Waterfall

Chapter 8

 We walk out the door, and he turns to me. "You're so pretty." He smiles. I turn red and cover my face with my sleeves. "Aw, who's blushing now." He whispers in my ear. I know that I am crimson when I push him and run off. "Hey wait up!" He exclaims, running after me. I reach town in a few minutes, and realize that he had the paper that told us what fabrics to get. "Great." I mumble, and start looking around. I stop at this flower shop, and my eyes start to wonder over all of the delicate petals. Then, I stop. A beautiful black magic rose has caught my eye. A man walks up beside me, and asks for an entire bouquet.

Then, he turns to me, and holds the bouquet out, offering it to me. I look up at his smiling face, to see Shadow. I stumble backwards in shock. I can't let him know. I have to act nothing like myself. "Hello." I mutter, accepting the roses. I wanted to snap them in half, right then and there. He laughs, and says, "You know, I was betrothed to a young princess. But she ran away two weeks before the wedding." Then he adds, "Coward. Who wouldn't want to marry a man like me." I start fake sneezing, and turn around and roll my eyes.

Then I turn back to him, and fake a smile. "Everyone, I'm sure." I mutter. He smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I wanted to push him to the ground, screaming for him to get off of me. Then, he does something that surprises me. He leans in to kiss me! I slap him, and tell him to keep his filthy hands off of me. When he tried apologizing, I shoved him to the ground, and screamed, "YOU PIG! DON'T EVER THINK THAT I WOULD FALL FOR THAT! I AM A PRIZE, AND YOU LOST YOUR GAME! SO DON'T EVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!"

Suddenly, Lucien hugs me from behind. I smile and turn around, hugging him as well. "Just go along with me, okay?" He whispers in my ear. I nod, and turn back to the "man" still on the ground. Lucien's arms are still around me, and he says, "What's going on, love." I'm a bit taken back, but I see what he's doing. " This foul, loathsome cockroach decided that it would be okay to try and kiss me." I feel Lucien let me go, and walk toward Shadow. Suddenly, his voice is dark. " Don't ever touch my girlfriend again." He says, turning to me, and grabbing my hand.

"Let's go. Your cousin should be needing those fabrics soon." He mutters. But Shadow had stood up, and was demanding that he face him. Lucien glared at him, but turned to the pathetic human. "What's your name." Shadow demanded.We hadn't figured out a name for him. I start to panic, but Lucien gives plants a kiss on my forehead.

"Alistair Smith. Age 17." He lies. Lucien walks up to his brother, and smirks. 'I have heard about you. The "prince" of Hardium. Formerly engaged to princess Yuikutsu Kotsuki. How long did that last, about half an hour? I bet you weren't good enough for her." He sneers. From Shadow's expression, Lucien has surprised him. "H-how did you know." Shadow stutters stepping back from Lucien.

"Rumors only spread, and if you ever come near me or anyone that I hold dear again, I can make them spread faster. Now get out of here, and don't come back." He says, his face darkening once again. And you should have seen him run back to that pretty little carriage. "Now can we go get those fabrics. I don't want Adam to get mad." I ask, grabbing his hand. Lucien nods, and then we wander through the market and collect the fabrics that we need.

Before we left, I stopped at a stall, selling jewelry. A small, marbled, midnight violet locket has caught my eye. It was beautiful. I turn to Lucien, gripping his arm. "Pllllleeaaaaaaasssssseeeeeee. Please can we buy it." I beg.He smiles, and picks it up to look at it. When he opens it, he says, "Hey, I think there is another picture frame in here." Then, he clicks a small button on the outside, and another frame pops open. "How much?" He asked the merchant.

"Is it for your little lady friend?" the merchant asks. Lucien turns red, but nods, and I giggle. "For young love, everything in my shop is free." The merchant proclaims. Now, I am red. Lucien chuckles, and I blush even more. "Let's just go!" I say grabbing the necklace from Lucien and walking towards the exit. But the merchant grabbed Lucien's arm. "That one's a keeper. Don't ever let that one go." He whispered. I run back, grab Lucien's hand, and start running. Then I snatch one of his bags, and he yells playfully, "Hey! Give it back."

