A/N: Another chapter. I guess it helps that I know what I want to do with this story. It's pretty much just actually writing it out. Anyway, I appreciate the kind reviews! Some of them even made me tear up. They were just so nice. ;_; I can't even explain how happy it makes me that you guys enjoy my stories. It's truly a highlight to my day, and I hope you all continue to enjoy this story as I bring you chapter 3! (:
The ease in which I was able to sneak out of the castle shocked me. I couldn't believe this whole time it had been so easy. Well, as long as I covered my golden curls...and added a change of voice when talking to the guard...then ta-da! I was finally getting a glimpse of what was on the other side of my castles gates.
There I stood on a worn path heading straight into the forest that looked like something straight from a horror story. I could hear an owl hoot from somewhere in the near distance, and leaves rustling thanks to the active wind. I shivered from the cold and also from fear that someone would figure out what I had done and try to find me. I only broke out because I wanted away from all that life had to offer me for the current moment. I wanted wide open spaces. The illusion of freedom. I just hoped nobody would notice I was missing for a while.
Deciding not to take the beaten path in case I ran into someone who would recognize me, or worse, I walked along the length of the castle and trudged into the forest from that direction. A sudden wave of fear went through me. What if there were bandits or something else more heinous waiting out here to ambush me? Knowing my father as well as I did, I was sure he had more than his fair share of enemies. If I ran into anyone sharpening swords out here I couldn't say I'd be very surprised.
I felt intimidated by the trees that loomed over me like a different sort of prison from the one I had just escaped. The branches hovered over me like long talons or claws, and I swear that some of the trees had eyes, and looked as if they were watching my every move with angry glares carved from their bark. I wasn't scared however. I knew it was mostly all just my imagination. Trees couldn't be alive...I hoped.
When I felt as if I had walked far enough that nobody would bother me, I took the time to take in my surroundings. Now that I was kind of used to it, I realized it wasn't that scary at all. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy for the peace and quiet that was so different from the kind I got from my room. This was actually more serene than anything else I had ever experienced. As corny as it would sound, I felt one with nature. Ha! Yeah, that was definitely corny.
That itch in my hand grew stronger and I decided to release the power that I had been holding back, though I still had some trepidation towards doing so. There was a risk, a small one, but a risk all the same to unleashing my secret out here without the protection of the walls surrounding the castle, but it was hard not to feel giddy about being as alone as I was at this point in time.
I held my hand out in front of me, palm up. It started off as a small spark as it always did, a small reddish orange beginning to grow into something so amazing I never got tired of seeing it happen before my eyes. A small beautiful flame danced in my hand. It shocked me that it never felt hot. In fact, it felt almost cool, like wind, but I knew first hand that it could burn. I fed the flame, concentrating on making it grow. It was a decent size, and it hovered in my hand, the flames flickering about. I played around with the ball of fire, spinning it around myself like a ribbon or a mini-tornado, until at last I shot it into the sky and made it explode into a rainstorm of glittering sparks that fell softly to the earth.
I smiled as I watched the embers die out completely, then made another. I knew this could easily go wrong with all the trees around, but I was too exhilarated to even want to stop. I always felt that way when I couldn't release this power I had more often.
Making another fireball, I tossed it back and forth between my hands. Watching it grow larger and larger, then smaller and smaller as I controlled how much energy I gave to it. I never tired of the magic it seemed my hands could create. If anything, I wished I could do it more often, but fear was never something to be underestimated. I had a lot of it in being found out.
"Helga?" A voice I knew only too well said, startling me, making me lose control of the flame orb I held, and I watched in horror as the ground caught aflame before my eyes.
It spread more quickly that I would had ever guessed it would have, and worry immediately edged into my heart. My life was about to go up in flames, pun not intended. Then one of the most amazing things happened. Moving with a swiftness I only saw him have on the battle field, Arnold did something my eyes could barely keep up with, but I did see the fire die out before it caused too much damage to the forest. One second the whole area was burning to ash, the next second the flames were put out.
I turned to face Arnold and blinked in disbelief, my mouth agape. He stared at me, a blush tinging his cheeks, then he immediately turned and walked away. It took a second for me to compute that he was running away, but not on my watch. As I moved forward, my foot stepped on something, and I looked down to see a patch of brown grass under my boot. Decided to worry about it later, I ran to catch up to Arnold, before he really did disappear completely.
"Hey! Wait up!" I shouted, hoping he'd listen as I was a princess.
