Thank you so much to pumkinking 5, Grace and for their reviews! I really appreciate every time you leave a review and I promise you Grace and enarodowggmail .com, I try my best to keep the updates on some sort of schedule and answer your questions. I have written them up so I don't forget them trust me!
This was supposed to be up on Saturday/Sunday but the whole site had crashed or was super slow. Then I started re-writing the chapter slightly and added bits and pieces making it further delayed. Ups… Sorry! Hope you all enjoy it and feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think!
Friday January 4th 2008
04:30 Etrean time
The alarm I had set the night before woke me up just after four thirty in the morning. A little reluctant I put my feet on the cold floor and got out of the bed, heading for the warmer bathroom, taking a hot shower.
The snow globe I had gotten from Makayla was safely wrapped inside several layers of clothing to prevent it from breaking as I zipped my suitcase shut. There was a soft knock on the door and I walked over opening it.
"You are awake," Troy stated with a small smile and I nodded while trying to conceal a yawn.
"And tired. This is too early," I concluded yawning once more. "Sorry," I muttered and he only smiled as I knew he was not a morning person himself.
"Are you hungry?" he questioned but I shook my head. "Not really," I told him casting a quick glance outside at the snow falling heavily.
"Nervous?" he stated and I nodded.
He knew me all too well by now.
"You don't have anything to worry about. They wouldn't fly if it wasn't safe. Trust me," he reassured me and I was intrigued on how he knew that.
"Oh? It doesn't have something to do about the fact that you're the royal family," I joked but stopped once I saw the look on his face.
"My gosh, that is why!" I exclaimed and I watched as he became a little uncomfortable. "Yeah, they wouldn't risk to end the only form of ruling system in Etrea. That would cause complete havoc," he explained and I was shocked.
"It still seems so surreal," I stated not meeting his eyes. "What about it?" he questioned wrapping me into his arms kissing me on the top of my head. I felt so relaxed and safe wrapped in his arms. I wished this feeling wouldn't go away…
"The castle and your family," I stated looking up at him. "I still have a hard time grasping the fact that you are going to become a king and eventually rule over all of this," I tried to explain and he nodded understandingly. "I understand what you mean," he said but I cut him off.
"How?"
"As I was growing up, until the age of six, I had no idea who I really was. Whenever my parents and grand-parents were traveling abroad they told me that it was work related which really wasn't a lie," he reasoned with me before continuing. "Before I started school my parents told me everything, but I still had a hard time grasping who I really was. I don't think it was until after I meet Marcus that I really grasped and understood who I was. Even after that I understood why I got all the attention I did, but I still hated it," he explained to me and I had a much greater understanding of what he had experienced.
"I'm sorry for doubting you. I should have known," I mumbled but he shook his head.
"Don't'," he told me taking my hand. "I didn't expect you to know. The only other person who knew that story beside my family was Marcus," Troy explained and I had gained a greater understanding, while still having so many questions.
"What did you think when you had to have Ted with you as a kid?" I questioned and he laughed thinking back to some memory he had. "I didn't think he was there because of me. I was just happy that I had him and Maggie as my parents were away," he shared and I had to smile. Despite who he was it truly sounded like Jack and Lucille tried to give him a normal childhood. As much as they were able to due to the circumstances.
"It is already ten past five, we should head downstairs and leave," he told me after looking at his watch. "Yeah, we should" I agreed still wrapped in his arms. I put my hands around his neck and stood up on my toes to give him a kiss on the lips. "Love you too Brie," he said giving me another quick kiss before we grabbed our stuff and headed downstairs. I was surprised when I saw both Troy's parents and grandparents waiting for us in the foyer.
"Are you leaving now?" Amelia questioned looking at her grandson. "Yes we are, so this is a goodbye for now," he said and gave both of them a hug before turning towards his parents.
"Thank you so much for letting me stay here. I had a wonderful time," I told Amelia who smiled softly at me. "I am glad to hear that. It was wonderful to get to meet someone who has made Troy so happy," Amelia said and I knew I were blushing at this point but none of them said anything.
"If you ever find yourself in Etrea in the future we would love for you to come visit," Alexander said and I felt my heart soar with happiness.
"Thank you so much, I would love to visit you all again in the future," I told him honestly and Amelia wrapped me in a hug that I gladly returned.
