Princess Aria

Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

"Happy birthday, my princess." My father says with a warm smile as he hands me a beautiful shell he had collected upon his many journeys.

"Thank you, Father." I smile and my mother comes forward, also smiling. The difference is that her smile does not reach her eyes like my father's does.

"Now, you are finally eighteen." My mother says, holding my father's arm. I know she does not mean well.

"Yes," I nod, "Finally able to do what I want." I state firmly and her smile falters.

"Now," She lets go of my father's arm and steps closer. Her eyes are hard, "You are still the next heir to this kingdom, and you shall not disappoint us." She looks at me with a stern face.

"Love," My father pulls her back to him and he smiles lovingly at her, "You've done great raising our daughter, but I think she can have a bit of freedom before meeting the throne."

I feel the proudness bloom in my chest when my father finally takes my side.

"She is after all still so young." His eyes meet mine and I smile at him.

"She has not learned anything, darling." Was my mother's reply, her eyes dark with disappointment. "She barely even grasped the basics like keeping her hair tidy."

I raise my hand and take a strand of my hair between my fingers.

They are tied back.

Why is she whining about my hair being tied back?

"Love, stay calm." My father kisses her on the forehead, and she closes her eyes, "She will learn everything eventually." My mother lets out a sigh.

A sigh of defeat.

I won this time.

My mother didn't speak to me during or after dinner.

I did not expect anything less from her. She never liked being wrong.

I am laying in my bed, staring at my white ceiling.

My room is ingulfed in darkness, the only light being the full moon from outside.

My window is an open ajar to allow some fresh air.

I am not sure when I had fallen asleep, but I jolted awake when I heard a loud thump.

I sit upright and my eyes lands on a figure that just stood up from the ground. I can not make out who the figure is due to the minimum light in my room.

I can feel my heart racing in my chest as the figure moves. It almost seems like they turned around and is now facing me.

"Shh, do not make a sound."

It is a man.

This only frightens me more.

I do not recognize his voice or his figure.

I keep quiet, not wanting to anger him and be kidnapped or something.

"Where is your jewelry?" He asks and I feel the fear settle. He is a thief.

"How dare you." I state as I get out of my bed, my night gown sweeping down to my ankles.

"You break into my room, disrespect me by shushing me and now you want to demand me for my personal belongings?" I ask him as I move forward.

He holds his hands up to his chest, palms facing me.

"You?" He snorts, "The princess who refuses to be queen?" I stop in my tracks and frown. "Everyone knows that by now."

"Have my mother send you to terrorize me?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. "You can tell her I am not scared."

He chuckles and shakes his head, and the moonlight catches his face. I can now see him better.

He is handsome.

"The queen would never ask me something. She barely even knows I exist." He grins at me. "Now, I am not asking again - "

"I said, no." I glare at him.

"I may not want to be a queen, but I am certainly not about to allow you to break into my castle."

He sighs and comes closer to me, just a step away now.

"Princess, you are messing with the wrong guy."

"I am not scared."

His movement was very fast and if I hadn't been so focused on his every moment, I would have missed it.

His arm swings over my head as I duck down, ducking him from grabbing me around the shoulders just fast enough.

"You are fast." He notes and walks closer to me again, but I jump out of his way and circle him.

"I told you, I am not scared." I sound of breath, but it is because of the fright I had.

"Get out of the window where you got in at." I point to it, and he shakes his head with a chuckle.

"Since you want to do this the hard way - fine." He reaches for me, but I spin around and dive for the door.

However, when I thought I could grab the handle and let out a scream, he had grabbed my arm and his hand is covering my mouth.

"Fast, but not fast enough." He whispers in my ear.

"You'll be of more value than the royal jewelry." My eyes widen at his comment.

He is going to sell me?!

I try to struggle against him, kicking and pushing and pulling, but his grip is very strong.

I try to scream, but it is very muffled.

I start to feel dizzy, and the room gets even more darker around me.

I do not want to faint!