Royal Runaway

Chapter Eighteen

The summer sun beat down on Madeline and Jaylin as they lay on the hot rock, letting the sun dry their skin. It now had to be close to three o'clock in the afternoon. Madeline and Jaylin had spent most of the morning and the afternoon (after a brief pause for lunch) swimming. Madeline figured she'd have water in her ears for days, but she didn't care.

"You know," Jaylin started, his hands holding up his weight as he leaned his head back, letting the sun shine over his blonde hair, making it even blonder. "This place reminds me of where I grew up."

Madeline glanced at him. "Where was that?"

"Warrington. It's a little north of the palace."

Madeline froze. Did he just mention the palace? The panic was evident in her thoughts. Well of course dummy. The palace is sort of known worldwide. Chill. Madeline's muscles slowly relaxed.

"I've actually been there. It's a nice town." She had gone there on one of her family's tours, where they visited all the local towns. Lorelei had also said it was an opportunity to "meet the people." Madeline had always rolled her eyes at that.

"Really? I never pegged you for the world traveler type." Jaylin smirked at her. Madeline felt her stomach lurch and face grow a little hot. Will you calm down!! she screamed at herself.

"I've actually been a lot of places. It's sort of my parent's job to travel, so I've gone on lots of trips with them." Madeline had decided she would tell as much of the truth as she could without actually telling the truth.

"What are your parent's jobs?" Jaylin asked, curiously.

Madeline thought for a moment. "They are both in government." She said because it was technically true. They were just basically the head of all of Osprey's government but details weren't necessary. "What about your parents?"

Jaylin sat there, not facing Madeline. Madeline had wondered if she had crossed the line. When they first met they had made a pact to not share too much personal stuff. But Jaylin had started the conversation, opening up about his past. And Madeline wanted to share as much of her past with him as she could, without revealing her true identity.

There had even been a few times when she'd thought about telling him the truth. In their short time together, Madeline had grown to care a lot about Jaylin and enjoyed his company. What would be the harm? She had thought several times before. He doesn't seem like he would run straight to the police and tell them he found the lost princess unless you told him too. But Madeline knew she shouldn't. As much as she cared for Jaylin, she didn't fully trust him and didn't want to give up her freedom for some boy. No matter how cute that boy was.

Jaylin sighed, bringing Madeline back to the presence. She looked at him. His blonde hair, tanned skin. His shorts were still wet from swimming, but he'd thrown on his t-shirt, which now stuck to his wet skin, exposing his muscled arms. His appearance sent shivers down Madeline's spine.

"My parents don't really work. Or didn't work." Jaylin finally said, answering Madeline's question. He pulled off a blade of the tall grass that surrounded the lake and started fiddling with it in his fingers.

"Didn't work?" Madeline asked, questioning the past tense with the tone of her voice.

"Yeah." Jaylin sighed. "My dad left when I was just a baby, leaving my mom to raise my older brother and I. But she was distraught after he left, even though he was a no good low life." He continued to play with the grass. "She had never had a very steady job, so when money started to get really bad she..." Jayin stopped, looking as if he was choking on the words that were too hard to get out. "She.. she turned to prostitution."

Madeline sucked in a breath. Jaylin glanced at her, the obvious sadness in his eyes.

He continued. "She lived like that for ten years! Ten years Maddie. Selling herself, when she was worth so so much more than that. Oscar, my older brother, tried to get her to give it up and do something else but she wouldn't. But you could see how much she hated it. How she hated all those perverted men, wolf whistling at her, calling her pet names. I wanted nothing more than to go and beat every single one of them."

Madeline felt the tears brimming in her eyes. She hated the pain she saw in Jaylin's eyes, how it was eating away at him. She hated those men for treating Jaylin's mom like that. She knew that when she became queen, she would do all she could to help with women's equality, hoping to help towards the demise of women's prostitution.

"Then it just got to be too much." Jaylin continued, still playing with the blade of grass, not looking up at Madeline. "She killed herself when I was eight. Then it was just me and Oscar. We didn't bother to seek out our dad. No point to it. So Oscar grew up overnight and tried to keep us from dying ourselves. He was only fourteen when it happened, but then he became my hero. My own personal Superman." Jaylin looked up at Madeline now, the pain evident in his eyes. "But then three months ago, he was in a car accident. He didn't make it." Madeline saw the tears that had started to fall from his eyes. Madeline scooted over on the rock, taking Jaylin's hand in hers and wrapping her arm around him. Madeline felt the tears fall onto her own cheeks, but she tried to ignore them.

Jaylin didn't sob like Madeline had the other day, but he did cry. Madeline could feel his chest heaving up and down against her, his pain evading from him. She would never have imagined what a hard life he had had. Madeline felt almost selfish in a way. She had run away from her home. A perfectly loving home. Well, besides the fact that they are forcing you into marriage, she thought. But Jaylin, he didn't have anyone. The two people he had loved died, leaving him with nothing. No home, no family, no one. He was alone.

Madeline had a family. A crazy one yes, but a family nonetheless. Even though they drove her crazy ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, they still loved her and would do anything to protect her. Yes, they were forcing her into an arranged marriage but their hands were tied. Madeline suddenly realized that running away had been very silly. Her parents were probably heartbroken.

A part of her wanted to turn back and go straight home, but an even bigger part of her knew she couldn't. Not when she had this pain filled boy in her arms, who she cared for greatly. She couldn't leave him like all the family who'd left him. Jaylin deserved so much more than that.

Jaylin's crying a slowed a little. "Hey," Madeline said, as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "It's going to be okay."

Jaylin sat up a little, pulling himself out of Madeline's arms. He smiled weakly at her, tears stains across his face. "You probably think I'm such a man right now," he joked, but not really laughing.

Madeline looked at him. "Actually I do. You have gone through so much shit Jaylin, it's okay to cry every once and awhile." She took his hand. "Don't think you're any less of a man for crying. Boys have feelings too and sometimes need to take a good cry. Don't let people shame you for being human."

Jaylin smiled at her. "You're pretty great. You know that right?"

Madeline blushed, looking at their hands that were intertwined together and blushed a little more. She shrugged. "Yeah, I am pretty cool."

Jaylin laughed. "I'd say a little more than cool."

Madeline's cheeks grew even warmer than before.