Hey Guys! Here is Chapter 14! I have decided that I want to start to ask a question of the week at the end of each chapter, I would love for you guys to give the story a review and answer the question as well! Also, there is a TON of different references from different books and TV shows, so if you know them, Tell me in the reviews! Alright enough of my blabbing, here is Chapter 14!
The afternoon sky is beautiful today, the clouds are all sorts of different sizes and shapes, the sun isn't too hot, and the birds are flying around. I walk next to Ryland with a pep in my step. I decided that today we would go on a picnic in the meadow behind the palace. Ryland is carrying a wicker picnic basket filled with sandwiches, crackers, fruit, and blue cookies. I am bringing along two canteens filled with lemonade. Ryland and I have been on other dates and they all have gone well. I remember the first time I met him, he was so shy and insecure.
"Hi Princess Emmalina," he says as he sits down on the couch.
I smile at the brown-eyed baby-faced boy, "Hey, you must be Ryland."
He turns his gaze away from me, "Yeah, yeah that's my name."
"Tell me about yourself, Ryland."
He blushes, "Well, my name is Ryland Mark Snyder. I am the youngest out of all my siblings, My oldest sister's name is Kaelynne, My oldest brother's name is Castiel but he goes by Cas, my other sister's name is Noella and my other brother's name is Zeke."
I chuckle, "Wow, you have a big family."
"Yeah, I do." He smiles, "Kaelynne is married to my brother-in-law Brett McDonough, and they have one daughter and her name is Emery. Cas is engaged to my soon-to-be sister-in-law Abagail Tamayo, and they are going to have a son named Jonah. Noella is married to my other brother-in-law Mitchell Westerbrook and they have twin boys Leo and Logan. Zeke isn't married but he has a boyfriend and his name is Seth Callender."
"What about your parents?" I ask curiously.
He begins, "Well, Kaelynne and Cas had a different father then Noella, Zeke, and I. Their dad died in the New Asian war. His name was Davis Brookston, and my mom loved him to death. They got married at a very young age and had my older siblings. When Davis left for war, he ended up dying. My mom swore that she would never be able to find love again but then my dad, Jamie Snyder, came and mended her heart. They got married and has Noella, Zeke, and I." He smiles, "oh, and he adopted Kaelynne and Cas as well."
"Wow," I say, "That's pretty cool, not the whole –"
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"What's your mom's name?" I ask.
"Her name is Amberly," he says, "my parents named her after the previous queen."
Amberly Schreave. My grandmother. The queen before my mom. The one who raised my dad. The person who saw my dad fall in love with my mom. I never met my grandma, I never knew her. Dad always says that she was an amazing woman who changed the lives of so many people. Mom says that she was a great mentor and leader and that she always looked up to her. I see her picture hanging from the walls of the throne room, and she looks beautiful. I wish I had the chance to meet her, to know her, to have her mentor me. But wishful thinking is never truthful.
When we finally get to the perfect place to set the picnic basket down, it's almost three in the afternoon. The checkered red and white blanket is sitting on top on the green grass mixed with a dried-out yellow tint.
"So," Ryland says as he is getting a peanut butter and banana sandwich out of the basket,: "What do you want to do?"
I take out a sleeve of crackers and grab a handful, if anything, crackers are my definite weakness, "Um, I'm not sure."
"Do you want to play a game?"
"Yeah," I reply, "A game sounds like fun, how about 20 questions?"
He chuckles, "Sounds great." He takes a cracker out of the sleeve, "You can go first you're majesty."
I blush, "Oh alright," I tap my finger to my chin and look up at the sky for dramatic effect, "ok I got one: If you could have an endless supply of any food, what would you have?"
"Easy," He says, "Strawberries."
"Why Strawberries, I would choose like cheesecake or something."
"Because my mom grew up on a strawberry farm, so every time I visited my grandma's house, she would give us the best strawberries ever."
I laugh, "I really want a strawberry now."
"See?!" he says, "even the thought of Mimi's strawberries makes someone crave them! And I believe it's my turn." I nod my head as a reply and Ryland continues, "If you were an animal, what would you be and why?"
"I don't know…" I trail off, "I guess I would have to say a Bird."
"What kind of bird?" he teases.
"A Phoenix named Fawkes." I say matter-of-factly
"Why?"
"Well, because I read this book when I was younger, it was called 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' and it was the first book where we met Fawkes the Phoenix and I literally wandered around the palace ranting about how I wanted a book from Fawkes' point-of-view."
He throws his head back in laughter, "I can totally see you doing that. Alright your turn."
"hmmm, What is one goal you want to accomplish in your lifetime?" I ask.
He furrows his brow, "I guess I would say that I really want to make people happy."
