DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of The Royals characters, however I own some original characters that you'll get to know them one by one.
So I'm back for another chapter, I hope you'll enjoy this one :)
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MissieK: Yes, I wanted that as well!
Luna: You and me both! But the situation is just not smutty... at least not yet ;)
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Chapter9_Burning
Jasper squeezed Eleanor's hand gently but she didn't raise her head to face him. Still, he was thankful that she had actually calmed down. She had been screaming and crying for the past hour but she had finally crouched down next to a wall and kept quiet.
The king was attacked, he was stabbed and left for dead, and they had no idea if he was going to recover or not. Liam couldn't stop pacing around the room but the queen who had stayed calm through the whole thing, kept applying her makeup. Ophelia was hugging her knees on a couch and Cyrus was staring at the walls blankly.
And since he wasn't technically on duty that night, he was staying close to Eleanor. Every time she pushed a chair or kicked a table, he was there to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself. But he didn't say a word to her, he just put a hand on her shoulder, or took her hand and she would look at him with teary eyes and calm down for a couple of minutes.
It seemed hours had passed until Ted announced that the palace was safe enough for them to return to their rooms and rest until more news on the king would arrive. The queen left with Liam, Ophelia with Marcus but Cyrus decided to stay in the tunnels.
Ted marched to Jasper and he couldn't help but pull away his hand from Eleanor's when he saw how angry he looked but Ted kept his voice calm when he said: "Mr. Frost, it's almost six. You know where you have to be." He nodded and heard Ted tell Peter to take Eleanor back to her room and keep an eye on her.
Jasper grabbed her waist and helped her stand up and she clutched to him for balance. He whispered: "I have to go…" She nodded with her head down and he grabbed her chin and made her look at him: "Your father is going to be alright, I promise." Eleanor smiled weakly and hoped he would be right. He smiled back, dropped his hand, and with a final look at her face, he left the room.
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The queen was a bitch. Jasper had come to that conclusion all on his own in the two days he was working for her. She basically considered him her slave but he wasn't complaining. He had the chance to run into Eleanor twice. And even though he couldn't comfort her like he wanted to, he was glad he could see that she was on her feet.
The king was still at the hospital and his vital signs hadn't changed since he first came out of the surgery. And when the whole palace seemed shaken, the queen was quite calm. But underneath all that, Jasper could see the worry in her eyes when she was planning the party for when the king recovered. It was like deep down, she didn't believe there would be a party.
"Jasper?" Eleanor's voice brought him to himself and he stood up abruptly. He clutched his half-eaten sandwich and said excitedly: "Hey." Eleanor sighed: "I take it my mother doesn't give you proper time to eat." He chuckled and said: "She did say I had fifteen minutes!"
Eleanor shook her head and sat on the couch he had found empty in the hallway around the queen's room. Jasper sat down as well and tried to joke: "I can share!" Eleanor smirked but it wasn't like one of her usual smirks, it was sad, and then she tried to joke as well: "Tuna? No, thanks!"
She looked at her nails for a moment and the humor around them evaporated as Jasper asked quietly: "How have you been?" She scoffed and threw her arms in the air: "A mess… I don't even… I can't imagine a world without him… I just can't…"
He put the sandwich away and grabbed her hands, holding them securely in his own, he said: "Maybe you don't have to. Eleanor, he is tough. He can make it. And… if anything happens to him... I'm sure he wouldn't want you to do this to yourself…" She didn't say anything in return but her eyes filled with fresh tears.
"FROST!" They both heard the queen's shout and burst into laughter without control. Eleanor slowly pulled her hands away and got up saying: "Thank you." He nodded and watched as she walked away from him.
He ran a hand through his hair and his clock came into the view. He muttered a quiet 'shit', threw the rest of the sandwich in the trashcan and hurried to the queen's room. He wouldn't want to poke the dragon. He didn't dare.
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"We're leaving for the hospital in an hour, but make sure we have a team of security escorting us in and out of the building. And tell Rachel to pick Simon's favorite flowers and bring them to me for approval. And let Liam know I'm going to the hospital, in case he wants to join me."
