The next morning...
"Are you sure you're not coming, Geoff?" Heather asked as she perched the royal horse so was given.
"Yes, Bridgette has to reunite with her family and friends," Geoff replied.
He stood on the ground near her with Bridgette at his side.
"We'll be up there sometime later today," Bridgette explained.
"But how will the other horse get to the castle?" Heather asked.
"We'll take of that," a voice replied.
Heather, Bridgette, and Geoff looked to the voice. It was Trent, helping Courtney climbed on the other royal horse.
Trent wore a beige shirt with brown tights and shoes. Courtney wore a gray dress with white sleeves.
"I've always wanted to see the Desembarcar castle," Courtney exclaimed like a child.
"Why are you going Trent?" Heather asked.
"Her father asked me to protect her," Trent explained.
"I can't believe Mirissa is marrying the prince," Courtney grumbled.
"Speaking of the devil, here comes the happy couple now," Bridgette groaned, pointing to Mirissa and Alejandro riding on his horse.
Heather had to keep a happy face for her and Alejandro...
"How was dinner last night?" Geoff asked who could care less.
Alejandro, even Geoff knew about Alejandro's father saying, was mad at Alejandro because 1. He hurt one of his best friends and 2. He chose his number one enemy.
"Great, I gave his desert before the main course, though," Mirissa explained, before giggling.
Heather made a gagging sound and didn't go unnoticed by Mirissa.
"What's the matter, Heather? Jealous?" Mirissa smirked.
"Let's just get this over with," Heather exclaimed, turning her head away.
Alejandro looked forward toward Heather with disappointed look in his eyes. He saw a gleam in her eyes, telling him that she was crying to herself. He looked down in sadness. To tell you the truth, he much rather marry Heather than Mirissa. But his father's stupid rule...
"What are you two doing here?" Mirissa asked, catching everyone's attention.
They saw Duncan and Gwen riding a black horse.
Duncan wore a white shirt with black tights and shoes. Gwen wore a navy blue dress that was a bit low-cut on the top.
"Uncle Matt asked me to watch you," Duncan explained.
"Ugh, stupid father..."Mirissa groaned.
"Duncan. Trent, I need to talk to you two," Geoff said.
Duncan and Trent climbed off the horses and walked over to an area nearby.
"I need you guys to talk to Alejandro about the whole Mirissa thing," Geoff explained. "Can I count on you?"
"You got it," Duncan replied. Trent nodded in agreement.
"Hey, Courtney. I can help you with Trent if you want," Gwen whispered.
"Really? Thanks," Courtney replied.
Duncan and Trent perched back on their respectively horses.
"Everyone ready? Let's go," Alejandro urged, as he kicked the horse which set off.
The others follow suit and dashed out of Ciudad.
Heather trailed after Alejandro at the same speed he was going, just a little slower though...
Soon, Heather couldn't keep and ended in the back of the group just behind Duncan and Gwen. She slowed down enough to think about what happened in the past twenty-four hours.
She looked down in sadness, as a single tear shed from her eye. She couldn't believe the man she loved is marrying someone else, not to mention her enemy. Tears started coming more frequently as she thought about the night she told him about her broken-up family, followed by what he said to Mirissa just the day before.
"I finally choose you to be my wife..."
Heather clutched her mother's necklace, remembering the last night she had with her mother. Tears shed even more.
"Heather, everyone has to go at some point and it seems my time has come..."
"Take this and I'll always be with you..."
"Mom, I need you now. Tell me what to do," Heather mumbled, looking to the heavens.
Suddenly, Heather felt a nudge at her leg. She looked down to where the nudging came from. Turns out, the horse Heather was riding nudged her leg. The horse gave a reassuring smile to her as if it was trying to comfort her. Heather smiled and wiped her tears away as she sped up to the group.
The group soon arrived to the village surrounding Desembarcar castle. The group, with the exception of Alejandro, was in awe at the town.
