Royal Vs Rebel (Royal #2: Book 1)

24

-• get together •-

[August, 25th 2006]

"Your highness,"

Sara looks up from the book laid open in her lap and towards the maid waiting patiently at the doorstep of her bedroom. Tucking the wayward lock of her hair behind her ear, she addresses the woman politely, "Yes, Bhoomi?"

"His majesty wanted to speak to the house staff tonight. Would you be kind enough to remind him we're waiting in the great hall for him?"

Sara closes the book and lowers her feet on the floor, putting on the slippers before she gets up, picking up her discarded shawl and draping it over her shoulders. "Sure, do you know where he is?"

"In the library, I suppose? I'm not sure. We tried to page him but he isn't responding."

Sara nods. "I'll check. The library on the first floor?"

"Yes," Bhoomi nods.

Sara walks out of the room and pulls the door close, holding the key clutched in her hands as she ascends the stairs to the first floor. She reaches the main library and grabs the iron handles, pushing the doors open as they grunt. Smell of wood and old books welcome her. She shivers softly in the cold night of monsoon, her steps pattering down the marble flooring towards the endless aisles of shelves going as high as fifteen feet. "Yuvraaj?" Instead of a gravelly response, her own lucid voice echoes back. "Yuvraaj?" She calls out again, clicking her tongue when she fails to find her husband. He's as giant as an elephant. How well can he hide himself without even intending to hide? This man.

Unlocking her phone, she dials his number and presses call. The sound of his phone ringing whips her around. She follows the sound to the southwest corner of the library, discovering a door that reveals a small staircase. She walks in and faces another entrance, having to crouch down to enter the room. A gasp leaves her mouth at what she encounters. A library inside a library. Thoughtlessly, she closes the door behind her and walks in deeper, in awe of the shelves surrounding her, thick books stacked neatly in them.

"What are you doing here?"

She yelps and turns around, knocking the book out of his hand as her ankle twists and arm flails, her feet losing their touch with gravity. Yuvraaj reacts fast, his arm shooting out in reflex as he yanks her to his chest, their bodies flushed against each other.

Eyes meet.

Her golden swirls hold up boldly against his endless, dark pools.

Like night and earth.

Time and space.

And the gravity that bends them both; their fates, inextricably linked forces, never to exist without one another.

Upon finding her balance, she peels herself out of his arms and stands straight, tugging the shawl tighter around her frame. He sighs in what sounds like agitation and bends to pick up his book, turning to head towards his desk, stopping abruptly when he notices the closed door. His body stiffens in alarm. "Did- Did you close the door?"

She nods.

"Why?" He appears pissed off.

She frowns in confusion. "It's cold outside."