The queen ordered while smoothing her tight dress, standing in front of a huge mirror, and before he could stop himself, Jasper asked: "And Eleanor?" It was just after the words were out of his mouth that he realized what they meant. The queen turned around to face him and eyed him.
She took a step closer to him and asked: "Do you know why you're here?" Jasper tried to look calm when he answered: "To protect you, Your Majesty." She scoffed and said: "I know what you do for a living. But why are you here?"
Jasper didn't know what to say and after a moment of silence, the queen went on: "You are here because you did not understand boundaries. And you got ahead of yourself and aimed higher than you should have."
Jasper kept staring at her wordlessly and then the queen smirked and said: "By the way, it's Royal Highness, the princess, and not Eleanor. Do you understand, bodyguard?" Jasper gulped and nodded in agreement. The queen beamed and said: "Great. Now go and do as I told you." Jasper bowed his head and left the room as fast as he could.
He knew his stay at the palace was sort of a miracle and he also knew that he had to be careful not to lose that second chance. And even though the queen was a snobby little bitch, he had to be obedient so he wouldn't get kicked out.
He informed Ted about the queen's order, found Rachel and told her what to do, and then turned around to find Liam. It was the first time since last week that he was stepping into the hallway leading to Liam and Eleanor's rooms.
Images from their last time together started running around in front of his eyes. And even though he knew saying that he loved her in that situation would've only made things worse, he couldn't ignore the twinge in his heart. If only circumstances were different for the both of them.
He was near her room that he heard her giggle and he stopped dead in his tracks. He had only seen Eleanor a couple of times since the king was hospitalized last week, but the only time he heard her laugh was the time the queen had shouted his name.
And right when he decided he was probably hallucinating, he heard her voice: "Peter, you're funny." And that time he was sure it was Eleanor who was flirting with her new bodyguard and the blood froze in his veins as the reality started to sink in.
He heard footsteps reaching the corner and he quickly hid behind the previous wall. He watched as Eleanor walked past him without spotting him. And he also saw Peter walking behind her wearing a cocky grin. Jasper clenched his fists because he knew that grin so well. He used to grin like that every time he'd made Eleanor weak in her knees and he'd known it.
And as minutes went by, he was still pressed against the cold wall, trying to digest what he had just seen. He had always feared this but he had never actually thought about it happening. And how he would feel when he'd see it with his own eyes. And even though it was just a simple giggle, he already felt what they had slip right from his fingers.
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Eleanor gave his father a kiss on the hand and wiped the rest of the tears on her face before whispering: "Daddy, you need to wake up. I… we all need you..." There was no response from the king but Eleanor didn't lose hope. The doctors assured her that his condition was stable and it was just a matter of time before he would open his eyes.
She stood up and with one final look at her father, she turned around and left the room. Peter was waiting for her behind the doors and bowed his head a bit when he saw her. She opened her mouth to tell him stop doing that, that she saw a sea of guards coming towards them.
They were at least ten guards surrounding the queen and Liam and when she looked closely, she spotted Jasper right behind Her Majesty herself. She couldn't stop the warmness filling her heart the moment their eyes locked but a moment later she noticed something was wrong.
Jasper quickly took his eyes off her and focused on her mother's shoulders as he followed her right to Eleanor. The queen greeted her daughter in her own way: "I see you're once again beat me. I'm always meeting him after you." They all heard Liam's tired voice: "It's not a competition, mother."
Eleanor shook her head and stepped aside so her mother and brother could walk inside. Jasper motioned for the guards to spread across the hallway and whispered something into his microphone before turning his back to Eleanor.
She frowned as she could clearly see how tense he was even through his dark suit. She thought he would be excited to see her, like last time, but apparently not. Peter asked: "Are we leaving, Your Highness?" She shook her head and without thinking, she approached Jasper and put her hand on his back.
