The Princess Thief {CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN}

chapter 8 | the festivities

I am SO SO SO sorry this chapter took forever to arrive. School has me so busy these days, I thought I was about to go crazy from my last film project. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. I would've preferred to have gotten this up on my birthday, but I guess a day late isn't too bad. It ended up being pretty long, which I'm kinda happy about. This story is now just under 12k! Yay!

Brenna had become so immersed in one of the books she'd discovered in the library, that she didn't even notice the soft sound of footsteps approaching. She was brought out of the fictional world by someone suppressing a chuckle, clearing his throat. Brenna looked up from the pages to see Cray standing there.

"When the servants told me that I'd find you in here, I didn't think I'd find you in the smallest nook possible," he said, an amused grin on his face.

She supposed that she was an interesting sight, but she couldn't resist the spot once she'd found it. It was a small nook with a bench with three equally small walls, with a stain glass window in the back wall. The nook was small enough where she sat along the length of the bench, drawing her knees up to her chest. Her position quiet literally put her nose in the book.

"How are you even comfortable like that?"

Brenna slowly turned in her seat and stretched out her legs before rising to her feet. "It's just one of the ways I like to read."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Just one? You're going to be full of surprises, aren't you?"

Brenna tucked her hair behind an ear. "Well, at least I won't be boring."

"You make a valid point."

"What did you want me for?"

"Oh, right! Well...judging by how occupied you looked by that book, you must've forgotten. My father set up a festival. In honor of your visit, and...uh, our...betrothal." He suddenly looked a bit awkward at those final words.

Brenna felt exactly how he looked. "Yes, I must've forgotten. I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to apologize! I have my own hobbies that make me forget certain things, too. What were you reading?"

Brenna held up the cover for him to see.

Cray took the book and read the title. He smiled. "This is a good book. My mother used to read it to make me fall asleep."

"She has great taste in books," Brenna said. "I don't think I've put it down once. Well, before now."

He nodded. "I wish she was here to let you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I had no idea—"

"It's alright. It was a long time ago. She got sick for a while when I was younger. When she finally went, it was peaceful. In her sleep."

Brenna reached out and gently grasped Cray's hand not holding the book. "I'm sure she was a lovely woman."

He smiled. "You would've liked her. I'm sure she would've liked you, too." His expression went distant, as if he was imagining his mother right there.

Cray let out a sigh.

Brenna squeezed his hand slightly. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Let's go enjoy the festivities."

In all honesty, Brenna didn't expect the festival to be...well, like she'd gone into an entirely different, colorful city. It seemed the entire kingdom of Trintavan had come out just for this. It seemed a bit silly to Brenna, considering this was in honor of her family visiting. It wasn't like her and Cray were already married, although she wouldn't have been surprised if her parents had planned for the wedding to happen sooner than they'd originally said.