The village was filled with shops and boutiques, not to mention the friendly folks. The children ran through the village as they played. Complete strangers seemed to greet each other in the street and asked how their day was going.
"Heather, hey!" A familiar voice shouted.
The group turned toward the voice who happened to be Sierra waving at them with a group of people. Heather walked toward them along with her group.
"Hi, Sierra," Heather said. "But what are you doing here?"
"Well, I recognized the man you found, but didn't decide not to tell you I knew," Sierra explained. "And I brought my friends here to show the village and to meet you!"
Heather examined the group beside Sierra. The person beside her was a girl with fair skin and orange curly hair with green eyes. She wore a green dress with a white belt around her waist.
The person beside the orange-haired girl was a man with fair skin and brown floppy hair with brown eyes. He wore a white shirt with dark red tights and brown shoes.
The person beside the brown-haired man was a girl with fair skin and straight blonde hair with baby blue eyes. She wore a burgundy dress with a black belt around her thin waist.
The person beside the blonde-haired girl was a girl with fair skin and brown hair hold back with a band. She wore a dress with blue top and light pink skirt. She had black framed glasses covering her onyx eyes.
The person beside the brown-haired girl was a girl with brown skin and black hair in pigtails with onyx eyes. She wore a dress with a dark pink top and black shirt.
The person beside the black-haired girl was another girl similar to the black-haired girl except she had fair skin and was bigger than the black-haired girl.
The person beside the fair-skinned girl was a man with fair skin and blonde hair with black eyes and a fat body. He wore a white shirt with light green pants and brown shoes.
"Eee! I'm your biggest fan!" the blonde-haired girl squealed. "I'm Lindsay and this is my boyfriend, Tyrone!"
She pointed to the brown-haired man as she said this.
"Tyler, Lindsay," the brown-hair man muttered.
"We're fans, too! Right, Sadie?" the black-haired girl squealed, looking at the fair-skinned girl.
"That's right, Katie!" Sadie responded to the black-haired girl.
"Let me introduce myself," the blonde-man stated. "My name is Owenith McsWorth III, but you may call me Owen."
"Hey, Isabelle's the name and Izzy's the game!" the orange-haired girl said, kind of weirdly.
The group had confused looks on their faces and glanced at each other with those same expressions.
"Sorry, her name's Isabelle, but we call her Izzy," the brown-haired girl explained. "Because she's kinda crazy. I'm Bethany, but you can call me Beth."
"Okay, let me see if I got this right," Heather said. "Sierra, Izzy, Tyler, Lindsay, Beth, Katie, Sadie, and Owen."
They all nodded at the correction of the names.
"Wait, who are these guys? And where's Geoff and Bridgette?" Sierra asked, noticing the gap of the missing people and the insertion of new people.
"Geoff and Bridgette will be here sometime today," Heather explained. "As for the people here..."
"I'm Trent, nice to meet you guys," Trent said.
"Courtney at your service," Courtney stated.
"Duncan here," Duncan said, simply.
"I'm Gwen," stated Gwen.
Heather waited for Mirissa to introduce herself but it never came. Heather opened her mouth to say something but Alejandro beat her to it.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself, Mirissa?" Alejandro asked, softly.
"I rather Heather introduce me," Mirissa stated, turning around to Heather, smirking.
Heather clutched the reins of the saddle as her heart started to beat fast. Heather took a deep but silent breath.
"And this is Mirissa," Heather explained, as she smiled falsely.
She clutched the rein even tighter with every word she spoke next.
"Alejandro's lovely bride to be."
Alejandro was the only one to see through her illusion, and was sadden by it on the inside. He noticed Heather was having a hard time accepting Mirissa as his bride...
Heather felt even more heartbroken that Mirissa had her introduce her worst enemy.
"Ooh, you guys are married?" Lindsay squealed.
"I wished we could go to the wedding," Katie groaned.
