Secrets of the Kingdom

Chapter 10

After she said that, she quickly scurried off and I said happily. Finally we could see each other tonight. Humming, I made my way to the courtyard and saw James laughing and talking to a butler. He turned his head toward me and walked over, "Hey Eliza, how are you doing this evening?" I shrugged, "Pretty good, hey... Can I talk to you in private about something?" James nodded and led me into his chamber. We sat on the bed side by side, crossing my legs I looked at him seriously. I have an idea.. It might seem crazy but it could be possible, if we worked together."

James looked at me confused, "What is it?" I sighed, "I was thinking about how you told me that Valerie was in the dungeon at your castle." He shrugged, "Yeah, what about it?" Taking a breath I spoke, "Well I was thinking we could free her. Your parents said she could only be freed if you got married to royalty.. Well we could announce that we got engaged, and then they'd be forced to release her!" James stayed silent for awhile, "That's... Brilliant! We'd have to visit my castle though, and you could meet my parents." We smiled at each other, "Well then it's a plan... When do you think we should announce it and go to my kingdom?"

"Hmm," I said, scratching my chin. "Well I think it should be within the weeks end, we'll have plenty of time to get prepared and instead of sending a messenger ahead we could just surprise them." He nodded, "Okay, we'll have to act the part though... To make it convincing of course." My body felt frozen, I knew we were going to have to act that way I guess, but it didn't really cross my mind until he said it. "Okay, I'm gonna go, I have somewhere to be." James nodded at me, "See you later Eliza."

At sundown I made my way to the fountain and sat down, waiting for Alec. Time passed and my body grew heavy with sleepiness. Why wasn't Alec here? Apparently he doesn't like me after all. Feeling pissed, I found myself back at my quarters, I angrily closed my door and face planted on my bed. Troubled thoughts swirled through my head, soon I fell into a deep sleep.

It was the end of the week, and James and I were going to announce the engagement in a few hours. My palms felt sweaty and I was super nervous, not quite sure if it was the right thing to do. Still pissed at Alec, whenever he passed me in the hallway a hefty glare was sent his way. Alec seemed pretty confused, but I paid no mind to it. Brushing my hair, it became very soft and wavy, I put on a nice cream colored dress and sighed, ready to announce it. There was a knock on my door and James walked in quietly, offering his hand to me. "Are you ready, my princess?" My cheeks flushed when he said that, and I grabbed his hand, "Of course, my prince." I winked at him and he laughed, leading me out the doorway. "I arranged a meeting for everyone in the castle for us to announce it." Nodding, I turned my head slightly and noticed that people were gawking at us as we walked by. It must be pretty strange to have seen us walking hand and hand together, looking very cozy.

Soon we were at the large chamber door, and I was nervous as hell. "Are you sure you want to do this Elizabeth?" Not able to speak, I could only nodded slowly. James opened the door and my eyes fell to the floor, not able to look at anyone in the room. Rounds of audible gasps were heard and James walked us to the head of the table, pulling out the chair for me to sit. After sitting down, he politely pushed my chair in and took the seat next to me. My father sat at the other end of the table, looking at us with a proud look on his face. "So what is the meaning of this meeting?" James cleared his throat and spoke. "Friends, Eliza and I have gathered you all here to discuss a very important matter." James stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the chair. I looked at him confused and he got down on one knee while holding my hand in his. "Elizabeth and I.... Are engaged to be married."

Murmurs quickly spread throughout the room, and it got very loud. A loud bang was heard and my father stood up quickly, "Everyone, SILENCE! This is great news... I knew you two would find it within yourselves to give each other a chance." James stood up and held my hand in his, when suddenly a chorus of voices broke out. "Kiss kiss kiss kiss KISS!" Everyone in the room chanted, I felt so embarrassed and I blushed profusely. James wrapped his arms around me, and his lips gently pressed against mine, without realizing it my hands went around his neck, pulling him closer. Loud Ooo's went around the room and I pulled away, giggling quietly. James stared into my eyes and smiled, my heart melted in my chest and my breath caught in my throat. These feelings that came over me were very confusing, I had only ever felt this way about Alec. It was confusing as why I was feeling this about James.