2019, March 4th "Sorry I'm such a mess. I didn't really think it through when I left," she said, biting her lip. He wanted to laugh at her, at the very different thoughts they had about her appearance, but swallowed a chuckle. "You look lovely, Lady Zoey," he flattered boldly. She frowned in disbelief, then quickly corrected herself and pasted a smile on her face. This time, he did laugh. It was a short one, but he couldn't stop it slipping out. Her eyes warmed to the sound of his laughing and she smiled, for real this time. Oh his heart, oh that smile. Something had changed. The feeling of familiarity was now more than just a feeling. He dared not hope, but he could swear that she had lowered her guard and he his own. They had, in a moment, become comfortable. "Good evening, Your Grace. Would the lady like something to drink?" the waiter interrupted. "A glass of red wine, please," she smiled pleasantly. "No," he said instantly. "Weren't you the one that wanted to have a drink?
2018, December 4th (5 minutes to sunset) As Aaron set Zoey down in front of the gates of the Arden residence, he knew his opinion of Zoey had changed. She was still exactly what he had pictured: innocent to a fault, lacking in experience and sure to have a difficult time as a royal. But there were other things too, like the way she crossed her legs when she ate ice-cream on that bench like she was at home. Or the way she claimed her name as an Arden and demanded to have the gates opened. Zoey had her own way of doing things and was skilled in getting what she wanted. "One future princess home on time," he smiled, pulling some leaves out of her hair. He locked his hands behind his back, afraid that old habits would betray him to her even more before asking, "So, lunch tomorrow?" Zoey thought for a moment. She knew what she had done today wasn't a feasible plan. She had no money and all her belongings were still in a room behind those gates. So maybe she was going to be stuck here
2018, December 4th "Why so tense, Bart?" a voice asked, seeming to come from nowhere. Bart was immediately alert. No guests had been announced. Who was this intruder? "Calm down, I come in peace," she said, appearing before him. Bart took her in. She was dressed in an over the top, probably highly fashionable, baby blue wrap dress. His eyes lingered on the sash a moment too long before his eyes finally met with hers. "CC," he sighed, relieved. "In the flesh," she giggled. "So, what do we got? What's the 4-1-1?" "Did Aaron send you?" "No one sends CC anywhere. I was merely made aware that you might need a little help dealing with the old people." She slipped past him like it was nothing. Bart sighed and re-entered the house after her. "So, he sent the master manipulator, huh? What are you playing at, Aaron? Where the hell are you?" "Daddy! Mama!" CC yelled, throwing her arms out. "My dear, sweet girl!" Queen Mary returned. "Is that Caroline Condor?!" Duke Arden asked in del
2019, March 5th Aaron went to James' newly acquired mansion. He searched the Arden mansion; he had gone to a million different places that wouldn't or couldn't tell him if his brother was currently staying there. King Henry had men out looking for his sons too, making it even more difficult to try and find James or Zoey. What was the point of being a crown prince if you couldn't at least find out this much? Dawn was creeping up on him slowly, as though mocking his tired efforts. Aaron was growing desperate. He was just about to call his father and tell him about James and Zoey when Jesse received a call. "We have a live one, Your Highness," said an equally tired Jesse, though he seemed to be carrying his hours better. After the first two hours had passed without result, Aaron had called in his assistant, Jesse. Jesse's eyes went wide, shock registering on his face. "Are you sure about this?" "What?! What is it?!" "Okay, thanks for the info." Jesse hung up. "Have you found the
2019, March 5th James opened the door fully and pulled the bell boy standing on his doorstep into the room. He planned ahead for the wedding, before he decided not to go through with it after all. He didn't remember this young man being a part of the staff he had handpicked to be present. James' head felt like it was splitting open as bits and pieces of his memory came back. "Why were you at my wedding?!" James demanded. "I never asked for you to be there." Fear was now swimming in the tears the bell boy was making. "I'm really sorry, Sir! A friend of mine asked me a few hours prior to be on the lookout for Your Grace and the Lady," he said shakily, his eyes darting to Zoey. "What friend?" James asked, involuntarily forming a fist with his right hand. This only served to terrify the bell boy even more. "What friend?!" he screamed, slamming the door shut with his fist. "James!" Zoey yelled. He whipped his head around and what he found was a glass of water poured over his newfo
2018, December 4th and 5th (Aaron and Zoey on Height of Caines) No matter how he wished it differently, Aaron knew that inevitably things had to end. Time had to start again. He pulled away from her eager mouth. She wasn't in her right mind. Things had gone far enough. Listening to her laboured breaths, he took her hand and turned her around slowly so that her back was facing him. He laid his chin on her shoulder, bringing both of his arms to rest around her waist. When she opened her eyes, Zoey saw the whole of Caines lit up and spread out before her. "Wow, it's breath-taking." He'd gotten her to smile. "Where we are, it's called Height of Caines. It's not usually a view you almost die for, but it's pretty cool. Figured you should at least get to see it after your crazy ride up here," he said, an edge to his voice. "You're not still mad at me, are you?" she asked, leaning into him and letting herself relax as the cool breeze caressed her entire body. Maybe it was because she h
