:D Update! (:

Chapter 8

I couldn't breathe. He wasn't with me. The world was no more without him. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. There was no more oxygen, because I wasn't breathing. I wasn't trying to breathe. I don't want to, not without him. Tears silently fell down my face as I held on to the boy, hoping maybe he would come back.

He didn't.

I slowly slipped away from him, and leaned my body against the cold floor. Terrible sobs ripped through my chest, like a hungry lion. My heart howled in pain and I wasn't sure if I could take it. The world stopped. Everything stopped and nothing seemed to matter anymore. I clutched my stomach, wishing I could just break myself in half. It would hurt a lot less than this.

Dry, soundless, cries were coming out of my mouth, burning my throat as if I was pouring acid down the tubes. I shook and convulsed, as I tried to catch a beat to breath. I hyperventilated, my chest hurting with agonizing pain. And finally, I breathed in oxygen, like a wave of cool air on a hot summer's day and let out a pain-stricken scream.

He didn't budge.

I hear clamor downstairs, grunts of effort and—swords?-but I didn't care. I couldn't. My mind—my heart—wouldn't allow it. I was stuck in the position of finally realizing that Eli is dead. I'll never see him again. I'll never see him smile, or smirk or laugh, or...or...anything. I'll never see him look at me with those heart-stopping emerald eyes. I'll never see his shirtless upper body, or his soft black hair. I'll never see his eyes light up. I'll never see him.

"Clare" Someone whispered. I shook my head. "Clare" they whispered again. A hand touched my shoulder and I looked up, to find Drew. His face was blood splattered on it, as did his shirt. I looked down at his hands, and they were covered in blood. I looked back up at him, staring into his eyes.

"It's done. He's done." he whispered to me. "And...a few—or a lot—of his workers/servants" he chuckled nervously. I stood up and dragged him to the bathroom.

I helped him get clean, wiping his face and stealing some of Reese's clothes for him to change into. After we both were cleaned and changed, we paid our attention back to Eli, who was still breathing well, just knocked out cold. He'd lost a lot of blood. He applied more pressure to his wounds and he carried down to the horses.

I smiled as I saw Romeo, but I settled in the carriage with Eli. Drew tied Romeo to Lucy—Ali's horse, that Drew rode—and gave me some food. Drew hopped on the horse and we slowly rode away. I didn't touch the food, and laid Eli's head in my lap. I stroked my fingers through his hair soothingly, praying to everything above that he makes it. He didn't deserve to die because of me.

As we picked up speed, I looked back to his Palace. All the lights were still on and it looked gorgeous—looked glowing with majesty—from the outside. I shuddered, thinking of what was inside and turned back. I closed my eyes and laid my head back, letting the lull of the carriage ride try to put me at ease. I rested my fingers in between strands o Eli's hair and I felt tears slowly run down my cheeks, as I drifted off.

I woke up, in my bed. My curtains were opened as were the windows, letting in a nice, warming breeze. I slowly opened my eyes, suddenly remember the horrific events from last night. I shook my head, sinking back into the covers. I buried my head in the pillows, groaning softly, the images still fresh in my head. He's dead...

I shot back up, the sun a little higher than when I woke up earlier. I jumped out of bed and threw on jeans and tank top. I ran to Eli's room, not bothering to cover my feet or knock. I bust through the door and stumbled in. I took in a deep breath and smiled, pushing my hair back out of my eyes.

"Eli" I whispered, my voice soft. His head snapped up and his green eyes clashed with mine. His mouth instantly set into the smirk I've grown to adore.

"Long time no see Princess" he greeted, his voice suave—as always. I smiled and chuckled a bit, looking down at my feet. "Shut the door" he said softly after a while. I stepped in and closed the door, making a small squeak. I stood at the door, my hands interlaced behind my back. Eli stared at me, his expression amused. He slowly sat up, wincing once. I ran to him, softly pushing his shoulder down signaling him to stay. He shook his head. Same old stubborn Eli, I thought to myself. "I want to sit up" he argued. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and I wrapped mine around his waist, carefully helping him up. He leaned back against his pillows, already exhausted and I took a big step back, interlacing my fingers again. He smirked at me.

