A thousand apologies! I know this is late but, seriously, with school and writers block I can't keep up! Okay, no more excuses! This chapter WILL be in Eli's POV but I don't think it will be as long as I told you—and hoped—it would be. So Yeah...Um...ENJOY! (:
Chapter 6
I stood there, shaking, watching him take away the one thing that kept me tied to the ground. I listened to his horses leave and a tear slid down my face as my whole life disappeared. I quickly wiped the tear away.
"Now" the King continued to speak, a couple of tears falling. "We spend every waking moment trying to get her back" he growled, his eyes dark. Imogen shuddered, and I looked away from her. She's a devious little whore. She knew Clare would see. She knew Clare would get pissed. She. Knew. "Everyone, your dismissed" We all began to shuffle back to our post. "Except Eli" I froze, my muscles locking in place. I slowly turned around as everyone else left. My heartbeat quickened as the King's face creased with worry.
"Come, boy. Have a seat" I nodded, hesitantly and sat down on the stool next to you.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" I asked. He cleared his throat and tear flowed down from his eyes, drowning his face.
"I'm terribly sorry Son" he choked on a sob. "I had no idea you two were involved with each other" he whispered and I choked on my own spit. My eyes bulged out and my mouth dropped open.
"W-what?" I asked him, surprised. Who told him?
"Oh boy, don't play stupid. You and Clare" he said, waving his hand dismissively. "If I would've known I would have never set up a dater for Prince Mark and Clare..." he trailed off, his hand wiping across his forehead.
"H-how did you know...sir?" I asked, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. He laughed, his teeth gleaming bright against his sickly face. He patted my shoulder.
"It wasn't hard to tell. The way you looked at her, the way she looked at you, your small little hand brushes, your over protectiveness...I have a feeling it killed you as much as it killed me watching her go" he said. "You two, watching you two, are like magnets. You can't stay away from each other. You two have a connection and I have never seen my daughter so happy. And plus...the maid's know everything" he finished with a small smile. I smirked softly, my heart breaking at what he doesn't know. We aren't 'involved' anymore.
"I really care for her, but Your Majesty, I messed up. I'm probably the last thing on her mind" he laughed again, louder this time. He folded his hands over his stomach, and his face turned red. He finally composed himself and place his hand on my shoulder firmly.
"I honestly doubt that" he told me seriously, looking deep into my eyes. I nodded, smiling at him.
"What are we going to do about the...situation?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"I don't know..." he mustered. He snapped his fingers as if a light bulb went of in his head.
"I want to go after her" I said, my voice strong. The King stared at me, his eyes drinking in my expression. He suddenly shook his head.
"I can't ask you to do that Eli. If anything happened to you-"
"Sir, I'll be fine. I promise. I just...I need to make things right with her" I whispered. I tore my eyes away from his and stared outside, overhead the pool. "I love her" I blurted out loud. My mouth dropped open and I shook my head. "I mean...I...Uh" I rambled and the King laughed.
"You may go, but at least talk Drew into going with you. I will set up horses and supplies for you guys tonight. And you will leave tomorrow" He nodded at me, smiling gratefully and whispered a "Thank you". I nodded back and he left the kitchen. I wiped the imaginary sweat off my forehead and sighed over dramatically.
"Your going after her?" Imogen asked from behind me. I turned and stared at her.
"Yes. I am" I responded to her.
"Why?" she asked, coming to sit where the King was just seconds ago.
"Because I love her" I whispered, not afraid of my feelings anymore. She stared at me, her eyes watery.
"Just two weeks ago, you loved me" she whispered. I scofffed.
"Did I?" I asked her. "You didn't care about me. You only wanted me so she couldn't have me. But I believed you actually did love me and I'll be honest—I really did love you. Until I found out what a conniving, deceiving devil you are"
She stood up, fuming. "I did care about you!" she whisper-yelled. "I gave you everything! Even my virginity!"
"You asked me to have sex with you. I refused. You said if I didn't, you would hurt Clare! I didn't have another choice!" I yelled at her. She was silent, knowing that I was right. "I slept with you, to protect Clare. And soon, I actually began to feel something. Something I thought we both felt. But apparently not"
"What do you mean, apparently not?" she asked me, her eyes hurt. "I love you" she said, her voice breaking. I rolled my eyes.
"Since when?" I growled. "This morning?" she opened her mouth than closed it again, defeated. We stood there, glaring each other down when finally a smirk crossed her face.
