The Prince and the Slave: Book Three

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

William rubbed his eyes and stretched, still sat in the same chair from the night before. He massaged his stiff neck as he smiled over at the bed, expecting to see the raised shape of Abey under the covers.

He stood up. The bed was empty and the covers flung open. "Abey?" He called, crawling onto the bed and frantically sifted through the heavy covers, wondering if maybe she had been lost amongst the blankets.

It was only when he heard a small groan and look over the side of the bed did he find where Abey was. She on the floor, she had obviously just been asleep and was now rousing herself.

"Good Morning, Master" She said mechanically, her eyes not yet fully open and her mind not fully awake. She sat up and winced, placing a hand on her bandaged ribs as William slid off the bed to sit on the floor next to her.

"Abey, why are you calling me 'Master'? It's me, William." He said gently, stroking her hair as she focused her eyes on him. She stared at him for a moment, as if trying to decide if he was real or not, before throwing her arms around him and hugging him closely, ignoring the pain in her sides.

William laughed with relief and returned the hug."Forgot" she said, "Dream". She was still finding it hard to string proper sentences together, but felt she was able to become more articulate with the words she chose. William nodded and rubbed a hand over her back.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor, Abey?" He asked, concern written across his face.

"Slave. Floor. Sleep. Bed. Wrong. Slave." She said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

William pulled away from the hug and held Abey's face in his hands, the concern growing on his face.

"No." He told her "Floor sleep wrong. Bed sleep right. Person not dirt. Okay?" He appealed to her. She smiled and let out a small chuckle at the way he was mimicking her.

"Okay" She nodded, and laughed again as William grinned and pulled her face towards his, kissing her once before leaping to his, holding out his hands and helping Abey shakily to her feet.

"Now, dressed breakfast" he grinned at her, before leaving her to make her back to the familiar chest behind the familiar screen. He quickly changed himself then sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her to reappear. Eventually, she did, already looking more like the girl he remembered, in her comfortable work clothes, but refusing to wear any shoes. He stood up and went to open the door ahead of Abey.

"Wait!" He turned around to see Abey now sat on the edge of the bed, prising a thin silver band from around her ankle and over her foot. She managed to remove it and held it up, looking at it with a look of disgust on her face before throwing under the bed and out of sight. William couldn't help but grin at the way she threw away the signs of her old Master, and with the fieriness and spark he had missed these long weeks they had been apart.

His brow creased slightly as Abey then stood and limped over the table at the side the bed. He watched as she picked up the two gold bands, the ones he had kept with him since her disappearance, and quickly fasten them to her arms just above her wrists. When she had fixed them both she held out her arms to admire them, and her face broke out into a huge grin, as she made her way back over to William.

"Abey, you don't need to wear those" He sighed.

"Yes." She replied, defiance in her voice. "Slave have wear. Royal slave" She said with a sense of pride as she quickly kissed William's cheek and hobbled past him into the corridor, her head held high.

William had to laugh and shook his head in bemusement as he closed the door behind them and took Abey's hand, walking at her pace all the way down to the Kitchens. All the way he kept sneaking sideways glances at her, his sense of pride in her swelling, not just for her strength to cope with her ordeal, but also because she had just managed to almost say a full sentence. Even after one day, he could see Abey slowly starting to return to him.

The rest of the Royal Family were still away completing the Royal Tour, refusing to cancel and abandon the trip for one reappearing slave, meaning William was free to go and do as he pleased, without the watchful and disapproval eye of his parents hanging over him.

The staff in the kitchens fell more or less silent as they saw Abey entering, helped along by none other than the Prince himself. The pair ignored the stares and whispers as they made their way over to where Meggie could be seen, talking animatedly to another young woman.

William coughed as they reached them, and the two women turned to look at them. Meggie grinned as the other woman yelped and threw her arms around Abey, who winced slightly, causing the woman to quickly let her go.

"Oh no, Abey, I'm so sorry. It's just cos I can't believe it's really you!" She smiled hopefully at Abey who was frowning in concentration as she stared at the woman's face.

"Joanna" She said slowly as Joanna's eyes teared up and she hugged Abey again, taking more care so as not to hurt her again. Meggie had informed everyone of Abey's return, and of her consequential waking, but had warned them all that she was confused and seemed to have forgotten a lot of things from her life at the Palace, such as names and faces; making it all the more wonderful for her friends as she in turn remembered Isabelle, Patti and Belinda, who gave her the biggest hug of all, feeling almost like a mother who had finally had her children returned to her.

William couldn't help but grin happily as he sat eating his breakfast in the Kitchens, sitting next to Abey on the bench, one hand wrapped protectively around her waist, which she was thankful for. After a month of almost solitude it was a little overwhelming being back in the Palace kitchens.

