Chapter 14: A Noble friend

I quietly walked back into the kitchen and continued doing my work, sweeping and getting down on my knees to clean a few tough spots off the floor. I then hear footsteps so naturally I look up,

"You must be Stella, my name is Nathaniel it's nice to meet you", he says smiling warmly at me and coming closer, I then get up off the floor and wipe my hands.

"It's nice to meet you too", I say as he extends out his hand, I take it and he kisses it gently.

"By the way, you may call me Nathan or just Nate" he says, smiling again. His smile seems so contagious. We just stood there when someone cleared their throat, it was Brandon, and I blushed deeper if possible.

"Nathaniel, I wanted to let you know that your day off will be on Fridays, any guests that may arrive are to be on the second floor, and if you have any questions, our room is on the third floor, my office is three doors down from there" he says, sounding quite strict then leaving before Nathan can even utter a 'yes sir'.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much. Is he always this…strict?" he asks quietly.

"Well…not usually this much", Nathan was right, for some reason Brandon was acting pretty strange now that Nathan's here.

"Well, I hope things works out, it's not my first job working as an assistant, and I like to be very responsible with my work", he says.

"Speaking of which", he continues, "You look familiar, it feels as though I've seen you somewhere before but I just can't remember where", he says thoughtfully. A newspaper maybe? I am the princess of Solaria after all…

"I'm not sure, maybe at a store or something" I tell him quickly, he seems convinced

"Yes, you're probably right" he says warmly, getting back to work. Nathan was proving to be very sweet; I thought as I watched him work, suddenly he looked up at me and noticed me staring, instead of asking for the cause for my looking at him, he just winked and went back to work. I felt myself blush. But I smile and quickly go back work as well.

Evening came by quickly, the guys and girls had decided to head to each of their homes after the tour Sky took them on, so that they could all come back again soon. Nate and I had successfully finished a load of work, he was being really helpful. I saw as Chimera and Brandon headed up to their room. Chimera was as always clinging onto his arm and talking about her day, how tired she was, as always, just about her. I, as usual, picked up my pillow and walked into the kitchen to lie down on the cold floor. But what I hadn't noticed was Nathaniel's confused look.

"Stella?" he asks,

"Nathan…I didn't realize you were still here" I say.

"I thought I heard something and I wanted to come check it out", he says quietly, I look down, feeling a bit embarrassed that he now knows I sleep on the floor. But Nathan lifts my chin up with his finger.

"Hey, what about you? What are you doing down here at this time?" he whispers.

"Didn't they tell you? I…I sleep down here" I say, the tears stinging,

"You, you what?" he asks unbelievingly

"I sleep here, on the kitchen floor Nate," I repeat looking right at him this time. He only shakes his head in disbelief,

"I can't believe this, and why don't you do anything about it? Why don't you demand to sleep on a bed, in a room? Demand more respect Stella? You don't deserve this, nobody does!"He says, talking a bit more loudly, but at once I could see that he was calming down.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Nate…a lot you don't know" I say quietly.

"Well whatever it is that I don't know about you, is it really so bad that you deserve to sleep on the floor? Let me ask you something, what other palace have you heard of that makes their maids sleep like this?" he asks, I don't say a word. Because I know he's right.

"What is it Stella? I know I haven't known you for even a whole day but…you can trust me. Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me…"he says gently. Something tells me that I can trust him. So I do.

"Nate…have you ever made a choice…that you know will hurt you, and yet you don't know why but you make that choice anyway?" I ask carefully.

"I'm not sure…"he answers, "why?"

"Nathan I'm not a maid…I'm Stella, the princess of Solaria" I say, a single tear rolling down my cheek. For a minute, all that can be heard in the dark kitchen is silence.

"You're…the princess?" he asks,

"Yes I am, when you said I looked familiar, it's because I'm the princess of Solaria Nate, you have to believe me, I'm the daughter of King Radius and Queen Luciana", I say, another tear falling. Nate reaches out and wipes my tear with his finger.

"I don't understand, I mean I believe you but if you're the princess then what are you doing here?" he asks confused. I took a deep breath.

"I…I don't know" I say, another tear falling. Nate sighs.

"What are you thinking now Stella? You can't go on like this. You're the princess not a maid, you deserve to be treated as what you are, this isn't any way to live" he says, compassion shining in his eyes.

"Do I have a choice?" I ask.

"You do, you have to" he says gently, "I want to help you Stella". I look up at him.

"You want to help me?" I ask confused, "How?"

"However I can Stella, you know I'll help you do the work, more than what I'm supposed to help you with if possible and-"he continues but I cut him off,

"But Nathan that's not fair, you shouldn't have to work so much" I tell him.

"And neither should you, especially not you. But you do it anyway…don't you" he asks, I simply stay quiet.

"let me help you Stella, maybe there's even a way that I can help you go back to being the princess you always were" he says, I just stare at him.

"Thank you Nathan, so much. I…I just have one question" I tell him. He smiles.

"Why do you do all of this for me?" I ask him curious, because he really hasn't known me for much time at all.

"Because…I just do" he says, and then continues, "You better get some rest Stella, tomorrow could be another busy day" he says, and he's right. I smile and lie down, falling asleep right away.

Brandon's POV

I can't believe Chimera! She really hired a young man to help Stella. I know by the way he was looking at her that he's feeling something for her. As I start making my way down to the kitchen to keep Stella some company, even though she won't know it, I hear something move…something strange. I continue to walk down the stairs, and to my surprise, Nathaniel is sitting outside the kitchen on the floor, reading a book. I can't…believe this. Now I won't be able to see Stella.

Well I guess I deserve it, for the way Stella has been feeling with Chimera around, but it's nothing real with us…but with this…Nathan, who knows what it could be, and to think I can't even be with her down at the kitchen tonight because he's there. I don't know how long he'll be around but I hope it's not long. Because he's not going to get to Stella! I know he's not. As I go back up to the bedroom and lie down, I can't help but think about Stella…about how I can't see her tonight, about how that, that…Nathaniel, is down their watching over her and keeping her company. That should be me. I sigh and turn over to the other side to see if I can sleep.

Nothing. I can't stand this! I should be down there with her not him! This has to stop.