Disclaimer: I own nothing – except the plot. I wish I was Gail Carson Levine but I'm not. So please don't sue.
Author's Note: Okay, okay – first of all, I'm really really really sorry for taking forever to write. My old computer completely broke on me and so I had to get a new one (for some reason I'm having trouble viewing stuff on Fanfiction. I have even had trouble logging on to my account).
Anyway, just to recap on the story so far for all those of you who've forgotten: Sarah has been kidnapped and has been taken to the kingdom of Linnarch by a strange man named Fin who turns out to be the Prince of that kingdom. Fin, whose real name is Christians also has a strange cousin called Damon (who we later discover is actually his half-brother, as the Queen is not really Christian's mother, confusing I know). He also has a cousin called Scarlet (who is also really his half-sister) who happens to be in love with Mr Tom Lastrange, Sarah's tutor (who also happens to be in love with Sarah). Then there is Vivien William, a scheming girl with her heart set on marrying Christian, much to Sarah's annoyance (not that Sarah would ever admit the real reason for her annoyance). The Annual King's Ball happened, where we saw that Christian, who was Sarah's bodyguard, now has become her fake "fiancé". And then last chapter, Christian gave Sarah her first lesson in combat training. Oh yeah, and Christian punched Tom because he saw him kiss Sarah. Also, Sarah, Vivien, Christian and Damon all went on a picnic, which resulted in Sarah being abandoned and attacked by a "sprite", which for those who asked is a magical creature that in this case is evil:
Sarah turned around and ran for her life, the sprite following closely behind.
It roared loudly and Sarah almost wet herself. She didn't want to die. Not like this.
And where were the others anyway?
Sarah continued running but the sprite soon cornered her up against a tree. It towered over her and she could smell its foul breath. She tried to think in desperation just what exactly she should do when she heard Christian shout, "Sarah!" and then the sprite burst into flame and was no more.
The last thing that she remembered before she closed her eyes was Christian cradling her small body and whispering, "Sarah, please be all right. I need you..."
And then she gave herself into the growing darkness and slumped safely in Christian's strong arms.
Okay, I hope that's enough of a reminder for you, now on to the story!
Chapter 19: Of Jealousy and Custard Pies
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Sarah squinted as she opened her eyes and carefully rubbed her forehead. What on earth happened? Things like this never seem to stop happening ever since I met Christian. She thought grumpily.
She looked to her side and discovered that she was back in her bedroom chamber. The last thing she remembered beforehand was being attacked. Then everything becoming black.
Sarah peered a bit harder into the dark corners of the room, and saw a lone solitary figure, lying fast asleep in a chair near her bed.
"Christian." She murmured, a smile on her face.
He looked so innocent and peaceful, lying fast asleep, his mouth partly open. She thought that she could even hear him snoring, something that she had never noticed before.
Sarah shifted in her bed and slowly, achingly sat up. Even more slowly, she staggered out of bed and made her way over to the sleeping Prince.
"Christian. Wake up." She tugged at his arm.
He stirred and gradually opened his eyes. "Sarah!" he leapt out of the chair and gave her a hug. "You're awake."
Sarah, despite herself and what had happened, laughed. Christian was squeezing her so tightly, and she could not help but lean into him and his comforting arms. After a while though, it seemed as if he was never going to let her go. Sarah was going to say something, however much she just wanted to stay in his arms, when he suddenly pushed her away.
"Are you insane? What they hell are you doing out of bed? You should be resting. Do you want TO DIE!" he yelled at her.
"Okay, okay, Christian. I get the message. Ow, my head. I feel like somebody's jumped on it a few times."
Immediately, Christian cast his eyes down seemingly embarrassed and put his hands behind his back.
Then quietly he asked, "What happened?"
"You mean, you didn't see it? You didn't even hear anything?"
"No, I just heard you screaming and then ran out trying to find you. You've been out for a few hours now." He shifted from foot to foot. "Can you tell me what happened?" His voice grew softer now, so that Sarah had to lean forward to hear him properly.
"Well, I saw this…sprite, and well…it attacked me. I though it was going to…you know…kill me. And then…it just burst into flames." she mumbled.
"A sprite?" Christian looked at her incredulously, an "are you insane" expression on his face. "I didn't think they even existed. I thought they were just creatures made up by parents to scare little children."
