Before I start, I just want to say thank you for sticking with Royal since the beginning (if not, what are you doing reading chapter 10? Start by reading chapter 1!!!) This chapter was suuuuuuuuuuuuper hard to write, I had to go back to square one several times, and it took soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long writing that beginning scene, I can't even tell you how long it took. Anyway, without further ado, chapter 10: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PETER. HE’S the only thing I can think of right now. His breath still felt as warm to me as the sunlight on my face, though I couldn’t remember the exact shade of his eyes, for it had been weeks since I had seen him at the eatery last, and the weather was finally starting to warm up. Closing my eyes against the sad thought that he wasn’t here to hold me, I held the railing as I walked up the stairs to the eating chambers for my third chore today, and it was only 7:30! Later that day, wandered the halls of the school, searching for Bert. It seemed as though everywhere I turned, the fact that Peter wasn’t there jumped out at me, and I figured that seeing the familiar face of my best friend would cure the sad thoughts for a while. After several minutes of wandering, I let my head hang and tried to keep myself as warm as possible in the drafty stone halls. Looking down at the floor, I saw someone else’s shoes come into view. Suddenly, I was engulfed in a pair of arms. Instantly, I was filled with warmth and breathed in the smell of fresh bread. It was Peter! I must be dreaming… I thought. I hugged him in return and felt him all over to make sure he was actually there. “Sunshine…” He said, leaning back to study my face. I couldn’t stop smiling. I led him down the stairs to my room where we could have more privacy. “I’ve missed you so much,” He said once I had closed the door behind us. He looked dazed as if he wasn’t expecting me to be here. “Me too,” I replied. He put his arms around my waist and bent down to put his face in the crook of my neck. I was content in his arms, and let myself lean into his warmth. “I got your letter,” I offered, prompting conversation. He responded by straightening and moving his hand up to my face, holding my cheek with his thumb, the rest of his fingers tangled in my hair, the other hand still at my waist. My knees almost buckled, and my heart beat louder. “I’m glad,” He said, gently pulling my face towards his. I inhaled sharply just before his lips touched mine and jerked slightly downwards. “What’s wrong?” Peter asked, his hands never moving. I shut my eyes briefly, then responded. “Nothing, I’m just so happy right now, I wanted you to know that.” “Was that all? You could have said that differently, you know.” Suddenly my vision turned blurred with tears of happiness. “Yes, I know.” Resuming the mood, he planted kisses on my eyelids and cheeks in turn and paused to take a few breaths before planting one on my lips. My eyes fluttered closed as a hot-cold sensation flooded over me as if I were being electrocuted. I hesitated for a moment, then draped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. After a few breathless seconds, he pulled back a little and smiled at me. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
Read ^ first!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- I grinned and shook my head. “That’s what you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it?” “You could tell?” I stood on tiptoe and gave him a peck on the cheek and whispered in his hair, “It was written on your face as plain as the light of day!” He laughed and turned my head to kiss me again. What could have easily been hours later, he drew back and sat on my cot. I sat beside him, letting our fingers become tangled in between us. “Hana,” Peter’s voice was serious. “Peter?” “I have something important to tell you about why I’m here.” “That much is evident,” I responded playfully. He beamed while shaking his head. “You know that’s not what I meant, I meant about how I got here.” “Did I know that or were you hoping I’d understand?” I positioned myself as if I were in deep thought. He rolled his eyes, still grinning. “I don’t want you to call me Peter unless we’re alone like this.” “Why?” “Because I got here because of the Prince.” “What do you mean?” “I’m under false pretenses, which is how I got here.” “I’m still finding it difficult to understand,” “I’m pretending!” “To be…” “The prince,” He said as though it were obvious. “Okay, tell me the story from the beginning, I still don’t understand.” “Fine,” He started, “I’m pretending to be the prince as part of a program for stuffy monarchs called MSPP; Monarchs Swap Places with Peasants, which is pretty self-explanatory.” “How did you find out about this program?” “It’s a long story.” “Okay, whatever you say. Continue,” “I’m hoping nobody here knows what Prince Vigilius XVI looks like, because he has black hair, and icy-blue eyes, and acts all ‘princely’ and above us all, but I can’t get my hopes up.” “The hair and eyes are probably going to be the hardest to pull off,” “Yes, which is why I’m not going to hide them.” “So, where is the real prince now?” “He went missing about a month and a half ago.” “Where’d he go? Doesn’t anybody keep watch over him?” “Well, nobody knows yet, but when the King and Queen were looking at his bodyguard, the carriage driver muttered something about Wildwood Prep.” “How do you know these things?” “Word gets ‘round, what can I say?” I gave him a look that said “don’t mess with me.” “Don’t believe me?” “Right now, you’re kind of making it hard,” “I’ll make it easier,” He promised, and scooted closer to me, tilting my chin up and whispering, “Call me Vigilius in public, but when we make it clear that we’re courting, you can call me Louie.” He closed the distance between us. I almost didn’t hear the door creak open, for I was safely in a blissful sense of oblivion. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Double digits, guys! This is amazing! I haven't ever made it this far with a novel before (hopefully I can get published...), especially not in (I think it's been) 6 months! This is probably the soppiest (and hardest) chapter to write, so I hope you don't mind :P I'm going to get started on chapter 12 (already finished 11, posting it in a few hours) which will be in Peter's POV. Lots of things going to be revealed in that chapter, so uhhhh... stay tuned! D.W.B.H! -Oreo ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to the studio for the other ones, please! Next chapter: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/491924091/
