CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Wednesday, November 23

My birthday is a freaking National holiday. Like as in full-on shut down the schools, no businesses open, there's probably a parade somewhere National holiday. I'd come back to the palace on Tuesday (yesterday) night and apparently there was some big socialite party tonight. That, I wasn't looking forward to. But, it was my birthday today. I am officially fifteen years old. One more year until I can drive... I wonder if the laws are different here, or if I can change it or something.

Right now was before the party and I was in a room full of presents of varying sizes. My Dad and Jackson had sent me a couple of gifts and letters saying that they missed me and now the King was urging me to open the gifts he'd gotten me. I don't know why he got me anything, I didn't need it.

"This was your great grandmothers first." King Altiyan said as he handed me a heavy-ish decilactely carved wooden box. I frowned a little as I opened the box and I couldn't stop the gasp. It was a beautiful tiara with tiny little diamonds and white gold with a heart-shaped topaz in the middle. "I had the Garnet replaced with a Topaz for your birthstone." He mused and I nodded silently, still in shock.

"Wow." I finally forced myself to form a coherent word. The King lifted the tiara out of the red velvet cushioned box and motioned for me to come closer before he carefully secured it on top of my head. "Woah." I whispered, hey I was getting better, this was a four-letter word instead of three.

"And I think you would rather use this one more." The King held out another box; gift-wrapped in a shiny red paper with a royal blue bow on top.

"I-I-I..." I couldn't talk, I was too dazed.

"Open it." The King urged and I slowly pulled the ribbon.

"A Z-Phone?" I gasped, I'd been begging my Dad for one of these for weeks before I left Malibu. I quickly opened the box and dropped all the boxes and wrapping as soon as I had my hands on the device. "A personalised Z-Phone?" It was hot-pink with a diamond (I think they were real, not rhinestones) crown and my name in gold cursive right underneath. "Dude, I think I love you." I praised, not taking my eyes off the phone as I spoke.

"The way to a teenagers heart is through her phone." The King said thoughtfully and I nodded. I heard someone else come into the room, but I was paying attention until I felt strong arms around my waist and Marcus' scent filled my senses.

"Happy birthday, Beautiful." Marcus murmured in my ear and I smiled, lowering my knew phone

"Hi." I smiled shyly, blushing when I let my eyes fall on the King. I turned in his arms and Marcus kissed my cheek, making me blush even more.

"I-I got you a present, but I hope you don't mind if I wait until after the party; time is too restricted right now." Marcus requested and I nodded, he looked really nervous for some reason.

"I don't mind." I smiled up at him and he glanced around before chancing a chaste kiss to my lips that made me giggle. Before too long the orchestra in the ball room started playing the special composition that had been created just for my birthday, signalling that I was going to enter now.

"Presenting, her Royal Highness, Miley, Crown Princess of Cyrus." The anouncer guy said and I took a deep breath as Marcus held out his arm for me. "Accompanied by Lord Marcus Hawthorne." He continued once the applause died down as Marcus led me into the ballroom and down the ballroom stairs. Always an entrance at these things.

An hour later my face hurt from forcing smiles so much and I was bored of people I didn't know coming up to wish me a happy birthday, I'd danced a couple of time and my feet hurt in these heels already. All the others in my grade at school had been invited as well seeing as it was a society party and all the kids at Prince Arthurs Prep were society kids who would probably inherit a title or something. A few of the girls were actually nice and I'd become sort of friends with a couple of them, but the majority of the girls were staring at Marcus and that gave me an unpleasent feeling in my stomach, and the boys were just... Boys. Then the classical band stopped playing and the anouncer dude anounced the King.

"Now, we all know we are here for my lovely granddaughter, Miley's, fifteenth birthday." The King began and there were a few cheers and polite clapping. "And I know that, though she apreciates all music, classical is not her most favourite genre." I frowned in confussion as the classical band started getting up and moving away whilst more modern insstruments were set up. "So, for my granddaughter, I present to you all; Katy Perry and The Alabaster Carnations." The King waved and arm as the two acts came on stage. No way! Sweet niblets, no way? Katy Perry and The Alabaster Carnations? They were two of my favourite acts.

