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Chapter 4

Being Lonely as I Am

Bella

When I woke up, it was already bright. The sun was actually shining on my bed and it was pleasantly warm. I sighed comfortably and stretched. Then I looked around and James was standing in the middle of the room, smiling.

"Good morning, Your Highness," he said softly.

"Good morning, James," I said. "What time is it?", I asked.

"A little after nine, my Princess."

"Oh ...", I breathed. I slept that long extremely rarely.

I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Went to the toilet, brushed my teeth, put my hair up and took a long shower.

Edward. Hmm ... he hadn't been as pushy as I had expected. And rather gentle. If it stayed that way, I could begin to like him. His kisses had been gentle, tender, and truly beautiful. If only he would learn to let me decide, then it would be perfect. I found him likeable and pleasant. But I wouldn't make it that easy for him. I wanted to be conquered and not overrun - that much was clear.

I got out of the shower and wrapped myself in a bath towel.

Hmm ... what would I wear? Would James have fresh underwear for me?

A white fluffy bathrobe hung on the door.

I dried myself and put it on. Then I went back to my room.

"Do you have any fresh underwear here for me?", I asked sheepishly.

"Yes, my Princess, I have had the cupboards filled. Please choose what you don't like and I'll have it put away. I hope it all fits," he said, and it actually sounded a bit anxious.

He was so sweetly concerned about me.

He opened the closet doors and I was speechless. The closet was full of clothes.

When should I wear all this?

I looked at everything one by one.

"Can I really clean out what I don't like?", I asked.

"Of course, Your Highness," he said.

I cleared out everything that was green and brown. I wouldn't wear that, it wouldn't be mine. I looked closely at red and yellow clothes and got rid of most of them. Then I removed all the synthetic fabrics.

"I only wear cotton or sometimes silk, though I could almost never afford it," I told him. "And I hate brown and green and almost never wear red or yellow," I explained and he nodded.

Now it was more overseeable.

I reached for a white skirt. It was very long, tight at the top and then getting wider, beautiful. With it I found a pink blouse.

I felt them.

Silk - oh ... what a dream. She matched it. Also beautiful. Underwear. Oh, everything with lace, cotton, silk, beautiful lingerie.

I took white so that it did not shone through the skirt.

"I couldn't get shoes in the short time," James said apologetically, "we'll have to make up for that, my Princess."

In the bottom of the closet were my sneakers. In one compartment were socks. I just put on white socks, that would do in here.

The door opened and the girl came in to bring my breakfast.

"Thank you," I said to her.

She startled and winced, and promptly my glass fell off the tray and shattered on the floor. She quickly put the tray down, bent down and began to collect the shards.

At the same time she whispered cursing and desperate, I could hardly understand it but it sounded like: "... disculpa, perdone ... maldita la gracia ..." ("... excuse me, I'm sorry ... damn the grace ... ")

I went up to her and asked, "Hablas espanol?" ("You speak Spanish?")

She winced, cut herself on a shard, looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Si!" ("Yes!")

James approached anxiously.

"You don't need to talk to her, Your Highness. She can clean it up and go!" he said to me.

I glared at him.

In Spanish, I told the girl to leave the broken pieces and come with me.

I led her into my bathroom and she looked around anxiously for James. I washed her hand carefully and looked to see if there were any splinters in the wound, but there was nothing. I found Band-Aids in the mirrored closet, dried her hand and put the Band-Aid on the cut. Then we went back to the room.

I instructed her in Spanish to get a hand brush, because it would be stupid to pick up broken pieces with bare fingers.

She nodded, bowed, ran away and came back shortly after to clean up.

Then she looked at me, bowed and said, "Le doy mis gracias mas expresivas!" ("I give you my most expressive thanks!")

"Con mucho gusto!" ("With pleasure!") said I.

With an anxious look at James, she left my room.

I just got dressed and James discreetly turned around. When I opened my hair and wanted to comb it, he asked if he could do it and I let him have the pleasure. I liked it too.

When had I ever been treated so caringly?

Then I looked at the breakfast.

Coffee ... oh yes.

I drank a coffee with pleasure and then ate a roll with jam. There was even fruit, I ate that too.

James watched me and his look was kind of ... hmm ... loving. The guy was really cute. Now I was sitting there ... and now? Should I now sit around non-stop and wait for the Master?

