After walking through the palace gates, Simon left me in the dining hall, because he had some errands to run. Helena was waiting for me there, but I just gave her my basket of things, and told her I would see her later on, and that she could have the day off.
I was late for my day with Zayn and I felt unbelievably guilty. I sat in Zayn's chair at the table unsure with what to do. I didn't know my way around the grounds yet, and personally I didn't want to get lost. I slouched over, and my forehead hit the table with a thud.
"Ow..." I muttered.
"That would have hurt..." said a voice that I wasn't expecting. I sat up startled. Zayn was sitting in my seat at the other end of the table, with a smirk on his face. I didn't even hear him come into the room.
I stood, straightening my dress out; embarrassed. Zayn stood as well, coming over to me, until we were only inches apart. I could feel his body heat against mine, and I swallowed nervously. My eyes were level with his lips, and they curved into a smile when he realised I was staring at them.
"Sorry I'm late..." I whispered.
Zayn chuckled, taking my hips into his hand, hugging my body to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "It doesn't matter, as long as you're here now." He whispered back.
I smell the mint in his breath, as it fanned across my face with every breath he took. I secretly wondered what it would be like to taste his lips, and I blushed with the thought. I looked up at him through my lashes. He had a sudden intake of breath.
"What's wrong?" I asked curiously, my eyes never straying from the depth of his golden eyes.
"Nothing..." he said, taking one of my hands from around his neck, and lacing our fingers together. "Where do you want to go? We can go anywhere you like." he continued.
"I haven't got the slightest idea. I don't know my way around yet."
An idea flashed in Zayn's eyes before disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. He stepped back and we walked hand in hand, towards the door the servants come in and out of when they were serving or food last night.
"I must admit, the castle is quite spectacular. I couldn't imagine it being any more beautiful." Zayn said absentmindedly as we began to walk the halls that were unfamiliar to me.
"My mother used to say that a lot. She could never forget this place."
"Your Mother...?"
"Before marriage, my mother's name was Jasmine Budgeray, and I'm guessing by your expression you know the family very well?" I asked, taking in his shocked face.
"Your mother is the lost Princess of France." he exclaimed. "Now I know why you look so much like that painting."
I had no idea as to what Zayn was talking about. "Ah...what painting?"
"In the art gallery, that is in the left wing, on the third floor, there is a painting of a young woman, and it's titled 'The Lost Princess of France'. There is a legend behind it that's been passed down through the years, saying that the Princess left her home, and family to live with her true love, leaving her crown as the only trace of her disappearance, but that is all that's known, and, Beka, you are the exact replica of her. I have been trying to figure out this mystery for months on end and I couldn't work out how you were featured into the equation. I didn't understand how you could be painted twenty years before you were born, and now it all makes sense...It's your mother when she was your age."
I smiled at Zayn's excitement, still slightly unsure of what was going on.
I sat on a nearby lounge, knowing that Zayn would want to know everything, and it would probably take a long time to explain things. I knew he was too enwrapped in his amazement to recall the proceedings of this morning but I didn't hold it against him. He plopped himself down next to me, and I could see the thousands of questions floating in his eyes.
"My Mother never used to talk about it. She was always a quiet and reserved person. My father told me when I was young. The last time she saw her family was when they were here celebrate Simon's first wedding. My mother couldn't help but notice the decorating, and the flowers, and that's how she met my father. He was the florist, and from that meeting, they knew that they weren't just ordinary people to one another, there were no second thoughts for them. Mother went back to France and told her parents, they didn't exactly agree on her wanting to marry a communist. They wanted to choose a husband for her, someone with royal blood, and when she refused, her father banished her from the kingdom. Jasmine packed her things and left that night. She told me she was distraught over it, but my Father encouraged her with the endless love that he supplied. He was always there for her, with a shoulder to cry on, a joke to cheer her up, anything just to make her happy...there was no two people who could possibly love each other more than what my parents did." I smiled sadly. "I've always loved my parent's story. It reminded me that happy endings weren't just in story books and legends. Anybody is capable of a happily ever after; you just have to look in the right places."
I looked at Zayn, and he was staring back at me when adoration. "...One of the greatest mysteries of this day and aged, solved. Wait until father finds out..." Zayn said, with an amused smirk on his face.
I chuckled. "You're pretty excited about this, aren't you?" He nodded, biting his bottom lips, and he blushed a little. His expression was adorable. He was adorable...
A thought crossed my mind, suddenly, as I was thinking over our previous conversation. "Can I see the painting?" I asked hopefully.
Zayn stood from the plush lounge, extending a hand towards me. I took it, and he helped me up.
