Tangled Hearts Ch12 - Pull Me Closer
here it is donuts! the next chapter! sorry to leave you on such a cliffie last time, but I loved all the reviews I got! like holy crap! we reached 100! yay! thank yall so much for all the love and support! you guys are the best reviewers in the world, I can't believe we're already at 100 reviews with only 12 chapters! I love yall so much, so in appreciation, I updated twice in a week, and I'm hoping to update once more before halloween.
speaking of which, the halloween ball is coming up, it will be announced in the next chapter. I'm hoping that will come sometime this week, and then the actual ball itself will be within the next month. so please let me know you're characters costumes and pin it on their boards! also, I'm planning on making a halloween board, so pin anything you think is appropriate for the halloween ball on it!
this chapter is pretty intense, and the last pov was written by Hofund. huge shoutout to you for created such wonderful characters and helping come up with plots! sorry if it's confusing since none of those characters have been introduced, but please review and tell me what you think!
without further ado, here it is!
Gracie's POV
I was giddy with excitement the whole afternoon. This was it! My first date with Anthony!
The moment I got back from the hospital wing, I had told my maids, and then squealed with excitement for a good five minutes. Immediately after, they rushed to pick out a dress and perfect my hair and makeup.
An hour later, I was in perfect shape for a day on the beach.
My maids found the perfect dress that fell to my knees in a striped pattern of white and light blue, and a simple lace pattern decorated the top. The dress was loose enough for me to fit a swimsuit underneath without it being noticeable.
My hair was brushed through and then braided into a high ponytail, and the ends were curled. My makeup was kept at a minimum, and even though the outfit was simple, I felt beautiful.
At 2 o'clock sharp, a brisk knock silenced our whispered anticipations and nervous chatting, and I left my maids to answer the door.
Anthony stood with a single rose in his hand in casual attire, looking both nervous and excited.
"Lady Gracie - er - Gracie," he greeted me, looking slightly bashful. "You look beautiful." I blushed at the compliment, taking the rose he handed me.
"Thank you. You do too. I mean, you don't look beautiful, you - well, not like that, I mean, er - you look handsome," I stammered, feeling the rush of red creeping up my cheeks. I ducked my head in embarrassment, but Anthony laughed and held out his arm for me.
Sliding my hand into the crook of his elbow, I shot a nervous look at my maids, and they responded with big smiles and thumbs up.
Holding onto that encouragement, I closed the door and followed Anthony as he began walking down the hall. We were encompassed in an uncomfortable silence for the remainder of the walk, but thankfully, my room was on the lowest floor of the palace, so it wasn't too long.
We took a back exit, and the moment we stepped onto the beach, the tension in my chest dissolved.
The salty air invaded my lungs, and the gentle pounding of the waves crashing onto the shore filled my ears. The faint cry of seagulls reached us, and I almost laughed. I was at home.
Anthony seemed to notice the change, and looked at me with a grin.
"I take it that you like the beach?"
"I love it!" Kicking off my shoes, I dug my feet into the soft sand, warm from the sun's heat.
"Do you spend most of your time at the beach?" Anthony inquired, imitating me as he shed his shoes.
"I wish! I'm a flight attendant, but the moment I get back to Clermont, I head for the beach. What about you? Living on the beach, you should get plenty of opportunities," I teased him.
"Well..." he said sheepishly. I gasped in fake horror, but before I could say anything, he justified himself. "I wish I could, I really love the ocean, but being the prince, you don't really get as much free time as you'd think," he complained, but I wasn't satisfied.
"Well, we'll have to make up for that."
Pulling him along, I skipped toward the ocean, coming to a stop when the water lapped at our feet.
"You're right. I don't spend nearly enough time here," Anthony announced with a sigh, and I nodded in agreement.
"If you're not out here, what do you do most of the time?" It felt like a stupid question, but I really was curious. What did royalty spend all their time doing, if not attending balls and political meetings?
Antony seemed to consider it for a moment before responding.