He turned around faster than she had imagined and she gasped before she could stop herself. His eyes softened for a minute but then they turned into a pair of eyes she didn't recognize. She asked quietly: "What's wrong?" He shrugged and answered calmly: "Everything's fine, Your Highness."
Something clicked in her mind and she remembered that he was acting exactly the same their first night in Monaco. But he was jealous of Beck back then and there was no one around at the moment, so what the hell was he doing?
She wanted to ask him but she simply said: "Don't call me that." He raised his eyebrows and shot back: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, it's rude of me not to address you correctly." She let out confused: "What the fuck's going on with you?" Jasper kept his features calm when he answered: "Nothing, Your Highness."
Eleanor huffed frustrated and turned around and shouted: "We're leaving." Peter rushed to follow her and Jasper finally let his face rest and show what he really felt at the moment. He wanted to be hard, he wanted to stop whatever he was feeling for her, right after he saw her laughing with Peter, but he couldn't.
Every time he thought she didn't care about him, she tore down his whole belief system and at the moment, it was not something that Jasper necessarily wanted. No matter how much he wanted to hold her hand, kiss her, wipe that frown off her face, he was sure he was doing the right thing.
He had to end whatever that was going on between them before any of them could get hurt.
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"Yes, and I did notify Rachel to invite the prime minister as you asked." Jasper explained to the queen on their way out and she simply nodded in understanding. They were out the door that they heard Eleanor's angry voice: "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The queen rolled her eyes before turning around and Jasper kept his face still when he turned as well.
Eleanor shouted before the queen could say something: "You're throwing a fucking party? Your husband is in the hospital. He's in a coma. What the fuck is wrong with you?" The queen looked around and then took a step closer to her daughter to intimidate her but it didn't work.
Jasper heard the queen say between gritted teeth: "You little brat. You have no idea what's going on in the world. Your brother needs to establish himself as the future king, if god forbid something happens to Simon. Do you even understand what that means or the drugs really fucked up your brain once and for all?"
Jasper saw Eleanor's eyes widen and he knew exactly what she was going to do next so in a matter of second he put himself between Eleanor and the queen. Eleanor's fist landed on him and it made him stumble back a few steps.
The queen gasped and yelled: "Are you crazy?" Eleanor looked at Jasper who was still shielding the queen and spat: "Get out of my way." He tried to reason with her: "I can't let you hurt Her Majesty." Eleanor pushed him but he hardly moved and she tried it again.
Jasper ordered: "Your Majesty, it's best if you leave." The queen listened to him and marched out of there as soon as she could. Jasper turned his head towards her but felt the sting of her slap a moment later.
She was breathing hardly, waiting for his reaction and maybe regretting what she did, but Jasper only stared at her. She eventually calmed down and muttered: "I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his hair tiredly and replied: "It's alright."
After a moment of silence, Jasper took a step back and said quietly: "I better get back to the queen." Eleanor blurted before she could stop herself: "Why are you doing this?" Jasper frowned and asked: "Doing what?"
Eleanor sniffed before answering: "Doing what? You've been different. Last time I saw you at the hospital, you couldn't even look me in the eyes. Is it her? Is she threatening you?" Jasper didn't know what to say so he kept quiet and it only upset her more and she whimpered: "I thought after all we've been through, you would be here for me, when I may lose my…"
He grabbed her shoulders before he could stop himself and made her look up at him with her teary eyes. He started slowly: "Eleanor, your father is going to be fine, you just have to be patient." A smile started appearing on her face but it faded away when she heard his next words:
"I want to be here for you, God knows how much, but if I do that, soon I have to get back to my shift and protect your mother who's ready to kick me out the second she hears we even talked to each other. We both knew that there wasn't going to be an 'us' after Ted reassigned me. And trying to hold on to the past would only make things more complicated."
He let her process his words for a moment and then he gently pulled his hands away. Eleanor didn't say anything, she looked confused and hurt, but she kept quiet. Jasper tried: "You know it's not the way I wanted us to end but…"
Eleanor cut him off: "You're right." Jasper watched as she held her chin up and said: "You're right, Jasper. This is a mistake. Was a mistake. I was just too blind to see it…" Jasper opened his mouth to say something but she ordered: "Off you go, bodyguard."