"Oh really?" and now it was Sarah's turn to look at him as if he was the one with the mental problem. How was it that a prince could be so dense? "Well I can assure you that it was a sprite, it fit all the descriptions that I heard, what was so strange about it was the fact that it just burst into flames…"
"That was pretty convenient." He said sarcastically. You could tell that he didn't believe her. "Maybe you just imagined it."
"Imagined it?"
"Sure, you hadn't eaten much yesterday and you were worn out from combat training the day before. Maybe I shouldn't have made you practise while you were still, ahem, ill from the Ball."
"Hey!" Sarah protested.
"Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure that you saw a sprite?" Christian asked her once and for all.
Sarah frowned. It had seemed so real, yet a certain part of her in the back of her mind kept on thinking: Maybe I had just imagined it? Maybe I had just overexerted myself? Sprites aren't supposed to exist. And I really don't want to worry Christian, he already sees me as enough of an annoyance already. It could have been a vision, but it certainly did not feel like it.
Yet no matter how much she tried to convince herself that what she had seen was not real, she knew that what she had seen was real. She decided to hide the truth from him however. If he didn't believe her, after all they had been through, then that was his problem.
No, she decided that the only person she would tell would be Tom – he would at least hopefully believe her and understand her. From Christian's reaction she knew that almost nobody else would.
"No." she shook her head. "I'm not sure at all. I was probably just too tired, didn't eat enough or something. It's happened to me before." She lied.
"Oookay. In that case, maybe you should get back to sleep." And he started to guide her back to her bed. Sarah greatly sank down onto it and smiled wistfully as Christian tucked her in. She was almost asleep again when she felt something brush against her forehead.
"Goodnight, Sarah."
The next morning Sarah eagerly got out of bed. Christian was already up and had gotten dressed.
"Sarah, get back to bed. You're in no condition to be up and about this morning." He ordered her sternly.
Sarah ignored him and continued moving about.
"Glad to see that you're so energetic." He rolled his eyes. "Don't you ever stop moving around for one second?"
Sarah snorted ungracefully. "What do you think?"
"I shouldn't have asked."
Sarah rummaged through her clothes when her favourite servant, Lydia entered. "Ah, Princess. It's good to see you up again. I hope that you're feeling better. Why don't you wear this lovely purple gown? And I've learnt the loveliest hairstyle that will just enhance your features perfectly"
"Lydia, Lydia, I'm really okay-"
But it was no use. Much to Christian's amusement and Sarah's chagrin, the pretty servant had managed to wrestle her into a dress that clung a bit too tightly for Sarah's liking, and had restyled Sarah's hair three times till she finally felt that it was perfect.
"Okay, okay. I'm going now." Sarah eagerly escaped from the other woman's clutches with Christian following close behind.
"Could you have taken any longer?" Christian whined.
"Be quiet. You weren't the one having your head pulled out. My head now feels ten times worse."
Suddenly Christian's demeanour changed. "Then why aren't you back in bed, you foolish girl-" he started pestering her, concerned.
"I'm really alright. Calm down." Sarah grinned and looked at him as she continued walking out of the corner of her eye. "I don't understand why you're so worried."
Christian went humph but didn't reply. Sarah's smile multiplied by about a thousand. Suddenly matters were looking one hundred percent better.
Down at breakfast, the King fleetingly questioned Sarah about what had happened. Sarah avoided answering his questions directly, not really wanting to talk about it. And it was at a certain point, when she had just finished eating her second and egg and was asking the Queen for some more toasted bread, when something occurred to her. Something that Sarah was ashamed to say that she had completely forgotten about.
Just where had Vivien, Christian and Damon gone to in the woods yesterday? It seemed like they had deliberately hidden from her for some reason. Sarah gazed at Christian, studying his features. One minute he was charming and arrogant, the next cold and distant. She had thought they had made some progress when he had confessed to her the truth behind his pain about how he had lost the woman he loved. Couldn't he see that she wanted to know more about him? That she wasn't simply a nuisance? No. She mused bitterly. He probably doesn't. She remembered what he had said to her yesterday, when he had punched Tom after he saw him kiss her. "He doesn't deserve you." She could tell that he had meant it – and it hurt.
Breakfast having been eaten, Christian and Sarah were told that they were going to have to make an appearance later that day as a couple in the town square. The King made it sound as if it were going to be a boring event: Just walk around, talk to a few people, try to get on the "commoners'" good side, and then leave just as quickly.
"Sounds thrilling." Sarah muttered under her breath, not intending anyone to hear what she had actually said. Though she saw Christian suddenly glance sharply at her from beside her. Sarah continued buttering her bread as if nothing had happened and she could sense the Prince leaning towards her so that his mouth was next to her ear.