I just stood there in shock as the two acts started bantering back and forth and talking to the crowd. A freaking sweet tiara, a personalised Z-Phone and now this? What's next, bringing Elvis back to life? The reincarnation of Jesus Christ?

"Now, can we get the birthday Princess up here for a little song?" Katy Perry spoke and people started looking around whilst I slowly moved towards the stage. Sure, I'd met celebrities before, as Hannah, but I'd never gotten to meet Katy Perry before, she'd always been in older circles than me, she wouldn't want to hang out with a kid. And The Alabaster Carnations had been on a world tour for the last eight months - were still supposed to be on tour.

"Hey, Princess." Alex from the Carnations grinned at me teasingly as her brother who was the other half started playing his guitar.

"Hi!" Was all I could say Alex started drumming and then Katy started singing. Katy Perry and The Alabaster Carnations were singing me happy birthday. And then, right after Katy Perry hugged me and whispered private happy birthday to me everything went to Hell. I heard a commotion and people shouting and I started to pull away just in time to hhear a loud gunshot ring through the place then I screamed when I notice the giant flying ball of fire heading straight for me.

The next thing I know I'm the floor and something is on top of me and I can hear people screaming and running and yelling. Then I'm being pulled and pushed and I can't see anything other than the black of the suits surrounding me. When I finally saw a break in the black I gasped at what I saw; Shane was standing with a gun pointed at someone I couldn't see and he had blood on his face. I didn't know whose the blood was or anything that was happening, all I know is that my head hurt and I was being pushed away to somewhere. Then I was in the back seat of a dark car and the guards kept telling me to keep my head down as I felt the car swerve violently away from the palace.

"What the Hell just happened?" I burst when the car was running more smoothly and the guards finally stopped holding me down.

"An assasination attempt, your Highness." One of the guards said and I gasped, someone had just tried to kill me? "We're taking you to a safe house. We'll be there in ten minutes."

"Sweet niblets." Was all I could mutter. This was insane.

Princess Miley

Friday, November 25

It was Friday before I was allowed out of the safe house and back to the palace. In those two days I'd managed to annylise everything I'd seen within an inch of my sanity. It was some sort of bomb or something that probably reacts to open air. I'd been hugging Katy at the time and she was the closest one to me so she must have been the one to push me down and protect me. There was a gunshot, someone was probably shot... Dead? Had someone died that night? Shane... Shane had a gun? Why did Shane have a gun? Whose side was he on? Is he the one who shot? Who was he aiming for? Did he kill someone? Was Shane trying to kill me?

Shane and I hadn't interacted at all since that night in the tree when he'd been crying. He had shot me sad looks a couple of times, but he'd started hanging out with Ecklestien and his friends more and more, and I'd been with marcus more and more, getting more involved with him as the days went by until the ache in my heart was just a dull ache when I saw Shane.

A doctor had come to see me about two minutes after we got to the safe house and I had a cut on my forehead where I'd hit against something when Katy had protected me. Why had Katy protected me? I'd need four stitches and the doctor said that there wouldn't be a scar. My thoughts had been driving me insane the last two days.

"Your Highness." The doorsmen bowed as the let me into the palace. I sighed, I'd had one phone call at the safe house and Alyssa had promised that the King would explain everything to me when I returned so I was going to a meeting with him now. I was led to a room I hadn't been to before and there were security lining all along the walls and King Altiyan was sitting at the head of the room at a desk with his hands tented in front of him. I gasped when I saw the guard immediately to the Kings right. It was Shane. Shane?

"Ah, Miley." King Altiyan got up and smiled warmly at me, gesturing to a chair and I frowned as I looked around. Was this some sort of weird dream? Did I have a concussion that the doctor failed to detect? Was I hullucinating?

"What-what..." I looked at Shane and back at the King. "What the Hell is going on?" I burst, looking between them. I know, I'm in a coma and this is all just in my head. This didn't make any sense at all. Shane was looking at me and I could see his pained hazel eyes again and they broke my heart. The dull throb returned to a full pounding ache.

