Arranged Love

Chapter 13

A/N: I came up with a theme like song for this book! It is For Evermore by West One Music.

~

We arrive back at the Northern Kingdom early in the morning. I yawn while getting out of the carriage and jump when I am hit by a freezing cold wind. I hug myself and walk as fast as possible to the doors. I enter the castle and walk over to Xavier, still shivering.

"Is it winter here already?" I ask him. He smiles.

"Not used to the cold yet?" he asks, laughing softly.

"Well, no," I say, "I have lived in the Western Kingdom my whole life, I have never known what cold felt like,"

"Really?" he asks, suprised, "isn't the ocean cold?"

"I don't know," I answer, "my parents never let us swim in it. Sharks go there, they would say," he laughs again, "what?"

"I never would have guessed that a girl who lived by the ocean never swam in the ocean before. Have you ever swam in your entire life?"

"Yeah, there was that one ti-" I say, trying to prove him wrong. It wasn't working out that well, "no, I have never swam in my entire life,"

"That's it," he says, "I am taking you swimming this afternoon, so then you won't have to say you have never been swimming before,"

~

I walk down the castle stairs,I am wearing a simple dress, not those poffy ones everyone else wears, I am wearing an mid-calf high yellow dress, my hair is pulled up. I see Xavier waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I walk and stand next to him.

"You ready?" he asks. I nod with a faint smile, "then lets go," he holds out it arm. I stare at it for a few seconds before looping my arm through his. We walk out of the gates and down into the village and into the forest.

"Where are we going?" I ask, looking around at the brightly lit greed forest surrounding us.

"To a lake," he answers, "don't worry, you don't have to swim in the algea,"

"I am not my sister," I say defensivly, "I would love to not be a princess for a day,"

"What is so bad about being a princess?" he asks, looking at me.

"Well, everyone expects you to be pretty and act like a lady," I answer, "they are practically trying to change you,"

"Tell me about it," Xavier says. I look at him.

"What is so bad about being a prince?" I ask him, confused.

"First of all, the politics, then everyone wanting you to stop acting like a boy and grow up," he answers. I look ahead and see the lake in front of us.

"Well," I say softly, "we're here," he nods as we set our stuff down before walking around the lake. After a few moments of silence, I decide to have some fun. I shove Xavier into the water. I laugh when he ressurfaces, gasping for breath, his brown hair wet as he laughs up at me. He swims over to the side and holds his hand out to me.

"Help me out?" he asks. I laugh but don't move to help him.

"I am not falling for that trick," I say with a smile while shaking my head.

"Come on, Ally," he begs, "I won't pull you in, I promise,"

"You promise?" I ask, studying his face. He looks sincere.

"Yes," he says, "now help me out, something is touching me," I sigh and walk over and grab his hand to pull him out. But instead of him coming out, I go in. I gasp as he pulls me in. I resurface, my hair down, He laughs as he swims away from me. I splash him but can't help but laugh. We swim around for a while, only in the shallow part, since I couldn't swim that well. Eventually, we climbed out and sat on the grass, looking at the sky.

"So," I say, "next week, your sister's wedding. Excited?" he sighs.

"I will have to resist the urge to protect her whenever David kisses her," Xavier says, looking at the forest surrounding us. I smile.

"you're her brother," I say, looking at him, "every brother has the urge to protect his little sister, well, every brother except Zane," Xavier smiles.

"This thing, this arranged marriage, it brought Zane and Tanya together," he says slowly, "I wonder if..." he stops.

"You wonder if what?" I ask, curious. He shakes his head and looks at me.

"It's nothing," he says quickly, looking away. I stare at him for a few moments before watching some deer walk out of the forest and begin drinking from the lake.

"I will race you to the water," I say, standing up and running towards the water. I hear Xavier protest. I laugh but scream and smile when I feel him wrap his arms around my waist, pick me up, turns around and sets me down. He looks at me in a way he never did. I smile when I look into his brown eyes. His brown eyes are hard to read, but a flicker of emotion flashed there. Fondness. I feel a slight blush as he leans forward. I find myself leaning forward as well. I close my eyes and continue leaning forward. I tense when our lips touch. My heart beats faster, wanting me to kiss him. To love him more than anything. We kiss for a few seconds before pullng back. I blush as he smiles, the awkwardness is rising.

"W-We should get gong back," I say, still nervous. He nods and we get our stuff before walking back to the palace.

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Author's Note:

They kissed! It was a short one though. Things get a lot worse before they get better.

Thanks for Reading!

~NZ