Back inside the house, Hattie was screaming out like an excited little school girl. As soon as I entered the main living room I found out why. Hattie was holding up a hideous bright yellow dress, pressing it against her body and screaming "It's perfect" about a hundred times. Olive, who was giggling uncontrollably, was also holding up an equally hideous dress which was lime green.
"Oh, there you are Ella" My stepmother called from across the room. "Make us all a cup of tea would you".
I sighed and headed off towards the kitchen, when I heard Hattie squeal "Prince Charmont will most definitely notice me in this dress, I'll be the envy of every girl in Frell".
I immediately froze on the spot. Prince Charmont… Char? The Prince of Kyrria? I spun around quickly.
"Prince Charmont?!" I blurted out.
"What? Don't tell me you actually care Ella. I thought you were against all royalty of Kyrria?" Hattie spat rudely.
"I am!" I responded quickly. "But, I just didn't realise..." I cut off abruptly. I couldn't let Hattie know that Char was here, in the house.
"For your information, the Prince will be making an appearance in the Town Square at noon. That's why mother bought me this beautiful dress. I have to make a good impression… and being the president of his fan club, Prince Charmont will most definitely want to talk to me"
"Yes, I'm sure he won't be able to look at any other girl as you will most probably blind him with your-"
"Beauty" Hattie added in, twirling her curly blonde hair around her finger.
"Bright yellow dress" I finished.
"Oh!" Hattie stamped her foot in frustration. "You're just jealous!"
"No, I most certainly am not" I chuckled and headed into the kitchen to put the kettle on.
I can't believe it, I thought to myself. Why didn't Char gloat about the whole prince thing? I thought all royalty were stuck up, obnoxious people with boring personalities. But Char was lovely, nothing like what I had imagined. I mentally kicked myself – Why hadn't I ever looked at a single picture of him so that might have known what he looked like? My whole life I avoided any conversations about royalty, and never even knew the prince's name. Oh, he must've thought I was an idiot for not recognising him! But… he's coming back to see me later… and he's taking me for a ride on his horse! I better keep this quiet, Hattie would kill me if she found out I was interacting with 'her' prince.
I finished making their tea, set it down on the dining table and went up to my bedroom to think.
Should I go to the Town Square and see what all the fuss is about? Maybe I should just wait for him to return back here. After all he didn't invite me to go… but then again he didn't tell me he was the Prince either. No, I made up my mind that I wasn't going to go. What's so interesting about some Prince standing on a podium, waving to hundreds of screaming fans… absolutely nothing! And after all, I didn't want him to think I actually fancied him or anything...
A couple of hours had passed by when I realised I must've fallen asleep. I wiped my eyes and looked over at the clock. "Oh no, it's 3.00pm!" I said out loud, jumping off the bed and frantically fixing my hair. Char was going to be here in a matter of minutes!
I looked at myself in the mirror and decided to change my clothes. I put on a long royal blue skirt and a white off the shoulder three quarter length top, which flared a little at the elbows. I grabbed my black ankle boots and untied my long brown hair, letting it flow loosely down my back.
There was quite a lot of commotion going on downstairs; I could hear Hattie squealing as usual. The Prince probably looked in her direction once and now she thinks he's going to propose to her or something. I crept as softly as I could down the stairs and towards the back door.
"Where do you think you're going young lady?" My stepmother asked suddenly, making me jump.
"Oh, I'm… just going to a friend's house" I tried to sound convincingly.
"Whatever. Just make sure you're back in time to make dinner!"
I headed out the door and down the path a bit, rolled my eyes and muttered "How about you make your own dinner for once you lazy cow" I kept my eyes on the ground and kicked a rock as hard as I could.
"Good heavens! Are you trying to stone me to death?" A familiar voice called out.
I looked up and saw Char, looking just as gorgeous as he did this morning, if not more because his hair was now dry and full of beautiful brown curls.
"Whoops… I'm sorry, I didn't see you there" I said embarrassed as I motioned for him to follow me into the forest and out of sight from the house.
"It's good to see you again, Ella" He smiled, as he stopped me from walking by gently holding my upper arm, and turning me to face him.
I smiled awkwardly. "So where's your horse?" I asked, looking around aimlessly.
"Very eager, aren't you" He chuckled, taking my hand and leading me around the corner to where Flame was patiently waiting.
