Ellie's Garden // luke hemmings au

Chapter Four:

"Maybe you were." I giggle. He grabs my hair and moves it away from the side of my ear, sliding the flower behind my ear.

"Stunning..." He whispers. I tense up, nervously scooting away. He catches that I am uncomfortable , chuckles nervously while rubbing the back of his neck. This seems to be his go to nervous reaction. I have to say I find it adorable. Leading me back into the room, he shows me the wardrobe.

"I know this is a bit weird, but some of the princesses from other lands stay here and they leave a surplus of dresses..." He opens the wooden door and my jaw drops. Twenty or more priceless dresses hang on the pole in front of me. "There are shoes in the drawers and I think-" He opens the side drawer and then closes it quickly, a blush creeping up to his face.

"What?" I giggle. He just stands and ruffles his hair.

"Just some...girl things." He chuckles and looks me up and down. "Would you like to bathe? I can ask a nurse to help you heat up the water..." I shake my head and walk back to the bathroom. "I'll leave you alone now." He leaves out the door to his room and I hear a small click before I start investigating the room.

"Where do they keep the water here..." I mumble under my breath. I finally find that they have a tank connected to the bath. I smile and pull the cord and watch the water fill the tub. Soon it's filled. I slide off my dress after finding a towel and sink in the warm water. "What was that crazy boy saying to ask for warm water, this is warm enough." I giggle and start rubbing away the dirt in the tub, scrubbing my greasy hair.

"Okay in there?" I hear a soft knock on the door from Luke's room.

"Yes..." I say in embarrassment. Was I talking too loud?

I finish up quickly and rush to dry myself and go back into the room. I sit in front of the wardrobe again trying to decide what to wear. I pick out a silky dark green dress that parts at my knee. I choose to wear a pair of silver slippers. I knock on the bathroom door and enter when I hear no response. I tip toe in and try to find something to brush my hair with. I find a small comb and start attacking my hair. Searching the drawers I find perfume, a shimmery pink lip stick, and mascara. Slightly confused on how to use the items, I try to remember how my mother applied them when I was just a little girl mesmerized by my mothers beauty. I put on the perfume and the lip stick. It takes a while, but I start to fix my eye lashes correctly with the mascara. I look in the mirror and am impressed.

"Um Luke...can I come in?" I say lightly knocking on the door. I hear a rushed shuffle and the door swings open. He stands in shock, his jaw unlocked from his mouth. He stares me up and down.

"You look...different." He mumbles moving the hair out of my face and tucking my hair behind my ear. I feel my breath catch.

"I feel ridiculous." I giggle breaking the hard stare he has on my body. He shakes his head and walks over to the bed.

"Maybe a little over dressed for dinner, yes, but ridiculous is just...not the right word." He fumbles over his words as he studies the buttons on his undershirt. He begins tucking and flattening out certain parts, standing to check his work in the mirror. I watch in awe from his bed, him moving swiftly around the room and gathering all he needs. He pulls his blazer jacket back on, sprays more of the deathly attractive aroma on his chest and neck, and slides his shoes back on.

"Ready?" He asks walking back over to the bed and offering me his hand. I accept it and he loops his arm around mine.

"Not entirely..." I whisper as he pushes the door open and waves goodbye to his guard. "Do you have an excuse for me to be here?"

He chuckles and runs a rough hand through his hair. "No, not really, but I'll think of something." He responds.

"Very reassuring Luke." He looks over at me with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

"I love it when you say my name..." He says again. I remember him mumbling something about the same thing when we first walked into this grand palace.

"Why?" I ask completely perplexed. He laughs and stops us in the middle of the wide hallway.

"You don't call me 'your highness' or 'prince Luke' or 'oh great and noble leader' or add any other unimportant additive. You call me Luke like we were...childhood friends, past lovers and have known each other our whole lives. Remember when I told you made me feel comfortable?" He asks taking his hands and placing them on my shoulders, running them up and down my bare arms. The dress stops at a dangerous less than shoulder length, maybe I should've chosen a different dress. I nod slowly, completely entranced in his stare. "That is just one of the ways you make me feel like me Ellie. I am Luke. And you are Ellie. Anything else is just..." He pauses, looking around as if to search for a word.

"Unnecessary?" I mumble feeling him get closer, his eyes closed as if he was being dragged towards me by some invisible source. He nods and I can see him struggle to take a deep breath. "Luke..." I mumble as he starts moving closer, his breath on my skin. The sides of his mouth pick up into a smile and he sighs. His eyes open as he realizes how close we are.

"That's a perfect way to describe it." He sighs and then kisses my forehead. I melt right there, grabbing onto his arms. He chuckles and I collapse him in a hug. Smooth move Ellie. I lecture myself. Luke doesn't move from the hug for a while, in fact he starts wobbling us around. I try to resist, but he gets frustrated with me. "Come on Ellie! Dance with me!"

I giggle, letting him grab my hands and place them around his neck. He shuffles us around for a while, spinning me around with his hand and then capturing me in his chest. Soon we are both laughing and spinning around, trying to twirl the other faster.

"You're so much taller than me!" I exclaim as I try again to spin him. He just chuckles and picks me up, clasping his hands around my upper thighs and lifting me. I squeal and wrap my hands around his neck. "Luke! Put me down!"

He sticks his lip out like a child and spins me around more. I hug onto his head for dear life.

"I'm not going to drop you." He laughs staring up at me.

"Well at least I can see you now. It gets tiring staring up all the time." I mumble pressing my cheek on his. When he laughs, I can feel his chest vibrating on my skin.

"That's good." He says and goes to let me down.

"Oh, wait!" I exclaim before he has a chance to let my feet hit the ground. He raises his eyebrow at me in confusion. I grab his head and bring his forehead to my lips. "There." I sigh out and watch as his face turns a brilliant shade of pink.

"We should go." He says putting me back down on my feet. His face is still blushing, and he keeps rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling.

"Did I do something wrong?" I ask as innocently as I can. He just looks at me and laughs.

"No. Absolutely nothing is wrong right now." He smiles. I notice small dimples forming on the sides of his cheeks. I blush and look to my toes. He grabs my hand and swings them between us.

"Hungry?" He asks as he starts tracing shapes on the top of my hand with his thumb. I nod my head and he laughs. "Well get ready because I am thinking this may overwhelm you a bit."