Hidden Princess

Chapter 9

"Knock, knock!" A voice calls out from the front door.

"That would be Luke and Annie." Lacey, the twins' mother, says as she wipes her hands on a towel. We all go into the living room to greet the newcomers.

"Luke is my mom's older brother, and Annie is his wife. They have a son a couple years older than us, his name is Derek." Cami whispers to me as we walk into the living room.

"You got here just in time to watch the half time show." James says to Luke as Lacey gives Annie a hug. The adults end up going into the kitchen to talk and catch up.

"Hey cuz," a guy, who I assume is Derek, says to Alex as he sits on the couch next to him. Derek has dark brown hair, and green eyes that are a darker shade than Alex's.

"Hey Derek," Alex nods his head in greeting. Just then Derek looks over to where Cami and I are standing in the entrance to the kitchen.

"Who's the hottie standing with your sister?" Derek asks Alex as he eyes me up and down.

"Ugh. Gross." Cami whispers to me and I have to hold back a laugh.

"Don't even think about it, Derek." Alex narrows his eyes at his cousin.

"What? It's just a question." Derek shrugs.

"Ele é um idiota. (He is an idiot/jerk)" I say to Cami and she laughs. I've been slowly teaching her some Portuguese at her request, and she's actually gotten good enough to hold a small conversation. Derek's eyebrows crease in confusion.

"Couldn't have said it better myself girl." Cami says between giggles. Alex looks over at us and smirks. Xavier's been teaching him Portuguese, because he refused to learn from me.

"What?" Derek asks, still confused.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I smirk and Alex and Cami bust up laughing. "Oh and the 'hottie's' name is Apolônia." Derek narrows his eyes at me.

"Nice one, Nia," Cami says. "Now, let's go downstairs and watch movies until dinner."

"Well, then Nia -" Derek starts, but I cut him off.

"Uh, no. They call me Nia," I say gesturing to Alex and Cami. "You can call me Apolônia." With that Cami and I make our way downstairs.

"So, Nia, where are you from?" Annie asks as we are eating dinner that night.

"I'm from a small country close to Brazil." "Its actually an island, and its small enough that it doesn't show up on most maps." I've gotten so used to explaining Eplea without even saying its name that now its habit whenever anyone asks where I'm from. I've only ever told Xavier, and that was a slip up. But he's never said anything to anyone. So far he's proved trustworthy, I just hope I was right.

"So what brought you here?" Derek asked.

"My brother got a job here, so we moved." I shrug.

"So you live with your brother?"

"Yeah."

"What about your parents?" He asks.

"Don't Derek," Cami and Alex say at the same time.

"Its fine guys. He's allowed to ask," I shrug. "My father was shot and killed, and my mother disappeared around the same time. We had to assume she's dead too." I stab a piece of turkey with my fork and take a bite. "Perdoe-me. (Pardon me.)" I say as I stand up from the table. I make my way downstairs to the basement.

"Way to go Derek," I hear Cami say as I walk down the stairs.

I go into Cami's and my room and grab my phone. I dial Dário's number and he answers on the third ring.

"Nia? You okay?" He asks as he answers.

"Dário, do you know anything about what's going on back home?" I ask in Portuguese.

"Sorry Princesa," I hear him sigh. "I haven't had contact with anyone in Eplea for weeks."

"Not even Amália? Is she okay? What about my mother?"

"Last I spoke to her, Amália was staying hidden while keeping an eye on Queen Lygia. She said your mother is fine, and those holding her were only trying to find you."

"Its Demétrio. I know it." I say, biting my thumb nail. "I've always had a bad feeling about him, Dário. I don't know how my father didn't see how evil of a man he is."

"We are trying to figure out if it really is him, Princesa." Dário says.

"I'm scared. What if he finds me, Rio?" I start panicking now, tears filling my eyes.

"Calm down Nia. He's not going to find you. If he even gets close to where we are, there is a plan in place to get you out."

"I just want mamãe and papai. I want to go home Dário." I feel arms wrap around me from behind. I lean back against Alex. "And I wish Remigio were here with me so I wouldn't be so alone." I don't even care that Alex right there when I mention my brother's name.

"I know Nia. I know."

"I have to go now. Let me know if you hear anything."

"I will. Good bye Nia."

"Bye Rio." With that I hang up the phone.

"Are you okay?" Alex asks as I turn around.

"Yeah. I just needed to talk to Dário about something." Alex gives me a sad smile.

"Well I know I said we would wait until after everyone went to bed for your surprise, but it's dark outside now, so why don't we go ahead and head out?" Alex says. "It'll help you feel better." I smile and nod at him.

"Okay, let's go." I say. With that Alex leads me back upstairs and to the back door. He leads me out to the barn that's across the street.

"Okay we are going up to the hayloft," he says as he opens the barn door. He leads me inside and to a wooden ladder. Alex climbs up first and I follow behind him. Alex turns around and helps me up into the loft from the ladder. "Close your eyes for a minute," he says as he leads me away from the ladder. I close my eyes like he said. I hear him moving around the loft. After a few moments, he comes back over to me. He stands behind me and puts his hands on my shoulder. "Keep your eyes closed for a moment," he says as he moves me a few steps forward and turns me to the left. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

When I open my eyes I gasp. The wall in front of me is opened up over looking the pasture behind the barn. Alex had placed a blanket on the floor by the opening. He even put a few candles around, but not anywhere close to the hay bales.

Alex takes my hand and leads me over to the blanket. We sit down with our feet dangling over the edge. I look up at the stars that are shining brightly in the clear sky.

"Alex, this is amazing," I smile as I look over at him. Our eyes meet and I feel my cheeks blush. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome, Nia," he smiles at me. He reaches over and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I just wanted to see you smile. And I mean really smile. You've not been yourself since you had that nightmare a few nights ago and I did tell you I'd bring you out here to stargaze while we were here."

I lay my head against his shoulder. I feel him place a light kiss on my head before leaning his head against mine. We sit there like that for awhile before I shiver from the cold.

"Here," Alex grabs another blanket from the pile next to him and wraps it around my shoulders.

"Thanks," I look up at him as he smiles at me. He pushes a strand of my hair back again, but this time his hand lingers on my cheek. "Alex..."

Alex leans in, and moves his hand so that it rests at the back of my head, his fingers tangled in my hair. Before I know it, his soft lips are pressed against mine. The moment our lips touch, I feel sparks and my eye lids flutter closed.