"Me too," Sadie groaned.
"There are the best foods platters and things at weddings," Owen said, hopefully.
"Not to mention the handsome bachelors at weddings," Beth explained.
All this wedding talk made Heather and Alejandro feel uncomfortable.
"Well, how about you come with us so you can help with the wedding? A royal wedding don't plan itself," Heather offered.
"Really?" Sierra asked.
"No, Heather, I'm pretty sure the helpers are enough," Mirissa denied.
Alejandro thought about it. The wedding will need a little help...
"Actually, Heather's right. You know the saying, 'the more, the merrier'?" Alejandro stated.
Heather smiled a bit when Alejandro agreed with her.
"Fine," Mirissa groaned.
"But where are we going to stay?" Beth asked.
"We have plenty of room in the castle for you guys to stay," Alejandro explained.
"Can you arrange somewhere near the kitchen?" Owen asked.
Everyone except Mirissa busted in laughter including Owen.
"I was serious," Owen explained.
"Come on, I'm pretty sure my parents have been patient enough," Alejandro said, going toward the castle slowly.
The others on horses followed pursuit while the rest on foot followed closely behind.
They all arrived at the silver ivory gates of the castle. The gates opened since Prince Alejandro was leading them. Two guards were waiting inside along with Cody and another castle servant.
The servant was a guy with dark skin and dark brown hair with dark brown eyes. He wore a white tunic with brown tights and shoes.
The people on horses passed through without delay. Alejandro, Trent, Duncan, and Heather climbed off their horses. Alejandro, Trent, and Duncan helped the women they were riding with climbed as well.
"Hey!" a voice shouted.
They all turned to see the two guards blocking the rest of their group.
"It's okay! They're with us!" Alejandro explained.
"Prince Alejandro, good to you again. You too, Heather," Cody said, walking toward the group. "But where's Geoff?"
"Back at Ciudad, taking care of something," Heather explained.
"He'll be here later today," Alejandro responded.
Then, Cody noticed Gwen and walked up to her. Before he could say one word to her...
"She's with me, pipsqueak," Duncan smirked, wrapping his arm around Gwen's shoulder.
Cody backed away chuckling nervously.
A few men stablemen collected the horses, including the horse Duncan was riding.
"Prince Alejandro, it's great that you're back," the servant said sarcastically.
"Nice to see you too, Noah," Alejandro responded.
"Oh, Prince Alejandro, we have a big surprise for you inside," Cody explained, dragging Alejandro inside of the castle.
The rest of the group followed Cody and Alejandro. Sierra and Izzy walked up to Noah.
"So, who was that boy with you?" Sierra asked, eagerly.
"His name is Cody. He and I are servants of the royal family," Noah explained.
Izzy looked at him weirdly and he noticed it. Then, she started poking his head.
"Why is your head huge? Are you hiding something or just super smart?" Izzy asked rapidly.
"Uhh...I'm actually the royal keeper of the hall of records," Noah explained, weirded out by the orange-haired curiosity.
Alejandro was actually wondering what Cody was trying to show him.
"Uhh...Cody? What are you trying to tell me?" Alejandro asked.
Cody slowed as the group entered the castle's foyer. The foyer was huge with a doorway straight ahead and two doorways to each side of them. The walls had the royal seal on a piece of fabric that hanged on the walls.
"You'll see," Cody smirked.
"Oh, Alejandro you're back!" a familiar voice exclaimed, followed by the scurriness of feet in heels.
"Mama!" Alejandro recognized the voice as his mother, Queen Maria, and was tackled by the queen.
"Don't you dare go another journey like that again! I don't want to lose my youngest son!" the queen exclaimed as she clutched him even tighter.
"I won't! I promise!" Alejandro chuckled, nervously.
Queen Maria released her son and turned to the group.
"Thank you, Heather! Not only for saving my son but saving the only prince willingly to take the throne," the queen said to the girl who rescued her son.