"I don't bite y'know" he said. "...Only if you want me too" he finished, with a wink. I blushed, smiling and took a step closer. He scooted over in his bed and patted empty space next to him. I chuckled and he pulled the covers back. I walked to the bed, getting in the covers and leaning against the wall with him. He placed his arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head against his shoulder.

It was silence, neither of us knowing what to say. I didn't need to talk. Just being with him—knowing he was alive and okay—was enough for me. He pressed his lips to the top of my head and I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling. I hesitantly wrapped my arm around his waist, making sure I didn't hurt him. His window was open as well, and I listened to the birds chirp happily and watched the breeze move the curtains gracefully.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, after the lark was done was done with her beautiful song. Eli chuckled lightly.

"I'm actually feeling pretty good. The nurse gave me these pills to knock me out while they cleaned the cut and bandaged it. Then I slept for a good night or so, and know I'm feeling a lot better. They've come in a while to check on the progress of the healing cut, and I predict that it's going to leave a manly, kick-ass scar" he said, and I could practically smell the smugness coming from him. I laughed and rolled my eyes at him.

"You got stabbed, and your talking about the kick-ass scar it's going to leave once it's healed..." I whispered. "Only you, Eli...only you" He laughed and shrugged his shoulders dismissively.

"You love it" he said, pressing a kiss to my temple. I smiled, knowing it was the full truth.

"Sadly" I joked with him. He laughed, louder this time.

"My sarcasm is doing you good" he said, still chuckling. I smiled. "How are you feeling?" he asked after a while, his voice serious. I sighed and looked back outside.

"I'm fine" I lied.

"Don't lie to me Clare. You're a terrible liar" he stated. I laughed.

"You know me too well" I smirked at him, and took a breath. "I'm...not too great" I told him. He stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

"...Well...What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just feel...that...I feel responsible fore everything!" I confessed. "For my brother, for you, for dragging you guys into my shit! I just...I feel like you guys should hate me. This wouldn't have happened if I-"

"If you what?" Eli interrupted, outraged. "If you hadn't gone with him to protect your Kingdom? If you hadn't met him, so he couldn't have killed your brother? If you hadn't convinced me and Drew to go get you? Clare, none of this is your fault. I don't see why you can't see that! You didn't ask Reese to kill your brother. You didn't ask him to be a complete dick. You didn't ask us to come save you. We wanted to" he paused and lifted my chin to face him. "I wanted to" he whispered. I looked in his eyes, my whole being melting. He moved his face forward and I met him halfway. Our lips collided and the world seemed to stop. The birds stopped singing, the breeze stopped blowing, the animals stopped chattering. We moved in sync, his tongue grazing my bottom lip. I happily let him in, and his tongue dominated my mouth and I smiled. I place my hand on his cheek, pulling him closer.

Our lips parted, with a low smack and I began breathing again. I opened my eyes and giggled quietly as I saw Eli's eyes still closed and his mouth still puckered. I took the pad of my thumb and wiped away a small amount of saliva from the corner of his mouth. I brought it to my thumb and sucked, watching as his eyes darkened a fraction. I giggled again and leaned back against him, tracing patterns again his defined six-pack. He ran his fingers through my hair repeatedly, and I held myself back from moaning.

"Your hair always smells so good" he whispered, sniffing loudly. I laughed.

"Why thank you" I giggled. I lay my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Your heartbeat is really fast. Are you sure your okay?" I asked him, sitting up to look at him. He laughed heartily.

"Nah, I'm fine. My heart tends to do that around you" he whispered the last part. I smiled, blushed, and laid my head back down on his chest.

There was a knock on the door and Eli yelled, "Come in!" The door opened and my Father came in. I smiled and got up, running to him. He caught me in a tight embrace and kissed my hair.

"Hi daddy" I said, smiling.

