Chapter 9:
Lead Me Into Your Heart
This chapter is a little on the short side, but I thought I'd crank at least one more out for you all. I'm going to be very busy the next few days with various things so I might not update for a while. Thank you all who have reviewed this story so far. If you're enjoying the story, and haven't left a review, please do so. I really enjoy reading them, and they encourage me to continue.
PS: I forgot to mention that Urvea is in the country of Germany.
Enjoy!
When they made it back to the castle, Elsa, Anna, Paul, and Aaron all had lunch together with the king and queen. They got to know each other some more; and learned a little about Urvea's recent history. King Alan had been meaning to start process of establishing a railway company. One that would connect Urvea with the rest of Germany. Unfortunately, the process had been delayed due to other problems the kingdom was having at the time. King Alan explained how for the past few months they had been dealing with rebels on the outskirts of the city. The rebels had caused a lot of trouble for the people of Urvea; robbing stagecoaches, killing innocent people, attacking Urvea's troops out in the open. Alan and his troops had just finally managed to put a stop to them a few days ago.
"I sent one of my best men out to kill the rebel's leader," he explained. "Albert is his name, and he's got more skill with a rifle than ten men put together. Not to mention he's very bright. Albert managed to track down where the rebel's hideout was; and he and a large group of men raided their lair, and killed the rebel leader. With their leader dead, the rebels had no one to tell them what to do so they quickly surrendered. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole for crimes against the kingdom of Urvea. I can't tell you how happy I am to see that justice has been served."
"I can imagine," Elsa said. She liked King Alan and Queen Lilly. They were strong, noble leaders, but at the same time they were down to earth, which made them very approachable.
"But no sooner do I solve that problem does another one come up," King Allan groaned.
"Now I've got to deal with a convict who just broke out of prison. He's very dangerous; and every second that goes by without finding him puts more lives at risk."
"What's his name?" Elsa asked, concerned for the well-being of the people of Urvea.
"Carl Blaffler," King Allan replied. "He is a serial killer currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murders of eight women. He went on a rampage a few years ago. What made him so unique was that was very intelligent, and always made sure to leave no evidence behind. The victims were all killed the same way; by stabbing, and were nude when found. Their clothes had been stolen too. We were at a loss at where to look when we received a tip from a reliable source about a shoemaker who had an unusual obsession with women's clothing. When I sent a few of my men to investigate the home while Blaffler was away, they found eight different dresses; some of which were stained with blood. It could only mean one thing: Carl Blaffler was the killer. The dresses were later confirmed by the victim's families to be the exact dresses each of their daughters was wearing on the night they disappeared. When he was arrested, Carl denied any involvement in the murders, but after hours of interrogation he confessed. Carl showed no remorse for what he had done; he even went as far as to say that he found pleasure in killing. Quite a sick puppy if you ask me. Now that maniac is out there doing God knows what. I pray we find him before he claim's another innocent victim.
Anna and Elsa looked startled. The fact that a serial killer was roaming free among them was terrifying. And to know that he actually received gratification from killing women, made it even worse.
"I do hope you apprehend him soon," Elsa said firmly. "A monster like that deserves to be behind bars for the rest of his life."
"I couldn't agree more," King Alan said. "But enough talk about dark things, back to this whole railway idea. I've got some plans, but I haven't had the time to hire the engineers to take on the project. I guess I'll have to keep it on hold for a while.
"Why don't you have Paul do it?" Elsa suggested.
Paul looked up from his plate; a look of astonishment was on his face.
"Well, I don't know. It's a big responsibility; and a lot of hard work," King Alan said.
"Well, Paul might be ruler of the kingdom one day. It's best that he get an early start on important things such as this," Elsa said, giving Paul a big smile.
Paul still couldn't believe Queen Elsa was actually suggesting to his father to let him take on the railway project. Not that he wasn't flattered, it was just shocking that she chose him instead of Aaron.
"What do you think, son? Do you think you could handle this?"
Everyone at the table turned their attention to Paul who had been sitting quietly the entire time. Paul thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt about it; it was a huge responsibility, and a lot of work. But just think how much easier it would make trade for Urvea, not to mention, Queen Elsa herself suggested him to lead the project. An opportunity like this didn't come around often; Paul knew that he had to take it.
"Yes, sir. I will see to the building of a railway for Urvea," he said proudly.
Aaron snorted. It would be amusing to watch his brother try and fail at something that his father desperately wanted.
"Well, it's settled then. I'll leave you to it. Of course, you know you'll have to hire engineers to get the job done, and not just any engineers, the best ones in all of Europe."
Paul nodded. "I will get right on it."