"Ah... I take it you are currious about Mister Gray?" King Altiyan guessed, pulling a folder from a drawer in the desk. Shane stepped forward at the mention of his name, and he averted his eyes to the ground. "Mister Gray here is an elitely trained junior agent for the C. R. S; the Cyrus Royal Security." My mouth dropped and I didn't know who to stare at anymore. "He is not in fact your classmate, but is eighteen years of age." Eighteen? Well... He did look older, I could probably believe he was eighteen. "His mission upon your return to Cyrus has been to protect you within the halls of Prince Arthurs Prepatory. When word of an act against the crown reached us Mister Gray was instructed to infiltrate the group planning it and bring forward evidence against them... Before the act was to happen." The King shot Shane a look and he looked guilty. What the Hell is going on? Shane is one of the CRS?

"Shane?" I looked at him and he shot his guilty, begging eyes to me. "Shane, what-?" I didn't know what to say.

"Yes, your Highness?" Shane murmured formally, avoiding my eyes.

"I-" The King had to know about the frustrations I felt because of Shane, right? "Sweet niblets." I muttered to myself. "You jerk!" I suddenly yelled at Shane and he jumped a little. "You-you've just been playing with my emotions just for the fun of it? Why? What was the plan after you caught those guys? To just leave and laugh at my stupidty? W-"

"That was never the plan." Shane interrupted fiercely and then blushed when he realised he'd spoken.

"Then what was it? Are you finally going to tell me something? Or are you going to keep lying and avoiding? Is your name even Shane or is that just part of your cover?" I demanded, now standing up and yelling. I could feel tears in my eyes, but I didn't care. I turned and started to walk away when Shane didn't say anything. I was angry and humiliated and I could feel myself starting to cry.

"My name is Shane Anthony Gray, I'm eighteen years old and I've been trained to be part of the CRS for as long as I can remember." Shane's voice rang through the room before I could leave, but I didn't turn back around. "When I saw you that first day at Prince Arthurs... I knew who you were, my original orders were to become your friend and protect from as close as possible." So that's why he talked to me? For orders? Just what every girl wants to hear. "But-but then the orders changed, but I'd already met you; you were the pretty musician with the cute blush and I was already hooked, but they told me to stay away from you." It hurt to hear his voice after so long, and it was breaking, but I still didn't want to turn around. "They kept telling me to stay away, but I couldn't, Princess, I couldn't stay away from you, I already cared too much. Every time I talked to you, touched you, held you..." Shane took a slow shuddering breath. I knew what he didn't say; every time he kissed me. "I never wanted to hurt you, Princess, and every time I tried to stay away, but it hurt too much." Yet, he managed it for a month, to completely avoid me. "I tired to follow my order, I really did, I tried to let you be happy with Lord Hawthorne, but-... Ever since that first day by the lake I've been falling for you and I can't stop." My breath caught in my chest and I clenched my fists to keep from spinning and jumping on him. I could hear Shane stepping closer to me (I would have been able to hear a feather drop in that silence) until I could practically feel him behind me. "You know my name, my job, the fact that I can't follow orders, and that I can't stay away from you no matter how dangerous it could be to me... Please, Princess..." The question was silent, what did he want? For me to forgive him? Say I was falling for him too? For me to kiss him and cheat on Marcus? To dump Marcus? I was starting to fall for Marcus, my heart would skip every time I saw him and I always thought of him as soon as I woke and I wanted to see, talk to him all the time.

I didn't know what to say, what to do, what to think. I let out a shakey breath and I felt a tear drip from eye. I took another breath and walked forward. Out of the room. I was just starting to get over Shane and his confussion and heart-ache. I couldn't go back now, I was with Marcus, I liked Marcus, Shane was... Shane was messing with my heart and my head all over again.

Really, people, really? I know you're reading. can't you spare even a few second to let me know what you think. It takes me a lot of time to write these, but it would only take you guys a few seconds to review.

Who saw Joe get 'strip teased' by Britney Spears? I just love the look on his face during the whole thing, it's actually my icon now. God, I love Joe!

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