James seemed to guess my thoughts.

"He has given permission for you to enter his chambers, Your Highness," he said.

Hmm ... that was exciting.

"Is he there?", I asked.

"No, my Princess."

"Where is he?"

"They all have normal jobs. Back there, that huge building - that's where they work. The Master is a lawyer and has his office there. His father is a doctor and has a surgery ..."

"But don't people notice the eyes' color?" I asked curiously.

"The Master uses contact lenses or sunglasses. The king, his father, drinks only animal blood, so he doesn't have the problem," James said.

I curiously rose and went to the door, opened it and entered a huge living room. The room was very tastefully decorated. On one wall there were endless bookshelves.

Oh ... my heart beat faster.

To one side stood his desk and next to it a white grand piano.

Oh ... a Schimmel, beautiful.

In one corner there was a set of seats made of white leather, CD shelves, TV and co. In the middle of the room was a large table with a candle and a bouquet of flowers. Next to it was a chessboard. I went closer. It was made of marble, with heavy little marble pieces. I smiled and made the first move.

Maybe I could challenge him to a game?

There were three doors. One led safely into the palace. I opened another and stepped into his bathroom - it looked like mine. Only his personal things were there. I suppressed the urge to sniff his perfume.

Behind the other door was his bedroom.

A large bed with blue bedding.

There was a picture hanging on the wall. I went closer.

"Oh ... Dali!", I said in amazement. "The permanence of memory!", I said.

That was the name of the picture.

I looked at the melting clock.

"Is that the original, James?", I asked.

"Yes, my Princess!" he said.

Wow ..., I thought.

Otherwise, there was still a table. Over a chair hung his T-shirt from last night. I went over and just had to touch it. I smelled it.

Hmm ... it smelled good, like him.

James smiled.

"You like him, Your Highness?" he asked.

I pondered.

"Hmm ... maybe. He's already attractive and smells damn good. And he can kiss, too. But he also scares me. If he stays as funny as he was last night and as slow, then I could imagine it."

I smiled.

James smiled back.

"That would make me happy, for him as well as for you. In principle, he is a good man," he said.

"James, I think he can't read my thoughts. He asked me what I was thinking and seemed quite annoyed. I've also often thought things that I guarantee he would have reacted to if he had heard it."

James was amazed.

"That would be strange. It's never happened before that he couldn't read a person's thoughts, Your Highness," he explained.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'll test it again!", I said.

I went back to the living room.

First to the grand piano.

"Can I touch it?", I asked.

"I'm sure you do, my Princess," James said.

I sat down on the piano stool and tenderly stroked the wood.

Such a beautiful and expensive grand piano.

I lifted the lid and touched the keys soundlessly.

I just had to play and hear how he sounded - hopefully no one felt disturbed.

I just played on it.

The music flowed out of my head into my hands ... the 'Ballade Pour Adeline'. That was good. Music always did me good.

Carefully, I put the lid back down.

James watched me with fascination.

Now I examined the bookshelf.

Oh ... madness. There were a lot of old books and a lot of many that I knew. Jayne Eyre! Tess! Pride and Prejudice! Shakespeare's sonnets! What a beautiful collection.

"Can I use the books?", I asked.

James nodded.

I pulled out 'Tess.

An original edition. Here one could not get out of the amazement. How beautiful.

I put the book on the coffee table.

Then I looked at the music collection.

He had a lot of classical but also modern ... a healthy mix. David Garrett.

I put the CD in and turned the sound down quite low. Then I sat down on the sofa and began to read reverently in the book.

At one point James said, "Your Highness, I hate to bother you, but lunch is here."

Hmm ... I was not really very hungry. But okay, I would see what there was.

I put the book on the table and went over to my room. My bed was made, the room tidy.

There was rice, vegetables, meat. Fortunately, separately.

"James, I almost always eat vegetarian. Maybe you could cancel the meat?"

"As you wish, Princess Magnolia!" he said.

I ate and it tasted good. I put the water and the glass on the table and hoped that the girl would leave it. Then I went back into the living room and put on a new CD.

'Yiruma'. Oh yes.

In a happy mood, I continued to read the book. At some point I snuggled up on the sofa.

I was tired again and fell asleep while reading.