Chapter 12: Otherwise Engaged


Isabelle was surrounded by various piles of straw as well as a growing pile of golden spools of thread and she sighed as the spinning wheel continued to squeak as she kept on turning the wheel, feeding the straw as she did so,

"Isabelle?" a voice called from the door and she instantly panicked, she stopped spinning and stayed as silent as she could,

'Damn It, he found me' she thought at the sound of Killian's voice,

"Isabelle?... I know you're in there" Killian said and she stood from her stool and approached the door before reluctantly showing her face,

"I... I could really use some time alone right now... Sweetheart" she said with a cringing smile and Killian raised an eyebrow,

"Really you want to stay locked up in here... honey?" he teased and Isabelle sighed in relief,

"Great... Now the potion wears off... After a total of 72 hours" she growled in frustration and Killian chuckled,

"I'm sure my... Potion induced actions were not that bad" the prince reasoned and it was Isabelle's turn to raise an eyebrow,

"Oh you think?... I may have been locked up but I could still hear the servants chasing you around the castle with you yelling such phrases like,

"Where is my Isabelle? I Yearn for the nectar of her skin" she mocked in a moaning tone before giggling and Killian frowned before unlocking the door,

"I was obviously not in my right mind" he grumbled but Isabelle couldn't help but smile at him softly but Killian frowned at the sight of the numerous piles of straw that littered around the room and he stepped inside,

"I can't believe my father has been keeping you in here for the last... 72 hours spinning straw into gold thread" he murmured and Isabelle could see the sadness and disappointment in his eyes towards his father and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder,

"You know... When my brother passed away. I vowed to never use this gift again but... Since your dad had me doing it again... It reminded me how much Rodger used to giggle when I would feed the straw into my spinning wheel and then the thread would sparkle in the fire light from our old fireplace" she told him, smiling up at him softly,

"And I realized just how much I've missed it" she told him and Killian couldn't help but smile softly before brushing a stray curl of her hair behind her ear,

"Well; By all means you may continue spinning as much straw as you wish... I managed to convince my father to release you but he had one condition... He has sent word to the Kingdom of DarkHaven and my father's friend, King Stephan is send his daughter... Princess Milah. A childhood friend of mine... And... My father expects me to marry her on Christmas Eve" Killian told her but Isabelle looked at him concerned,

"What's she like?" she asked,

"Milah?... She's wonderful, she's kind, brave and loving. I guess you could say that we were childhood sweethearts. It's been a few winters' since I last saw her but she loves the children as well as the people of our kingdom" Killian told her and Isabelle smiled brightly,

"Killian, she sounds wonderful and Christmas Eve is still a few weeks away so you and Milah have time to rekindle the love you had for each other from your childhood" Isabelle encouraged and Killian looked at her relieved,

"So... You're not upset?" he asked and Isabelle smiled brightly with a soft giggle,

"Upset? Why would I be upset?... Killian your first overall priority is as a father and then followed by your duty as crowned prince. I am nowhere on that list and nor should I be" she told him with a reassuring tone,

"Well, I'm glad you're ok" Killian said with a smile before leaving the room as Isabelle smiled after him but the prince didn't see a stubborn tear escape down her cheek.


~ 24 Hours Later ~


The whole castle were running around, preparing for Princess Milah's arrival and by the time she arrived; Isabelle had all the children, lined up whilst dressed up in their festive finest and she began adjusting the young prince's ties,

"Now remember to be polite. This is a great opportunity for both your father and the kingdom" she reminded them gently and they nodded with slight sad smiles on their faces,

"Miss Isabelle. I couldn't find Fluffster anywhere" Chrissy said with a worried pout but Isabelle gave her a reassuring smile,

"Don't worry, Sweetheart. I'm sure he'll turn up" she assured and it was then that Killian entered the room followed by Princess Milah who had a bright smile on her face,

"Oh... Children, it's been too long. You've all grown up so wonderfully" she said delightfully before giving them each a hug before turning towards Isabelle and smiled,

"And you must be the nanny Killian has been telling me all about" she said happily before hugging her tightly much to Isabelle's surprise but she smiled brightly, offering her a hug in return before stepping away and curtsied politely,

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Milah. I too have heard both great and lovely things about you" Isabelle told her and Milah smiled brightly,

"Oh how wonderful. I can tell we are going to be fast friends" she told her certainly before pulling Isabelle a few meters away with a gentle hold on her arm,

"I feel that the children might be a bit... Upset. Perhaps we should leave them with their father so that he might explain my coming here a bit more to them so that they may understand things a bit better" she suggested quietly and Isabelle looked towards Killian whom had heard and he smiled with a nod of his head and Isabelle smiled,

"An excellent Idea, your highness" she bid and Milah giggled, wrapping her arms around her own,

"Oh please, call me Milah. We're already friends" she said happily before pulling her out of the ballroom,

"You can show me around. Everything has changed so much since I was last here" she said and Killian offered a thankful smile to Isabelle who nodded with a smile of her own as she left with Milah to show her around.


~ A Few Hours Later ~


Milah stormed into her guest chambers with a glaring expression on her face and she stomped her foot on the ground,

"What's wrong, dear?" Milah's father asked from his chair whilst reading his paper,

"You should have seen the way, Killy was looking at her, daddy. He thinks I didn't notice but I noticed" she growled angrily,

"He used to look at me that way" she whined and her father rolled his eyes,

"You're overreacting, Milah. She is but a simple servant girl and holds no candle to you" her father assured, standing from his chair with a smile and pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead,

"Now, try and get some sleep. Brennan told me that you're spending the day with his grandchildren tomorrow" her father told her before leaving her to rest after bidding her goodnight and Milah growled to herself,

"Those little brats love her as well..." she said with a glare that soon developed into a smug smirk,

"But not for long. They'll love me and forget all about her soon enough" she murmured, walking over to her trunk and opened it before retrieving Mr Fluffster that she had found outside in the grounds where little Chrissy had been playing with him earlier and she looked at the little toy with a disgusted expression as she held the rabbit's cloth ear between her thumb and fore finger,

"Ew... Disgusting little thing" she grumbled before throwing it into the fireplace and headed into the bathroom, not giving the toy a second thought as it slowly burned within the flames.


Any one else feeling like throwing a punch at Princess Milah? I DO! Review for Chapter 13!

Kind Regards,

TheAuthor1996