"Well, there are meetings, and discussions, and laws that need to be approved, and lessons, and treaties, and now there's the selection," he babbled. "But this is a much needed break." He stood there for another moment before he realized what I was doing.
"Hey!" With a cry, he ducked out of the way, but I had already splashed him. Laughing, I cupped my hands and threw another splash of water at him, causing him to further retreat into the water.
"That's unfair! I can't splash a girl!" He complained, and I laughed. However, he relented quickly, throwing a spray of water into my face.
I gasped, faking horror, before bending down. "Oh, you're in for it now," I warned him, but before I could collect and water, he charged at me.
Shrieking, I attempted to run, but the water and sand weighed me down, and before I knew it, Anthony had picked me up and swung me over his shoulder.
"Hey! You can't do that!" He was laughing, seemingly unaffected as I pounded him on the back. He walked deeper and deeper into the water, not wavering an inch, and finally dumped me under. Gasping, I emerged and glared at him, but he was too busy laughing to notice.
"You got my dress all wet!" Even though it was a shallow complaint, I was disappointed that this gorgeous dress was soaked.
Anthony looked horrified and ashamed, as if he hadn't thought about the consequences of dumping me in the middle of the ocean.
"Gracie, I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you!" He appeared so concerned, and had even grabbed my hands, and I almost felt bad for laughing.
"It's okay, silly, it's only a dress," I teased, and his face broke into a relieved smile before he decided he needed to get revenge. Throwing me over his shoulder once more, he carried me back to the shore, making sure to splash me as much as possible in the process.
"Bully," I accused, gasping when he finally let me down.
He shrugged modestly. "What can I say?"
It was then that we both realized that we were soaked to the bone, and a soft wind chilled me. Anthony turned away as I peeled off my dress, feeling better in my swimsuit, but also slightly uncomfortable.
He turned around and I realized that he had torn his shirt off, revealing tanned skin and rock solid abs.
I blushed, but couldn't seem to look away. When he noticed my dress hanging limply in my arms and my gaze unwavering, he gave me a lopsided grin and tossed his shirt onto the sand. I carefully laid my dress next to his, careful not to let too much sand on it.
I hated ruining such a beautiful dress, but I was confident that my maids could fix it up easily.
"So, what do you want to do now?"
Upon my request, we spent the next two hours scuba diving, and I pointed out different types of coral and fish that he sadly knew nothing about. It was the most fun I had had in a long time, and even when we finished scuba diving, we played on the beach.
We had sand castle competitions, which I won, and went looking for seashells. He seemed reluctant at first, but warmed up when he believed he had very impressive sea shells.
Eventually, when we were both tired, we went for a walk on the beach.
"If you could be anything but a prince, what would you be?" I asked him.
"Well..." he pondered for a moment, stroking his chin as a quizzical look overtook his face, and I bit back a laugh. "I've always wanted to travel, go on adventures, you know? And that's what I was planning on doing, but then Derick died, and that opportunity was taken away from me." Anthony seemed a little wistful, but also resigned.
"Really? I've always wanted to go on adventures and see new places. That's what I love about being a flight attendant. I've always imagined what it would be like to go on a real adventure," I told him, skipping with excitement.
"Well, I'll have to take you on one sometime," he stated matter-o-factly.
"I'd like that," I responded happily. We started to loop around back to the palace, and on the long trek back we talked a lot more.
I really connected with him, and we shared our experiences and hardships. Even though I hadn't suffer through the loss of my whole family like him, I knew injustice, and we related.
When we finally reached the palace, a blanket had been set up, and he requested that we lay down and watch the sunset.
It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. The sky was painted with a vibrant display of pink, orange, and purple, and it left a reflection on the water. I instinctively grabbed Anthony's hand, and I thought he squeezed it, but it could have been my imagination.
As the sun set, I turned on my side to face him, and he followed my example.
"Thank you," I whispered, and he looked confused, so I elaborated. "For this whole day. It was like a dream come true," I smiled, glowing with happiness.
"I'm glad," he replied, lacing his fingers through mine.
