Russian roulette || James Earl Of Wessex

| A MILLION FLOWERS

Isabella

It was finally Easter break and the girls and I just finished packing so we were all sitting in the lounge area. "I can't wait to get back home," Ada said. "I'm happy too, staying at school all the time is too much," Emma said.

I agreed with school being too much sometimes. At my school they expect the best from us at all times.

"Bella, are you excited to go to England?" Hope asked. "You're so lucky you get to go to England" Carolina said.

"Yeah I'm excited to go again, haven't been there in a year" i honestly loved England. Anytime I got to visit there I wouldn't want to leave.

"You're excited because you get to see James for a whole week" Tessa said "shut up Tess!" I said throwing a pillow at her. "We all know you want him, Bella," Carolina joked. I slightly smiled at their comments.

~~~

I was now on the 20 hour plane ride to England. I was honestly really excited to spend Easter there. I haven't been there in about a year, but I haven't been there for Easter in years. I was there for Easter when I was 4, don't remember much but I do remember seeing James. He was around 5 or almost 5. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a matching tie. I didn't talk to him that day. I was way too shy back then. He tried to talk to me though, he was trying to be nice but I was too nervous.

~~~

We finally landed and took a short train to Balmoral castle. I feel like we've been traveling forever. We finally got there at 3:00 am. Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh were waiting out front. They looked like they were waiting all night for us to arrive.

A few people took our bags and put them in the castle as Sophie and Edward came towards my parents.

"It's nice to see you again, Edward," my father said in a thick Russian accent. My parents' English wasn't the best but it was good enough to communicate. "It's nice to see you too , Nicolas. How was the trip?" Edward asked my father. "Well, It was exhausting" he said and everyone let out a laugh. "Well let's show you to your rooms, you guys need some sleep" Sophie said.

When I got to my room I immediately fell asleep. I was so tired. I didn't get to see James yet. I assumed he was asleep already. The castle was beautiful, so was my room. I couldn't wait to stay here. In a couple days we're gonna have to take the train to England and spend Easter Day there which is even more exciting.

~~~

James

It was the next morning and my family and I were sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast. The Romanov family got here late last night. I was already asleep so I didn't get to see them. My parents said to let them sleep a little bit because they are probably jet lagged.

I was curious about Isabella. I was curious about what she was doing, what she was wearing, how she traveled. I'm not sure why but I've been thinking about her a lot.

~~~

I was now in my room when I suddenly heard a knock on my door. My mom opened my bedroom door. "Isabella is downstairs, why don't you show her around? You know this place very well" she asked. I thought about it for a second. It's a good excuse to talk to her. "Sure I'll show her" I said back to my mom. She gave me a warm smile. "Thank you James" she said then walked out of my room.

I walked downstairs to find Isabella. She was wearing a long sleeve white lace top with a short black skirt. Her hair was down with a ribbon tied in the back. She was beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen a bad photo of her.

"Isabella, James will show you around the castle" my mother said. She looked right at me. We kept eye contact for a while till she broke it. "That sounds great, thank you," she said. Her voice was very soft, she sounded very relaxed. It was the second time I had heard her voice. The first time it was at her grandfather's funeral and she only said thank you.

~~~

Isabella

James was now showing me around the castle. He talked a few times but he mostly kept quiet. We finished the tour of the castle and I was honestly, kind of sad. I really enjoyed the tour.

"Wait, do you want a tour outside?" James asked. I turned around to look at him. "The garden outside is cool, you'll like it"

I smiled at him.

He led me towards the back garden. It was beautiful. It seemed like there were a million flowers. There was a big fountain and a couple statues. I couldn't believe how big it was. We had big gardens in Russia too, but nothing like this.

"Oh it's so beautiful," I said, staring at the Flowers.

"I'll show you a nicer spot" he said and took my hand. He brought me behind a few trees to a small bench swing. It was very small but very beautiful.

We both sat on the swing and talked about the garden. "How often do you stay at the castle?" I asked him. He knew this place very well. "I come here every Easter, since I was born, I love it here" he said. His voice was nice and so was his accent.

"I love the UK in general, I always wanted to live here" I admitted to him. That's the first time I've ever said it out loud. Everyone in my family stays in Russia, no one leaves. I'd love to leave though, I love Russia but I want to get out sometimes.

"Really? I always thought Russia was an amazing place to live" James said. "I do live Russia, but living here seems so much better"

We talked for a while. Just about life and what it's like to be in a royal family. We both understood each other very well. We talked about how the press can be annoying sometimes and how they care too much about our lives. Talking to James felt so relaxing. He understood how I felt.

"I like how you understand, Isabella," he said, looking at me. "Like you know how I feel"

"I like how you understand too, James, but you can call me Bella" I told him. Only my friends call me Bella. "Doesn't your name mean beautiful?" "Yeah in Portuguese, Italian and Spanish," I said. "Well it fits you very well"

We stared at each other for a moment. Keeping eye contact. Are bodies starting to get closer together? We both started to lean towards each other.

"James! Isabella! Come on in for dinner" a voice interrupted us. We backed off quickly. It was Sophie's voice.

"Well let's get inside before our parents start to question things"

| I wrote this at like 3 am so that's why it's kind of shitty

~ Lots of kisses 💋