2018, December 4th and 5th As people filed into the palace's grand ballroom, CC and Aaron were seated on either side of their parents. CC took the time to accept every birthday wish and gift graciously, as was the duty of a princess. She stunned with the new tiara from her parents topping her high updo in her classical ice blue ball gown, with a sleeveless bodice studded in blue sapphires. Aaron's gift, a pair of blue diamond earrings, hung from her ears and complimented the dress perfectly. The compliments to CC took so long and were so plentiful that Aaron was getting impatient. Aaron already knew his sister was beautiful. He had seen her all dolled up a million times. The woman he wanted to see had yet to appear. He raised his head up to look for her in the queue of people coming to pay their respects and this is how Aaron was surprised by the appearance of another woman he should have braced himself for. "Princess Caroline, many returns on your 18th birthday," said Emily. Aaron
2019, March 5th (Zoey and James on the road) Zoey's eyes opened to an ominous conversation. James was talking to someone on the phone in hushed tones. "I said I'm handling it. Tell Lady Cassandra that I will be back when I'm back," he said, abruptly ending the call. Zoey yawned. "What was that about?" "Give me your phone," James said, holding out his hand. "What? Why?" "Give me your phone or get out of my car." "Charming as ever," she said, handing him her phone. He pulled out a burner phone and, after fidgeting with the two for some time, promptly tossed her phone out of the window. "Hey! What the hell?!" "It's got GPS, can be tracked." "So you just tossed it out of the car?!" "There's a bar up ahead. We'll take a little break there." "That was my phone!" "Yeah, it was also a way for them to find us." Zoey pouted. "That phone was my only way of staying in touch with my mom and Bart. Plus, I hadn’t saved the wedding photos to the cloud yet!" James sighed. "Good! You
(Sartis Est: Some time ago)It was over, at least in real time. In her head, it was still ongoing. She was still imagining the agony, the fear her brother and parents and thousands of her people had experienced when they were blown to bits. Even as she watched her country still alight, still burning while what was left of her people worked tirelessly to put it out, she was kneeling in the dirt and the ashes to receive the crown, her father’s crown. A crown that was never supposed to touch her red-haired head. She remembered her father’s strict words to her brother every time he showed that he was hurt or wanted to cry. “Tears are not for monarchs,” he’d say and Ethan, her brother, would immediately stop crying, like it was a switch he’d just flipped.She kept saying the words to herself like a mantra, softly so that only she could hear them. When the other side’s surrender came, she gave the order to annihilate them. What good was their surrender now? Her entire family was dead and s
(8 Months Later)Their loved ones had, at last, convinced James that it was time to take Zoey on their honeymoon. King Henry had managed to detain the newlyweds for far too long, both he and James recognizing that he had a lot to learn about the ins and outs of what exactly being a prince entailed. Since James wanted to be with his wife and involve her as much as possible in his life, his world, even if that meant that they spent a lot of their time together working, Zoey was always with him, picking up the tricks of the trade along the way. They even managed to make it look romantic somehow, stealing little moments wherever they could, disappearing when they could. So their marriage wasn’t exactly on the rocks, but they had earned some time to just be with each other, like they’d always wanted. They had been gone for two weeks when the news that the palace would be having a new guest reached them. “Your worry lines are showing, Jamie,” said Zoey, wrapping her arms around his neck
2019, March 31st & April 1stShe was like a woman on a mission, running her fingers all over his body, touching his face with her eyes closed, like she was mapping him out for future use. He just watched her, letting her words settle into his heart. Her touch comforted him, made him feel loved, like he had all her attention. Maybe he was just letting it all go to his head, but he didn't care. As far as he was concerned, they were forever now. They really were a bunch of besotted fools. She was absolutely out of her mind for him and he for her and nothing and no one was going to change that."I love you too, James Beaumont, Condor, whomever," she whispered, as she watched him fall asleep. She had seen the questions in his eyes, the concern. Maybe she had taken on more than she could handle. There was peace in his eyes too when he picked her up afterwards, though. That moment that he looked at her and seemed to believe, seemed to realize that she was never going anywhere again, she wou