Heather was going to respond to that, but she was cut off by someone.
"Hey, what are we, chopped liver?"
The group looked toward the voice and saw two men.
Both had similar characteristics of Alejandro like his built and structure.
The first man had dark skin, light brown hair and hazel eyes. He wore a blue tunic with brown pants and shoes.
The second man had light tan skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a green tunic with brown pants and shoes.
"Nonsense, Jose," the queen replied.
Alejandro couldn't believe it. Both of his brothers were here, but why?
"Carlos? Jose? What are you guys doing here?" Alejandro asked.
"We heard about your disappearance," the blue tunic replied.
"So we came here, and we heard that you're getting married now?" the green tunic explained.
"Oh yeah, who's the lucky lady?" Queen Maria asked, turning to her youngest son.
"Meet Mirissa, mi mama and hermanos," Alejandro said, wrapping his arm around Mirissa's shoulder.
Mirissa and the others, including Noah and Cody, bowed to the royalty before them.
"Oh please, we haven't been here to get reused to that," green tunic, Jose, groaned.
"Yeah," blue tunic, Carlos, agreed.
"Oh rise," the queen chuckled.
The group did as told.
"Nice to meet you, Mirissa," the queen smiled.
"You too, your highness," Mirissa responded, in a snobby tone.
"Where are Lucinda and Gabriella?" Alejandro asked.
"Right here," a voice rang out.
Two women appeared beside Carlos and Jose.
The woman beside Carlos had dark tan skin, dark brown curly hair, and hazel eyes. She wore a light dress with a big bump on her stomach.
The woman beside Jose had light tan skin, black curly hair, and brown eyes. She wore a light green dress with a bit of a bump on her stomach as well.
"This is your bride, Alejandro? She's lovely," the woman beside Carlos noted.
Mirissa smiled "Thanks, uhh..."
"Lucinda," the woman replied.
"And I'm Gabriella, if you're wondering," the woman beside Jose explained.
"Now, explain the group," Carlos said, referring the people behind Alejandro.
Alejandro and Heather were going to explained but Mirissa was the first to speak.
"I can explain. You see, this girl," Mirissa pointed to Courtney,
"Wanted to see the castle and her father asked him,"
She then pointed to Trent, "to protect her. He,"
She pointed to Duncan, "was asked by my father to watch me and his girlfriend over there decided to come." Mirissa pointed to Gwen.
"And Heather thought it would be fun to invite the rest of the group," Mirissa smirked at Heather who glared back.
"Well, that's alright. Heather deserves it after what she rescued my son," the queen smiled.
Heather smirked at Mirissa who glared back.
"Yeah, the girl deserves a medal or something for bravery," Carlos responded.
"Well, that would have to wait," a familiar voice spoke.
They all turned to the voice which happened to be King Enrique standing to near the doorway straight ahead. Everyone who wasn't royalty or married to royalty bowed in the king's presence. But Trent and Duncan were the only one who narrowed their eyes. Lucinda and Gabriella back away slightly as if they didn't want the king to notice they were there.
"Rise," the king instructed.
They did so.
"Heather, I see you completed your mission but where's Geoffrey?" the king asked.
"He's coming later today," Heather explained.
"Umm...Cody, take care of our guests," Alejandro ordered.
Cody nodded. Alejandro walked up to Noah.
"Take Heather to the hall of records, don't ask any questions," Alejandro whispered.
Alejandro then walked up to Cody.
"Make sure Mirissa gets her own room," Alejandro whispered.
Alejandro looked up to his father.
"Father, if you don't mind, I need to talk to you," Alejandro requested.
"Sure son," the king replied.
Then everyone went their separate ways. Noah with Heather, King Enrique with Alejandro, Queen Maria with the rest of her sons and wives, and Cody with the rest.
With Noah and Heather...
"Do you know why the prince asked me to take you to the hall of records?" Noah asked as he guided Heather through the labyrinth of the castle towards their destination.
