From Street Mouse to Princess

Chapter XIV

I entered an empty hallway and sank to the ground, pressing my back against the wall. Tears dampened the top of my veil.

It's him. It's him. It's him.

Those two words kept echoing in my head, bringing back painful feelings that I'd buried deep down inside of me. Newbie, Prince Fredward… They were the same person. I pressed my hands to my eyes to keep the tears from flowing. I couldn't do this anymore. I refused to do this anymore. He was one part of my past life in the market place that I prayed would never come back again. My breath came in shaky pants.

I brushed the tears away and my sorrow was slowly replaced by absolute fury. Not only had he left me brokenhearted, but he also lied to me. He never told me who he was, where he came from. I had thought he was some palace help, but no, he was a noble. And he wasn't just any noble, he was the prince.

"Gah!" I stood up and kicked my heeled shoe into the wall. I ripped the veil off of my head and threw to the floor. "Why did you have to come back?" I took up Carly's habit of pacing and walked back and forth from one side of the hall to the other. It all made sense now. It was his first time in the marketplace, the stiff response to the "Your Highness" comment, the strong impact of the announcement of High King Edward's death… It was all because he was the prince.

I heard hurried footsteps approaching where I stood. I dived for the veil and threw it back over my hair, careful to cover every blonde curl. I reacted not a moment too soon. Just as I tucked in a stray curl, Prince Fredward wandered into the hallway. He let out a breath of relief when he saw me. He approached me apologetically.

"Princess! I'm so sorry if I had done anything to offend you in any way." He ran a hand through his hair. "I was beginning to worry about you…" I raised my eyebrows slightly and his cheeks became tinged with a slight pink color. "I mean, I was just – I didn't mean to sound so forward –" I took a shaky breath before interrupting him.

"It's fine. I just – ah – needed a moment." Where are you, Carly? I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn't see through my lie. He smiled softly.

"Oh, well would you like to return to the meeting hall?"

"Actually, I'm starting to feel a bit under the weather. I think I'd like to just retire for the night." He extended his arm out to me.

"Do you mind if I escort you?" He sounded so thoughtful, so genuinely concerned, that I had no choice but to accept his offer. But instead of taking his arm, I simply walked ahead. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him drop his arm with a slight frown. He fell into step with me and we walked in a discomfited silence. I literally had to bite back my tongue from whipping around and demanding an explanation as to why he had left without a goodbye. But I already knew the answer.

He was a prince on the run. Bringing up the fact of why he had to leave simply left the conversation for too many questions, too many complications. I understood that it was easier to just get up and leave. But that didn't stop the hurt. I wondered if he had ever thought about me when he returned to the kingdom. Was he as torn up about the kiss-and-run as I was? No, of course not. He was a prince, a person of royalty, and I was just some worthless little street rat that he could crumble up and throw away once he was done with me. I bit down on my tongue so hard, I drew blood. The coppery taste swirled around in my mouth.

"Princess," he said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence, "I know that you barely know me, and I barely know you, seeing as we had never met before" – those words hit my heart harder than they should have – "But I want this marriage to work, for the sake of our kingdoms. We can't force a love that isn't there, but I hope that we can at least become friends." His words sounded so authentic, so honest, that I knew that my previous accusation of being used by him was wrong.

"I suppose friendship wouldn't be too bad…" I responded, biting my bottom lip. He smiled brightly and I felt a tiny flutter in my stomach. Ah, should not be feeling those things… not at all…

"Thank you. Well, I believe this is your room, is it not?" I stopped walking and sure enough, we were right in front of Carly's room. As I placed a hand on the doorknob, he took my other hand into his and brushed another gentle kiss upon it. I could see my hand trembling slightly at his touch. I gently withdrew my hand from his hold and inclined my head slightly.

"Goodnight, N– Prince Fredward." I cursed myself for my near slip of the tongue. I walked into Carly's room, hearing his faint farewell as the door closed.

"Sam. Sam, wake up." My eyes fluttered open and I was surprised to find that I was curled up on Carly's couch. I felt the fabric of the veil brush across my face and everything came flooding back to me. Newbie. I inhaled sharply and sat up.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven, at night. I just got in," she said, without making eye contact. I slowly removed the veils from my face and hair. I frowned.

"Where were you?" Carly gave me a fearful look.

"I – I'm sorry, Sam! It's just, Brad and I – we lost track of time. I didn't realize the time until it was already too late. I would've gotten in earlier, but the guards were doing their rounds around the palace perimeter. I couldn't find a way in without getting caught. I'm sorry," she repeated quietly. Wordlessly, I began unwinding my braid. My fingers weaved through my golden locks, letting the hair wave around my face. Carly looked like she was close to tears.

"Say something. Anything, please." I took a deep breath and contemplated my choice of words.

"I knew him." Her eyes filled with shock mingled with confusion.

"What do you mean, you knew him?" I locked eyes with her.

"I mean, I knew him. I've seen him before, I've met him before, he and I have talked before… I knew him and he left me heartbroken!" I threw myself face down onto the pillows and pounded my fists against the cushions, letting out three years of pent up anger.

"Sam! Sam! Sam!" Carly took hold of my wrists in a tight grip, pulling me up into a sitting position. I thrashed my fists around, trying to fight her off. She pinned my arms against my sides. "Sam," she looked me in the eye, "what happened between the two of you?"

I told her everything. The chance encounter in the marketplace, the pranks we pulled on the vendors, the sunset… the kiss.

"He said I was beautiful. And then he just… kissed me. It was amazing. All my life had been about just trying to get by, everybody left me. My dad, my mom, old friends from the marketplace… He told me he didn't want to leave me. He held my hand and told me he's stay with me! But he didn't. I felt so stupid for believing him." Carly pulled me into a tight hug.

"Oh Sam, if I had known, I would've never – I'm sorry. You don't have to do this for me anymore. I'll just confess to my father and tell him to call off the marriage arrangement. Don't worry." It was a tempting offer, letting Carly just confess. But I couldn't let my own selfish feelings affect my best friend's happiness.

"No, I'll keep doing this until you and Brad find a way to figure it out. I will." I told Carly that I would do this for her and I always followed through with my word. I bade Carly goodnight and walked numbly to my room.

There was another reason for wishing to continue doing this for Carly. A part of me wanted to cut him off from my life to spare me from any complications. But, another part, a bigger part, wished to find out more about the boy I had met in the marketplace three years ago.

All I had to do was keep from getting caught.

And the plot thickens... (I've always wanted to say that ^-^).

Holy hell. You guys are amazing! TWENTY THREE REVIEWS for chapter thirteen. My heart skipped every time a review alert popped up in my inbox. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Remember to review this chapter too please!

Love,

DEETRIXJAAY :3