2019, March 31st & April 1st(Eleganter Ludo) When Zoey and James got to the penthouse around 3 AM, they were exhausted. But the goodbyes had been so emotional that they ended up just staring at the wall. “Having second thoughts?” he asked.“Nope. Are you?” she asked back.“Nope.”“Are you lying?”“Yes.”“Me too.” In a bid to make him and herself feel better, Zoey got up, put some music on, went into the bedroom and put the emerald dress he’d so lovingly saved on. “Dance with me?” she said, holding onto the skirt of the dress. He smiled at her. She had no idea what this gesture meant to him. “I never thought I’d see that dress again,” he said, pulling her into his arms, just holding on tight for a moment. “Do you know why I took it off of you that night?” he asked, as he began to gently sway to the music, moving with her. “You don't have to tell me,” she answered gently, looking down.There was hurt in his eyes, just like the moment he had taken it off of her that night. He
2019, March 31st & April 1st(Caines - palace)By the time James and Zoey showed up in Caines, it was already midnight. Feeling like they were about to betray everyone, James and Zoey were squeezing each other’s hands tightly as they sat in front of King Henry and Cassandra. “So, you’ve decided then,” said King Henry. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. I’m taking Zoey on our honeymoon,” James said, kissing her hand. “Where to?” Cassandra asked, her face a mixture of happiness and concern. “We don’t know yet. We’re just going to go,” Zoey answered. King Henry was furious, but he said nothing. Cassandra sighed. “Well, make sure to take lots of pictures and enjoy every moment and check in-”“Damn it, he’s only 19, James!” Henry exploded. “And your sister, she can’t take a crown, not after what happened with her mother. You know how she is; she’s absolutely set on that boy.” “Henry, they’ve made up their minds,” Cassandra said gently. Zoey and James exchanged looks. She did know,
2019, March 31st & April 1stJames had been driving Zoey around all day on his brand-new motorbike. He thought he would have to get her one too and then thought better of it. He liked the feel of her against his back as he drove it, her arms around his waist. They’d been all over Copia. He took her to markets and what he considered to be a better painting class than what she'd been taking. He took her to beautiful clearings and showed her breath-taking flower fields and secret coves he’d found while walking on the beach for hours. The bathing suit she had shown up in last time she wanted a beach day was of course forbidden, but then the wetsuit she had ended up in didn’t make men stop and stare any less. It drove him crazy. He showed her absolutely everything he could think of.Finally, as the sun was setting, he took her up to his favourite tower of Beaumont house and showed her his favourite spot in his city. The sunset, the view, the warmth and safety of his arms, all of it, made
2019, March 30th & 31st"Leave my son be, Henry. He's happy. For the first time in his life, he looks unburdened," she said, her voice becoming unsteady as she showed him the pictures Bart and Aaron had collected of the newlyweds. There wasn't a single one in which they didn't look happy, truly, beyond a shadow of a doubt happy, even as they fled from place to place. They looked something like she and Henry had in the beginning. Always touching in some way or another, stealing secret glances and kisses and sharing not so secret ones. Forgetting the world and making their own. "He'll call, he always calls. We have a rule about going off of the grid. We always call within 24 hours. He's probably just-" Cassandra's phone rang. Sure enough, it was James. “Hi honey,” she answered, working hard to steady her voice. “Ma? What’s wrong?” “Nothing. I just had something cold to drink, that’s all.” “Sure you did,” he answered suspiciously. But as James was calling his mother while watchin
2019, March 30th & 31st Zoey woke up to the sound of the shower running. She picked up his shirt off of the floor and pulled it over her shoulders. Most of the wedding night was still a blank to her, but one tiny piece of memory stuck with her and she wanted to see if it was still there. She knew he had had something similar made for her for the Duchess’ Welcome, but that one seemed new somehow. That night, Zoey had woken up midway through James struggling to get her wedding dress off, felt the zipper go down and watched him as he hung it up. She wished she remembered the way he did, or at least remembered a better memory, like the actual wedding. This one memory hurt too much to have. She opened the closet door and there it was, not quite as beautiful as the new modified version, but still as radiant as the night she’d worn it. “I guess you do remember some things after all,” he said, watching her touch the dress nostalgically. She didn’t freak out that he was fresh out of th
2019, March 29thIt was barely a whisper, barely a whimper, but he heard her. He heard her give him her heart, truly and completely. James took a firm hold of her hips and slammed into her, entering her hard and fast. She cried out his name in pain. Sorry that he'd hurt her by being greedy and selfish and impatient, he rolled them back over and pulled out of her slowly, thrusting back in just as carefully, much gentler this time. He hadn't meant to be so rough; he just couldn't quite contain himself. She said the words, and he had to have her, had to make her his, be hers.Zoey's face relaxed into contentment. She was happy that he'd finally taken her, made her his in every way. It didn't matter that he'd hurt her a little, because the rest was pure pleasure, because her heart had never felt so full.They stared at each other as they went at it, painfully slowly at first. But he lost the battle, went back to being impatient and overly eager, didn't want to miss a single chance to make