The Forbidden Princess [Paused]

Chapter 15: Reunion of Old Friends and New Ones

"Aha! I thought I heard people up here! See, Liv?"

Jesse and I both sat up, staring at some boy our age pointing at us. He wore ragged clothes, no shoes were on his feet. His red hair was caked in places with mud, his face covered in freckles and dust. The boy carried a worn out bag on one shoulder, which was also filthy. On the other shoulder was a quiver and bow.

"Um," Jesse said. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Forgot to introduce myself. Name's Caiden. And who might you be?"

Jesse stood up and bowed. He did seem like such a prince. "Jesse. Grand to meet you. May I ask who your friend is?"

Caiden turned towards the girl who was making her way up to us. "Hurry, Liv!" He turned back to us. "Liv's my girlfriend. It's only been the two of us since the fall of the kingdom."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," I chimed in, standing up. "I'm Charlotte." I wanted to tell them who I really was but I hesitated. But what's it going to hurt now? "Princess. Princess Charlotte actually," I finished.

Caiden gasped. "The Princess Charlotte?! Such an honor to meet you, Your Highness!" He bowed to me.

"Oh, there's no need for that Caiden. I'm just the princess. I'm not even queen yet."

Caiden straightened up. "Sorry. I have just never met another Royal before."

Another Royal? I shook the thought quickly and I smiled. "Well, you did the right thing-"

"Caiden! Help!" someone called out.

"Coming, Liv! Hold on!"

We all ran to see what what was wrong. Liv, it must have been, had gotten herself stuck under some boards. She couldn't move her legs. Sooner than what either Jesse or I could react, Caiden had already jumped down to help her, quickly moving the boards and freeing his girlfriend.

She got up and I finally got a clear look at her. She had long, curly blond hair and freckles dotting her face. Her eyes were a deep brown, almost black. She seemed so familiar...

"Olivia?!" I shouted.

Liv turned to look at me. Her face lighting up. "Charlotte!" She ran towards me to give me a hug. I couldn't believe it was really her.

It was impossible, wasn't it? The last time I saw her was when my mother was still alive. We were childhood friends, our kingdoms were so close. That is, until Dragnor became no more...

"I thought you were gone! Oh it's so nice to see you again!"

The guys were right behind us and I didn't even notice until Jesse spoke. "Uh, Char? Mind explaining this to us?"

"Yeah, Liv," Caiden called out. "How do you know Princess Charlotte?"

"Well," I started. "We knew each other when we were little. We were best friends, in fact."

"Inseparable," Olivia chimed in.

"That is, until her kingdom fell. My mother told me Olivia's family had died in the attack." I looked over at my friend. "Obviously she's alive now and I couldn't be happier!"

"Yeah, me too! But I was alone for a long time. I could have left, of course, but where would a five-year-old go? So I stayed in my castle, eating what I could find, entertaining myself by reading all the books that I could find that were not destroyed, and rereading them. I waited for someone, anyone to come. Finally, Caiden here showed up. He was eight at the time and somehow took care of both of us.

"He refused to leave my side, which I was grateful for. We didn't leave Dragnor; afraid the attackers were waiting for us in the forest. So, as the years passed by, we prepared ourselves in case of their return. We became best friends, since there was no one else there for us. And last year, we became more than friends. No one was here to tell me I couldn't be with a commoner." Liv shot Caiden a smile and he smiled back at her.