Peril

Chapter 9 part 1

~Caden's pov~

“Welcome to the Royal Palace,” Harry announced as we entered the main hallway. All of our jaws dropped in awe.

The palace was beautiful. The walls were easily 15 feet high and 10 feet wide with cream colored walls that had gold swirly designs on them. The floors were a mix of cream, brown, and black marble. The chandeliers that hung every 10 feet were made of the most delicate looking glass. There were some pictures hung on various places on the walls and there were a couple of plants with blooming flowers. And this was only the hallway.

“This is the Queen’s sitting room,” Harry said, turning a corner and walking up to a set of double brown mahogany doors. “Only ladies are allowed to enter but men can go inside with the Queen’s permission. And yes that means me to.” He threw open the doors, but stayed on the outside. I slowly stepped into the room and my heart soared when I saw the inside.

The floors were the same colored mahogany as the doors but shinier. The walls were a light, pale pink with the same swirly designs as the hallway but in silver and white. There were plush cream colored couches in the center with a brown table in the middle. On one side of the room there was a bookshelf that ran along the whole wall that was filled to the brink with books. In the back of the room were musical instruments, guitars, violins, etc. There was a sleek, black grand piano with a black bench farther away from the other instruments, closer to the couches. On the wall to the left was mini bar type thing. It held the drink and a few snacks. The room was perfect.

“Oh it’s so beautiful,” I gasp looking over at a smiling Harry. He had cooled down at some point during the flight here and even gave me a somewhat apology for snapping at me. Loretta, Ceeci, and Annabelle agreed. I realized that the boys were still on the outside, “You guys can enter. I’m not the Queen just yet.”

They laughed as they walked into the room. Matt and Daren went slack jawed as they eyed the music station and the snack bar. “Well now we know where to find you when you go missing,” Matt chuckled.

I laughed in agreement. This room would surely become a safe haven for me if Harry ever got too much to handle. I could surely spend hours on end in here, especially if there’s a snack bar. I turned my head to see Harry walk hesitantly into the room.

He looked around the space, a look of longing in his eyes. For some reason my heart went out to him. He seemed so sad and lonely.

“Why don’t you guys go outside? I want to talk to Harry about something. We’ll catch up with you in a minute,” I whispered to Matt. He nodded and went to grab everyone and heard them outside. When Harry and I were alone, I walked over to him and hesitantly put my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” He turned toward me with a somber expression.

“That last time I was in this room was when I was 10. My mother had gotten in an argument with my father and needed to get away from him for a little bit. She was sitting on the couch playing the violin like her life depended on it. When she was done, she spotted me at the doors and invited me in. We spent the rest of the day on the couch talking and paying the instruments. My mother used to let me stay here with her when her other ladies or guests weren’t around. After she died my father demanded that doors to be shut and locked up. When I missed her, I would come here late at night and sit by the doors and pretend that she was in there playing the piano or sitting by the window reading a book and humming to herself. But as I got older, the memories of her began to fade away,” He whispered looking at the couch.

As if on instinct, my arms snaked around his torso in a hug. He didn’t waste a single second in wrapping his arms around me in return. It seemed like he let himself go and just fell into my arms. I had to firmly plant my feet on the ground so that I wouldn’t fall over under his weight. His body shook in silent sobs. Each tear seeped into my forehead, making me want to cry along with him. I had never seen him in this weak state and it honestly scared me. I rubbed circles on his back hoping that it would sooth him. Eventually his sobs died down to sniffles. He pulled back slightly but kept me in his arms.