Short stories

Short story 2

I walked through the empty halls of the palace. All the walls were carved with beautiful decorations and paintings of kings, queens, and even dukes and duchesses were hung everywhere. As I neared the huge wooden doors, two guards swung them open for me to walk through. My dress was scarlet red. Almost the color of fresh blood. It was almost too wide to fit through the doors and wasn't light at all. As I stepped into the ballroom, the music stopped, and everyone stopped dancing to look in my direction. "Princess Ember is here." a man on my right announced. I curtseyed to the crowd. "Well, I didn't come here to stop the fun. Start the music and everyone, continue dancing." I said with a huge smile. Right away, the classical music started back up and everyone grabbed their partner and started to dance. I walked through the ballroom looking for a familiar face among the sea of strangers. I spotted my mother and father sitting on their thrones overlooking the ball. I wasn't interested in joining them just yet. I continued searching until I spotted the face I was looking for. He was in a black suit lined in gold. I smiled at the sight of him and pushed my way through the crowd. It took quite a while before I managed to get to him. He had his back turned to me. I tapped on his shoulder and he immediately swung around to face me. The shock on his face was replaced with a smile. He embraced me and then kissed me passionately. It warmed my heart. I pulled myself away and immediately looked towards my mother and father to make sure they didn't see me. Then I looked back at Charles. "Glad to see a familiar face. I can't believe they're hosting the second ball this month." I complained. Charles nodded and looked around as if he were looking for someone. I looked at him quizzically, waiting for an explanation. "I- uh. Excuse me for a minute please." he said as he walked away into the crowd. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be worried, but I decided to go join my parents before they asked too many questions. I walked up the stairs and sat down on the throne beside my mother. She leaned over. "Who was that dear?" "I'm not sure I understand." "Oh don't be silly, your mother can see everything." she said slyly. "That was Charles. I met him in a nearby kingdom." "He's the son of the Ice king? I didn't know they had a son." "Well, no. He's the Duke." I replied nervously. "Are you insane Ember? A duke? I do not accept that." she said angrily. I didn't bother to respond and decided to see if I could find him again. He was standing by the huge wooden doors I had entered through previously. He was smiling and signaling for me to join him. I smiled. "Mother. I don't feel too well. I'm going to go rest." I coughed. I didn't for her to reply and hurriedly made it down the stairs. "Ember don't you dare!" my mother shouted at me. I laughed and the crowd paused and cleared the way for me, clearly confused. Ahead of me, Charles had opened the door and had his hand stretched out towards me. I took it and we ran down the halls. Behind us, the guards closed the doors. We laughed and ran up the wide staircase. All the way into my bedroom, we ran hand in hand, my stomach sore from laughing too hard. I walked into the room first, and Charles closed the doors and locked them. I sat on the bed and smiled at him. Urging me to join him. I grinned and fell into his arms. He pulled me into a kiss that I was longing for, for so long. I wanted more of him. I wanted this moment to last forever and I never wanted him to let go. But I couldn't have that. A loud bang came from the door. I pulled myself away from Charles and stared and the doors in absolute shock. In the corner of my eyes, I noticed Charles doing something though I didn't really bother to check. "Ember! In the name of your father the king, open this door at once!" my father's voice boomed through the room. This was the time to look at Charles. He looked a lot calmer than I was feeling. He was tying something to his waist. "What are you doing? My father will attempt to break down this door any minute now and will kill you if he sees you here, and your tying fabric to your waist?!" I demanded. He didn't reply and continued working, unfazed by the banging on my door. "EMBER!" my father shouted once again. "Come here." Charles said without looking at me. "What?" "Just come here." he replied. I shook my head but walked up to him. "Could you go a little slower? I'm sure your father is just crazy wanting to meet me." He said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. Just as he had to himself, he tied long fabric to my waist. I followed it to see where it led to. My eyes widened when I realized that it led out of the window. "Wait. What are you planning on doing?" I asked worriedly. "You'll see." Is all he said. Behind me, I heard the doors attempting to fall down. They wouldn't hold much longer. "There. No get onto the window." He said way too calmly. "Excuse me? Are you insane?" I shouted. "Yes." He replied and then pulled me to the edge of the opened window. I tried not to look behind me. The doors fell over with a crash and panic overflowed me. I looked and Charles. He was smiling. "Ember, get off the window love." my mother said. Her face was covered in worry all over. I wanted to untie myself and run into her arms as she told me everything was ok, but I didn't move. "On the count of three." Charles whispered into my ears. "Wait-" I managed to say. "Three!" he shouted as the two of us fell backward out of the window. I screamed and above I saw my parents leaning out of the window probably shouting my name. The fall didn't last long and soon we were hanging an inch above the ground. I stood up warily and then walked up to Charles who was untying himself in a hurry. I slapped him hard, leaving a red mark on his cheek. "OW. What was that for?" he asked rubbing his sore cheek. "That's for being an idiot." I replied.