"It was nice meeting the two of you," I told Lucille and Jack a little more nervous than I had been with Alexander and Amelia. "It was a pleasure to meet you Gabriella and hopefully we will see each other in the future," she said and I just had to smile at her comment. "I truly hope we will. Thank you for everything I had a wonderful time," I told them sincerely and Jack smiled at me.
"I am glad to hear that, I hope I will see you later," he said and I smiled nodding. "I hope so too." I bid my last goodbyes before Troy and I left for the airport our hands intertwined.
As the massive plane was climbing towards its cruising altitude I curled up in the seat with the last couple of chapters from my book.
Looking up at the screen we were now over the North Pacific Ocean on our way towards Los Angeles and I softly closed the book putting it on the table in front of me.
"Troy?" I questioned as I noticed he was looking at something on his phone. "Hm?" he questioned looking up at me.
"What is going to happen to the kittens?" "I spoke with mom and she was going to arrange for them to be adopted. Makayla was going to adopt two and Ted talked about adopting two," he explained.
"Wait, Ted as in your bodyguard?" I questioned raising an eyebrow and he laughed a little. "Yes that Ted," he stated obviously amused by my slight shock.
"That was nice of him," I stated with a slight smile and he nodded. "Didn't you say that he had two kids that were about your age?" I asked and he nodded.
"Three actually but yes."
Our conversation was interrupted by a flight attendant carrying two trays of food placing them in front of us before quietly walking away. "Is it always like that? The awkwardness?"
"That's nothing compared to when my grandfather is in a meeting or something like that. Usually they don't send the new one," he said with a smile and I smiled, despite having a hard time grasping how. Over the course of the holidays I had learned how Troy's family really were and despite having the power over a country they were all so down to earth. After we had eaten breakfast I felt that I had been up early today and curled up to Troy before I fell asleep.
Sadly, I didn't sleep for long as I woke up to two voices talking quietly. Blinking a couple of times my gaze landed on Troy and Ted. As Ted saw me awake he nodded placing something face down on the table before walking away and Troy turned his head to look at me.
"Good morning," he said and I stretched my arms. "Good morning. How long was I asleep?" I wondered.
"Just about half an hour. Did we wake you up?" he questioned concerned and I gave him a soft smile.
"I don't think you did."
"Listen," he started and I frowned slightly, sitting up a little straighter. "It's something bad isn't it?" I asked but his facial expression was unreadable.
"Well…" he started releasing a breath. "It depends. You remember the first time we went out riding?" he questioned and I nodded. "I really didn't want this to happen but somehow we were spotted," he explained and reached for what Ted had placed on the table earlier. It was a magazine.
Dream Magazine the front read in some fancy font.
The picture was of Troy and I sitting on the bench at the viewpoint kissing. Well, you couldn't really see that it was me because, luckily, my back was against the photographer, but you could see that it was Troy. The text boxes on the side read stuff like:
Exclusive! Only in Dream Magazine, has his Royal Highness Troy Bolton finally found someone? And Who is the mysterious lucky girl?
"Wow," was the only thing I managed to say completely stunned. I didn't know how I felt. How did they know we were there at that moment? We didn't see anyone on our way there, nor did we hear anything upon our arrival. It was all so blissful. I thought it was just the two of us. It should have just been the two of us…
"I am so sorry Gabriella." His voice brought me out of my thoughts. "I never wanted this to happen and it shouldn't have happened," he told me, his voice full of regret.
"Please don't blame yourself. I know you never meant for this to happen but at the moment no harm done. It's obvious that they don't know who I am and now we are on our way back to America who's halfway around the world," I explained to him.
"You are probably right but the thing is that they shouldn't have been there in the first place. Can you promise me if it becomes a problem you will tell me at once?"
"I promise Troy. Can I read what it says?" I questioned curiously and he nodded. "Of course," he said handing me the magazine. I quickly scanned the article, but it wasn't that long nor did it contain as many pictures as the front cover suggested.
"Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking," an announcement was heard and I grew nervous. The captain hadn't spoken to us before, which meant that something bad was happening… "We are experiencing some turbulence so please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts and it should be over soon. Thank you," he finished and the seatbelt sign above us flickered on.
"Brie," Troy's soft voice brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at him and his face softened. "You have your seatbelt on?" he questioned and I had to look down to make sure I had. "It's going to be all right, it's just some turbulence and we are safe all right?" he soothed and I managed a small nod of my head. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and brought me as close as he could.