"Oh, hi sweetheart" he said, his face glowing with happiness. We finally let each other breath and my Dad turned to Eli. He walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stared into his eyes, intensely and I almost became scared of what my Father was about to say.

"Thank you" he said slowly, sincerely. Eli nodded and smiled at me.

"Of course" he whispered back. I smiled and crossed my arms.

My Father and Eli talked for a while, and I went to go find Drew. I found him talking to Ali in the family area.

"Clare!" Ali squealed and ran to me. We hugged tightly and she immediately began telling me everything I missed. For one day, I sure did miss a lot. After me and Ali talked, I went to Drew. It was weird and for a few minutes we just stood there staring at each other. Then I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a deathly grip. He hugged me back and I smiled.

"Thank you" I said. He smiled and nodded.

"Don't mention it" he said. I smiled and went off to go talk to everyone. I talked to my Mom, Ali, Fiona, and Holly J for a while. Imogen was there too, but we weren't really one speaking terms I guess you could say. I spent an hour and a half downstairs reacquainting with everyone, but I soon began to miss Eli. I excused myself and went back upstairs to Eli. I knocked on his door, and heard him yell "Come in!" I peeked my head through the door, and he waved his hand at me impatiently. I giggled and walked in, closing the door behind me. I walked to his bed, resuming my position on his bed from earlier.

We talked for what seemed like forever about nothing and anything. We talked about his favorite type of pancakes, my favorite color, what I'm going to do to the Kingdom when I'm Queen and his fear of dead mice.

"So...I found the letter you wrote me before Reese came and got you" he whispered. I nodded slowly. "Ali gave it to me" he explained. I nodded, remembering exactly what I said in that letter. I groaned mentally, letting my head fall back. That was more of a diary page than a letter. I didn't want him reading that!

"So..you want all that? The wedding, the...sex?" he asked. I blushed and looked away.

"Eli...I...you weren't supposed to see that. And, well-" I was interrupted my his lips pressing into mine, silencing me. The kiss was so passionate, I'm not sure what was going on but I knew I was kissing back with as much passion as he was giving me. I trialed my hand up to his soft locks and pulled lightly. He moaned against my mouth and every nerve in my body felt like an electric current went through it. He broke the kiss, leaving me breathless.

"Good...So do I" he whispered. I smiled at him, tears in my eyes. He saw this and wiped them away quickly as they fell. "Why are you crying beautiful?" he asked. I blushed and smiled. I wiped away a tear he missed and looked up at him.

"Because I'm an overemotional teenage girl" I joked with him, sniffling. He laughed and pressed his lips to my forehead, letting them linger there.

"I love you, so much" he whispered, still laughing. I looked at him, his eyes shining.

"I love you too" I told him. He smiled and pressed his lips to mine. Another knock was hear and we broke away, Eli groaning. Ali opened the door and walked in with Drew. They situated themselves on the edge of the bed and I laughed, watching Eli glare at them.

"Did we interrupt something?" Drew teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes. You did" he half growled. I giggled again, leaning against his chest. Drew smirked and nodded.

"Mission accomplished" he said. I smiled

We talked for a while, catching up and just being together. It was good. Much needed. Eli soon fell asleep, the drugs kicking in again. Ali and Drew left, while I stayed there watching him. He looked so peaceful. His eyes were closed softly, his mouth barely parted, his face relaxed in pure peace. His breath came in and out of his mouth, slowly and every once in a while you could hear a quiet snore. I smiled, giggling silently, and kissed him softly on his cheek. I got up and walked to his door, shutting it softly. I walked back to my room, my heart light. I sat on my bed and laid back, my head hitting my soft lush pillow. I let the breeze flow across my cheeks and smiled, hearing the birds sing even louder. I got up and put some music on and began cleaning my already clean room. Love Story by Taylor Swift came on and I squealed quietly and immediately began singing along.