My heart beat rapidly as I realized how close we were. A mere two inches separates our faces, and we both leaned closer. My breath hitched as his lips came closer, closer, and -
"You're majesty!" I let out a breath of disappointment as a deep voice called for Anthony's attention. He sighed, studying my face before giving me a peck on the cheek.
"I'll be right back," he whispered before pushing himself up and going to address the man that had interrupted our date. However, I still felt giddy. I may not have gotten the kiss I hoped for, but he still kissed my cheek!
A tingling sensation remained where his lips touched me, and I lifted up my fingers to touch it. I heard Anthony and another man discussing things in dark tones, but didn't think much of it.
A moment later, Anthony's face came into view again, but he looked horrified and weak.
"What is it?" I asked, propping myself up on one elbow. I wanted so badly to reach out and tuck his hair behind his ear, to soothe him and make all his pain go away. To kiss him. But I refrained.
"It's Lily," he gasped, trembling as if on the verge of tears. I frowned, pushing down a stab of jealousy at the mention of his first date. "She's dead."
Jaymes Duke
I paced back and forth, wearing down the soft rug with the path of my feet.
Kassidy was right beyond the door next to me, informing the girls of what had just happened. She was attempting to calm them down and go over the safety precautions, and her voice was amplified with the microphone she was speaking with.
However, her voice was just a dull nagging in the back of my mind. I was focused on other things.
Lady Lily Trend was dead. She had been found at 6:02pm, and her death was estimated to have been around five minutes before, at 5:57pm. Her body was found in a secluded section of the east wing on the second floor.
No one had been there in several months, and many people had forgotten that it existed at all.
Her throat had been slit, and the killer had escaped before they could be captured. Claire had found her body and screamed, alerting the nearest maids. It had taken almost half an hour for word to circulate, and Anthony was being alerted right now.
Those were the facts. But there were so many questions hanging in the air. Questions that I did not have answers to.
I hadn't killed the girl, and I had no clue who did. However, they didn't do a very good job of it.
They hid the body in the castle, and however secluded, the lack of skill proved their incompetence. Blood was smeared on the walls and floors for several hundred feet behind the body, so they obviously didn't cover their tracks well. It appeared that they didn't even try.
And that was what worried me. If someone in the castle was willing to kill so recklessly, no one was safe.
At least I was confident my targets would be killed cleanly with no trace. But I wasn't planning on targeting anyone until I was positive Anthony was attached to them. It would be inconvenient to kill girls that Anthony had no intention of marrying.
So far, it was too early in the competition to pinpoint Anthony's favorites, so there was no point in killing any girls yet.
Therefore, this worried me. For a moment, my mind flashed to Claire, picturing her sweet face in the library as she struggled to hold back laughter.
Sweet innocent Claire might be killed. Claire who was also part of Anthony's selection.
Shaking my head in disgust, I pushed her out of my mind and focused my attention on something else. If I didn't kill Lily Trend, then who did? A nagging suspicion crept up, but I pushed it down. There was no way... But I had to check. Just in case.
Third Person POV
"So, my friend, what do you think of this Jaymes' proposal?" Emperor Jing asked.
He didn't get an immediate reply. Jing was used to it. The Commander-in-Chief of the New Asian Navy and New Asian Intelligence was not a person of many words. If Jing hadn't earned his friendship and trust in early childhood, he doubted he'd get such a brilliant friend and subordinate either.
And Kiriga Durand was loyal in every sense of the word.
Jing knew Kiriga was better, but after all these years, it was clear to the young Emperor that his friend of the same age did not want to contest him for the throne even if he would easily win. He nabbed a piece of dried sausage with his chopsticks and chewed.
"His claims are authentic. His power and popularity far surpasses that of the current ruler of New Asia. However...do you want me to speak as your advisor or as your brother-by-vow?"
"Both. As my advisor?"
