The Reincarnated Royalty

Chapter - 16

Claire stepped inside her room after having dinner with everyone. She went to her jewelry box to take off the earrings which she was wearing, suddenly she noticed in the mirror that the necklace with was given by her mother was not around her neck. She looked around the whole room in order to find it but was not able to. She panicked and rushed down and searched the whole dining room but still did not find it. 

She went back to her room started thinking hard. Just then something clicked inside her mind. "Near the pond. It must have fell when I was running behind Prince Sky." She became confident of her guess and opened her almirah. She took out a long back robe. 

She tied her hair in a tight ponytail and took off all the jewelry she was wearing and put on that robe. She stepped in the balcony and arranged a ladder to the garden. "It is going to be dangerous but I have to do it." She encouraged herself and took a step down.

Just as she did that, she saw Sky also standing in the balcony. She tried hard to not make any noise but the ladder was very old and made a creaking sound. Sky looked here and there and finally spotted her trying to escape from there. He quickly went inside his room and entered from Claire's room. 

"What are you trying to do?" He asked her in a low voice. "You can go to the garden from the main gate too. You are not forbidden to go there." He said making her realize the basic thing which she forgot due to her hastiness. She got very embarrassed and looked the other way. 

"Here." Sky lend her a hand to help her get up to the balcony. Once she was finally there, he stood straight. "Why are you trying to escape?" He asked her. "I lost my necklace near the pond." She said to him. "You can get it tomorrow too." He replied. "It would be completely lost by tomorrow and I am sure about it." She said and walked away from there. "If that's the case, I will help you." Sky said making her look back at him.

"Are you sure? You might get in trouble." She warned him. "Just today you said you trust me, then please do it." He said to her and she nodded. They both came in the garden and somehow slid into a tight corner. The guards were roaming all around. The security is even more strict since the last invasion of that unknown man sent by Kevin. 

Claire was about to sneeze but Sky covered her mouth and dragged her further into that tight corner. As they walked forward, the guards were constantly increasing in number. They both waited there for a while and when the guards were not looking, they took their chance and escaped from there. 

They both were finally out of the castle. It was Claire's first time seeing the Kingdom at night. She was amazed by how it all was looking so beautiful. Lanterns and candles lit around everywhere were making her eyes glow too. She became very happy seeing all of that. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone hold her hand.

She looked to her side and Sky leading the way while holding her hand and a lantern in another. He was looking ethereal in the light of that lantern. Claire was just looking at him not paying any attention to the surroundings. "Please focus, princess." He said to her and she looked the other way. "I was focusing." She said to him. "On my face." He completed her sentence making a red blush rise to her cheeks.

After walking for a while they both finally reached the pond area. They began looking all around trying to find the necklace. A lot of time passed but they were still not able to find it. Suddenly it all became dark as the lantern blew out due to less oil. The only source of light which was left there was the moonlight.

Suddenly Sky noticed something shiny near the tree where they both were sitting. He went there and it turned out be that necklace. "I found it!" He said gaining Claire's attention and she went there. She became very happy on seeing it. "Thank you!" She said and hugged him. This gave him chills all over his body and his heart rate increased rapidly.

She pulled back and took that necklace from him. She wore it and felt at peace. "We must go back now." Claire said and pulled Sky along with her. The whole time Sky was staring at her smiling face. "You should focus, Prince Sky." She said making him come out of his thoughts. "How could I focus when this is so beautiful." He said. "Indeed, all these decorations are even more beautiful at night." She said while looking around with shimmering eyes and a wide smile.

"I wasn't talking about the decorations." He said making her stop on her track. She looked at him with slightly wide eyes and a bit confused expression. "I must say, you look even more beautiful under these night lights." He said making her heart skip a beat. "T-thank you." She stammered a bit and again started walking to hide her flustered face. Sky followed her from behind being flustered as well.

They both finally reached the castle only to be greeted by the most unexpected guest. Kevin was standing there along with his guard, the king and Ray. They all were looking at Sky and Claire and the king was very angry. Kevin had a slight smirk on his face knowing what was going to happen next. 

"Where were you Claire?" The king asked her making her freeze as she did not know what to answer. "I asked where were you?" He asked asked her with a slight raise in voice. "Nowhere. I was in my room." She replied. "Don't lie! Prince Kevin's guards saw you escaping from the castle wearing a black robe." He said to her and she shut her eyes in fear. Kevin smirked seeing that.

 "I-I went o-out." She finally gather the courage and spoke up. "Who gave you the rights to break the royal rules?" He yelled at her making her flinch. "I am s-sorry---" She was cut off in between. 

"I cannot let it go unnoticed." The king said and ordered his guards to come forward. Before anyone could come near to Claire, Sky stepped forward. "Sorry for interrupting in between, but I was the one who helped princess. I was the one who took her out of the castle. The one who deserves any kind of punishment is me, not princess." He said while looking at the king directly in the eyes.

"Sky no--" Claire tried to protest but he signaled her not to. "I am at fault, not her." He said and looked down. The guards came and handcuffed him. "I sentence you a punishment for two days in the dungeon." The king announced and they began taking Sky with them. 

"NO! STOP PLEASE!" Claire protested but was only dragged back by the others guards. "Don't do this father!" She screamed knowing the pain he was about to go through in the dungeon. "I will not change my decision." The king said and went from there followed by Kevin and his guard. 

"PLEASE!" She pleaded but nobody heard her. Sky looked back and gave her a small smile saying that he will be fine. Ray came to her and tried to comfort her. "Calm down, Claire." He said to her. "They are going to torture him, how can I calm down?" She said while tears built up in her eyes. 

Ray did not what to say as he knew she was right. In the past few days Sky and Claire became very close to each other and he knew that too. He just lend her a hand and made her go back to her room. 

"I know Kevin is doing this to get revenge." She said to Ray. "I also think something is fishy or else why would he come here this late at night." Ray said and she nodded at him. "I will not let him do anything to harm anyone." She said. "I am also with you." Ray said and held her hand. "Together we both will fail his plans."