The Girl behind the Throne (Editing)

Chapter 2

Nine hours passed by quicker than I had thought that they would, and before I knew it, it was six thirty and I stood in front of the mirror in my room for way too long, trying to decide what to wear. Knowing Jamie, we would be off gallivanting in the grounds. The weather had been hot, the early summer months as dry and as sunny as if we had been transported from England to the coast of Spain. Baring this in mind, I had put on my bikini under whatever clothes I would eventually choose. My stomach flipped over and over, I hadn't even been able to eat my welcome home dinner out of excitement. I had only felt like this once before, and that was Liam, disgusting lecherous Liam who I had been infatuated with, too blind to see his faults until they were too late.

What was wrong with me? This was Jamie, the same Jamie who climbed in my window to keep me distracted when I had the chicken pox when I was twelve, it was the same Jamie who helped me get my head around algebra and French grammar, so why the hell do I feel like this?

Physically shaking my head, I looked in the mirror and gave myself one long hard look in the mirror. Breathing out in a long, slow exhale, I picked up the first item I had discarded earlier, a short sleeved cotton blue jumpsuit, which I had made last year, and I put it on. I pulled my long brown wavy hair up into a pony tail, and left it at that. If we ended up going swimming, I didn't want panda eyes, plus I had never put make up on to see him before, and I wasn't going to start now.

I set out on the short walk from my father's small cottage, to the lake. The layout of the estate was large, with our favourite lake far away from the main house. It was our favourite, because it had a swimming deck, erected by Jamie's grandfather and was surrounded by thick oak woods on one side, and loping green fields on the other. As a child it had been a great place to spend time, with hours of fun being spent on the deck or in the woods.

As it was so far away from the main building, only the guards would roam around here occasionally, but they tended to patrol the boundaries, and left the royal family to their own devices in the middle, so now once again, the lake was the best place to meet Jamie, it was a place that only Jamie, Andrew and I would regularly go. Nevertheless, I walked the route which would take me through the trees, not wanting to be seen by any accidental passersby. As I made my way through the copse of trees, I looked around the swimming deck, not seeing any sign of Jamie.

'Guess who'. Suddenly, I felt hands land on my eyes blinding me from the June sun. I fought a startled jump, knowing that Jamie would only love to see that he frightened me, and I decided to brazen it out.

'Oh Ryan Gosling, I love you, marry me'. I yelled dramatically knowing that we were pretty much safe out here.

'Way to make me feel special, I'm wounded'. Jamie replied in mock outrage, his hand falling away from my face.

'Where's Ryan gone?' I said jokingly, turning and looking up at him; he had grown taller in the time I had been away. His grey eyes were soft with emotion and before I knew it I was in his arms, his vice-like grip nearly choking me.

Once I managed to regain my breath, I pulled my arms around him, giving him the hug I had wanted to this morning.

'I missed you'. He murmured into my hair. I felt stupid tears welling in my eyes, and forced myself not to blink, not to let the fat salty droplets roll down my cheeks.

'I missed you too, Jamie'. I whispered back, noting how fast my heart was beating. It was banging like a jackhammer in my chest, and my palms felt clammy with sweat.

We separated finally sitting close on the grass by the edge of the lake, the warm summer air breezing occasionally.

'So what did you bring me?' I said my hands out and closing my eyes, I felt a warm hand clamp down on my eyes, and Jamie's voice very close to my ear.