Chapter 9:
Adeline
I awoke two weeks after that date with Josh. Right now the sun hadn’t even risen about the horizon. I slipped on my emerald robe and tip toed to the castle exit. I needed to go hunting again so I decided to risk getting caught
I walked quietly to the stables. Maybe I should make our next ‘date’ here. That way I could leave the palace with an excuse. I was enlightened by the thought. I turned on my heel and quickly ran back to the castle to tell my father. Hunting could wait.
I ran to my dad’s chambers, my bare feet slapping on the cold stone of the palace floor and my robe flying behind me. I let myself in my father’s room not even caring that he may still be asleep.
“Father,” I said excitedly pushing him from his slumber.
“Yes Adeline,” he said groggily.
“Father,” I started, “I have an idea for Josh and my next date.”
“What is it Adeline?” my father asked, now intrigued.
“Can Josh and I go riding in the forest?” I asked, clapping my hands.
“What?” he asked sitting up.
I sat down on his bed and said, “If you let me, I won’t complain about this arranged marriage.” This would be an easy promise since I was finally starting to warm up to the idea of marriage. I didn’t even mind-a lot- that I was getting married to Josh.
“Really?” he said even more interested than before.
“Yes,” I said, “pinkies swear.” I knew that would butter him up, that was a joke between us when I was ten, before my mother died and he stopped talking to me, I stuck my little finger out and waited for him to shake.
There was a faint smile on his face as he reached over and shook my pinkie with his, “It’s a deal. I’ll be at the tavern with King Felix.”
“Again?” I asked.
“Yes, he’s a great man,” my father said. I took a good look at his face, it was grayer and more wrinkled than before, but it could just be me. I pushed this notion out of my head.
“Thank you, Daddy!” I said smiling hugely.
I ran out of his room to the guest chambers, I let myself in. King Felix sat up straight up in his bed and Josh followed suit.
“Addy?” Josh asked.
“Hi Josh,” I said breathlessly, “we’re going riding for our date today.”
“Sounds like fun, right Joshua,” King Felix said.
“Yeah,” he said smiling, “see you later Addy.”
“Okay bye,” I said leaving the chambers.
I skipped all the way to my room and spun around, “Irene!”
“Yes Princess,” she said in confusion.
“I need my riding outfit,” I told her, “I’m leaving the castle for my date.”
Irene looked at me with my face beaming and my arms outstretched over my head.
“So does this mean Prince Joshua has finally penetrated to the wall protecting your heart?”
“I guess,” I said lowering my hands, “he’s the first boy I’ve really talked to about personal things.”
“What about that guard, um Sir Steven?” Irene asked.
“Oh,” I said, “That was just a fling, an experiment. It only lasted a week because he liked Penny remember?” I shrugged my shoulders.
“I saw him looking at you,” Irene said.
“He has a girlfriend,” I informed her.
“Okay, okay,” Irene laughed as she handed me a green tunic and brown leather boots.
I slipped off my nightgown and put on the emerald colored tunic.
“There,” Irene said after she finished braiding a silver ribbon in my hair. Then I walked over to the stables. I went over to the caramel mare that was mine now and before when it was a pony that I rode with my father when I was ten. I named it Sapphire.
“Boo!” a voice said leaping out of the large hay bale on top of me. The impact caused me to fall and the person who jumped on me to fall on top of me. I shoved whoever it was aside and landed on top of them this time.
“Who are you?” I asked wiping the hay from their face. It was none other than Prince Joshua.
“Josh,” I exclaimed and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Wow,” he said in a strained voice, “I guess I deserved this.” He reached his head up kissing me on the forehead.
“Yeah, yeah you did,” I said getting up.
He laughed as he pushed himself up.
“Here,” I said gesturing at a white stallion with, “you can have this horse, Lightning.”
I started over to Sapphire and heard Josh say, “No.”
“What?” I asked.
“You’re riding with me.”
“Okay,” I said smiling slightly.
I put my foot through the stirrup and Josh lifted me up onto Lightning’s saddle, and I felt him get up and on the saddle behind me. He spurred the horse and we galloped to the forest together.
Joshua
My head bobbed as Addy and I galloped to the Forest of Marr on Lightning. I looked at the bottom of her head, she and were riding on the same horse.
She turned around to look at me, “Josh?”
“Yes, Addy,” I said loosening my grip on Lightning’s reins.
“Why did you choose me?” she asked quietly, “Before everything happened.”
“I chose you because you were different,” I said gazing out at the trees surrounding us.
“Gee, thanks,” she said sarcastically.
