Princess Lea (Part 1) Eng.

Chapter 3

Lea was sitting in a small room waiting for the doctor, the door was closed, but from time to time someone looked in to see if she was still there. Her wound had already been cleaned and stitched up and a bandage had been put on it. The room she was sitting in had no windows. It was a treatment room where minor consultations and procedures that did not require surgery were performed. She looked up at the ceiling and wondered if she would be able to fit through the hole that was near the ventilation system.

Samuel was ushered into the ward with his identification and explanation that he was a new security guard at the palace.

– I met her on the bus, unfortunately for her – the doctor approached Samuel with a look of relief that was clearly visible on her face.

– Where is she now? – he asked as he looked around.

– She is in the office – the woman pointed with her chin in the direction of the room across the hall.

Samuel nodded his head.

– Thank you very much for stopping her.

– Small thing, not the first time, she is very good kid, woman, contrary to appearances – she added - and since she often runs away and usually ends up here, everyone already knows her. She shouldn't strain her hand, so we sewed it up. Of course, she has been informed about this, but I prefer to inform someone as well, who at least doesn't pretend to listen to me.

Samuel smiled at these words. Lea made a big impression on him, although he wasn't quite sure if it was more bad or good. The woman led him to the office. He entered first, but he didn't like what he saw. There was nobody in the room.

– How could this be possible? – the woman didn't hide her surprise – I left her here, no one came in or out.

Samuel looked around the room, but there were no windows in it. Suddenly, something caught his attention. One of the chairs was standing next to the closet, and there was a shoe print on the seat of the chair. He walked over to it and looked at it. Then he looked up at the cupboard and the ceiling. He stood on the chair and raised the suspended ceiling, which turned out to give slightly. There was a fresh handprint on the dusty surface of the cabinet.

– She must have escaped through the ventilation shaft – he said, cursing himself in his mind.

He got out of the chair. He didn't know what to do with himself, this was supposed to be a quick operation and now he would have to search the whole hospital or even the city for her. He started to panic a little bit.

– Lora – nurse entered the room – can you go to the duty room? It's quite urgent.

The doctor left the room, leaving Samuel on his own. The nurse took Lora to the nurse's station and pointed to one of the screens with the surveillance cameras. Some of the cameras showed the ambulance driveway, others the hospital entrance, but one was pointed at the VIP parking lot where Samuel's car was parked. Lea was sitting on the hood of his car. She was dusting off her sweatshirt. Lora let out a sigh of relief and went back to the room Samuel had been in.

– She's been found – she announced.

– I'm going to strangle her, with my own hands – Samuel followed the woman to the duty room, where Lora showed him the surveillance system. Without saying a word, he left and walked straight to the parking lot.

– What took you so long? – Lea asked as Samuel was on the way out the side door. She was about to say something more, but she stopped herself when she saw the evil look on his face. He wanted to go up to her and ask her if she was all right, but after a moment that desire vanished when he saw the way she looked at him, she had that defiant and self-satisfied look.

– Are you completely out of your mind? – he asked. He felt like he was losing control of himself.

He was in front of her with his gaze. She didn't answer him, feeling a little frightened by what he was doing. None of the security guards had ever spoken to her in such a way.

– You don't have anything to tell me? – he asked her as he looked into her eyes.

A shiver ran down her spine.

– You're lucky I don't have any urgent plans for today – he took the keys from his pocket and opened the car door.

He offered her his hand to help her down from the hood of the car, but she didn't take it. She got down on her own and got into the back seat of the car. He got in the driver's seat and handed her his hat. She looked at him and didn't understand.

– Your brain isn't so big that it wouldn't fit under it.

She grabbed the cap and pulled the hood off, then put the hood on, just in case. That's what she'd been taught, to make it harder for the paparazzi to take pictures of her, especially when she looked like a homeless person, not a princess like she did now.

– If you're running out of adrenaline, I can find something for you to do - Samuel looked in the rearview mirror.

– Don't trouble yourself.

– I don't have time to chase you all over town - he started with a heavy sigh.

– Then don't- she interrupted him with a roll of her eyes. She was a little amused by his protective attitude and the fact that he was here on his own and not with any bodyguards.

He shook his head in disapproval of her.

– You're trying to keep yourself protected 24/7, you know?

– Please don't do that – she groaned, rolling her eyes, but Samuel could sense the mockery in her voice.

He smiled to himself. What was it about this girl that both irritated him and fascinated him at the same time? He pulled into the traffic as they left the hospital grounds. They spent the whole ride to the castle quietly. Samuel glanced in the rearview mirror from time to time. Lea watched him drive, wondering what he was thinking. He had never met anyone who did that, but he liked to observe others and draw conclusions. He stopped in front of the palace and took Lea up to her room.

– Your room is downstairs – she said, handing him his hat and noticing that he entered the room with it, closing the door behind him.

– You haven't convinced me enough that you won't run away again – he replied, sitting down in the chair by the desk.

– Are you going to stay here with me? – the thought of that frightened her.

He nodded slowly, even though he had no intention of doing so. His cellphone rang. He answered. In the meantime, Lea was trying to think of a way out of this situation. She grabbed some clean clothes from the cupboard and took them to the toilet. Samuel got up and followed her, he put his phone in his pocket.

– You've got to be kidding me – she said in surprise.

– You shouldn't have been so sneaky – he explained with a shrug.

– There are limits – she started, but he had such a look in his eyes that she didn't have any desire to negotiate.

He tactfully turned away from her and gave her enough room to take off her clothes and get into the shower. The door to her shower was matte, which made her feel a little more comfortable. Samuel turned around and sat down on the top of the cabinet next to the sink. If that wasn't enough of a deterrent to her further escape attempts, he was slowly running out of ideas. He wanted to get to know her better, he didn't want to give up this job. He had the feeling that there would be an agreement between the two of them, they just had to find a way.

She didn't rush to get out of the shower, bruising herself a bit as she squeezed through the vent, the warm water helping to ease the pain. When she decided that the skin on her arms was wrinkled enough, she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her body. When she opened the door to the shower, Samuel was still in the bathroom, sitting on top of the cabinet and watching her.

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