"Of course." He remarked. "I would want to do the same if I were you." he smiled, and once again we began to walk the unfamiliar halls. Zayn showed me into different rooms as we passed them and everyone didn't cease to leave me breathless. They were all very grand and elegantly decorated, and the whole time, not once did his hand unlock from mine.
-
My mouth was hung open. I was flabbergasted. Nothing could have prepared me for the shock that I received when my eyes took in the painting of my mother in the gallery.
As Zayn had said, it was like looking into a frozen mirror. Jasmine's incredibly deep blue eyes, the same eyes I had, held the shining light from her amused smile, the same smile I had. Her long brown hair was twisted into a long braid down, and over her shoulder, with little daisies, like the ones in the clearing, resting in her hair, with a jewelled tiara sitting on top of her head. She looked stunning.
I smiled proudly at the painting, surrounded by so many other wonderful artworks. I squeezed Zayn's hand lightly. "Thank you for showing me this Zayn. It means a lot." I remarked, still smiling.
"It's no problem, sweetheart." he smiled in return. We had spent a lot of time in the gallery, but Zayn didn't seem to mind. We had toured the whole of the left wing. I nodded at him, signifying that I was ready to leave.
"So what's you favourite thing to do in your spare time, Zayn?" I asked, as Zayn closed the gallery door behind us.
He thought over my question for a second before answering. "I guess it would have to be sitting in the library, by the fire, reading a good book. Would you like to go there?" he questioned. I nodded eagerly. Zayn changed the direction we were walking, and we took two flights of stairs down to the ground level.
The two of us had walked through the entry hall, and came to another hallway with two big double doors painted white, with gold detailing, at the end of it.
Zayn let go of my hand for a second, while he pushed open both of the doors, revealing the biggest library I had ever seen. Shelves upon shelves were standing well above my head, stacked with books, filled most of the room, and the upper level. I looked around with amazement, trying to take it all in. I noticed lounges and desks sitting all throughout the rows of shelves.
Zayn grabbed my hand again, pulling me over to one of the lounges that sat near a very large fire place, with a roaring fire burning in it, and a glass window that looked over an endless field of perfectly green grass with horses running through it. I could understand why this was his favourite place.
The two of us sat at the three seated couch, leaving the gap between us. I so desperately wanted to close the space between us, but I wasn't sure if I would be apposing.
I continued to look around the room, smelling the aroma of old pages, and the book's leather covers, when I caught a devious look from Zayn in the corner of my eye.
"I have an idea." he said, and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Let's make a story. It's one of the things my father I used to do when I was little on a rainy day. He would start off with saying the first couple of lines, and then I'd say the next. Sometimes we would go on for hours, and by the time we'd finished, we would laugh at the most ridiculous stories that we had come up with." he said smiling.
I nodded with his idea, and he began. "Once upon a time, there was a girl and boy, sitting in a library, making up a story..."
I rolled my eyes at the terrible opening.
"The boy was battling against his four brothers, for the girl's heart, but she didn't understand why the brothers found her so interesting. She thought of herself a normal person. Nothing was particularly special about her." I said, playing along.
"The boy sighed with frustration," Zayn sighed dramatically, and I let out a small giggle. "He couldn't understand why the girl doubted herself so much. The boy loved everything about her, from the endless emotion that she portrayed in her deep blue eyes, to the beauty of her long brown hair that reached her waist. He loved how her laugh was like the sound of bells, and he loved when she bit her bottom lip when she was nervous..."
"The girl looked at the boy with a smile on her lips." I looked up at Zayn through my lashes and smiled. "She liked the fact that the boy had noticed so many things about her."
"The boy smiled back," Zayn smiled. "and slid a seat closer to the girl, closing the big distance between them, wrapping one arm arms around her tiny body, and placing on hand over where her heart was, until they were only inches apart." Zayn slid closer to me, sliding his hands around my waist, placing a hand over my chest, until our noses were almost touching.
I let out the breath I was holding. "The girl liked their closeness, she felt cold without the warmth of the boy's skin on hers." I took a breath through my nose, smelling him. "She also like the, almost minty, smell that came off the boy."
"The boy rubbed noses with the girl, feeling her quickened heartbeat under his hand." I blushed, only realizing my increased heat rate as he had mentioned it.
"The girl blushed, and placed a hand on the boy's cheek." my hand was on his warm cheek, feeling the slight stubble under my hand. "The girl looked at the boy's lips, as he began to lean further in..." I said as Zayn began to lean towards me, inching closer.
"Time seemed to stand still, as the boy hesitated over the girls lips, feeling them graze over his. The boy looked into the girls eyes for reassurance, and the girl seemed to want the boy, just as much as he wanted her, and with that..."
