Aria's POVt
I stare out the window of my bedroom and weep bitterly. Ezra's been gone for almost two weeks, and I miss him terribly. The worst part is, he didn't say goodbye to me before he left. I told Catherine about this, and she hugged me and said that Ezra probably used me for sex. I didn't believe her at first because Ezra was so loving and gentle with me that night, but he hasn't written to me like he promised he would!
"Aria, why are you still in your room?" Queen Dianne asks as she bangs on my door.
"I-I'm sorry." I say through my heavy sobs.
"Why are you crying?" She asks as she barges into my bedroom.
"I have a terrible headache." I tell her.
"You're crying over a headache?" She asks me angrily.
"Y-yes Ma'am." I say as I nod my head slowly.
"Do you realize that people outside of this castle are dying of hunger? If it weren't for my husband, there is a good chance you'd be one of those people!" The queen exclaims.
Something inside of me snaps when Queen Dianne says this. If it weren't for her husband, I would still be with my mother and father. It's King Robert's fault that I spent my entire childhood missing them, and tending to his family's every need!
"Maybe if your husband was a better king, people wouldn't be dying of hunger." I say before I can stop myself.
"What did you just say?" Queen Dianne asks me furiously.
"Y-You heard me." I say as bravely as I can.
"You ungrateful little brat! You're no longer welcome to sleep this castle." She says as she drags me out of the room.
"Where would you like me to go?" I ask her.
"You'll sleep in the stables!" She tells me.
Line Break
I lay in the corner of the stable and try to keep myself from freezing. I wish I hadn't said anything to Dianne, because sleeping here is horrible! The stables are where all the horsemen sleep, and I'm the only woman here. The men keep staring at me, and it's making me very uncomfortable.
"Excuse me Miss." I hear a voice say.
I let out a terrified gasp when I see a tall young man hovering over me.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He says apologetically.
"It's fine." I say as I avoid eye contact.
"You look awfully cold, and I thought you'd might like this blanket." The man says as he hands me a wool blanket.
"Don't you need it?" I ask him curiously.
"Not as much as you do." He says as he shakes his head.
"T-Thank you." I say with a nervous smile.
"It's no problem. What's your name sweetheart?" He asks me.
"Aria." I tell him.
"Aria, I'm going to sleep by you all night to make sure that none of these men give you any trouble." The man tells me gently.
I respond by wrapping my arms around him, and hugging him tightly.
"I'm Jake by the way." He says with a smile.
Ezra's POV
I walk through an old neighborhood and sigh to myself. Almost all the villages in the area are completely destroyed, and this is one of the few that are still standing. I've been looking for Aria's family for almost two weeks now, but I haven't had any luck finding them. I see a middle-aged man walking down the street and I immediately stop him.
"Good afternoon Sir." I say with a warm smile.
"What do you want?" The man asks me harshly.
"I'm looking for Byron and Ella Montgomery. Do you know if they live in this village?" I ask him curiously.
"I am Byron Montgomery." The man says as he stares at me shocked.
Before I can stop myself, I wrap my arms around the man and pull him in for hug.
"I can't believe you're alive! She's going to be so happy!" I exclaim.
"Do I know you? And who is she?" Byron asks me confused.
"Aria." I say softly.
"Is this a cruel joke?" The man asks me furiously.
"Why would you think that?" I ask him.
"Someone stole Aria from me when she was a little girl, and I haven't seen her for almost nine years." Byron says as he avoids eye contact.
"I know." I say softly.
"How?" He asks as he stares at me shocked.
"Sir, my father took her from you." I say guiltily.
Byron responds by punching me square in the jaw.
"Do you have any idea what your father has put me and my family through? My wife cries herself to sleep almost every night!" Byron tells me furiously.
"I'm so sorry, from the bottom of my heart. What my father did was wrong, and I'm trying to fix things for you." I tell him.
"Why did he do it?" Byron asks as tears begin to form in his eyes.
"My father is the king of Rosewood, he brought her to work in the castle as a servant." I say to him.
"Why exactly are you here?" Byron asks me.
"Aria and I became friends years ago. She misses you terribly, and has begged me to come and find you. I kept putting it off because I didn't want to get in trouble with my father, but something happened..." I start to say.
"What? Is she okay?" Byron asks me panicked.
"Yes, she's fine. I found her mother's necklace at a shop in village, and Aria thought that something happened to you." I explain.
"After your father kidnapped Aria, Ella sold the necklace. Her heart was broken, and seeing that piece of jewelry only made her feel worse." Byron says sadly.
"I can't express to you enough how sorry I am." I tell him truthfully.
"Thank you for finding me. Just knowing that my daughter is alive puts my heart at ease." Byron says as tears begin to stream down his face.
"I'm going to bring her here, so that she can live with you and your wife." I say as I put my hand on Byron's shoulder.
"You can't do that!" Byron exclaims.
"Why not? Don't you want to see her?" I ask confused.
"Of course I want to see Aria, but it's not safe for her to be here." Byron tells me seriously.
"Why not?" I ask him.
"Several villages around here are rebelling, so your father drops a few bombs every once in a while." Byron says as he tries to hide his resentment.
"That's horrible!" I say before I can stop myself.
"I know! As Aria's father, it's my job to protect her. Even though I've done a terrible job so far, I can't let her get hurt anymore. If Aria stays with you in the castle, at least I know she'll be safe." Byron says softly.
"Aria won't have it! Once I tell her that you're alive, she's going to come and find you no matter what I tell her." I say to Byron seriously.
"Then don't tell her we're alive!" Byron exclaims.
"I can't lie to her Sir." I tell Byron softly.
"You love her, don't you." Byron says as realization washes over his face.
"With all of my heart. I love Aria more than I love myself." I tell the older man truthfully.
"Then tell her that this village was bombed. If you truly love my daughter, you'll keep her safe. Aria could die if she comes out here!" Byron tells me.
"If that's what you want, I promise I'll keep her in the castle." I say with a sigh.
"Thank you." Byron says in relief.
"Byron, I'm going to tell my father to stop killing these innocent people." I tell him.
"There's no use." He says with a sigh.
"I can still try." I say as I force a smile.
"Promise me that you'll take care of my girl." Byron begs.
"You have my word." I say as I shake his hand.
"Before you go, can you tell me about her?" Byron asks as hope fills his eyes.
"What do you want to know?" I ask him curiously.
"Everything." Byron says as his hazel eyes twinkle.
"To start, she's beautiful, smart, and has the biggest heart that I've ever seen." I say to the man.
"I wish I could see her." Byron says as he begins to sob shameless.
"I promise that when I'm king, I'll make it safe for her to come back here." I say as I try to keep from crying.
"Ezra, you're exactly what Rosewood needs." Byron says as he wraps his arms around me.
Important, please read!
Hey guys, I'm so sorry that I didn't update as soon as I that I would. It's been a rough week for me, to say the least. My mother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer about four years ago, and she was doing better,but unfortunately she had a relapse. Things have been crazy, and I haven't had time to write. I'm not even living in my own house right now because my dad is with my mom at the hospital. I don't have any intentions of ending this story, or any of my other ones. I'll try to update as much as I possibly can, but I don't know how much that will be. Again, I'm so sorry that I didn't update when I said that I would, but I'm having a lot of trouble balancing everything that's going on. Thank you for your continued support, you all give me the inspiration to keep writing.
On a happier note, I haven't watched the new PLL yet and I'm going to do that after I update my other story. My friends told me that I'd be very happy, so hopefully I'll get a cute Ezria scene?
