Shayla and Grace whipped their heads towards me and Shayla grabbed my hand. I could feel myself going completely white. I stayed just like that as the rustles of skirts filled the room, and Janis shooed off Grace and Shayla.

I cleared my throat.

This couldn't be happening. I thought Liam liked me, was he going to let me go easily, and not embarrass me? Oh my gosh. What would Mom think if I came home after 3 days?

I stood shakily and smoothed out my dress. I made my way slowly towards the blue backdrop where Liam was talking to the camera crew and his mother.

As I dodged tables and couches, I soaked it all in. Bye chair, bye coffee table, bye couch. I lamented I couldn't stay longer to recline in a rather fancy looking couch.

Eventually I reached Liam. I decided that putting on a brave face would be the best plan of action. Maybe that would convince him to let me stay.

"Ah, there you are! I was afraid you had run away!" Liam's eyes sparkled when he saw me. I guess that's a good sign.

"No. I doubt running in these pinchy shoes is advisable." I said jokingly.

Liam chuckled, "So I was thinking that maybe you and I could have breakfast in the gardens or in a parlor, instead of with everybody else. I mean, if you want to." He said, blushing a little.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Yes, that actually sounds wonderful. Make sure there's strong coffee!" I winked, elated that I wasn't being sent home.

He offered his arm to me and I took it. We wandered the halls together trying to decide what pastries we should try first. He decided on an orange scone, and I decided on a spice cake muffin.

After 15 minutes of walking we found a nice little alcove within the many halls and called for our breakfast.

"So, tell me Eleanor. What's your… um…" Liam stumbled and seemed to lose his train of thought.

"Well, I love the color cream, my favorite food is jaw breakers, and I love Clair de Lune. Let's see… my favorite book is The Papers." I completed with a smile.

"Thanks." Liam said and chuckled, back to his regular relaxed self.

"How about you answer the same questions?" I asked, munching on my muffin.

"Well, technically, I didn't ask you anything," he replied, grabbing a scone.

"C'mon!" I said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Ok, ok, well. My favorite color is Raspberry, my favorite food is salmon, my favorite song is Bartók – String Quartet No.6 in D, BB119, Sz.114, and finally my favorite book is The Giver." Liam listed each off and took a bite of scone between each favorite.

"Oh, wow. I had no idea that Bartók – String Quartet No.6 in D, BB119, Sz.114 even existed." I replied.

Liam chuckled sweetly and began to say something when the rebel alarm sounded.

"What is that?!" I shouted over the din of the alarm and pounding feet.

"It's the rebel alarm! Rebels are in the palace!" He yelled, grabbing my hand.

Suddenly it was quiet and the only sound was of the gunshots and footsteps outside.

"Is this the one?" I heard a ruff voice call form outside the door.

"Yeah, The Prince and that Eleanor girl should be in there." Another man answered.

Liam clapped a hand over my mouth and pulled me into a closet full of old coats. Deeper and deeper we fell, past reds and greys, wools and silks, and finally we came upon a space with a little room and when Liam pulled a chain and a small flickering light bulb came to life.

"We'll be safe here, the rebels will but there are too many coats for them to hear us or for them to see the light." Liam assured me. He stood up and began pacing, running fingers through his hair.

"Yeah." I whispered quietly not sure of what more to say. I sunk quietly onto the small bench provided and watched Liam pace.

"How long will this last?" I wondered aloud.

"Hm, they are usually 45 minutes to an hour, and since we've already been here 20 minutes, I'd say we have 30 minutes left." Liam replied, as if this was a usual for him.

We passed the time playing rock, paper, and scissors. In case you were wondering, I won 15-8. Then he beat me in a game of tic-tac-toe we scratched out on the wall.

"Your Highness?" We heard ruffling in front of us and Liam turned out the light.

"But it's a gua-" Liam shushed me and pulled me behind him a little.

Slowly the rustling grew closer and a guard stumbled into the space. Liam stepped forward pulling me behind him.

The guard sighed in relief, "We got them, they are in here." He yelled behind him.

"Are you two ok?" The guard asked, checking us over.

"Perfectly fine, Liam got us to safety in the nick of time." I said, a little aghast at the whole situation.

"Follow me," The guard instructed, and we made our way through the fine coats.

We emerged into a frenzied scene, tables turned, our breakfast splattered along the walls, and multiple guards checking every nook and cranny. I wondered idly what they were checking for. Bombs, guns, notes. It could be anything.

We were escorted to the hospital wing just for extra measures and I found Shayla on a bed, cradling her arm. I ran towards her,

"Shay!" I yelled, her head snapped back ,"What happened, are you alright?" I rushed to her and grabbed the side of her bed.

"Ha, I'm great. You should see the rebel I round house kicked in the eye!" She said brightly, and I laughed.

"But the real question is what happened to you!" Shayla asked wide-eyed.

"Well, I was supposed to be enjoying a wonderful breakfast date with the Prince, but we had to hustle into a little room in the back of a closet, because of the rebels. I heard the rebels right outside the door, it was terrifying." I answered. I took in Shayla's pale face.

"But it's ok, I'm fine!" I rushed.

"You went on a date with Liam?" She squealed.

"Oh my heavens, of all the things to hyperventilate over right now, you chose that?" I rolled my eyes.

"Ok, so tell me. What was it like?" She inquired.

"It was nice. We talked a little about our favorite things and then in the closet I beat him plenty of times in a few rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Over all, it was pretty romantic." I practically snorted out the last part.

"Very romantic indeed." Shayla agreed.

Hey everybody!

Sorry for the huge wait on this chapter! I hope to post a lot more often, now that school is starting to settle in a bit. See you next chapter, XOXO EvieLeeT