As they ate her group of friends talked non stop. They told her about everything had been going on at the Palace, everything they had heard about William's quest to find her, the reactions of the Royal Family, even the mindless gossip from the kitchens was discussed. William and Abey barely said a word, in fact, Abey simply shook or nodded her head as she wolfed down bowl after bowl of porridge. It seemed everyone was desperate to make up for the lost time and were determined to cram a month's worth of conversation into half an hour.

The only topic that wasn't discussed was that of Abey's relationship with William. William didn't know whether Meggie would have told anyone what she had seen when Abey had first woken up. Although their close relationship was no secret, they had yet to tell anyone how they had taken the next step, and that they were more than just attracted to each other, but in love.

When Abey could eat no more, William helped her up and they said their goodbyes to the protesting group.

"But we've only just got you back! You can't go now!" Patti pleaded.

"Come on, you know she has to rest. We can have all the time with her we want once she's fully recovered" Meggie said, standing up and calming everyone down as they muttered their agreement.

"Thanks, Meggie." William smiled at her.

"No problem" She smiled back, sitting back down.

"Actually," William interjected, "could I possibly have a quick word with you?" Meggie nodded and stood back up, following William as he went to stand next to a deserted stove, leaving the others delighted that they could have Abey for another five minutes.

"Is there anything wrong, Sir?" Meggie asked.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something" William said, checking there was no-one within earshot. "What you saw yesterday, between
me and Abey..." he began.

"You mean you and Abey declaring your love for each other before rolling around on your bed?" She giggled as William pulled a face.
"Don't worry, I've not told anyone, and I won't either. Not until you want me to."

William sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Thankyou, that means a lot. I just want to make sure I announce it at the right time."

"Announce what?" Meggie asked, her eyebrow raised.

"The fact that the Crown Prince of Angrokor is planning to ask a slave to marry him." He smiled and looked away, embarrassed.

Meggie grinned. "Does she know?" She motioned over to Abey, who was looking on with a startled look on her face as Joanna played out a rather violent tavern brawl she had witnessed for the group's entertainment.

"Not yet. I know it's not going to be easy, and I don't want to cause her any more stress than she's already had to go through" He smiled over at Abey, picturing her by his side, calling her his wife, as their children played happily in the grounds of the Palace.

"Well don't worry, you're secret is safe with me" Meggie snapped him from his daydream, and they started to make their way back towards the group. "Though I think most people have already guessed, you aren't exactly subtle when it comes to hiding how you feel about each other." She chastised him, making him chuckle.

"I'll bear that in mind" He said as he went over to Abey and placed his hands carefully on her shoulders, not wanting to scare her. He was glad to see he didn't startle her too much as she turned around to look at him with her impossibly large eyes. William had to pause and look at her for a second, even now she was breathtaking, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, even in front of everyone.

"I've come to save you" he whispered conspiritively to her before addressing the whole group, "I'm very sorry to drag her away from you, but she really does need to get some more rest now". He then steered her as quickly as he dared back out of the kitchen before anyone could protest too much.

When they returned to their chambers, William flopped down on the bed, sighing happily. He heard Abey laugh softly and felt the mattress shift as she sat down next to him. He sat back up and smiled at her, letting his eyes roam over her face again, taking it all in.
He raised his hand and ran his fingers through her hair, before leaning in and gently kissing her. He felt his heart glow as she tentatively returned the kiss. It was simple and perfect, William pulled away after a few minutes to find Abey's face disappointed and slightly pouting. He laughed and put his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feeling of having her next to him.

He could only guess the kind of things of Abey had been through, and as much as he hated the idea, he could imagine some of the things she may have been forced into doing based on what she had told him of her past life in slavery. So he wasn't going to rush her. He had waited for her before, he would certainly wait for her again.

Abey smiled to herself as she sat, her head pressed against William's, his hand tangled in her hair, making her feel completely safe. She put her hand over his free one as she felt him sigh and his forehead crease into a frown.

"Will you tell me what happened to you?" William asked, not moving from their position.

There was a pause as he waited for Abey's answer. It was the question she had been dreading since first waking up. How was she supposed to tell him what had happened to her? How could she get across everything not just she, but the people she had met on the way, had been through? And what about those people? The people who had kept her alive, kept her sane as much as they could.
She didn't know what had happened to those people, she didn't even know how to begin tracking them down. She would probably never see them again.

Trying to explain the month she had spent back in the cold chains of slavery in the outside world would be like trying to explain a whole lifetime. And she didn't have the strength for that yet.

"Later" She replied quietly. "Not now."

William nodded slightly and placed a kiss on her forehead. She would tell him eventually, he knew. He just had to be patient. And like he said, he now had all the time in the world.