ARABELLA

Chapter Eleven: The Moonlight

Two words. Her name. Princess Arabella.

He had startled her with those two words, so that she almost fell from her perch. Arabella turned around hastily, skirts still in hand, her face flushing red.

She expected to see a starry-eyed boy, intent on wooing her as her parents wished to happen. She chided herself inwardly for not going straight to bed.

The Princess was stunned, however, by whom she did find. It was the handsome young man she had startled that day, when he had been sitting at the wall. The man she had been looking for.

When she realized that she had actually been looking for him, that discovery made her flush even deeper.

Prince Philip came forward, extending his hand. Arabella was flustered, but took it. "Thank you, Milord." He helped her down from the bench.

Philip smiled at her mischievously. "Do Princesses normally peer over walls?"

By now, Arabella had regained a small portion of her composure. "No, but do strange men usually lounge at walls eavesdropping?"

Philip laughed heartily. "Do you not know who I am?" When Arabella shook her head in negation, he bowed. "I am Prince Philip, son of King Hubert and Queen Philippa."

"Oh!" Arabella cried in dismay. "I am terribly sorry, your Highness." She lowered her eyes. "I hope I have not offended you."

Philip was quick to reassure her. "Oh no, fair Princess, I only hope that I have not offended you. And no, Princes do not normally lounge at strange walls," he added, smiling as he twisted her sentence around. "But to hear you sing again, I would build a house out there."

Arabella blushed prettily. "Do you always give great compliments such as these to girls you have just met?"

"You are no stranger to me, Highness," Philip confessed. "I have come to hear you before, when you were but a slip of a girl."

Arabella was surprised. "But why? Surely a Prince has more pressing matters to attend to than listening to the songs of a child!"

Philip frowned slightly. "Ah, but I'm not your average Prince. And you do yourself injustice, fair lady. For you are a child no longer." He plucked a rich red rose from its home and placed it in her hair. "You are a beautiful woman. The most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on."

Arabella felt herself blush again, but at the same time a strange feeling came over her. She could not put her finger on exactly what it was. "It must be the moonlight," she thought. "I've heard it does mysterious things to people."

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(A/N: Sorry to cut it here! I have to finish the next chapter, and I don't have time for it tonight! I promise I'll update as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and reviewing!)