"She'll never fall for you" she sneered. I laughed bitterly.
"Sorry to break it to you but she already has" I growled. "But because of you I have to remind her of that" Imogen snickered.
"Oh has she? Has she told you she loves you?" she asked smug. I smirked and chuckled.
"Yes, she has" Imogen's smiled dropped instantly and my smirk widened. "And I've told her I love her. Now whether you believe me or not, is really not my problem and I really don't care" I smirked on last time and turned to find Drew. Imogen latched on to my arm and turned. Her face was already covered in tears.
"P-please Eli!" she begged. "Don't leave me! I love you" she cried. I stared at her, almost feeling bad but then remembered that this is how she gets people. She makes them feel guilty. I shook my head and gently pulled my arm away from her grip.
"I'm sorry Imogen, but I'm done with your games. I love Clare" I whispered and left, leaving her behind me.
A good hour later and I still haven't found Drew. I ran through the house, opening each room. I opened Clare's old room and found Ali and Drew sitting on her bed. Drew was holding a crying Ali, Ali holding Clare's favorite stuffed bear, Mr. Snuffles.
"I can't believe she's gone!" Ali blubbered. Drew rubbed her shoulder, and kissed her forehead repeatedly.
"Shh, its okay. We'll get her back" he soothed her. I frowned and looked around Clare's room, remembering the fight we had just before she left. Or taken, as I should say. I cleared my throat and their heads snapped up to the door. Ali rushed to me, throwing her arms around my neck. I hugged her back, knowing how she is feeling. She cried a little more and then she pulled back and went to the desk. She pulled out a couple of pages from the drawer and came back to me. She cleared her throat and dried her face.
"I was going through Clare's drawer, looking for paper and I found this. I'm not sure if she wanted you to see it, but since she's not here I thought you deserved to have something" She handed me the letter and I gripped it in my hand, skimming it over. I looked up to her, tears in my eyes.
"Ali...Thank you" I told her. She smiled and went back to Drew. I nudged my head outside and Drew whispered something to Ali. Ali nodded and Drew got up, following. We walked outside and shut the door.
"Drew-" I started.
"I'll go" he stated, interrupting me. I looked at him.
"What?" he rolled his eyes.
"I'll go with you to get Clare. I overheard the conversation" he nodded. "So...you and Clare eh?" he joked, a small smile hinting on his face. I smiled a little as welll.
"Yeah..I guess you could say that. But she's not very happy with me right now. We had a fight, right before she left" he frowned and I shrugged. "It's fine, I'll get her to talk to me. If she really loves me, she'll forgive me"
"Dude, you know she'll forgive you" Drew stated. I laughed lightly.
"I know" I said, still chuckling. "So...you and Ali eh?" I mocked him. He smirked and blushed. "Ha, look at you blush!" I teased him. He punched me.
"Shut up and read Clare's love letter, Mr. Romeo" he growled playfully. He smirked at me and and I nodded at him, as he left to go back to Ali. I sighed and decided to find a nice spot to sit and read her letter.
I walked a little ways and then I finally found a nice little bench. The sun was out and the breeze wasn't too powerful. Just enough to cool me off. I settled down on the bench and leaned forward till my elbows were resting on my knees. I unfolded the letter and began reading.
Dearest Eli,
I love you. Did you know that? As much as I hate to admit it, as much as I keep denying it, I love you. And I just realized that I haven't told you. And I have a feeling I never will be—due to the fight we just had and how I'm leaving in about a day. So, I love you. More than words can explain. More than God can explain (and you know how my family feels about God).
Eli, you complete me. You make me feel like I can be more than just a Princess. You make me feel like I can have a life outside of the palace. You've understood me in places I'm not sure I understand myself in. You've made me live. And I can't thank you enough for it. I've known you all my life and yet, I've just realized how much you have changed me. How much my life was made from you. From us, playing in the Palace Garden. From us, sneaking into the horse stables to feed the horses. From us, racing down to the pond. I remember that day I told you I didn't know how to skip a rock. You almost had a heart attack, as it that was the worst thing on earth. I remember you 'ordering' me to pick up a rock and stand next to the edge of the lake. I remember you coming up behind me and wrapping one arm around my waist and the other overlapping my hand. He turned me and took me step by step, showing me how to skip it against the rippling waves. And I remember how even after I got the hang of it, even after I could do it myself, you still didn't let go of me. You held on and soon, you wrapped both arms around my waist and stayed there, resting her head against my shoulder. And for 20 minutes we stood there, your arms wrapped around mine, my head against your shoulder. I was 15. You were 16. And now—as I'm writing this—I still blush, till this day, thinking about it. It makes me think of you. And that makes me smile.