"They kissed..." I whispered, and Zayn's lips connected with mine. Warmth spread throughout my body. I could taste Zayn on my lips, and his smell came in second to his taste. We lost ourselves in the passionate kiss, as Zayn laid me down, and he leaned over the top of me, holding all of his weight on his arms, so he wouldn't crush me. My heart was beating faster and faster with his every touch as his hands searched my body. His stubble tickled my cheeks lightly, and I laced a hand into his raven coloured hair, with the other gipping the definite muscle of his muscular back. Zayn groaned against my lips, and I smiled against his.
I broke apart from his lips to catch my breath, while he left light kisses along my jawline, traveling down to my neck. My skin was tingling with pleasure, and my head spun with the intoxicating smell of his skin.
My eye flitted shut in a bliss as he found the sweet spot just below my ear. Zayn smiled against my neck, then pulled back, looking down on me, with lust filled eyes.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that. I've had to constrain myself all day." he confessed. I smiled, and he placed one more kiss on my lips, before sitting the both of us up, and hugging me to him.
After that there wasn't much to share between us. We watched the roaring fire, turn to nothing but ash and flaming embers. We remained quiet, our breathing even, our heartbeats in sinc. We shared the warmth of the fire together, and when the embers were no more, we shared the warmth of each other's embrace.
I'm not sure how long we sat like that for, but the sun began setting outside the window. I was enjoying the moment as it was. Zayn's stomach rumbled loudly in the silence, and we both burst out laughing.
"It looks like it's time for dinner. Shall we go?" I asked, standing from the couch.
Zayn stood up beside me with a huge smile plastered on his face. "Sounds like a plan, just one more thing..." he said begin to lean in for another kiss, which I dodged.
"You're going to have to catch me if you want that." I said turning away from him and running towards the door. I looked over my shoulder and he was giving me a playful smirk.
By the time I reached the door Zayn had started running to catch up to me. I knew that he'd probably catch me if I continued to keep running and I'd probably get lost along the way to the dining hall, so I hid behind a statue of amour next to the library entrance, and waited for Zayn to come running out of the door.
Seconds later he came bounding out, taking a few steps a head of me, laughing, but he came to an abundant stop when he realized that he couldn't see where I was. I took the opportunity, and raced silently up behind him and jumped on his back, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
Zayn gave a yelp, and I giggled against his back. "You scared me!" he chuckled.
"That was the point, Zaynie." I giggled, placing a kiss on his neck. "Now take me to the dining hall!" I ordered, punching my fist into the air.
Zayn laughed, tightening his gripped under my knees, and began running very quickly. I squealed with delight, as he took the many turns of the corridors rather quickly, and his footsteps and my squeals echoed off the walls.
The two of us pounded into the dining hall laughing hysterically, in a world of our own until somebody cleared their throat.
I looked up from Zayn's shoulder blade towards the table, where Josh, Simon and the rest of the boys were already sitting at, eating dinner which they had stopped to stare at the two of us.
My laugh cut off suddenly, and I slipped down from Zayn's back, straightening out my dress. The smile faded from my fave when the memories of all that had happened over the few days raced back to me at the sight of the family.
During the afternoon, my mind had been occupied, in other places, thanks to Zayn. The heavy weight was suddenly back ok my shoulders, the dreadful feeling was back in my stomach.
Zayn and I made out way over to the table, taking our seats, awkwardly. My eyes remained glued to the table, not in shame. I just didn't want the males in the room to see the emotions going through me.
"The two of you missed lunch. What have you been doing all day?" Harry asked enviously, from the other end of the table. I looked up noticing everyone waiting for me to respond.
"Zayn gave me a tour of the left wing, and the library. It's very beautiful, Simon." I explained, and gave a small smile to Simon. I picked up my utensils and took a bite of my food.
"I'm glad you like it." Simon replied. "What did the two of you do in the library?"
The piece of food that I was chewing suddenly hit the back of my throat and I had a coughing attack. I quickly took a sip of my water, calming my spluttering.
"Err...we..." I wasn't sure how to answer. Everybody at the table was looking at me, so I snuck a desperate glance a Zayn asking for his help. I didn't want to lie to Simon.
"The two of us played our story game, father. It was a lot of fun." Zayn said smoothly, covering up my hesitation. I hid my smirk with taking another bite of my food. I agreed with Zayn, even though it was a cover up, I did have a lot of 'fun'...
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Vas Happenin Guys,
This chapter is dedicated to the amazayn fans of Mr Malik. I hope you liked it and it lived up to your expertations. I know its not perfect but I try. Leave a suggestion below if you want.
Love Always,
Beka
xoxo