So Much More Than Royal

Chapter 3

ELIANA

The men were sprawled across the ground like roadkill, two knocked out and the others groaning lowly. I touched my knuckles, red and swollen. My nose throbbed, but luckily no blood poured from it. Griffon held my bag out in from of him, me taking it from his hand. Both of the boxes were smushed, but like I said earlier: it didn't matter if they were funny looking as long as they still tasted like paradise.

"I'm not going to be thrown in a dungeon, right?"

I had almost let out a laugh, "What?"

"I stole from a princess, didn't I?" His left eyebrow cocked upward, "I just want to say that if you do decide to lock me away, I will not come peacefully. Prison cells have never been my thing."

"First off, the castle doesn't have a dungeon. At least not anymore... My mother turned it into a she-shed two years ago." He laughed at this, but I was serious. She spent most of her time down there doing God knows what. "And second, turning you in would mean turning myself in as well. In all honesty, I'm not supposed to be outside of the castle right now."

Griffon let out a gasp, one that was by all means exaggerated. "You mean to tell me that her royal highness herself snuck out?!" His eyes went wide, his hand clutching his chest as if this was heart wrenching news. "I thought the King and Queen had allowed their daughter to be out in the middle of night willingly!"

"Haha, very funny." I couldn't help but roll my eyes, gently pressing on my tender nose with a wince. "And don't call me tha-"

"Hold on." Griffon grabbed my hand from my nose and pulled it away as he tilted up my chin.

He squinted his eyes, then dragged me from the
alleyway into the light of the street lamp. Griffon touched my face with caution, barely allowing his fingers to graze my skin. It sent shivers down my spine.

"You're going to want to ice this before you leave or it's going to leave a horrible bruise." His hand left my chin and replaced it's grasp onto my left hand, "This too. If you come with me to my place then I can give you some."

"I'm plenty sure we have ice in the castle."

"I'm sure you do too, but I'm also trying to suck up right now." Griffon's rich and soft eyes met mine as he beamed a smirk. His eyes didn't match the callouses painted across his knuckles. "Just to be certain that you won't have your guards track me down, y'know?

I pulled my hand back from his and, once again, those same chills enveloped my body. My eyes placed themselves onto the poorly lit street, it felt as if more of those criminals would lunge out from the shadows at any moment. Just the thought of making my way back to the palace with no protection quickened my heartbeat.

That terror-stricken feeling vanished as my eyes reconnected with Griffon's. He had a comforting presence that I couldn't quite describe. Whether that be due to his recent heroics or from my callous-prompted assumptions of his life, I felt safe with him near.

Would it really be that foolish to go to his home?

With this frigid weather and my newly tarnished cloak, I was slowly being motivated towards saying yes. I was too cold and scared to say no, in all honesty.

I sighed. "Fine. But, I'm only staying long enough to get some ice and maybe borrow a coat." I tucked my arms into one another, desperate for a warmth I no longer knew. "Once everything is settled, then I will be leaving straight away and we're both going to forget this night ever happened. Okay?"

"Got it, princess."

Princess.

He was going to make a thing of this, wasn't he? I wish I had never met him, never followed him, never stole away from the castle so late at night. I wish that nothing ever happened. Except, something did happen. My identity had been exposed to a group of criminals. Who knows if they'll tell others and my late night ventures will reach the ears of my parents? Who knows if they'll come for revenge?...