We ended the kiss and looked up into the dark, cloudy sky above us.
Char laughed incredulously. "You wouldn't believe it!"
A bright flash of lightning filled the sky, which was followed closely by a loud clap of thunder. As a reflex, I covered my head with my hands.
"We better find some shelter" Char yelled over the rain, taking my hand and helping me stand up.
"There's a tavern not far from here, we can stay there until the storm passes" I said.
"Alright, let's go"
I quickly followed behind Char to where Flame was standing; when I looked down and noticed that my white top was now completely see through. I turned my back to him as he fixed the saddle and I crossed my arms over my chest.
"You must be freezing, put this on" Char said, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around my soaking wet body. I thanked him as we quickly got up on top of the horse.
It wasn't long before we reached the tavern, riding into a stable around the side. We tied Flame up and made our way inside to get out of the rain. Surprisingly there were quite a few people, mostly older men, in there eating and drinking beer. No-one seemed to notice us enter, as they were all most likely too drunk to even care. I looked over at Char, who looked back at me with a concerned look on his face. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation.
"Can I help you?" A middle aged woman in staff uniform approached us, cutting me short of my laughter.
"Hi. We're just wondering if we could stay here for a while until the storm passes." I said politely.
"Sure you can!" The lady replied happily "You two are drenched. How about I go get you some bath robes to change into?"
"Umm, that's really…" But before I could protest, the lady rushed off. "…not necessary" I finished anyway.
She came back a minute later and handed us two white bath robes. "If you want to get away from all these rowdy guys, I can get you two a quiet room and send you up some dinner. How does that sound?"
Char and I looked at each other, and I felt a little awkward. I have only just met this guy today, and he happens to be the Prince of Kyrria… I couldn't be in a bedroom with him! But Char's voice snapped me out of it. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you". He said.
I shot him a surprised look while the lady checked to see if there were any available rooms.
"What?" He questioned me. "Would you rather stay down here with these drunken men?"
"No…"
We followed the lady up the narrow staircase, she pointed us down the hallway and handed us the key to room number 8. The hallway was long and dark, and smelt strongly of stale beer. As I followed closely behind Char, something sticky plastered my shoe to the ground, causing my foot to come out of it. I sighed and bent down to find my shoe when all of a sudden, someone bumped into the back of me.
"Well, look what we have here" A drunken man laughed. He firmly grabbed my upper arm and spun me around to face him. I coughed as he breathed cigarette smoke into my face.
"Hey! Get you're filthy hands off her!" Char demanded in a deep, threatening voice.
The drunken man released his grip on me, and I quickly moved over behind Char.
"How much you want? I'll take her off your hands" The man slurred.
"She's not for sale you horrid, vulgar man!" Char said again in that deep voice, although this time he sounded angrier. "How dare you speak like that to a lady!" He then turned to me and gently pushed me down the hallway.
"If you change your mind, I'm in room 2" I heard the man call out.
"Ewwww" I groaned.
"Just ignore him" Char whispered, keeping me close by his side until we got to our room. "Ah, here we go. Number 8" He said while struggling to find the key hole in the dark. Finally the door opened and we stepped inside, flicking on the light. There was only a double bed, and a small bathroom.
I made sure the lock on the door was securely fastened so that creepy man couldn't get in. "Can you believe the nerve of that creep?"
"I know. It repulses me! ...Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" I said, about to take Char's jacket off my shoulders when I remembered about my see through top. "Can I have the bathroom first?" I asked him.
"Sure, go for it" He smiled.
I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. My hair looked terrible but I didn't really care, right now I just wanted to get out of these wet clothes. I made sure my long white bath robe was tied up tight, seeing as though I had nothing else underneath, and stepped out into the room. Char was looking out the small window on the other side of the room and turned to face me as he heard the bathroom door open. He quickly looked me up and down and cleared his throat.
"Don't you dare laugh at me, you have to wear one too" I said, thinking that he must have thought I looked amusing.
He said nothing as he walked passed me, grabbed his own robe and closed the bathroom door behind him. As Char was getting changed, there was a knock at the door.
"Dinner's ready!" The lady called out.