"Good answer, I want to do the same thing." He blushes at the reply
"Alright, my turn," he picks at the crust on the edge of his sandwich, "When you were little, what was your favorite super hero and why?"
I instantly know the answer, "Ok, I'm not sure if this counts but I think that I does so whatever. When I was little my favorite Disney movie, you know what Disney is right? Ok, well my favorite Disney movie was Cinderella, and my favorite super hero was the Fairy Godmother."
He starts to laugh uncontrollably, "I don't think that she counts but we can go with it, so why was she your favorite?"
"I don't know," I say, "I think it was the cool 'Bippity-Boppity-Boo' song she sang, Lord knows that my parents got an ear full of that after I watched Cinderella."
"Ok your turn." He says directing the conversation back to the game.
"Alright," I say as I struggle to swallow my blue cookie, "Who is your hero?"
"Hero?" He asks puzzled.
"Yeah, like, someone you look up too. It could be your mom or a celebrity or anyone."
"ok I got one," he says with a glint in his eyes, "My cousin, Marianna, she is 24 years old and she is an incredible repair person. Her husband, Dexter, teaches at the local elementary school and supports their family so Marianna can go around and repair people's houses. She does the repairs for free so that people with an unstable income can at least have a functioning house."
"Wow, that's amazing." I saw losing focus of the pear in my hand.
"Yeah, now if I'm correct, it's my turn."
"You are correct sir." I nod.
"Ok, well let me think." He folds up the plastic bag that his second peanut butter and banana sandwich was in, "What is your favorite thing to do in the summer?"
"Oh that's a hard one, I like to do so many things." I say with a chuckle in my voice, "but if I had to choose one, I would say that I love sitting on a bench in the gardens and reading a good book."
"Sounds peaceful."
"It's the best thing ever to lose yourself in a book." I say, "It feels like you're in another world where none of your problems are even relevant."
"You're turn, book nerd." He teases.
"Ha-Ha," I reply, "Ummm, If they made a movie about your life, what would it be about and which actor would play you?"
His eyes light up at the question, "Well, it would be about my life. Duh, and the actor I would have play me would be Nik Efron. His family is full of generations upon generations of actors. His ancestor, Zac Efron, was all the rage in the old movie from like the 2000's."
"What movies was Nik in again?"
"Umm, University Musical 1, University Musical 2, University Musical 3, The Unlucky One, That Awesome Moment, 21 Again, and there are a ton more but I can't remember them."
"haha, that's fine, maybe next time we can watch one." I say optimistic.
"I totally recommend 'The Unlucky One', it's a pretty good comedy." He says chuckling.
"Your turn."
"Oh right, almost forgot," he continues, "If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be and why?"
"I love that question, and butter pecan ice cream." I say slightly blushing.
"Why?"
"Because, I don't know of anyone who likes butter pecan, therefore I won't get eaten!" I laugh as I realize how ridiculous I sound and the pear I was eating flies out of my hand and starts tumbling down a hill.
"nice move there, Emma." Ryland says in between laughs.
I try and take a deep breath but the thought of not laughing now is as hopeless as my cousin Noah trying to get a date. We sit and laugh before we calm down enough so I can ask my question.
"Alright, my turn." I breathe, "If you had to describe yourself using three words you would say you were…"
"umm," he says troubled by the three word limit, "Sensitive, Happy, and…"
"And what?"
"oh, it's not important.." he trails off, "Ok so my turn—"
"No you can't get away that easy!" I say, "You only said two, you need one more."
"Fine." He says, "but you can't judge me."
"Why would I ever judge you, Ryland?"
"Because I'm – I'm.." he trails off and takes a deep breath, "I'm really awkward."
I stare at him for a minute, "you though I was going to judge you because you were awkward?"
"well, lots of people do…"
"Ryland! I'm super awkward too, you have nothing to be ashamed of!" I say earnestly.
He smiles, "Thank Emma, you're awesome."
I blush, "no need to thank me, I'm only telling the truth."
The sun starts setting and we decide that we should go back inside before one of the guards has to come and find us. We pack up the remains of our picnic and fold the blanket, we walk back up to the glittering palace and ask more questions to each other.
I don't understand what Ryland meant about being awkward, because I think that he is pretty cool.
Sooooo, how was it? I wanted to portray Ryland as sort of that Insecure and Sensitive type. Also... Did you catch the references? I hope you enjoyed them if you did! Here are some Reviews from last week!
ImagineInspire- Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
PinkPotterPanda- I hope you liked this week's chapter! and I Know! How cute are Emma and Lucas! Also, I say the exact same thing with Percabeth, so I know the unhealthy "shipping" feeling XD
Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, Fangirl, and I'll see you next week!
Happy Reading,
xoxo Rosie
Question- "What is your favorite book/series of all time?"
My answer- The Percy Jackson Series (PJO and HOO)