"Don't think I didn't hear that." He spoke with an undertone, before sitting up straight again.
Sarah shivered. Christian was too confusing for his own good.
After breakfast, Christian dragged Sarah to go for a walk with him, despite Sarah's hints that she wanted to go to the library to, you know, have a talk with Tom and maybe explain to Christian what exactly had happened. However, whenever she tried to broach the subject, he would hastily change the topic until she simply gave up. There was also a sudden change in his demeanour; he seemed to have reverted back to his rude, cold and impersonal self. Sarah felt like tearing her hair out in frustration. Things were never simple around him.
Once outside, the two began walking side by side in silence. Sarah tried to think of something funny or interesting to say – or really just anything at all. But all conversation seemed to have escaped her.
Christian was in one of his dark and brooding moods, and Sarah was more than a little apprehensive around him. Just when Sarah didn't think she could stand the uncomfortable silence any longer, she heard someone cry out to them from near the aviary.
"Christian! Yoohoo! Darling!" a female voice rang out, causing Sarah to wince as she realised who it was. It could only be one person. No prizes for guessing who.
A blonde girl sauntered towards them, and Sarah had to bite her tongue to keep herself from making some derogatory remark. It was just like Vivien to be so predatory, to be so scheming, to be so…desperate.
But what Sarah was unprepared for, was the smile on Christian's face. He was practically beaming. He looked so content. His smile lit up his features so that he had never looked more handsome. His green eyes were brilliant and he ruffled his hair with his hands shyly as Vivien approached. Sarah felt physically sick - he had certainly never looked that way at her. And then in the next few seconds she finally found out just exactly what had taken place between those two in the woods yesterday.
Vivien approached and maliciously embraced Christian kissing him, Sarah noted, very close to his mouth.
She pulled back away from him and sneered at Sarah, before once again focusing her attention on Christian. "I missed you, Chrissy, especially after what happened yesterday." She spoke suggestively.
And much to Sarah's dismay, her fiancé was looking just as eager as Vivien was.
"How could I forget?" he replied, smirking at the shocked expression on Sarah's face.
Just how many different personalities did this prince have! Sarah fumed. And wasn't he supposed to be her fiancée, in other words, weren't other girls supposed to be off limits?
Sarah glared at the pair. "Vivien, would you kindly remove yourself from my fiancé?" It was more a threat than a question.
Vivien simpered at Christian but eventually let go.
"I'll see you later." She blew Christian a kiss that he caught with his hand. Sarah felt like gagging.
As Vivien walked past her, she whispered into Sarah's ear, "I'd keep a tighter hold on you fiancé, he seems to like other women much more than the one he's supposed to be marrying. Well, if what happened between us yesterday goes to show…" She trailed off before gliding away, head held high.
Sarah felt like killing something, or at least whacking Christian on the head a few times.
"Care to explain?" she raised an eyebrow.
"I don't have to explain anything to you." He said coldly.
"Christian, you kissed Vivien!"
"Really, she just kissed me on the cheek." He hardly displayed any emotion at all.
"No yesterday." Sarah spoke bitterly. "In the woods. You kissed her, didn't you?"
"So what?"
"So what? We're engaged! How is it going to look if you start kissing other girls?" she demanded.
"Well that didn't stop you from kissing other men two days ago, if I remember correctly." Christian pressed his lips together so that they formed a thin hard line.
Sarah threw up her hands in frustration. "I give up, Christian. I tried to explain the situation to you, but you just won't listen. Have it your way. Let's just go to town and get the charade of being happy and engaged for today over and done with. Then, we can continue hating each other."
"Agreed." Christian spoke coolly. "I'm going to get a carriage. We may as well arrive in style." He spoke bitterly, though Sarah wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself.
The carriage ride was long and uneventful, and the visit to the town seemed to last even longer.
The townspeople seemed delighted with Sarah, calling her "beautiful" and "lovely". They seemed oblivious of the tension between the two monarchs.
One man even daringly suggested that they give each other a kiss. Sarah and Christian didn't look at each other, instead deciding to focus on the ground instead.
Fortunately, the man's wife scolded him saying, "Honestly, you're embarrassing the two of them. Leave them alone."
Sarah was grateful, and even breathed a sign of relief when it was time for them to return home later than afternoon.