I wasn't concentrating on the horse at the moment though. Our fingers were entwined, and his hand felt so warm, so gentle… I looked over at Char; he was by my side, only a little in front as he was leading me across the path. A huge smile crept up on my face, I couldn't help it, this man was attracting me to him like a magnet. I know he's the prince, and I know I never wanted to be just like every other girl who fancied him... but he is gorgeous! He turned his head around to look at me and caught a glimpse of my huge grin and had a double take. A slight chuckle escaped his mouth.
"Is your arm feeling any better?" I asked.
"Yes, much better thank you. You done such an excellent job bandaging it up, I've almost forgotten about it being sprained"
I nodded, and then turned my attention onto the horse.
"Ok Ella, are you ready for this?" He asked, letting go of my hand and steadying Flame.
"Sure am!" I beamed happily.
"Alright, place your left foot in my hands and when I lift you up, swing your right leg over the other side" Char told me, kneeling down on the grass waiting for my foot.
"But it's not a good idea to put a lot of weight on your sore arm"
"Ella it's fine, really. Plus you don't look like you weigh that much at all" He said taking a quick glance over my body.
I blushed slightly and did as I was instructed by placing my foot in his hands. He lifted me up with hardly any effort and I positioned myself at the back of Flame's saddle, quickly smoothing down my long skirt. Char stepped up on the stirrup, carefully swung his leg around and sat down in front of me. Now we were extremely close, my body was pressing up against his back.
"Are you comfortable back there?" He asked.
I tried to calm down and relax a little so hopefully he couldn't feel my heart racing against his back.
"Yeah, I'm fine" I choked out.
"Don't be nervous Ella, you'll get used to the height, and I promise we won't go too fast" He said with a bit of humour in his voice.
I don't think it's so much the horse which is the cause my nerves right now, I thought to myself.
"You'd better hang on to me" He said, reaching back, taking one of my arms and wrapping it around his waist. My other arm immediately copied.
"Alright, let's go!" I announced, trying to hide the fact that I loved the feel of my arms around his body.
Char laughed and gently kicked Flame into a steady trot, and then we were off.
"Whoa" I gasped as I tried to get used to the movement of Flame as he trotted.
"It's ok" He gently said "Just relax"
I turned my head and admired the beautiful countryside of Frell, it really was a great feeling to just get up here on a horse and escape from all the troubles back at home. I let out a happy sigh and squeezed my arms a little tighter around Char's waist.
"So Char, where are we heading to?" I asked.
"Anywhere you want... Although I did see a rather nice spot as I was travelling through here before" He said.
"Excellent! …Can we try going a little faster?" I asked, feeling a little more confident.
Char laughed out loud "You bet!" And with that, he kicked Flame a little harder and we speed up instantly.
"Whoohoo!" I yelled out, feeling the cool breeze brush against my face. My hair was wildly blowing about but I didn't care, because right now I felt so… free. Before I knew it, surprisingly Char was joining in and yelling out with me.
Flame raced up a green grassy hill, and when we reached the top, the sight before us took my breath away. There was a beautiful large sparkling lake.
"Oh Char… It's so beautiful" I smiled taking in the surroundings.
"I thought you'd like it" He said while also admiring the view.
He led Flame down the other side of the hill until we stopped underneath a tree.
"Would you like to just relax here for a while?" He asked, turning his head around a little.
"Yes, that would be lovely" I hastily agreed.
Char gracefully dismounted Flame and landed with a soft thud on the grass. He then turned to face me, and reached his arms up. Slowly, I swung one leg around so I was sitting sideways on the horse and I reached down for Char's shoulders. He caught me around my waist and carefully brought me down onto the grass in front of him. It was like a romantic scene out of a movie, and it was almost perfect until… I lost my footing and stumbled awkwardly into his chest. Oh gosh, what a klutz! I thought to myself.
But Char only gave a slight chuckle and fixed me up so I was standing straight. I cleared my throat and pushed some loose strands of hair behind my ear. We sat down under an old oak tree, facing the lake. Char had one leg propped up and rested his sore arm on it.
"So, have you enjoyed your visit here in Frell? I asked, straightening out a crease in my skirt.
"Yes I have. It's a very pleasant town… with some very lovely people" He said smiling at me.
"A very different way of life to what you're used to I can imagine" Whoops, maybe I shouldn't have said that.
"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean…" He said carefully.
"Look, Char… I know who you are" I said, looking straight into his eyes. Before he got the chance to say anything, I simply added
"You're the Prince of Kyrria".