He didn't stop. He moved through the forest as if this was his first home. None of his movements seemed forced or stilted like I was sure mine did. He walked as if he were one with the forest. He definitely had less nicks and scrapes thanks to it.
"Wait! Arnold!" I said, agitation in my voice. I hated being ignored. Finally he stopped walking, his back to me and his shoulders slumped. He turned around and crossed his arms.
"Forget you saw anything." He said, quickly, looking annoyed.
"Isn't that my line?" I asked, frowning. He knew my secret now, and sure he had something of one of his own, but I didn't actually see what he had did.
"Yeah, but it's still better if you forget."
"Why?" I asked, truly puzzled. I had planned on threatening him to keep what he learned about me to himself, but he was throwing me for a whirl here.
"I…" He rubbed the back of his neck, a cute little nervous habit he had. "I just don't want you to think differently of me I guess…"
"Fat chance. After seeing that I can't help but think differently of you, and I'm sure it's the same for you."
"Not really…" He said, avoiding eye contact.
"Why is that?"
He stared at me, and I caught sight of his bright, green eyes. My heart raced and my breath caught. "I kinda already knew about what you could do for years now."
"WHAT?!" I asked, loudly, breaking from my trance. He held a finger to his lips and shushed me, glancing around quickly.
"You have to keep your voice down. It may not be all that safe out here." He said, frowning.
"Don't you dare change the subject on me bucko!" I said, near hysterics. "Criminy, how do you even know?"
His eyes went half lidded and he smiled. I had to remember how to breathe. He was just…so…gorgeous. "Princess, I've been your bodyguard for years now. Don't you find it odd that I tended to disappear at certain times?"
I had to admit that I did feel that way, but still…"Spying on me? Really?"
"Not spying…exactly," he blushed. "Since we're kind of, uh, the same, I knew you would need your privacy…I just, um, made myself scarce, that's all. I rarely watched you, but it is part of my job to know where you are at all times."
I was stunned. Flabbergasted. He had known this whole time? I had nearly broken my neck on a few occasions trying to sneak away from him, and he had just…always knew? "Why didn't you ever say anything?" I asked, gritting my teeth. It always felt as though he were playing with me, and I was just a game piece moving at his bidding, rather I knew it or not.
"I figured you wouldn't like me knowing. Do you remember what I asked you when we first met?"
I did. "But I hardly knew you! Of course I wasn't going to tell you jack!"
"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to be mad at me, I mean you are mad now."
"Because you've known for who knows how long! I feel…" Stupid, lied to, foolish, crushed, and a whole host of other emotions I couldn't place. "Ugh, I think I need to lie down." I said, placing my hand on my forehead and feeling woozy. Too much information was coming at me way too fast.
Concern filled his eyes. "Are you okay? I can help you get back to your room if you'd like?"
I fanned off his kindness and slunk against a tree for support. This was all just too much to take in. "How did you put out…the fire?"
"I used the water found inside of the blades of grass," he explained, still watching me carefully.
"Water huh?" I murmured closing my eyes. A breeze blew by and I started to feel a little better. "This whole time and I never knew."
"Yeah…" His voice sounded like it came from directly next to me. I remembered that he was one of the main people I had came out here to get away from, and here he was making it hard for me to forget why I liked him so much. "Every time I got ready to tell you, I chickened out. I was never sure how you'd react."
I laughed. "How did you think I would react?"
"I'm not sure. I just assumed you'd be mad. You don't have the…easiest personality to deal with."
"No, I don't." I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.
"But, um, how do you feel about it?" It was a rare day when Arnold stuttered over his words. He was usually so sure of himself.
I didn't say anything quickly, wanting to make sure what I said described exactly how I felt entirely. "Hmm, I guess...the best way to describe it is probably that I don't feel so alone anymore," I replied, staring into his adorable green eyes and soaking up his smile, giving him one back of my own. Oh, man. I was a goner.
"Please stand and give a round of applause for the ruler of Hillwood, King Robert Pataki!" Duke Charles Winslow said by way of introduction. He was a chubby sort of fellow, with beady eyes, and greying hair. Pretty much, a shorter version of my father.
I stood up and clapped with the other attendants in the room. There were probably about a hundred honorees, and my curiosity was peaked. The grand hall was rarely ever used, but it had been getting quite a lot of attention from recent weeks. This was, however, my first appearance at a function like this. Normally, only Olga went to events of this nature, as I wasn't exactly the true makings of a princess, but I swore to be good when my sister asked me if I wanted to go. I wore my best pink dress, with my brightest smile. My bodyguard stood some ways behind me, offering protection just in case. I was nervous, but also eager to see what was about to take place.