I remember that day in the garden, when you almost kissed me. When your lips were so close I could feel the heat radiating off of them. I remember how my heart was. It was like the first drop of a scary roller coaster. You know when you so excited for the ride, but you terrified of the height and speed? When you pumped for the scary haunted house, but still scared out of your pants? That's what I felt. I was so ready to feel your lips on mine, but so terrified that it would be a one time thing, because Eli...I've loved you ever since I was 13. I've loved you even when I didn't know what love was. And I hoped, deep down in the pit of my stomach, that maybe one day you would love me to. Or that you already did love me. Ha, I remember waking up daily to dreams about our wedding, or the night we made love. I remember having dreams about the day you confessed your love for me in the middle of a field, with orchid petals flying within the breeze around us. I remember it all. I remember sitting in my mirror, brushing my hair say "I love you Elijah Goldsworthy". And it kills me knowing that we will never have our wedding night, or the night we make love. Because I've wanted it for so long—I still do—and knowing that it will never happen hurts. I've prayed, and cried and hoped to everything above that one day we could be together. And I was so hopeful that it would happen. So, when we had our fight, it crushed me. When all my hopes and prayers—that I just knew would come true—were brutally erased after we had the fight, it broke me. It tore me to pieces so tiny, that they were unrecognizable. It tore me to pieces so small, they were impossible to be put back together (at least by myself that is).
All in all, I just want to say I wish you the best of luck. I wish you a great life with Imogen. I hope you guys have lots of kids and I hope you tell them about me. I hope that you tell them about all the amazing adventures we've had together at the Palace. I hope that you will move on, from this, and live a happy, stress-free life. And I hope that you will be loved by the most beautiful, kindest, caring, nurturing woman there is out there. But most of all, I hope you don't forget me.
Please, don't forget me Eli.
I folded the letter back up, tears running freely down my face. I clenched the paper in my hand, crumbling it slightly. I couldn't speak. I could barely breathe. How could she think I would forget her?
I heard the soft pat of feet against the grass and looked up to find Ali and Drew. Ali too in my face and sat by me, her hand rubbing my shoulder. I tried my best to be calm, to keep the tears under control, but I couldn't. I broke down, sobbing into Ali. She wrapped her arms around me, crying as well.
"S-she thought I would fo-forget her?" I choked out. "How c-could I forget the one thing t-that I l-love the most?" Ali shushed me still and they finally dragged me back to the Palace. They placed me in Clare's old bed. I smelled her pillows and blankets, her vanilla scent lingering in my nose. Soon, I was out.
I woke up, Clare's sheets wrapped around me tightly. From the position of the sun outside, I'd say it was late morning. I got up and immediately went to my room to change. I walked downstairs to find servants scurrying and Drew talking to the King.
"Morning, Eli" he greeted me. I smiled and bowed. "The horses are set for you to leave tonight at 6 sharp. We have plenty of food and supplies packed. And we have estimated the time for you arrival. It should take about 4 days. 5 at the most" He explained some more things to us for the rest of the day we prepared for our trip, helping the other servants. We packed food for the horses and brushes and everything else and soon our departure was staring me in the face.
We were outside, mounting our horses. I climbed on Romeo—Clare's horse—knowing she would be excited to see him. We were told a few more instructions and a nod from the King. Imogen blew me a kiss and I ignored her, glaring. Ali shared a passionate kiss with Drew and soon we were off. I commanded Romeo to go faster and he took off, as if he knew that Clare was kidnapped and we had to find her as soon as possible. Because we did.
After hours of following their tracks in the mud and dirt, we finally broke through the trees and a humongous castle stared us in the face.
"Whoa" Drew whispered. I nodded, the castle top seeming to touch the full moon.
"Yeah, whoa..." I agreed.
"Well...lets go get your girl" Drew said, a smirk on his face. I smirked back and we slowly crept towards the castle.
Ew! Totally did not like this ending, but I did want to end with it right before they caught her. Again, I'm sorry for the delay. Ugh, been very busy! But here ya go! (:
If you have any suggestions, PLEASE don't hesitate to tell me. I kinda have an idea floating around in my head about what I want to happen (it's actually pretty heart-breaking) but still. I love suggestions! So, umm...yeah (: hahaha (:
Thanks a ton! (: