Reigning Love. (A Sequel To Boundless Love) (Christian Romance).

14 || FIRST ENCOUNTER

Ascending the staircase to my room, I replayed the conversation I'd had with my friends one more time. I hadn't thought of anything else since I left the Manson in the woods. There was no way Mario could be responsible for whatever was happening. First, he had not even set foot in the castle when papa started presenting with symptoms for the mysterious illness months ago. Looking back, that was around the same time his parents had passed. He was always in Kitusburge dealing with the aftermath of the loss. How then would he be responsible for papa's illness? Secondly, the accident in the Porsche, that would have been quite risky, what if I had died in the accident? Then what would he have to gain? The moment I was out of the way, he wouldn't ascend the throne, that honour would be bestowed upon my uncle, the Duke of Kayodale who then would pass it on to Giovanni, someday. Finally, why would he cut my grandparents breaks? He had met grandma once, she certainly had been mean to him but enough to get killed for? Just as the thought was leaving my mind, a muffled thud caught my attention. I froze, scanned the corridor, no one was around but before I could walk on, I heard shuffling coming from behind Mario's door. Retracing my steps from the direction of my room, I stopped beside it. I hadn't expected him to be home yet. I hadn't seen him since the incident with Queen Vivian, everything else happened so fast, I hadn't even stopped to call and check on him.

I gently pushed down the handle and pushed the door open. "Mar..." His name froze on my lips as I beheld a pair of vivid green eyes. Eyes that bore into me, washing me over with an eerie sense of deja vu. The owner of said eyes, stood frozen in the middle of the room. Sheer panic clouding the most delicate bearded features I'd ever seen on a man. Without the beard, he would easily pass for a woman.

"Hi, sorry I thought you were Mario. Is he in?" I asked moving closer.

He took a calculated step back, "your...your Highness...what...what are you doing here?"

"I came to look for my husband, I thought he was the one in here...I'm sorry, have we met?" I asked when I couldn't get over how familiar his eyes looked.

"Uhm, no." He said avoiding my gaze. "I'm Mr. Moretti's assistant, we haven't been formally introduced."

"Oh, ok." I watched silently as he piled a stack of papers on the desk. His unease unsettling me too. "So do you know when he will get here?"

"He should be by in an hour. Should I tell him to come and see you?"

"Mmmh bold! He's Subtly dismissing me!" I thought. "Alright. I'd like to speak with him." I turned to leave but not before I saw a flash of relief cross his eyes.

Walking towards the door, I couldn't stop the rush of words that flowed through my mind. The voice therein highly resembled Ryan's. I paused, closing my eyes to concentrate on where I'd seen those eyes. Images flashed through my mind, I found myself staring into similar green eyes, only this time, the owner was female, dressed in a nurses uniform.

I whirled on my heel only to find him standing only inches away from me. The surprise of his now very close proximity had hardly registered before a hand clamped on my mouth. Seconds later I was being dragged into the massive walk-in closet, kicking and screaming to no avail.

Once inside, he shut the closet doors then let me go. Before I could consider the odd action, I let out a deafening scream.

"Calm down, princess!" Said a voice whose tone defied all scientific logic. I saw his lips move, his very real mustache moved in unison too, but the voice, it was female! "You know very well these closet walls can't let out a sound." She said ripping off the mustache.

I took several steps back, too shocked to speak. I was now staring into the woman I'd met at Mario's. Mariana, was it? "You!" I whispered.

"Yes, it's me."

"Wh-what are you doing..." The sound of the door opening on the other side interrupted me. She was by my side in an instant, hand on her lips in a shushing gesture.

"That's probably Mario," she whispered into my ear. "I know you have no reason to trust me but I need you to not mention any of this to him."

"What? Why?" I whispered back.

"You are in danger princess if you can't trust me, trust at least that!"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"I need to get out of here!"

"Do you seriously think that I will let you leave after all you've pulled tonight?"

"Well, if you ever want to see Joe again, you have no choice." She said. Eyes boring into me. There was no threat to her tone but it held a bitter promise. "Or have you gotten so comfortable in Mario's arms?" She asked corking a perfectly shaped brow.

"Joe? How...who?"

"I am someone who is on your side! Now for your sake, mine and more importantly Joe's, you will keep your mouth shut! Especially from your beloved husband!" She said before disappearing through a trap door.

Before I could summarise all my thoughts, the closet door opened and I found myself staring into Mario's quizzical brown eyes.

"Princess!"

"Hey...hey you...uhm surprise!" I said the first thing that popped into mind.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Uhm, I came to find you...we haven't talked since the incident in mom's chambers...anyway when I heard you come in I thought this would be fun!" I said surprising myself at how fast I had recovered.

"Oh, OK... So you thought playing hide and seek would be fun?" He asked a playful smile tugging at his lips.

"Uhm, maybe it was a bad idea!" I said trying to walk past him.

An arm quickly shot out pulling me in for a hug. "No, I think it's cute!" He whispered into my ear.

I sunk into his hug, sighing with relief that he hadn't caught on to the unexpected visitor. The heaviness I had picked up earlier just gained a few more pounds. My world was certainly crumbling around me. The embrace that I had recently come to rely on for reassurance, felt as though I was hugging iron rods!