at Eric expectantly.
"We have a room full of toys. There's also a lot of grass outside if you want to play out there." His face scrunched up as he thought about what might interest Danny.
"We can go outside here?" Danny grinned widely.
"Yes you can go outside all you want, as long as you have someone with you." I told him. He looked so happy about this. "Do you want to go outside and play? I'm sure there's a ball we can find for you to play with."
"Yes! Will Eric come with?" Danny scrambled out of my arms to find his shoes the maid had left earlier today.
"I think I have time to come play with you." Eric answered. Megan slid on her slippers and slipped on a shawl. We followed Danny and Eric outside to the courtyard. Danny was swinging on Eric's arms and running in circles around him.
I hung back with Megan. "What was that look back in the room?" I asked her.
"I just realized that of all of us, you're the happiest. You found love and you're going to have a family. Growing up we all dreamed of having a handsome prince come rescue us from that island. You and I knew that it wouldn't happen. Watching Jen get older and not meet anyone outside of the family was the worst part. There wasn't any hope of being rescued.
"Looking at you though, you didn't need a prince to rescue you. You knew what you wanted and you made it happen for yourself and yet you still found the handsome prince. Watching the two of you with Danny, You're both going to be good parents. And he loves you very much Aria." Megan finished with tears running down her cheeks.
"You're free now Megan. You can find someone that will make you happy. You won't end up like Jen." I hugged her. Looking at Megan I realized that I had been very lucky. When I had run away I was so angry at my father for keeping our heritage from us. I was mad that he made me run away.
Things had been hard for me, being twelve and having to provide for myself. I worked odd jobs, delivering groceries for people in the market, sleeping in a cave I found that you couldn't get to without swimming. I went hungry a few times. Finally I had decided to travel and explore the world beyond Skagen. The day I had returned was the day I met Eric. I was seventeen.
"Who are we meeting tonight at dinner?" Megan brought me back from my memories.
"Emma, Philip and Sage. They are from a country called Italy. They are the first guests to come for the wedding." I explained. "I believe Eric told me Sage is Philip's younger brother. Emma and Sage are the same age, twenty-one. The same age as you as it just so happens."
"Alright. Do you think they will help us?" She asked me.
"Eric said all of these royals would help. They are Eric's friends. They all grew up visiting each other's kingdoms." I shrugged. "Either way we will get the others here. Now stop worrying. " I grinned as I sat on the grass to pull my slippers off. After those were off I pulled off my stockings to feel the grass on my feet as I walked. Megan stood there gaping at me when I stood up. I stuffed my stockings into my slippers and dropped them back onto the grass.
I gave Megan a little shove and started running through the courtyard towards Eric and Danny. I ran past Danny and turned to see Megan laughing as she chased me. I picked Danny up and spun him in a circle before taking off again. I felt Danny laughing against my chest. I put him down in the grass and he had just enough time to get out of the way before someone tackled me to the ground.
"I was always the faster runner." Megan rolled on the ground as she tried to stop laughing. I laughed as Danny came and jumped on top of me. I started to tickle him as he tried to scramble away from me.
"Eric, help me!" Danny yelled. I heard Eric kneel on the grass next to me.
"Should I tickle her back?" Eric asked as his hands gripped my waist. I started to crawl away before he could start.
"Yes!" Danny giggled as I let go of him to get away. I stood up and started running away. I heard someone chasing me. I turned to see who it was and strong hands lifted me off the ground.
"That's not fair." I laughed as Eric turned me back to face him. "You're stronger than I am." He pulled me against him and kissed me.
"Mmm," I groaned as my hands wrapped around his neck.
"Yuck, that's gross." I heard Danny say. Eric and I broke away to look at him. "Is it time for dinner? I'm hungry."
"Why don't we go inside to see? We all need to change anyway. We are covered in dirt." Eric looked me up and down. I felt a blush cover my body everywhere he looked.
"Come on Danny. You need a bath." Megan grabbed his hand and led him back inside to their room. Eric and I waited for them to leave before turning back to each other.