There was still a stony silence between Christian and Sarah. He didn't even bother to open the carriage door for her or help her up. That job was instead left to the footman. Sarah blushed. It must have looked very odd to anyone watching.
Back at the palace, Christian escorted her inside when for the second time that day that ran into Vivien again.
Sarah raised her eyes to the ceiling. What have I done to deserve such torture?
All three of them decided to go for a walk outside or rather, Christian and Vivien did, with Sarah having no choice but to follow them (after all, he was her bodyguard).
The path that Vivien had conveniently suggested they walk through was particularly narrow so that only two people could walk together next to each other, meaning Sarah was left to dawdle behind them.
She couldn't hear much of their conversation from where she was walking, as they kept on talking in hushed voices most of the time. Though from the constant laughter and giggling (on Vivien's behalf anyway), Sarah didn't really like what she heard and saw.
After the walk they went back inside the palace and had afternoon tea together. Sarah sat most of the time in a stony silence, occasionally gnawing at her custard pie.
Christian and Vivien though, seemed to be having a most delightful time.
Partway through their conversation, a messenger entered the room and Sarah was relieved that somebody was here to interrupt their endless flirting.
"Your highness, there is somebody who wishes to see you." The messenger reported.
"Now?" Christian groaned.
"Yes, your highness."
"I'm sorry Vivien, I won't be a moment." Christian apologised to the blonde, barely looking at the other much-neglected girl in the room.
Once he was gone, Sarah and Vivien faced each other in deathly silence.
"Having fun?" Vivien taunted her, her face a mixture of hard lines.
"How does it feel having somebody pay attention to you for once?" Sarah retorted.
"Well I dare say you wouldn't know." she spoke spitefully.
"You're really awful, you know that." Sarah narrowed her eyes.
"And you're nothing but scum. No one knows where you came from, just this mention of some far away kingdom called Kyrria. Who knows if it even exists? But everyone knows that you're just a little tramp that's been lucky enough to be engaged to Chrissy." The scheming girl's face had become distorted so that it appeared cruel and ugly.
"1. I really am a princess and you had better learn some manners really fast. 2. Kyrria does exist, you witch. And 3. Don't call him Chrissy."
"Jealous, are you? Well I can tell you something; Chrissy would never and will never fall for the likes of you. You're nowhere near pretty enough or clever enough or special enough for him. He deserves the best, and you're nothing but a lousy little slut." Vivien spat out and Sarah was suddenly filled with the kind of rage that she never thought that she could have possessed.
"I suppose that you are the one for him?" Sarah asked.
"I know it." Vivien jeered viciously.
Then because it seemed like the most reasonable idea at the time, and because Christian had just stepped back inside the room and because she had to have the last word, Sarah grabbed the custard pie that was sitting innocently on her plate.
And hurled it at the other girl's face.
Well, she grinned happily. I don't think she saw that one coming.
A/N: Yay! Vivien finally got what she deserved! I've finally finished Chapter 19 – I promise I won't take as long to update again. Please review and a huge thank you to everyone who did last time:
Emeraldied'Obsession, pasiely (thanks for reviewing a lot and being a devoted reader!), kirstie, ML, tiff, watrfairie (thanks for reviewing heaps, you helped keep me going!), softlove91, megan, sweetsmirk, rootbeergirl19, magicmunchkin, My-little-wolf, bananawren, KayBee, Emily, Elyne, Emma-J-Riddle, colorguard06, Rose of Noonvale, charmed (yep, I'm still alive, lol. And thanks for all your reviews!), another reader, Wayretro, MssrBlaze, Sirael, just a girl, Shards of Dawn, shopping101, kkroonie, ScaredOfBeingAlone, funnygurl34, JainaSolo18, DeppGirl14, azurestarr, sparklegirl11, smartblondee, ARTEMISFIRE, fgd, super star 181, IAMSOAP, pinkpenguin0000, Jazz, EbonyFirePhoenix, anonymous, TexasKH, Kate, Evil6, Chari, francesca, stubble96, livingdead2010, dancing-by-moonlight, slickchick650, don't-ask, Sinfulpurgatory, LisBleu, Tamaran Girl, princessbookangel21000, Ariadne, Shima and Tempis, awaiting impatient person, Princess of Rivendell and Lil Bazza.
Naughty Little Munchkin: thanks for always leaving helpful advice and writing nice long reviews. Sorry about the wait. Vivien is a mixture of both a 2D simpering idiot but underneath it all she is cunning. She's also desperate and will do anything that she thinks will get Christian to like her.