He stared at her for a moment, her eyes hardened, her jaw clenched, and he knew she wasn't going back on her word anymore. He bowed his head and turned around and left to look for the queen and Eleanor let out the cry she was holding in, the minute he was out of sight.
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Jasper clenched his fist for the hundredth time that day when he saw her dancing with yet another guy. He was running his dirty hand on her back and she was holding on to his neck. He tried not to look her way but she was making it impossible for him to ignore.
He couldn't help but remember their dance at the masquerade ball. How their fingers tangled together, how their faces were just inches apart, and most importantly, he couldn't forget how he felt when he stared into her eyes that night. But then the guy moved his hand from her back down to her ass and he almost lost it.
However, the party was going smoothly if he didn't count Eleanor dancing with exactly six guys. The queen was pleased and she was using every opportunity she had to introduce Liam to famous businessmen and politicians.
Yet the most irritating thing was Peter standing close to him and huffing every time Eleanor switched a dance partner. Jasper wanted to beat the shit out of him but he could control himself for the night. But he couldn't ignore his words when Eleanor moved on to guy number seven: "She's a real slut, eh?"
Jasper took a deep breath and muttered: "What the fuck did you just say?" Peter gave him a look and mockingly put his hands in the air saying: "Sorry. Didn't realize her boyfriend was standing next to me." Jasper narrowed his eyes at him and hissed: "You wanna die tonight?" Peter chuckled quietly and shook his head and Jasper whispered: "Then I suggest you shut the fuck up."
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There was not one man left that she hadn't already danced with and she was out of options. She tried to ignore the fact that the only one she really wanted to wrap his arms around her was currently standing in a corner, probably watching her.
She still couldn't let go of the memory of them slow dancing, both shy to look at each other more than a brief moment, both feeling an undeniable spark. But then her mind filled with a familiar rage. If he felt the same way, he wouldn't have let her go that easily. He would've fought for her. And she cursed herself for the hundredth time for loving him.
The party was coming to an end soon so she went out on the balcony to get some fresh air. She wanted to turn around the moment she realized it was the same balcony that they had their talk on that night but the breeze was too tempting for her to say no to.
She shut her eyes and ordered herself to stop thinking about him but she failed, like every other time in the past few days. And she hated herself for being so weak but she couldn't help it. She clutched to herself as the air got chillier and it was then that she heard the click of the door and froze in her place.
It couldn't be him, could it? He wouldn't risk being seen with her out in the open, not after he told her it was wise that they stay away from each other, right? And even though it made her curse herself once more, she secretly hoped it was him.
And her wish was granted when she heard him call her name: "Eleanor?" She shivered but she was sure it was not because she was cold but she hoped he would see it that way. She hesitantly turned around and came face to face with him.
Her breath caught in her throat and her heart started beating faster when she noticed how close they were standing but she tried to look calm and asked: "What do you want?" Jasper, on the other hand, looked like a mess when he asked: "May I have this dance?"
Eleanor blinked a few times before understanding his words and then asked harshly: "Why the hell would I do that, huh? You're gonna make me?" He sighed and whispered: "Please, say yes." And the combination of his voice and pleading eyes, made Eleanor to put her hand in his.
He gently swayed her and pulled her close to his body and she finally breathed calmer than she had ever done in the past few weeks. She wouldn't admit it but being in his arms was more familiar to her than wearing a crown on her head. She felt like she was home.
He breathed in her scent, cinnamon and apples, and he couldn't stop the foolish grin on his face. She fit him perfectly, as always, and he couldn't stop himself from wanting her in his arms for the rest of his life, even though he knew it was never going to happen.
And for a short moment that lasted a lifetime in their eyes, they forgot about the circumstances and every little thing that stopped them from being together. They simply felt the same old spark coming back to life and setting them on fire.
They were burning.
Soooo?
Reviews?! :D
Xoxo,
S