"We could always let him do the dirty work for us. As far as I see in this letter, all the other countries in on the plot are no match for the might of New Asia even if they pooled all their power together, which they most likely can't and won't. By attacking and seizing Illea right after the takeover, while the new owner of the throne isn't completely stable with it, we could conquer Illea or make it a colony. Either way, we will get Illean technology and high-skilled labor at next to no cost. It's a very good deal. Even if you're too principled to do that, we could get a lot more people inside Illea, which makes any plans to conquer it a lot easier."
"As my brother, then?"
"This Jaymes is too petty. From the report received, he's basically the King except in name. And he still isn't satisfied. He's opened the doors of Illea to even hungrier wolves in other countries. He even trying to get us on his side. I'm sure this isn't the first correspondence you've received from him."
"True. I've gotten a few letters, although I told him I needed time to think his offer over."
"Don't take it. Prince Anthony...has more potential than anyone I've ever seen. And the claim that Jaymes has control over Anthony's private secret army is too good to be true. They're most likely biding their time unless they've broken their oaths-which, if my impression of Illeans is right, they never break an oath after they make it. I'll go to Illea and discuss his offer with him. And then I will talk to the Prince...without Jaymes knowing."
"That's not possible. Jaymes' power in the Capital of Illea-"
"Is nothing compared to my private guard." Emperor Jing felt a chill go down his back as he remembered how one man from that guard had taken down a squad of his Secret Royal Guard...with one hand tied behind his back.
"I think I'll take Makayla there too."
"Eh? You're not planning to be the Prince of Illea's brother-in-law, are you?"
Kiriga shrugged. "She's always wanted to see the Illean palace and its art. Not to mention she's clever enough to help out Anthony, as well. She can take care of herself."
The Emperor smirked. "And what are you going to talk to Prince Anthony about?"
"I'll tell him half the truth and offer assistance in return for better diplomatic relations with Illea."
"While you're at it, tell him I want the parallel importing of high-class china and tea stopped on their end. With laws."
"Will do." Suddenly, Kiriga tensed. He snapped his fingers. Emperor Jing's smiling face fell, replaced by a solemn mask of a ruler. Scruffling was heard from outside the room. There was a knock.
"In."
One of Kiriga's Shadow Guard dragged in a maid. He pressed her into a kneeling position and threw an earpiece along with a badge in front of her. Another came in behind him.
"Eavesdropping. Illean spy." Kiriga stood up and crushed the earpiece beneath his heel, making sure to destroy the tape and transmitter. The maid let out a tiny whimper. He glanced at the badge.
"New Asian Division, Illean Intel Agency, eh? You, have the police squadron off a radius of four blocks with this mansion as the center. You, gather two squadrons and search the three buildings next to the estate. Kill any and all Illeans without mercy."
Finally, he raised his head to the ceiling. "You, take her away for questioning. I want to know why Jaymes sent her."
"Yes sir."
Across the world, Jaymes was notified that Commander Kiriga himself was going to visit Illea with treaties and to discuss his offer. Taking a deep breath, he began preparing for the visit.
hey donuts! this chapter wasn't quite as long, but I feel like adding more would have made it a little overwhelming. again, the last pov was written by hofund, as were the characters featured in it!
what did yall think? I actually loved writing gracie's pov, their date was so cute! I'm sorry you didn't get the kiss yet, but they're still cute! *squeals* I don't know how it's possible to ship anthony with so many girls!
again, the halloween ball will be announced in the next chapter, and I might create a halloween board on pinterest, so tell me if you'd like to join it!
sooo, now you know that jaymes didn't kill lily, so who did? *evil laughter*
I've realized that I haven't had some girls povs in a while(marina, cinnary, echo) so I'm planning on doing those in the next few chapters, but tell me who y'all want to hear from!
please review and tell me what you thought! thanks to all you donuts who reviewed last chapter! CranberryTruffle, Sabinethafangirl, BandGeek601, Silvertrue, alexiaroosenhaan, morethanjustastory, Sora Kalopsia, MastaGamerita, wolfofstark, Fryllabrille201, and jenhen24! y'all are so awesome and supportive, I love reading your reviews! you're all so sweet, and I couldn't do this without you!
don't forget to vote in the poll who your favorite girls are! love y'all!
~kate