I turn around and start skipping. "Gotta catch me first." I smirk. A hint of danger flashes in his eyes, and he takes off, full speed after me. In about thirty seconds, he is right behind me. Then, he grabs my waist and lifts me in the air, and spins me around. I gasp, and start laughing. He beams, and laughs too. And in that moment, time seemed to slow, like Adam said it did when we had met, in the carriage.

Time went back to normal, and he finally put me down. I smile, and give him his bag back. "You caught me." I giggle. Then, I grab his hand and walk out of the market. When we arrive home, I go into the sitting room and flop down on the couch. I think about how Lucien's face darkened. Did it do that because..... No. Lucien is just a great actor. He is great at almost everything. Art, cooking, piano, acting, and so much more. I realize that I'm blushing, and think more about today. About an hour later, lunch was served; salad with a baked potato.

I decided to ask Lucien about it. When lunch is over, I ask Lucien if we could go talk. He nods, and leads me out to the porch. There, he sits on a swing, and gestures for me to sit beside him. I do, and he starts swinging. We sit there in silence for about two minutes, then I speak. "So.....about today..." I mutter. He gives me a quizzical look. I hesitate before I begin talking again, but I inquire, "W-why did your face go all scary when you told Shadow to never touch your 'girlfriend' again." I know that I am blushing, and I bow my head.

I think he is taken back by this, but he grabs my hand. "Ever since that day, that Maria died, something has been eating at me inside..... I couldn't talk about it to anyone else....I was so alone... she was the only family that I had left." He said looking at his hands, which were still holding mine. "But you had your mother. And that excuse of a man, Shadow." I say, on the verge of tears.

"They are not my family. They abandoned me. Sent me away, to live with you, as a stupid cat." He snapped. I just sat there in silence, and then before I could stop them, tears start running down my face. Lucien doesn't realize until one of my tears hits his hand. He looks up at me and says, "No, no, no, no. Don't cry, don't cry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped." He hugs me, and strokes my hair.

"I had no one.... except for you. You were there for me. You always have been. That's just how you are. You make me happy, Lea." He cooes. "I was afraid to say it, but I hated your mother. She didn't have a right to force that marriage on you. You deserve better. But it's okay now. We are never going to see them again. They will never find us. We are safe here." He says, grimly. "But is it our home?" I say, gazing into those emerald eyes of his.

"Wherever you are, that is my home. I am here to protect and serve you no matter what, remember." He says with a wink. Just then, I poke him and move off the swing. "Oh it's on." He says standing up, poking me in the neck. I start backing away, and he follows me. He jabs at my stomach, and I barely dodge it. I quickly poke him on his arm, and then dodge another one of his attempts. Then, I poke him about three times in the stomach and once on the arm. He grabs my wrists and says, "We can talk about this." In a playful voice. "No we can't! It's inevitable!" I laugh, trying to twist my wrists out of his grip.

Suddenly, I see Bear come running up the steps with Kylie, unconscious on his back. I scoop her up off of Bear's back and rush inside. She was bleeding. As I lay her down on the couch, I scream for Adam. A few seconds later, Adam walks out of the kitchen. When he sees Kylie, he starts crying, and runs to her side. Lucien is behind us, and Adam tells him to go into town, and ask for a Dr. Owen Quinley. He shoots a worried look at Kylie, nods, and jogs to the door. "I'm going to grab the first aid kit. Stay with me, Ky." Adam mutters, and runs into the kitchen. I glance at Kylie, and see the blood seeping into the white couch. Suddenly, the room starts spinning, and it's getting darker. Then it all goes black.

When I wake up, I am not in the cozy cottage that I now know as home. I was in the castle. The king and queen's castle. I am standing in the chapel, with my mother praying. When she lifts her head, I can see that she is crying. "I shouldn't have pushed her to marriage. How could I do this." She sobbed. That's exactly what I thought. She tried to force me to wed, to marry a stranger. But something in the back of my mind stopped me from thinking this. The only thought that could come into my head was feelings of pity. I suddenly felt bad for her. She had lost her only daughter. It was her fault, granted, but I had still disappeared, without a word. For the first time, I realized how much I missed my family, how much I missed trying gowns on with my mother, how much I missed always beating my father at chess, even if he let me win.

My mother stood, wiped a few tears from her eyes with a kerchief, and walked straight through me, like I was a ghost. The castle fades, and I wake up