I opened the door, thanked her very much and took the tray.
"Mmm, what smells so good?" Char inquired, exiting the bathroom as I placed the tray on the double bed, seeing as though there were no tables in the room.
I sat cross legged on one end of the bed and opened one of the lids covering the plate. "Ooh, its roast beef, mashed potato and vegetables. Looks great"
"Fantastic, I'm positively starving" Char exclaimed, sitting down next to me on the bed.
I looked up and instantly laughed at the sight of him in a bath robe.
"Ella!" He protested "I had the decency not to laugh at you"
"Sorry, I couldn't help it" I replied, reaching for my knife and fork. "It suits you though. You look cute" I smiled eating a fork full of mashed potato.
Char muttered something inaudible, cut a piece out of his roast beef and ate it, shaking his head at me.
"What was that, Char?" I asked teasingly. "I didn't quite catch it"
"You will speak of this to no one!" He warned me by pointing his finger. I laughed and playfully pushed his hand away.
Once we had finished eating dinner I stood up, straightened my robe and walked over to the window. The thunder had stopped, but the rain was bucketing down and I could hear the wind howling.
"What are we going to do? There's no way we can ride out in that" I said, stepping aside as Char approached, wanting to have a look for himself.
"Oh well, we could spend the night here. It's not so bad" He replied, nudging my upper arm with his elbow.
I took a glance around the room, remembered the double bed and folded my arms across my chest. I've never been in this sort of situation before and I started to freak out.
"Look. I don't know what you're intentions are, but I assure you I'm not that kind of girl…"
"Oh no, no, no! I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that… Ella, I'm not the dishonorable type. I have respect for women, I would never hurt you!"
I nodded and said rather shyly "I know... It's just - this is kind of awkward"
There was a moment of silence before suddenly Char looked as if an idea had crossed his mind.
"Can you dance, Ella?"
I eyed him suspiciously "Yes, of course I can but-" I didn't get to finish as he snaked his arm around my back, took hold of my right hand and led me to the middle of the room.
"Char-"
"Sssh" He whispered, cutting me off. He started to hum to a tune as we gently swayed across the carpet. "Just follow my lead" He smiled, closing his eyes.
"Ok…" I giggled as he pulled a funny face while spining me around.
"Ella, in two days time my father is holding a royal ball, and… I would like to invite you"
I suddenly lost my footing and tripped backwards, accidentally pulling Char with me onto the bed. He landed on top of me, but managed to quickly put his hands on the bed either side of my shoulders, supporting his weight without squashing me. We instantly looked at each other and burst out laughing. I sighed and Char cleared his throat.
"Ella, I can't have you doing this at the ball. Come on, we'd better practice some more"
He got off and offered for me to take his hand. I sat up slowly but remained seated on the edge of the bed.
"You're inviting me to a royal ball?" I asked looking up at him with disbelief.
"Yes. I would love for you to be there" He replied.
"Are you sure I'll be aloud?"
"Of course you will! I can invite who ever I want" He chuckled.
"No-one is going to know who I am. I'll feel so out of place"
"Ella" He sighed, sitting down beside me. "I know who you are and that's all that matters. Anyway, I'll be able to introduce you to my parents. They would really like you"
"Well… I don't have a proper dress to wear. I can't meet the King and Queen of Kyrria in this" I said tugging at my bath robe.
He grabbed my hands to stop them from fiddling and held them in his own. "Stop trying to come up with excuses. We've got professional dress makers Ella; they'll design one for you out of any colour material you like"
"What about shoes?"
"We've got wardrobes full of them; you can take your pick"
"…You really want me to go, don't you?" I asked.
"Ella, you don't have to go if you don't want to. It's just… I really don't want to be in a room full of stuck-up boring rich girls. I want to be with you!"
I turned to look him in the eyes and smiled as he awaited my response. "I suppose it's not everyday I get a Prince inviting me to a ball…"
"One should hope not" Char interrupted.
"So… I accept your invitation"
He gave me one of his lovely wide smiles and started to lean in a little towards me, when a loud knocking sound thumped on the door. We both jumped a little, startled by the noise.
"Who could that be?" I whispered.