"I told him that I want to find my siblings who have been adopted by two different families," Heather explained.
"And he told you that we keep all records of adoptions," Noah finished for her.
"Yeah," Heather agreed.
They continued walking until Noah stopped in front a huge wooden door with the words 'Hall of Records' in cursive writing above the door.
"Here we are," Noah said as he took out a gold key and stuck in the door.
Noah turned the key, unlocking. The two entered the room.
Heather took it in. It was more of a library than a hall. Shelves went high as the ceiling which were about 12' ft. high. The shelves were filled with books and scrolls. There were a few tables set up.
Noah walked to a shelf and grabbed a big book. The book's cover read 'Adoption Records A-D'.
"Do one of your siblings' names start with A, B, C, or D?" Noah asked.
Heather nodded.
"You'll find them in this book," Noah explained, laying the book on a nearby table.
The book landed on the table with loud 'thud!'. Heather sat down at the, opening the book.
"Good luck finding your siblings," Noah said sarcastically, heading to the door.
"Thank you," Heather said.
Noah paused before continuing walking.
"You're welcome," Noah replied before heading out the door.
Heather turned to the book to find both of her siblings...
With King Enrique and Alejandro...
"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" the king asked.
Both he and Alejandro were in the king's quarters (bedroom). The room came complete with a fireplace and king-sized bed (no pun intended) with sheets and blankets made of the finest materials. A brown chest was at the foot of the bed. Fine furniture was neatly scattered around the room. Two doors, one being the entrance and exit of the room and the other a closet.
"Why did you not want me to marry Heather?" Alejandro asked.
"Son, I already told you she's not royal enough," the king replied.
"But you let Carlos and Jose to marry Lucinda and Gabriella," Alejandro replied, angrily.
"I told them not to, but it didn't stop them," the king explained.
Alejandro took a moment to examine this. Carlos and Jose rebelled against their father and married the women they love.
"I knew you wouldn't do the same, Alejandro," King Enrique explained, putting his hand on Alejandro's shoulder.
Alejandro looked down in sadness. He really wanted Heather, not Mirissa. He wanted to hug her and protect her from any danger. He wanted to kiss those lovely lips of hers and cuddle with her all night long. He wanted her to be the mother of his children. He wanted her. He needs her.
"Listen, I know you like Heather, but she probably doesn't feel that way about you," the king explained, pulling his son to hug. "Besides Mirissa is the better choice."
Alejandro hugged his father back, still sad about the arrangement.
Little did Alejandro know that his father was smirking.
I wonder if Alejandro is going to make a move on Heather before I do...
With Cody and the others...
"And here we are," Cody said, pointing to two doors. "Boys on the right and girls on the left, but Mirissa come with me."
Mirissa followed the small servant as the others entered their assigned rooms.
With the boys...
Tyler closed the door as the rest of the boys took in the room. The room had about 7 double beds with a wooden chest at the foot of each bed. Three beds were on one side of the room against the wall. Three more beds were on the other side of the room against the wall as well. One bed was against the wall at the far side of the room.
"Wow, it's fancy," Owen pointed out.
"Trent, do we need to tell them?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah, we do," Trent replied.
"Tell us what?" Tyler asked, sitting down on one of the beds.
"Geoff is dead. That's why he isn't here! Why, Geoff? Whyyyy?" Owen cried dramatically as he got his knees.
"No, that's not it. Geoff's alive," Trent said, calming Owen down.
"Oh then what is it?" Owen asked, getting up.
Duncan and Trent looked at each other and then back at the two.
"Alejandro doesn't really like Mirissa, he likes Heather," Duncan explained.
"If he likes Heather, then how come he's marrying Mirissa?" Tyler asked.
"His father told him not to marry Heather," Trent replied.
"How did he know that Alejandro was going to want to marry Heather?" Owen asked.
"I don't know, Owen," Duncan asked.