"Good. Later on this evening I will show you my blueprints along with the map showing where I want the railway line to go."
After lunch, King Alan and Queen Lilly had a meeting to attend, and Aaron joined them. King Alan left Paul in charge of entertaining the sisters for the rest of the afternoon. Paul happily obliged. He took them on a tour of the Urvea castle showing them as many rooms as he possibly could. Afterwards, he took them on a tour of the gardens, which were beyond beautiful. Anna and Elsa had never seen so many different kinds of flowers. Roses, petunias, lilies, daisies, etc, it seemed like every flower in existence was planted in the Urvea garden. Elsa suggested that Paul play Anna the song he wrote, and he happily agreed. The three went upstairs to the third floor where Paul's room was. Paul retrieved the guitar case from under his bed, and removed the instrument. He took a quick minute to tune it, and then started playing.
"Girl, words can't describe the feeling I get when I'm around you,
Especially when I look into the eyes so deep and blue.
The world becomes a better place for everyone.
And to think it's because of all of the things that you've done.
You're the greatest thing in my life,
I what I would do to make you my wife
I'd give every beat of my heart just to see you smile.
I'd do anything to just be with you awhile"
"That was lovely, Paul," Anna said, giving him a round of applause.
"I told you it was good," Elsa said, doing the same.
"You have such a great voice too," Anna added. "I wish more guys knew how to sing like you."
Paul blushed, touched by her compliment. "Thank you, Princess Anna. I appreciate that. Elsa, didn't you say you wanted to learn how to play the guitar?"
Elsa's eyes widened; happy at what Paul had just asked her. "Why yes, I'd love too. I hope I don't ruin your guitar with ice."
"Don't worry about it," Paul said. "Come over here and I'll show you a few things."
Elsa sat on the bed next to Paul watching as he placed his left hand at the top of the fret board. "Ok. I'm going to teach you three chords that are most commonly used in songs," he said. Paul handed Elsa the guitar, the queen placed her left hand on the fret board just as Paul did. "The first chord is a G, and like every other chord in existence, you have to have your fingers positioned exactly right in order to play it. He reached over and gently grabbed Elsa's hand. The Snow Queen was initially surprised at the warmness of Paul's hands. Normally she was used to feeling cold; she was the Snow Queen after all, but this was different, a good kind of different. Paul gently moved Elsa's fingers to the correct positions on the fretboard. It felt awkward to Elsa at first, but she was sure that that was normal. "Alright. Now gently strum the strings below with your thumb," Paul instructed. Elsa slowly ran her thumb over the six strings from top to bottom; a sweet sound emerged from the guitar. "Does that sound right?" she asked.
"Yep. That's the G chord," Paul admitted. "Good job. Now I'll show you the other two chords; C and D. Paul showed Elsa's the finger positions for both chords; he was surprised at what a quick learner she was. Most people took some time getting used to the awkward finger positions. Elsa practiced by playing each chord after another; eventually she memorized the positions, and didn't have to look at the fretboad to make sure she was in the right place. A trickle of ice began to crawl down the fret board as Elsa started to play faster. Anna was the first to notice.
"Elsa, you're freezing Paul's guitar," she pointed out.
Elsa looked at the fretboard; and saw that it was covered in ice (No wonder it was starting to sound weird) she thought.
"Oh my apologies," Elsa said, waving her hand over the fretboard to remove the ice.
Paul laughed. "That's OK. I'm just happy that you've got the hang of it. Pretty soon you'll be writing your own songs."
Elsa blushed, touched by his compliment. "I don't know about that, Paul. I'm not the creative type."
"Nonsense, look at the ice palace you made. If that's not creative, then I don't know what is."
Anna watched as the two talked to each other. Despite thirteen years of separation, Anna knew Elsa better than anyone, and she could tell when she was really happy, and she could see that she was really happy with Paul. There was a special twinkle in her eyes whenever she looked at Paul; and every time she did a smile was on her face. She watched as her pupils dilated the more the two talked about things that they had in common, and how she rubbed her hands together excitedly. There was no doubt about it. Elsa was falling in love with Paul. Slowly, but surely.
"Hey! I have an idea!" Paul exclaimed. "How would you two like to go to see a play tonight? The local theatre is performing William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."
Elsa's eyes lit up even brighter than before. "I love that play!" she cried. "We should definitely go."
"I think I'm going to sit this one out guys," Anna said. "That play is just too sad for my tastes." In reality, Anna enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, but she wanted to her sister and Paul to spend some time just with each other.
"Suit yourself," Elsa said. "What time is the play?"