“I did not mean it in a bad way,” I said trying to form the right words, “I thought you were stronger than any other girl I had ever met, you were independent which is a quality I admire in a woman, obviously you’re beautiful and when you stuck those guards with their own spear I was immensely impressed.”
“Really?” she asked.
“What?” I asked resting my chin at the top of her head.
“You think I’m beautiful?” she whispered.
“Of course, why?” I asked.
“I’ve never been the beautiful one. It was always Penny, Alice was the smart one, Estelle and Angelica were amazing dancers and Selena is a phenomenal artist. I was just there.”
“No,” I said confidently, “you are the independent one. You take matters into your own hands; you don’t let anyone boss you around. Your father told you to stay in the castle at all times and you left to train.”
“You also chose me because of that test you challenged us to. You know Estelle still has that necklace,” Addy told me giggling.
“I wish to propose to you properly,” I said ignoring the comment she just made.
“Oh,” she replied in surprise, turning her head around.
“Yes,” I started, “I want you, Princess Addy, to be my bride, not only to bind the kingdoms of Fire and Air together but because I love you.”
I saw tears in her eyes. “Do you wish to be my bride?”
She looked at me. I mean she really looked at me. She stared at me in the eyes as if my eyes were the window to my soul. Like she needed proof that my words were genuine. Apparently she found it, nodding as I took her hand and slipped a gold promise ring of the Fire Kingdom on her first finger.
She twisted her torso around facing the head of the horse. Then she quickly turned around to face me again. I pulled the reigns signaling Lightning to stop trotting. I looked down at her big blue eyes and cupped my hand around her chin pulling her up to me.
Adeline
I felt Josh’s hand around my chin and pull me up to face him. He inclined his head and I felt his lips on mine. My face felt hot and my body a string. I was floating in my mind every cell in my body buzzing. This kiss was different than the ones before this was our closing kiss.
After a moment Josh pulled back. I stared into his hazel eyes.
“You know I love you,” Josh said in a hushed voice, “right Addy?”
“Yes,” I breathed, “and I do too.”
I turned back around, facing forward hiding my blushing cheeks from Josh. I felt him spur Lightning and we began forward. I looked above me and saw patches of sunlight pouring through the spaces between the overlapping leaves.
Suddenly, the dense, dark forest was light and alive with chirping birds. I felt Josh’s breath on my neck and my necklace bob in time with the footsteps of the horse.
All of a sudden, a dark shape jumped in front of the horse. Lightning reared on its hind legs in response whinnying loudly.
“What a beautiful moment,” a gruff voice said.
Josh spurred Lightning and turned the reigns to charge in the opposite direction of the shape. Two burly figures leaped out of the trees and tied ropes around Lightning’s neck. The impact sent Josh and I tumbling off the horse’s back.
I fell on top of Josh and looked down at him. It would have been romantic except two other bandits’ shoved smelly sacks over our heads. I tried fighting the one that had my arms tied around my back. Due to the sack impairing my vision made some of my hits miss my initial target.
“Addy!” I heard Josh shout amongst all the confusion.
“Shut up,” the gruff voice before said and I heard a thump which I assumed was Josh hitting the floor.
I picked my foot up and kicked it behind me. I heard a dull thump of my mark hitting my target.
“You’ll have to try harder than that to bring me down girlie,” a deep voice told me.
I felt a hand release my arm. I whipped my unguarded arm in a full turn. I felt the slap of my fist hitting skin.
“Ow, dammit,” the low voice snarled, releasing my other arm.
Now with both arms free I reached up and pulled the sack off my head and whipped it at the trees. I blinked a couple times surveying the scene surrounding me.
Lightning was kicking up on his hind legs trying to stomp the lights out of the two thugs that were trying to pin him down with their rope.
Josh was sack-less as well battling two burly men with a sword that must have been attached to the saddle. I saw him whip his arm around at slash one of the bandits which left a pretty nasty gash on his cheek. He fell to the ground.
I looked behind me and saw my attacker was the dark shape that jumped out in front of our horse. I whipped my now free arms at the bandit, punching wildly at him. I stopped when I was out of breath. He was hunched over nursing a rapidly-swelling bruise on his eye courtesy of me.
I turned away from him to help Josh who was now only fighting one other bandit. The second one was kicked over to the side bleeding badly from a huge cut on his leg.
“Josh?” I called.
I saw the bandit hit him in the head. Josh staggered slowly. His knees buckled before he hit the ground.
I rushed over to aid Josh in his fight when I felt something heavy strike the back of my head and I blacked out.