Luckily the turbulence didn't last too long and the rest of the flight was rather uneventful, both of us sleeping a good portion of it. Before I knew it we had touched down in Los Angeles and were taxing towards the smaller airplane that would bring us back to Albuquerque. As we exited the plane this time around I noticed that only a handful of security guards were joining us on the last flight. As the last time, we took a seat in the back section of the plane and waited for it to take us up in the air and back to Albuquerque.
"Miss Montez?" Ted addressed me and I looked at him as he was standing in the doorway. "The driver was wondering if you needed to be dropped off somewhere after we land?" he questioned and I was genuinely surprised and touched about the question.
"No thank you," I declined as politely as I could. "I have made arrangements with my mother and I don't wish to disturb her at this hour," I explained and he nodded with a smile.
"Of course," he said and walked away.
"That was nice," I said and Troy smiled knowingly. "What?" I questioned confused. "I am sorry to be blunt, if that is what you say, but Ted is the one driving," he said and I felt stupid.
"How could I be so naïve?" I muttered burying my head in my hands. "No, don't say that. You couldn't know, this is your first time after all," he defended and it made me feel somewhat better.
04:30 am American mountain time –Albuquerque-
"Here we are," Troy stated and closed the door behind me. "Did you enjoy the trip?" he questioned and I couldn't do anything else than smile.
"I had a great time Troy. It was a little rocky at times, but that is always how I imagined these large family gatherings. I was just happy that I got invited and most of your family was so accepting," I stated.
"That's good. I was a little nervous to be honest but it went much better than I thought. By the way, when is Maria picking you up?" he questioned. "I said I just wanted to call her after we got home, and I knew more. It won't be for a couple of hours at least. I'm so tired," I stated. "Let's just leave everything here and head to bed. We can figure it out later," he stated and it sounded like a wonderful idea at the moment.
"Hey hija," mom greeted me as she picked me up from Troy just after noon. "Did you have a good time?" she questioned hugging me. "I did," I confirmed before turning to Troy.
"I'll see you at school on Monday?" I asked. "Yeah, see you then," he said with a nod of his head. We said our goodbyes and I sat down in my mom's car as she drove home.
"So how was it?" she wondered as she was making some lunch a little later on. "It was fun. His family was really great and rather welcoming. At dinner, on Christmas eve we were seventeen people I believe but on New Year's eve it was just his parents, us and both of his grandparents," I shared. "I really came along great with his cousin Makayla but not so much with her twin brother Calvin. I don't know why though, maybe because I got on so well with Makayla and not him?" I questioned to myself.
"I don't know hija, but it sounds like you had a lot of fun. What did they think about the recipe book?" she asked. "They loved it. Oh, that reminds me. I got a snow globe from Makayla. I can show you it later," I said to her and she smiled. "That was thoughtful of her," mom remarked.
Then the dreaded questioned came to my mind, and I figured I had to ask her sooner rather than later. "Mom?" I started nervously and she turned towards me. "Yes?" she questioned taking her coffee cup, taking a seat on the opposite side.
"How would you feel if I studied abroad next year?" I asked and watched as her facial expression quickly changed from surprise to a small smile. "Well, then I were wondering where you thought about," she said and I felt a little more relaxed. She didn't reject the idea completely… Yet.
"Etrea," I stated. "There was one specific college that I looked at and they accept and encourage international students to apply," I told her waiting for a reaction. "I am a little surprise, but I think I expected something like this to happen. What is the name of the school?" she questioned and I felt more relieved. "Royal College of Etrea."
"Does it have something to do with the fact that Troy is applying there?" she questioned with a knowing smile. "No, not exactly but it did influence my decision. I have looked at their website and done some research and I learned that there are way more applicants than places. I want to send in an application, but I doubt that I will get accepted," I explained to mom who had a smile on her face.
"It is true and you will forever wonder if you never tried, so yes do it, but you are still applying for schools here in America right?" she questioned looking at me. "Of course," I hurried to say. "I have sent an application to Yale, Stanford, University of Albuquerque, and Berkeley," I confirmed and she smiled.
"Good. When is the deadline?" she questioned. "February 1st but I sort of already started," I admitted and she smiled. "Thank you mom," I said and got up to give her a hug. "No problem hija. Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."
So a rather long chapter since this is delayed *cough* again *cough* Please tell me what you think in a review! Love hearing all your comments and ideas!
-FreeFlyingWriter