The Jewel of the Five Kingdoms

James Raymond Elliot

The carriage ride home was tense.

I sat in between Nella and Ana during the ride home. Nella's hand easily found its way to my own, and I smile to her and squeeze it reassuringly. My brothers had been forced into another carriage and followed close behind the one we are in.

  Ana would meet my gaze with a questioning one of her own, but would then quickly look away. She stared out the carriage window as if searching for someone in the crowd of people, but her shoulders slumped in defeat.

I wondered if she was worried about the prince's safety, but I knew they would be escorted to the palace with nearly as many guards as we have. Surely they will be a top priority, and since when has Ana cared about them?

Mother and Father whispered fiercely between one another, their eyes kept glancing my way with expressions of disbelief.

I continued to hold Nella's hand in my own, gripping it tightly.

She looks up at me with large violet eyes, and I didn't realize until then that she was trembling. I smile softly, pressing her hand to my lips and kissing it softly. "Don't worry darling, everything will be fine," I whisper, gently running my thumb in small circles on her the back of her hand.

I catch Ana staring at me then, her eyes are hard to read, and she turns away when she notices I have looked back to her. However, she quickly faces me again, opening and closing her mouth as she thoroughly thinks through what she is about to say. "Where have you been?" She asks in a small voice, barley over a whisper.

She seemed to still be in shock at my presence, her eyes kept wondering over my face as if checking to make sure I was still the same James she knew before my disappearance. It hurts my heart to see the distant expression, and I sigh.

"When I battled General Franny, he did more than push me off the cliff. His blade cut into my left ankle and shattered the bone," I gulped at the memory as I revisited the pain of that night.

Ana's expression shifted to one of stunned silence, and she nodded. I continued, "Nella found me in the river and nursed me back to health," I say, my gaze drifts to Nella, and I smile. She blushes, looking up at me under dark lashes.

My whole family was listening now.

"She discovered the blade was poisoned and healed my many cuts and bruises, but my foot was beyond help... it had to go," I say slowly.

The realization dawned on my family's face as my words sank in and they all lean forward to see. They noticed for the first time that I had prosthetic foot now, and I wince as they pull back in reaction.

Ana gasps, her face twisted in one of horror, and Mother begins to cry again. I leaned forward and touched Mother's hand, she sniffs, squeezing it so tightly my fingers hurt. "Mother, I would have died," I begin softly. "But Nella of the Waterwalker kingdom saved my life." Nervously, I wait for a reaction.

My family gasps, and Nella winced. "She's a Waterwalker?" Father's tone is one of a controlled temper, his dark eyes staring at Nella curiously.

I nod, my eyes pleading for him to understand the truth; I love her.

"Your Majesty?" Nella speaks up bravely. She holds her shoulders back proudly, and for a moment I almost thought she was the royal one instead of myself. She has an air of confidence meant for royalty, and I wonder what the future might hold.

"I love your son," she said in a soft voice, her tone polite yet sincere. I blink, facing her with surprise.

Yes, I have heard her say the words to her sister and I have thought them many times myself, but we have never so forwardly confessed our love for each other, much less tell my parents of our love.