My father walked up to the podium with as much grace as a dignified king could. He waved to everyone and smiled brightly. I smiled too. It had been a while since our neck of the woods had been popular. I was proud of my father. His hard work with making alliances had paid off, even if it was similar to pulling teeth at times for him.
He placed a hand on either side of the podium and cast his eyes over the entire audience. "So I just want to thank you all for coming for starters…" He cleared his throat. "Hillwood has had its fair share of ups and downs. At times it felt like we were going down more than up." There were a couple of chuckles. Someone coughed. "But I didn't give up. We didn't give up. It's thanks to the good people of Hillwood for believing in themselves. For believing in me. Nowadays, I am proud to say that we have secured the alliance between Anchoridge!"
The audience roared to life. I smiled. It did really seem like things were looking up. I had to say I was proud of my dad. He hadn't given up when it seemed all hope was lost. He worked through it and kept trying, and sure while Olga's marriage to Ivan may have helped push the deal along just a little, it was still a positive for sure.
"I am also pleased to say that our next goal is Alresham. Sure, our ties have never been all that good with them, but that is why I, your king Bob Pataki, will keep trying to amend our honor until we stand as the great Kingdom we used to be centuries ago. When your grandchildren are born, you'll have a story to tell. One you'll be proud to mention for many years to come!" He pumped his fist into the air, and the crowd went wild with cheer again.
As the audience died down again, one lone person continued standing. They were near the front of the room, and were cloaked in a long black cape. Their hood was pulled up, and since they were in front of me I couldn't see their face. Once the audience was completely quiet trying to figure out what was going on, that person began to clap.
"Bravo, bravo. What an amazingly moving speech. I'm touched," A man's voice. It was rich and velvety.
"And you are?" My father asked, looking puzzled, and a bit shaken on top of it. I glanced up and noticed that Arnold had moved closer to me, his arms folded, but his eyes hawk locked on the gentleman speaking.
"Please forgive me sire," he bowed here dramatically. "I am Prince Ali La Sombra from Alresham. I have no idea where my manners were."
"Oh. The, um, pleasure is all mine. I didn't know we were expecting royal company today, and especially not from sure a prestigious Kingdom."
"I assure you this is only a surprise visit sire. You aren't in the wrong of hospitality."
"I don't trust that guy…" Arnold murmured, still trained on the Prince.
"May I ask why royalty from Alresham are here today?" My father asked.
"Just wanted to know first hand what sort of Kingdom Hillwood was without pretenses. It's definitely gotten my…interest certainly." He raised a covered arm and chuckled into his sleeve. "But I'm afraid I must tell you to give up on Alresham. We aren't looking to make alliances at present, nor will we ever make alliances with you. To make an alliance between Kingdoms both must gain something in return, and I'm afraid I do not think you have anything we need."
The crowd began to murmur. In less than three minutes this guy tore my father's speech to shreds. I balled my hand up into fists, my body shaking from anger. How dare he…Arnold placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked at him again. He gave a slight headshake, a sign that I needed to calm down. I took a deep breath and released it. It wouldn't do for me to get riled up about this. As a Princess I had to keep my cool.
"So I kindly ask that you forget about 'forging ties' between our two countries. We just aren't interested, nor will we ever be interested," he chuckled.
"Why not?" My father asked, his jaw sat in a hard fashion. He was seconds from losing his own cool. I hoped and prayed he kept it together, before a war broke out.
"It seems as though you have your own problems to contend with. There's a witch in your midst after all." My heart dropped. No way. He couldn't possibly…"Trust me when I say in less than a week she will cause much turmoil for you. If you want us to help you expel her from this place, Alresham would gladly help, say for half of your Kingdom estate?"
"No freaking way." My dad said, his voice a growl and his own hands clenched into fists. I silently cheered.
"Suit yourself," the cloaked Prince shrugged, unbothered apparently by my dad's uncivil outburst. "If you wish to come to your senses, you know where to find me. I do hope you understand that it's just business after all." He bowed once more. "Goodday to you sire."
With that he disappeared as if he were only made of smoke and fog, something that made my heart sunk deeper than I would have ever thought possible. Could he possibly have some sort of power too? This Kingdom of Alresham was probably more dangerous than I had initially thought. Prince Ali La Sombra. I would never forget that name I was sure, but I couldn't stop the unease I felt as his words played over in my mind. 'There's a witch in your midst afterall.' What would happen to us next?
