The Runaway Royal

The Runaway Royal - Chapter 7

I walked out of my closet, fully clothed this time. Tristen stood smirking by the door outside. Earlier this would've bugged me, but now? Eh, who am I kidding? It still bugs me.

"What are you smirking about?" I asked, trying to hold the exasperation out of my voice.

"You have a visitor." he said, mimicking  one of the messengers thick Russian accent. My face brightened, but then sank. Katie wasn't coming until tomorrow.

"Char-lay!" Katie's energetic round face popped out from behind Tristen. Forget emails faulty miscommunications. 

"Kat-ay!" I screamed, causing Tristen to wince and hold his ear.

"Ow, my earbuds! I think I'm deaf."

"If you were deaf, you wouldn't be talking right now, Smart One."

"Not true. Some deaf people-"

"Aha! You could hear what I said! You're not deaf! You're not deaf!" I chanted triumphantly, Katie laughed and Tristen rolled his eyes. I was so happy that Katie was here that I couldn't help turning into an eight-year old. I linked arms with my best friend and pulled her out into the lavishly decorated hallway.

"Tristen and I were about to go riding." I informed her, taking a right that led us to the servant stairs. When we were younger, Katie, Joey, Tristen and I would use the servants entrances as escape routes from crazy royals and paparazzi. She nodded happily.

"Fire and Ice still here?" I turned to Tristen hoping that he could answer Katie's question about the horses that we had named when we were younger. Tristen shrugged.

"I don't know. I got here the same day as you Char."

"Guess we'll find out, won't we?" I said, pushing open the heavy wooden door to the cool outside. I breathed in the fresh air and the smell of wildflowers, enjoying every minute of it. The perfumed air had been another great thing Tecelly. I smiled to myself and ran joyfully over the manicured lawns to the barn. We climbed over the high wood fence and jumped down in a cloud of dust.

I continued running and didn't stop until I reached the stables where I hoped Fire and Ice would be waiting.

"Hello?" I called into the still barn. I heard a horse move but nothing else. It was eerily quiet in there and I moved closer to Tristen.

"James?" The old stable keeper had always been a good friend of ours. Tristen took a step and I followed. I looked around at the old wood stalls. Names of horses were carved onto an arch over the stall and medals and trophys were displayed on a shelf that protruded from the space next to the door.

"Fire!" I said happily as I saw my horses's stall and the reddish-brown horse inside. He looked up and I couldn't help but notice that his coat was dull and his eyes held a vacant look that I didn't like. I looked into his feed bucket and saw that it had no fodder. The water was missing from his water barrel as well. An inspection of the rest of the stalls showed the same results. Something wasn't right. Why hadn't James feed or watered the horses? He was a great stable manager and loved horses.

"Something's not right here." Katie said, putting my thoughts into words. "James is usually really good with the horses and wouldn't let them go for this long of a time without water and food. I'm going to go check the tack room and see what's up." I nodded and grabbed some more hay and filled up another horse's feed bucket.

"There you go Che-" I was cut off by Katie's yell.

"Charlie! Tristen! Come quickly!"

I dropped my hay and saw Tristen drop his hose. We ran towards the tack room. I flung open the door to be met with a gory sight. James was on the floor, his throat slit. Blood was everywhere and Katie was standing back, her head down. I gasped and backed up, feeling like i was going to puke and cry at the same time. My throat got clogged with my mixed emotions and I coughed hard, feeling Tristen's pat on my back. I retched, much to my disgust and looked up tears streaming down my face.

Katie looked over at me sympathetically and for the first time, I realized that she was holding something. She reached out and handed me a note. I stepped back, away from the stale blood smell that was making my stomach churn and read; "We were serious. Next time it will be you. Give up the crown!" It was signed "your Haters." I shivered and stepped closer to Tristen, looking over my shoulder. Tristen noticed and put his arms around me and mumered in my ear, "I got you. It's going to be okay."

I smiled at his words and straightened, making my spine uncurl. "I don't know about you guys but the James' body is kinda freaking me out." I said, trying to hold back the tears that I should've just let flow."You guys want to go and tell the guards about this?"

I glanced over at James and felt a pang of sadness. Never again would I hear the elderly stable master's call throughout the stalls. Never would I hear his hourly lectures on the proper way for tacking a horse. The list went on forever. I felt a more tears slide down my cheeks and I tried to hold back the sudden urge to burst into sobs.

Katie, seeing my predicament, quickly said, "Yeah, sounds good. Let's go." I smiled gratefully at her and turned to go, Tristen carrying me all the way.

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I walked back from the guard's house feeling completely drained. Seeing a dead body and receiving death threats were not good on a girl. I smiled tiredly to myself, fantasizing about spa treatments and an hour long massage.

"Char!" Tristen's yell startled me and I jumped into the air.

"Jeez Tristen! Don't you know better to not startle someone when they're lost in thought?"

"Just thought that you would rather be lost in my eyes, baby."

"Har-Har-Har. Where do you get your lines? www.cheesypickuplinesfordummies.com?"

"Oh, so know you think I'm a dummy."

"Don't think it babe. KNOW it."

"Then you don't have a brain if you know that I'm a dummy, because I'm not."

"The only one around here who doesn't have a brain would be you."

He didn't respond right and I turned towards him, only to be met by a wall of strong, hard chest pushing me to the ground. I fell to the ground and felt Tristen's weight pushing me down. I looked up into his face and saw the fear and worry etched across his face. I faintly heard the sound of breaking glass, but my eyes were captured by Tristen's eyes. As I stared into them, they crinkled in the corners, smiling at me. I smiled slightly back and he crashed his lips against mine. I smiled and pressed myself closer to him. After a few minutes of bliss, I pulled back, remembering the glass sound.

"Tristen what was that sound?" I asked,  trying to push him off of me. 

He smirked at my attempt to push him off of me. I glared at him and then pulled him closer, smiling wickedly as a plan came over me. He stared at me perplexed before giving in to my lips. As soon as his lips met mine, his grip on me loosened, letting our mouths hold us together. It was then I acted. I pushed him off of me and stood up.

"You're so getting paid back for that." Tristen said, standing and frowning at me. I would've smirked back and said something witty; if I wasn't so busy staring at the flowerpot inches away from where I'd been standing. Tristen, noticing my scared face, turned to see the flowerpot. He chuckled nervously and pulled me away from it. He pushed me onto the garden path that wound it's way through the royal gardens. But not before I saw the note in his pocket.

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A/N- seemed like a good spot to end it so I did. :) vote if you like it, comment to tell me what you thought and fan to get messages of when I upload!! Thanks to all my amazing readers and fans who actually read and comment/vote!! Seriously means alot to me guys.