"We were both young when I first saw you, I closed my eyes and the flashbacks starts, I'm standing there. On a balcony in summer air. See the lights see the party the ballgowns, see you make your way through the crowd and say "Hello", little did I know. That you were Romeo you were throwing pebbles and my Daddy said stay away from Juliet and I was crying on the staircase begging you "Please don't go!" And I said Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone, I'll be waiting all is left to do is run. You'll be the Prince and I'll be the Princess its a love story baby just say-"

"Yes" a deep voice finished for me. I stopped my belting of lyrics and crazy dancing, turning around to find a shirtless Eli leaning against my doorway, a hand on his hurt hip. I jumped and ran to him.

"Your an idiot! Why are you up?" I yelled at him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I wrapped mine around his shoulders, helping him to my bed. He chuckled and I glared at him. "Again, why are you up? You need rest" I told him. He smiled at me.

"I missed you" he said, as I laid the covers over his waist. I smiled and blushed.

"I would've stayed, but you fell asleep. And you need your rest" I told him, crawling in next to him. He chuckled once and pulled me closer.

"I'm fine. I just need you" He whispered. I smiled and nuzzled my head into his neck. I pressed multiple kisses to his neck, sucking and biting.

"I love you" I whispered into his neck. He laughed and squeezed my waist.

"I love you too, so much" he whispered.

For the next few days, things were normal. I spent a lot of time with Eli, helping him get healed and well, being together. It was Monday know, and apparently ever since Eli and Drew left to come get me, no one has seen Imogen. She just disappeared. I and Eli have talked about her, and the conversation they had before he left, but other than that...no one has talked about her. She's a ghost.

I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, for Lunch and caught up with my Father.

"Hi Daddy" I greeted him, a smile on my face. I pulled on my zip-up hoodie and opened the refrigerator. I grabbed the orange juice and a glass. I drank my orange juice quickly and placed the glass in the counter. My Dad looked up at me and smiled. "Hello, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm good. Really good" I said, smiling.

"Honey, I picked out your groom" my Dad announced. I dropped my smile and stared at him.

"But, y-you said that..." I started.

"I know what I said. But I have a good feeling that you'll like this suitor" he said, a smile on his face.

"I'll like this suitor?" I yelled, outraged. "But-" I started but was soon interrupted. My Dad grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, facing the pool. Out there was Eli, on one knee, holding up an opened box. My Dad pushed me forward and I slowly walked outside, to the pool, the breeze blowing my hair around my face. Eli smirked and looked up at me with shining green eyes.

"Princess Clare Diane Edwards" he whispered, his voice smooth. I smiled, tears in my eyes. He took a deep breath, never breaking his gaze from mine. "Will you let me call you mine? Will you let me protect you from anything and everything? Will you let me become King to your soon-to-be Queen?" I almost fainted, waiting for the words. "Will you marry me?" he asked. I smiled and laughed, nodding my head.

"Yes" I whispered. "Yes" He beamed and stood up, picking me up. He twirled me around, kissing my neck.

"I love you" he whispered, as he placed me back on solid ground. "I love you" I laughed and kissed him slowly.

"I love you too" he placed the gorgeous, huge ring on my finger. It was a beautiful diamond, with other diamonds surrounding the main one on a simple silver band that fit perfectly around my finger. I admired it and hugged Eli, happy.

"Ah, yes!" My Father came outside, clapping his hands together. "I take that you like the suitor?" he asked, his voice light. I laughed.

"I love the suitor" I said, staring at Eli. He smiled at me and I blushed.

"Well, come inside. We have some wedding plans to arrange" My Father, smiled and we walked inside, Eli and I hand-in-hand.

This was more of a fluff story. But I need help. I'm stuck. But FIRST!...Did you guys realy think I was gonna let Eli die? Ha! NO! Of course not! I love Eli! I couldn't let him die. Psshh...

SECONDLY! I'm not sure If I should just go on with the wedding, or have Imogen come back. I know some reviews wanted her to come back and cause complications, so...Hit that review button. (:

P.S. Yes, I will include their steamy wedding night. (;