Gabriella gracefully moved down the exquisite staircase, her long, full skirt gently swishing from side to side and her high, black, shiny heels gently clicking against the marble flooring. In her right hand, she held a rather large designer purse, which contained a few of her belongings that she wished to take to America.

"Where may you be going, princess?" inquired the butler when he noticed Gabriella heading for the front door.

"I am just taking a short walk," Gabriella replied with a smile. "I will not be long." Behind her back, she crossed her fingers.

"Would you like an escort?"

"No, thank you. I will be fine alone."

"Alright. Have a lovely time."

"Thank you," smiled the princess as she walked out the door, her head held high. Once she reached the sidewalk a little way from the palace, she looked around for Troy.

"I'm right here," whispered the president's son, appearing from behind a tree, as he grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her to the hotel he was to meet his father at. It wasn't too far away, so it only took a few minutes to get there.

"Troy, why is Gabriella with you?" President Jack, who was waiting right outside the entrance, queried.

"She's coming back to the United States with us," announced Troy with a smile.

"I don't have a problem with that, but did the King and Queen say it was alright?"

"We didn't ask."

The president let out a sigh as he deliberated about whether or not he should allow the princess to return to the White House with them. Finally considering the fact that if Gabriella was missing, the King might forget about bombing America, he told him, "Okay. She can come with us."

"Thank you so much, Dad!" Troy responded. Turning to his girlfriend, he said, "We're gonna have so much fun! When we get back today, I think we should just rest, but tomorrow, I want you to go bowling with me, then the next day I can take you to a store to buy a swimsuit and I can teach you to swim and then the day after that we can spend the day in my movie theater and when we've done all those things, I'll take you to an amusement park."

Gabriella smiled. "That sounds like so much fun!"

Troy leaned down to place a kiss onto the top of the princess' head. "It will be."

"Okay, well, are you two ready to head to the airport?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," replied Troy. To Gabriella, he explained, "We're just gonna walk to the airport. It's only a block from here and it's annoying to have to wait for a taxi or bus to come around."

"That's fine with me," shrugged Gabriella. She honestly didn't care one bit about how they reached the airport. She only cared if she got there, stepped onto the plane, and reached America safely.


Gabriella stepped into the White House, her hand gripping Troy's, and gazed around in amazement. Although she had been there before, she was still impressed that the president's dwelling was elegant, but still felt like home.

"Let's go upstairs," suggested Troy. "You can either put whatever you were able to bring with you in my room, or pick one of the guest rooms to put it in. Tomorrow before we go bowling, I'll take you to the mall so you can pick out some jeans, t-shirts, and other casual stuff."

"Thanks for the offer, Troy, but I don't have any money with me," Gabriella responded.

"You don't, but I do." Troy smiled.

"But I don't want to make you go broke," the princess protested.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have as much cash as you do."

"But you have to let me pay you back for at least some of it."

"Alright, you can pay me back for some of it," agreed Troy, somewhat reluctantly, before pressing a kiss into the princess' dark hair. "Now let's get upstairs."

Gabriella walked up the steps, staying at Troy's side the entire time. When they reached his room, she decided, "I'll just keep my stuff in here. Where do you want me to put it?"

Opening a vacant drawer in his dresser, the president's son answered, "Right here would be perfect."

"Thanks." Gabriella quickly unloaded the few things she had been able to bring with her.

"You all done?" checked Troy.

When Gabriella nodded, Troy looked at the clock, then told her, "We're probably gonna be eating dinner in about an hour. Until then, we can just hang out in here. I can give you a pair of Maya's jeans and one of her tops to change into if you want and you can take off those shoes."

"I'll take the new clothes." As she spoke, Gabriella removed her uncomfortable heels and placed them underneath Troy's bed.

"Okay. I'll be right back, then." Troy exited the room, returning only a couple minutes later holding a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a pale blue babydoll top. Handing them to the princess, he said, "Here you go. Feel free to use my bathroom to change."

"Thank you." Gabriella gratefully took the things from Troy and walked into the bathroom, appearing again in a short while.

