The Tale of a Princess Kidnapped by Pirates

Chapter Twenty-One

Evangeline marched through the castle feeling victorious. She had finally gotten rid of one of the thorns in her side, and permanently at that. The golden locket currently snaked between her fingers and swinging like a pendulum was testimony to that fact. Things were looking up for her, and she tried not to think about how she had condemned Ro – or Princess Aurora to a life of imprisonment.

As Evangeline made her way up the stairs, determined to destroy the necklace connecting Ro to her true identity, she bumped into the object of her fantasies – Prince Theodosius, who was hurrying down the other way. As she crashed into his hard chest, she dropped the necklace, which bounced along the stone floor.

"Oh, Evangeline. Sorry are you ok?" He asked gentlemanly as he turned to find what had clattered along the floor.

"Oh Theodosius, I am fine... you look wonderful today. Oh that is my necklace!" Evangeline exclaimed worriedly as Theo bent down to pick it up.

She reached out to grab it from him, her heart thundering in her chest as she worried he would recognise it and ruin all that she had just done. Before he gave it back to her though, the markings on one side captured his attention. He gasped and removed it from Evangeline's reach as he saw the Alluvian's crest chiselled into the heavy gold. It certainly was not a fake, which meant that it must have belonged to the Royal family, who had just left.

"Evangeline are you sure this is yours? Why do you have an Alluvian locket?" Theo asked distrustfully, knowing that something odd was going on with the girl who was red in the face and gasping for words like a fish out of water.

"Oh... Oh, did I say it was mine? I meant I had found it and was... was looking for the rightful owner." Evangeline rushed out, losing her eloquent composure for once.

She wanted to kick herself. The one time in her life she did not want to accidentally bump into Theodosius she had, and now he was onto her dishonesty. She had to get that necklace back immediately and destroy it, she just had to.

"Oh, I see." Theo murmured, not one hundred per cent trusting her as she squirmed uncomfortably.

Theo examined the locket closer and noticed a little hatch on one side, and with a flick of his thumb, it opened into two pieces, showing a fading painting on the inside. It was a beautiful work of art, penned by master artists, and Theo was taken aback as a sad, reminiscing smile stretched upon his lips as he realised it was of the young Princess Aurora and her mother Queen Genevieve. There was no doubt in Theo's mind that the Queen must have dropped it somewhere, and luckily Evangeline had found it. Perhaps she was going to try to sell it for a lot of money, which was why she was acting so skittishly. He was half-tempted to keep the locket for himself as a reminder of Aurora, but he knew how much it must mean to the Queen, so he decided they had to get it back to her as soon as possible.

"You are a hero for finding this Evangeline, I am sure Queen Genevieve shall be so thankful." Theo smiled at her as he pocketed the necklace, much to her dismay.

"Of course..." She swallowed nervously, knowing she had to get rid of it before anyone else saw it.

How ironic, the one time he had complimented her and it would have been better if she had never seen him.

"I will see you later then Evangeline, have a nice day." Theo replied with a swoon-worthy smile, and Evangeline almost forgot her crisis for a moment. How were his eyes such a perfect blend of warm chocolate and chestnuts?

"You too Theodosius!" She called out as he brushed past her and she felt her cheeks heat into flames.

"Oh, actually, while you are here, you would not have happened to have seen Ro anywhere would you? I have been searching for her but she seems to be distancing herself from me." Theo asked suddenly as he turned back around.