"Stay right there, I'll go see who it is" Char whispered to me. He stood up, headed over to the door and called out. "Who is it?"
"Prince Charmont, is that you?" A deep, stern voice bellowed from the other side.
Char momentarily stared blankly at the closed door. "Who's asking?"
"It's me, Eric. The men and I have been looking for you all over Frell. You must come with us at once, you're father requests you back at the castle immediately".
"What's wrong, has something happened?" Char demanded hastily.
"Nothing's wrong, your father just requests you to come back to Lumeah at once"
Char turned around to face me. I just sat there staring back at him as I didn't know what was going on.
"Come with me?" He asked, whispering the words so softly that I actually had to read his lips. Without thinking twice, I nodded my head to indicate yes. He smiled brightly as he turned back to the closed door. "I have someone here who will be traveling with us. Give us a moment to collect our things and we'll be right out".
"As you wish, your majesty" The man responded.
Char turned around and swiftly headed over to my side. I stood up and straightened my robe.
"Eric is my number one guard. He and the others will make sure we arrive safely back to Lumeah"
"Ok…" I said, fiddling with the material cord around my waist.
"Ella, are you certain you want to do this?"
"Yes, of course! I don't really want to stay here all by myself, it's a little creepy"
"Oh, so you just want to get out of here?" Char suddenly turned his back on me. "Well if that's the only reason, then maybe I should take you back to your stepfamily…"
"No!" I blurted out, rushing to his side. "Char, I –" Immediately I stopped myself, as I noticed a sneaky grin appear on his face. I pouted and crossed my arms realising that it was just a trick to get me to confess I wanted to be with him.
Char looked down at me, enjoying the fact that he had me embarrassed. "So, will you be accompanying me?"
I stood silent for a moment, still peeved with him. "Seeing as though you clearly can't live without me… I suppose I'll have to" I confidently spoke up, giving him a satisfied grin.
He rolled his eyes "Ha, ha. Real funny… Now go get changed. We can't very well be seen in these robes"
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to get photographed looking like that!" I teased, rushing into the bathroom just in time before he threw a pillow in my direction.
Once we had both gotten changed out of our robes and back into our damp clothes, we grabbed the key and headed out into the hallway. Eric was impatiently waiting for us, leaning against the wall. He was a solid man, probably in his mid thirties. As he noticed me, he raised an eyebrow and shot Char a concerned look.
"Eric this is Ella, I met her earlier today as she so kindly bandaged my arm"
"I see…" Was all he said before he took the key from Char and headed down the hallway.
Char took my hand and whispered in my ear "He's always been so serious. Never shows much emotion"
"I supposed you can't expect any more than that from a guard" I whispered back.
He smiled and gave my hand a slight squeeze as we followed after Eric. We made our way down the staircase and I noticed nothing much had changed. The room was still full of drunken men talking loudly and acting stupid. Eric placed the key down on the table in front of the lady who had accommodated us. "Won't be needing this after all" He said sternly, walking off towards the front door.
"Thank you very much for your kind hospitality" Char smiled to her.
"Dinner was lovely" I added.
The lady stood there frozen, her eyes fixated on Char. "I can't believe I didn't recognise you earlier. Please forgive me your majesty"
Char nodded awkwardly "It's alright, you're forgiven"
With that, we quickly left the tavern, stepping outside. It was freezing and the wind was blowing wildly, but at least the rain had stopped for the time being. A royal carriage was waiting for us, accompanied by two men on horses. I noticed Flame was also attached to the front of the carriage. Eric opened the door for us.
"Ladies first" Char offered outstretching his arm, motioning for me to step in. I ducked my head and moved over to the right hand side of the carriage, making room for Char. He followed me in and sat beside me. Eric closed the door shut, stepped up on top of the carriage, sat down and took hold of the reins.
"How long does it take to get to Lumeah?" I asked, shivering a little from the cold air, and the fact that my clothes were still damp.
"At least five hours. So make yourself comfortable, it's a long trip" Char said, taking off his jacket and placing it around me.
"Wow, that's quite a long way indeed"
He sighed. "Yeah, my father wanted me to get out and meet the people… It was worth it after all"
I turned my head so I could look at Char. Why is this man – this Prince, being so nice to me? I'm just an ordinary girl… he should be courting some pretty rich girl, not me! I shouldn't be complaining though. He's such a lovely person, so gorgeous…
"Ella, are you alright?" Char questioned with a slight smirk on his face.
I blinked a couple of times, snapping back to reality and gently bit my lower lip in embarrassment.
"Yeah, I was just um… Well, you've kind of got something… here" I said, reaching my hand up and gently brushing his chin, pretending that he had food or something on it.
Char caught my hand before I could take it away, and lightly gave it a kiss as he looked straight into my eyes. He then moved his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.
"You should get some rest, it's quite late" He whispered.
I laid my head against his shoulder and quietly yawned. "Good night Char"
There was a slight pause before he kissed the top of my head. "Good night Ella…"
My eyes were starting to feel very heavy. I brought my legs up on the seat, got comfortable and closed my eyes.
"…I love you" I thought I heard him whisper ever so quietly. I mentally shook my head. Nah, he wouldn't have said that. It was just in my imagination… wasn't it?
A bright golden ray of sunlight was cast over my face. I kept my eyes shut and enjoyed the warm sensation. Somehow I had forgotten that I was in a carriage with Char, and thought I was back in my bed at home. I wriggled my head deeper into my 'pillow' and happily sighed. Hold on… do pillows breathe in and out?
I shot my eyes open immediately and realised my head was resting on Char's stomach. I tried to get up, but something was holding me in place… I turned my head to see Char's arm wrapped firmly around my waist. Slowly, I turned my head towards him to see if he was still asleep. It looked like he was. His eyes were shut and his head was resting awkwardly against the window of the carriage. I couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh. He looked absolutely gorgeous!
All of a sudden his eyes started to flicker open, so I quickly closed mine. I didn't want him to see me starring at him while he slept. His arm around my waist slowly lifted off me and I thought to myself, damn it! Then I felt his finger tips gently tuck some stray bits of hair behind my ear. Ok, I'll act casual and open my eyes. I did, and I saw Char's beautiful smiling face looking down at me.
"Good morning" He beamed.
"Good morning" I replied, slowly sitting up next to him and stretching my arms in front of me.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked.
"Yes I did, thank you" I said, taking his jacket off me and handing it back to him. That was when I noticed the view from outside the carriage window. "Wow!" I exclaimed.
Char turned his head to look out the window as well. "Here we are. Welcome to Lumeah!"