"You look really cute in those clothes," the president's son smiled, heading over toward Gabriella to wrap his arm around her waist.

Delight washed through Gabriella at her boyfriend's words. No one had ever called her "cute" before. When she was a little girl, she had always been described as "lovely" or "charming" and when she got older, people told her she was either "beautiful" or "elegant." She hadn't known any different at the time, but at the current time, she realized how much it meant to her to be thought of as "cute." A smile lighting up her face, she returned Troy's sign of affection by draping her arm across his shoulders.

"If you want, you can rest for a while," Troy invited, signaling to his bed.

Until that moment, Gabriella hadn't even thought about being fatigued. But after hearing Troy's words, she realized that she did feel like she needed some rest. "Alright. I think I will. Are you gonna stay with me?"

"I was gonna see what we're having for dinner, but as soon as I'm done with that, I'll come right back up. I'll wait until you get settled, though."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Gabriella headed over to Troy's bed. After she pulled back the covers and laid down, Troy tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Thanks," she murmured, rolling over onto her side.

"No problem." Giving his girlfriend one last kiss, Troy walked out of his room, closing the door gently behind him.


Soon after dinner, Troy and Gabriella decided to go to sleep. Although Gabriella had taken a small nap earlier, she hadn't gotten enough rest to make her feel awake enough to stay up late. Troy hadn't been tired at all when his girlfriend was resting, but while he was eating, he had begun to grow exhausted.

"Here you go, Brie." Troy handed the princess one of his t-shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts.

A bewildered expression crossed Gabriella's face. "What are these for?"

"To sleep in," Troy replied. "I thought you would want something comfy since I don't think you brought any pajamas with you."

"No, I didn't," confirmed Gabriella. "And thank you so much for letting me borrow some of your clothes. You're too sweet toward me." With a smile, she made her way over to the bathroom and closed the door.

While Gabriella was changing, Troy put on something similar to what he had given her and climbed into bed. It wasn't long before his girlfriend joined him. "Hey, Brie," he greeted, opening up his arms as an invitation for her to cuddle into him.

"Hey, Troy," returned Gabriella, moving closer to the president's son and wrapping her arms around him.

After kissing Gabriella's lips, Troy turned out the light beside his bed and held her close. "Good night, Brie."

"Good night, Troy."


"Where could she have gone off to?" the Queen inquired of the King.

"I have not the slightest idea," the King replied as he paced the floor, his hands behind his back and his head down, as if, for once, he was actually thinking up a wise explanation for his daughter's sudden disappearance.

The Queen let out a small sigh.

Lifting his face, the King turned to one of the servants that was in the room and asked, "Are you certain you have not seen her at all since last night?"

"No, your highness."

"I have seen her this morning," the butler announced.

"You have reported that news to me already," snapped the King.

"That I did. My apologies."

"You do not suppose she was kidnapped, do you?" the Queen suggested. Motioning to a woman standing against the wall, she requested, "Could you ask the cook to prepare a cup of hot tea and a fresh biscuit for me?"

"Yes, your highness." With a polite curtsy, the woman gracefully headed out of the room.

"Where could that rebellious girl have gone?" the King muttered, his hands clenching into tight fists.

"I beg your pardon, your grace," started a young man appearing to be no more than twenty years old, "But as President Bolton was in this building only the evening prior to this one and as the princess vanished this morning, I would think he brought her back to America with him."

The King's eyes grew harsh as his fists became tighter. "That man..." he growled before turning to the man that had just spoken. "Thank you, Charles. I believe your explanation may be correct. You may do the honors of delivering the word that as long as my daughter is missing, we will not bomb the United States. We will, however, still send out armies to attack."

"Yes, your highness." Charles bowed and left the room.

"I will write to the president immediately," decided the King. "I will beg him to reveal to me whether or not he does have the princess for certain and what we are required to do to get her back. I do not trust that man, not one bit! And his son is even less trustworthy than he. I must save my daughter from those horrid, horrid people!"


Hey, guys! I decided to leave the title of this story as it is for now and to wait until the end to see if I want to change it or not. Hope you liked this chapter!