"It's starts at 7:00 tonight. After dinner we can head on over to the theatre."
"Sounds like a plan," Elsa said. She was excited to see the play with Paul. Romeo and Juliet was one of her favorite Shakespearean plays. It always touched her how the two young lovers were willing to go against their family's wishes just to be together, and the tragic ending always got to her as well. It was definitely true love as far as she was concerned. Something she hoped to find one day.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Paul called. The door opened, and one of the servants walked in.
"Prince Paul, your father requests your presence in his study. He wants to show you his blueprints for the railway."
"I'd better get going then," Paul said to Elsa. "So, are we still on for tonight?"
"Sure are. Wouldn't miss it," Elsa beamed.
Paul put his guitar back in its case, and quickly followed the servant out of the room, leaving Anna and Elsa alone with each other.
"He is so sweet," Anna commented.
"Yeah, he really is," Elsa said, in a dreamy tone of voice.
"I bet you're really excited for your date," Anna said, taking a seat on the bed beside Elsa.
"I wouldn't say "excited" but I am looking forward to it," Elsa replied.
"Paul is really nice guy, Elsa. You should spend as much time as you can with him," Anna suggested.
"Yes, but that wouldn't be fair to Aaron," Elsa said.
"Ok. You can spend some time with Aaron as well. I just think that you and Paul really have a connection."
Elsa felt her heart skip a beat. Was she right? Was there some special connection between her and Paul? She thought back to earlier when Paul was teaching her how to play guitar; the way his hands felt when he touched her own; soft and warm. She remembered enjoying the feeling of his touch, despite preferring the cold. Elsa thought back to weeks ago when Paul had kissed her at her ice palace. At the time she reacted angrily because he had invaded her privacy, but in all honesty she really hadn't hated what he had done. It was just a kiss on the cheek, nothing more. And he had been so apologetic afterwards; the look on his face was heartbreaking; he seemed very upset at the thought that the hurt her.
Unlike his brother, Paul was much more down to earth, and Elsa appreciated that. She often grew tired of eccentric people who don't know when to settle down. She may have been able to relate to Aaron more in terms of her powers. He was someone who could personally understand what it was like; to possess magical abilities, having something that makes you different from everyone else. However, whenever she was with Aaron she didn't feel what she felt with Paul. With Paul, Elsa felt like she could open her heart to him, and he wouldn't judge her for what she had to say. Paul was very easy to talk too.
He may not have powers of his own; but he understood emotions much better than his brother did. She felt safe with Paul; it was as if all the dangers in the world had ceased to exist. Paul was soft-spoken, calm, compassionate and very intelligent. He would make an excellent king one day. Elsa could picture him ruling strong, fair, and with a whole lot of kindness. His subjects would truly be fortunate to have him as their leader.
But what about Aaron? How could she tell him how she felt? Moreover, how would he react? After witnessing his behavior in the restaurant that night, it was obvious that Aaron had a short temper. Elsa couldn't bear to face Aaron's wrath again. One time was more than enough. If he was willing to explode over an incorrect order, who knows what he would do when faced with rejection? The more Elsa thought about it, the more scared she became. The walls around Paul's room began to grow with ice; a strong indication that Elsa was distressed. Elsa couldn't stand having to reject someone; and for their own sibling nonetheless! She cared about Aaron very much, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. But it was clear by the way she felt, that her feelings for Paul were much stronger. No. "Conceal, don't feel," she thought to herself. That may not have worked with my powers, but it's got to work with my feelings. She would continue to spend time with Paul and Aaron, but she would remain neutral. She wouldn't show favoritism in the slightest. It had to work.
"Paul, and I do get along very well," Elsa explained. "But I'm not sure he's the one for me."
Anna rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe what her sister was telling her. "Elsa, I see the way you two interact—you're like two puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together. I can tell how happy he is when he's with you—seriously the guy is practically glowing with happiness. And I see the way you act around him too. Your eyes light up, and really come alive! That's a side of you even I've rarely seen. Face it, Elsa, you're in love with Paul Clayworth."
Elsa took a deep breath, and calmly spoke. "I don't have any preference for either. I like them both just the same."
Anna frowned, and shook her head. "Unbelievable, Elsa. Even after finally realizing the power of true love, you still continue to act oblivious towards it."
She got off the bed and opened the door, but before she left, she turned around to say one last thing.
You know, Elsa, true love cannot be found where it does not exist, nor can it be denied where it does. Think about that."
Icy tears fell from Elsa's eyes as Anna shut the door behind her.
The suspense is building, how will Elsa's date with Paul go? How long can she deny her feelings? What will Aaron do in the meantime? All to come soon.
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