The Lost Queen -Book 1- Alden

23. Hide and Seek

I wake up at 6 am on my couch. I don't have a hangover. I look around. I may still be drunk. I try to remember when I went to bed, but I don't remember shit. I stand up slowly and walk out into the hallway. 

There are guards at my door. I check the hallway and Clark is sleeping on the floor outside Maggie's room. I look the other way. It seems like a nice hallway. 

I smile at the guard. "Take that poor man a couch, guard sir... Oh yea, I'm going back to sleep now. Good night sir."

"Good night sir."

Several hours later, I wake up face down beside the queen. I'm holding her hand. Someone is knocking on the door. The queens servant is standing beside her, glaring at me.

I roll out of the bed. "What? I didn't look."

She opens her mouth to say something but I yell, "Come in!" before she can yell at me.

Emberlynna walks in with a stack of papers. "Good afternoon. I just have a few things for you to sign today." She hands me the stack, "Oh here's a pen."

I take the pen and slowly start signing the papers. Maybe the servant will forget about all this and roam away.

After 5 minutes of her fluffing the same pillow and glaring at me, I give up and give the signed papers back to Emberlynna.

"Thank you Alden. Have a good afternoon." Emberlynna leaves and shuts the door.

"STAY OUT OF HER BED. You are not married. She hasn't even said you're her mate yet. You have no reason to be in her bed. Do not let me catch you in it again."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just wanted to hold her hand. Clark found his mate last night and they are so happy. I just wanted to hold her hand for a little bit. I'm sorry. I was drunk and fell asleep." I can feel the tears starting to form in my eyes. I get up and walk out. I keep walking. All the way out of the castle.

Once I get out of the gate I start to run. I look back and realize, somehow I got out without any guards. It's just me.

I run until I hit a little town. I make a few turns to throw off anyone who follows me and exit the town in a different direction than I entered.

After another 10 minutes of running, I see a tree. It's all alone in a grassy area. I run up to it, turn around, and sit down. I lean back and feel the bark cut into my back. 

I really don't care.

I think about Clark and Maddie. How happy they are just watching at each other. I think about my brother. I wonder when he'll find his soul mate. I'm sure he'll make someone very happy someday. He's such a good person. And they'll both be good dads. They deserve to be happy.

I think about going back home. I haven't seen my niece and nephew in a year. I bet they've grown so much. I miss my sister and my mom. I worry about mom getting along without any of her children in the same town as her.  I wonder what my dad would think about me now. I think about the princess. How could a princess from 2000 years ago like someone like me? The thought is insane. I'm not a king. I'm just someone who works for a living. In a town in the middle of nowhere. She deserves more than me. There is no way I'm actually her mate.

I look up from the flower I've been twirling in my fingers for God knows how long. I see Clark coming towards me.

He sits down beside me. "Hey man, what's up?"

"Nothing much. Just went for a run."

"In Romania, with no shoes or shirt, in February, and in pajama pants?" He picks a flower. "For real. What happened?"