The Wings of the Beautifully Fallen

Chapter 9: Illiana

Chapter 9: Illiana

The cold water slid down my neck as the rest splattered on my back. Memories of the times with my siblings flashed in my eyes as I jumped, stepping away in surprise, and turning to see Prince Reginald standing there, smiling, drops of water slipping from his fingers. He bent forward again, his hand sliding into the water, the ripples exploding from his hand and crashing into the walls of the fountain.

"No." I whispered, my hands shooting out in front of me as his hand exploded from the surface of the water once more, his deep laughter ringing in my ears. A shriek of surprise slipped from my lips, my head turning away as the water sprayed the side of my face and the front of my chest. I bit back the laughter that threatened to come, unwilling to show him who I really was. I could not seem so-

Water landed again and I could not hold it in. A small giggle escaped from me as I pulled backwards, my hands covering my face.

"There we go!" Prince Reginald shouted out, his voice filled with amusement as he stood a few feet away from me, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Come on, now. Or are you going to allow me to continue splashing you?" His hand shot out of the water once more and, this time, I did not stay still.

My feet carried me away, slipping around the fountain, avoiding the water that he threw at me. He raced after, his laughter echoing in my ears. I heard him as his hand crashed into the water and I dodged the splash again. Jerking myself around, I shoved my hand in the water and, without thinking of the consequences, pulled my hand upwards, shoving the water at him. It hit him square in the face, blinding him and his hand shot up to wipe the water away.

But I did not move out of the way fast enough. His body collided with mine, sending us both sprawling on the ground. I could feel as Prince Reginald's hands slide around my waist, pulling me close to him in mid-fall, his chest pressing against mine as he slid between the ground and I. My head slammed against his chest as our bodies collided with the floor and his warm arms tightened around me.

"Are you injured?" He demanded, his voice soft and full of worry. I looked up at him, his eyes staring down at me. I nodded once and he sighed in relief, his hands slipping away from my side. "I promise, this was not my intention. I was just trying to get you to loosen up a bit." I blinked at him in confusion before glancing down and realizing that I was laying on top of him. My head and hands resting on his torso and the rest of my in between his legs. My cheeks burned brightly as I shoved myself up and away.

How could I? How could I have lost myself? Fallen for this? This was exactly what he wanted, despite what he said. It had to be. My gaze slid over to his, the worry swam in his eyes and I found myself relaxing, despite myself. No one had ever looked at me like that. With worry. My siblings did, but it was different too. Because there was more than worry, there was blame as well. He blamed himself for what had happened even though he claimed he had not meant to. But that was wrong, was it not? It had to be. I knew it did. But it did not seem to fit anymore. Not with him.

Was he different then what the others would be? If I was forced to marry him, would he still care? Would he still worry like that?

"I do hope you were not injured." He sighed, pushing himself up and walked towards me and knelt beside me. His hand brushed against my cheek, his thumb stroked it and, instinctively, I just pulled back. Away from him.

A gasp of pain exploded inside of me as the middle of my body was ravaged with it. My arms tightened around me, holding my middle as if hoping the pain would go away. The bandages from earlier stopped most of the pain, other than the mundane part of it, until now. When I jerked back from surprise, the pain flared up.

"Princess Illiana!" Prince Reginald's voice shouted, his hands sliding around my shoulders, tightening around them. My eyes watered with pain and he sighed, his thumb once more stroking my cheek as he brushed away the tears. "Where does it hurt, Princess?"