"What's up, fellas?" a familiar voice rang out.
The others in the room looked toward the voice who happened to be Geoff.
"Hey, I'm Owen," said Owen.
"And I'm Tyler," said Tyler.
"Geoff. Nice to meet you guys," replied Geoff. "Now what did I miss?"
The guys went on to telling him what had happened on their journey...
With Heather...
Heather had found the family that adopted Amanda. They lived in Municipio, a town few miles North of Ciudad. All she had to do was found Damian, but she was starting to doze off.
"Any luck?" a voice asked that made her shot from her pervious position.
The voice was Alejandro. He stood a few feet from the table she was at.
"I just need to find Damian," Heather replied, looking back at the book.
Heather looked through the rows when she found what she was looking for.
"Found it! I mean, him," Heather exclaimed.
"Where is he?" Alejandro asked, getting closer.
"According to this, the family he lives with is in Habitantes," Heather explained.
"Well, I'm glad you able to find the rest of your family," Alejandro said.
The two stayed in awkward silence.
"So when's the wedding?" Heather deadpanned.
"In a few days," Alejandro replied, deadpanned as well.
They stayed in awkward silence some more. Then Alejandro remembered why he came down here.
"Heather, it's getting late. Come with me to your room," Alejandro explained.
"Yeah, okay," Heather replied, getting up from the table and walking to the door.
Alejandro followed her and got in front of her as they exited the hall.
Alejandro led Heather through the labyrinth of the castle. Alejandro restrained himself from telling how he felt about her or showing her how he felt.
Heather kept wondering if he was going to stay with her through the night. She wanted him to so she could tell him how she felt about him. Though he could not feel the same way.
"We're here," Alejandro said, stopping near a big door.
Alejandro opened the door to allow Heather to go in first. Heather was in awe at the room she was going to stay in.
The room was huge as a medium shed. The room came with a fireplace which was lit with a fire. The bed was a queen-sized canopy with purple sheets and blankets of the finest materials and with a purple fabrics hanging down the poles. Nice furniture was neatly scattered throughout the room. Two doors, an entrance/exit and a closet.
"I knew that you would like it," Alejandro smirked.
Heather was so delighted about the room that she wrapped her arms around Alejandro in appreciation. Alejandro was surprised at first, but he did not want this to end. Alejandro wrapped his arms around her petite body.
Heather came to her senses and released Alejandro, but Alejandro still had his arms around her oblivious that she's not hugging back.
Heather cleared her throat, getting Alejandro's attention. He released her immediately and looked away in embarrassment. Heather blushed and looked toward the bed where she noticed a white shiny material.
"What's that?" Heather asked, walking up to the bed and picking up a white gown with 2 inch straps and long skirt.
"Just something for you to sleep in that's all," Alejandro replied, not looking back at her. "Tomorrow I'm being fitted for a suit for the wedding and the guys are too. You and the girls are being fitting for dresses."
"Alejandro, I know Mirissa and she's not the girl you should be marrying," Heather explained.
Alejandro wanted to say what his father had told him and his true feelings about, but what if she doesn't feel the way he does...
"Heather, you wouldn't understand about my feelings about her if I told you," Alejandro replied.
With that, Alejandro exited the door and closed the door behind him.
Heather felt tears built up in her eyes.
Not again...
Heather fell on her knees near the bed and cried into the gown as she did the night before...
And done!
Will Alejandro and Heather admit their feelings for each other before the wedding or before it's too late? Why did the king not want Alejandro to marry Heather? What is the king's plan do with Heather? Why did the princes' wives back away when the king entered the room? Why does Alejandro and Heather think the other won't like them the same way if they told them?
I'm soo sorry about the late update! I was busy! But hey, aren't we all?
I have posted a new story called Yanx Club. Akela Victoire is the beta helping me with the story. Go check it out! :)
Well, review on the chapter!
Luv, Flutejrp