Once Upon a Time

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

I waited as Anna took a breath, leaning into Raphael.

"I -" She started, stopping mid-sentence.

I nodded for her to go on. "Yes?"

She sighed. "I'm pregnant." She said it really quickly, shoving her words together.

I could only stare at her in response. "What?"

"I am -"

I covered my ears with my hands. "No, no, I heard that, it's just... surprising." I took my hands away and looked at her. "Wh - when did this happen?"

She gave me a nervous smile. "I found out when we were staying at Daisy's house."

I gave her a look. "You knew for that long and you didn't tell me?"

"Well," She started. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

I shook my head. Sometimes Anna made no sense at all, but it wasn't smart to argue with her. "I'm really happy for you." I told her truthfully. Since we ran away, she would have a chance to start her own life how she wanted to live it. I didn't think that I would have that chance.

"Well, we need to continue." Jasper told us, interrupting Anna's moment of happiness. "It won't take long before the bandits realize what happened."

Raphael nodded. "He's right, we need to leave."

I nodded and we started walking west. I had no idea where we were going, but apparently everyone else did.

After about an hour of walking, Jasper fell back next to me, leaving Anna and Raphael to lead the way.

"Hey," He greeted nervously.

"Uh, hi," I answered.

After a few moments of quiet he said, "I - I'm sorry."

I gave him a confused look. "Why?"

He looked at his feet. "For everything,"

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, lifting up his face to meet my eyes. "I mean, I got you into this mess. If it wasn't for me, you would still be at the palace, out of danger."

I gave a small laugh. "To be honest, it's safer out here than at the castle. At least here we have a chance to escape. That was not the case as a servant." I mentally shivered at the memory. "We just had to take what was coming to us."

He gave me a horrified look. "Was it really that bad?"

I nodded, biting my lower lip. "But, I mean, I'm used to it. I've lived that kind of life for as long as I could remember."

Jasper shook his head. "Well, when I become king, I'll make sure that doesn't happen to anyone."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You - you're going back?" I asked. I had hoped that he would stay with us.

He nodded slowly. "I can't just leave my duties, no matter how much I want to. As soon as I turn twenty, I can take my place as the rightful king and help everyone that my father has brought down."

I looked down at the ground. "When are you going to leave?" I asked, kicking a stone down the path.

He shrugged. "Well, I know some people that are against my father that would let you guys stay with them. If we find them, I'll go back to living in the palace until I can rule."

I nodded and took a breath. "So what was that kiss about?" I asked him quickly, getting it over with.

"I - I don't know." He told me truthfully, making me look up at him. "I really don't know why I did that. I was just really happy that you were okay. I was worried about you."

I scoffed. "And that's why you're leaving." I told him harshly, making him flinch.

"Aileen, that's not -" He started, but I cut him off.

"Whatever. Why did you kiss me if you didn't mean it?" He didn't have a chance to answer before I stormed away, catching up with Anna and Raphael. I had known that it would be too good to be true. I didn't think that I would ever get my happy ever after.