Eric pressed me back against the castle wall, trapping me in his arms. "You are so beautiful." He whispered against my neck as he started kissing me.
"You make me feel beautiful Eric." I huskily replied as his hands travelled down my arms to my waist. They brushed my hips before heading up my sides to cup my breasts. He started brushing my nipples through the fabric of my dress with his thumbs. My head tipped back as I let out a quiet groan.
He gently bit my collarbone before kissing my mouth again. I pulled back a little. "Don't start something we can't finish now." I sighed.
"You're right. Later tonight." He grumbled. "We better go get ready. I don't really want to explain to Emma why we are late, not that she won't know why." I kissed him gently before we walked inside. "The maid is in your room waiting." He sighed.
"Soon." I smiled seductively as I opened the door. Eric's room was the room that attached to mine which was convenient for us but it was farther away from the room Megan and Danny were in.
"My lady, how was you're trip?" Lacey asked when I walked in. I smiled as I looked around my room. I loved this room. The furniture was a rich cherry wood and the walls were a deep purple. The chairs were a dark forest green along with the curtains covering the glass door to the balcony.
"It was alright. It could have gone better." I shrugged as she helped me undress.
"I chose the midnight blue gown for you tonight. Is that alright?" She asked.
"Of course. You know it doesn't matter to me either way." I sighed as I stepped into the bath she had drawn for me. The warm water felt good against my aching legs. Swimming all night had worn me out more than I had realized. "Has anyone else arrived?"
"Actually while you were with the Prince and your sister, Ella and James arrived." She told me as she helped me wash the dirt and salt from my skin.
"Is that why it's going to be more formal tonight?" I asked when we had finished washing my hair.
"Yes. Emma and Philip don't really care for things to be so formal when they visit. With Ella and James here though a lot of the nobility want to be here. So the king wants to have dinner and dancing tonight." She explained.
"Lacey will you watch Danny tonight for me? I'm worried about leaving him alone. I wasn't expecting him not being able to eat with us. He might get upset." I stepped out of the bath water and wrapped a towel around myself. I quickly dried off while she went to pull out all the necessary undergarments for my dress. I wrung my hair out to help it dry faster before going into my dressing room.
I slipped on the silk chemise, pulled my stockings on and stepped into the petticoats. "Your already so skinny you almost don't need the corset." She stood there looking from me to the corset and back again. "If I lace the dress tight enough it would look like you were wearing one except for the fact that the corset pushes up your breasts and keeps them up."
I laughed. "Let's put it on for tonight. I'd feel weird without it on."
"Alright." Lacey grumbled as she laced me into it. It really didn't do anything to make my waist smaller. It just helped me sit a little straighter and pushed my pathetically small breasts high enough that the tops of them would be visible over the dress's scandalously low neckline.
The dress was very simple by the women of the courts standards. It was made from satin but lacked any feathers or lace. There were no intricate designs or ribbons, just the midnight blue satin. The sleeves fell off my shoulders leaving them completely bare.
"You look amazing. Now lets fix up your hair before Beth brings Megan here so I can go keep an eye on Danny. I'll take him to the nursery where all the toys are after he eats dinner." She sat me down on the stool and coiled my hair into a low, slightly messy chignon leaving a few pieces loose around my ears. She slid a comb in to hold it in place. I picked up my engagement ring and put it back on my finger.
"All done." Lacey said. "I will go take care of Danny now and let Beth know Megan can head over so you guys can go down together." She curtsied and left. I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked really good. A lot of the noble's didn't understand the lack of embellishment on my clothing.
There was a knock on my door. "Come in." I answered. Megan opened the door. She looked beautiful in a deep red satin dress with black lace peeking out of the neckline. "You look amazing Megan."
"Thank you. So do you. Danny was headed up to the nursery with your maid when I left." She told me. I nodded.
"Yea I asked her to take care of him. I felt bad about leaving him alone tonight." I played with my skirt getting it to lay just right.
"I'm glad he will have something to do while we are downstairs." She held out her hand to me. "Are you ready?"
"Yea I guess so." I sucked in a deep breath. "Let's get this over with."