Bridgerton - The Lost Royal

Chapter One

Sophia

My heart beats fast as I run, the sound of galloping horses not far behind me. I dodge tree after tree, my skirt filled with gaping holes gets stuck behind a branch once more and I rip it free. A male voice bellows loudly through the silence of the woods,

"Split up now!"

My side aches as I continue running, this is not something I can do forever. I attempt to jump over a puddle but my legs give up halfway and the loud splash that follows after drenches my shoes. I look forward and in the far distance I see the ending of the trees and a massive house just after. I mark it as my goal and after a deep breath I begin what I hope will be my home stretch.

As I get closer to the edge of the woods the trees get less dense and my body is more exposed with every step I take. It doesn't take long then, for one of them to find me, and one loud "There!" is enough to send at least seven horses after me. I can feel them closing in and I hoist my dress up to gather some more speed.

The house I first saw from a far distance is not so far now, it's garden shielded from the rest of the world with high and neatly cut bushes that surround the entirety of it. I try to find an opening, and just before I smash into the bush, I find it. With the horses closeby, I drop to the floor and crawl underneath, dirt covering all but my face.

My heartrate speeds up as I feel a hand wrapping itself around my ankle and I kick back hard, losing my shoe in the process. I break free from the hand's grip and I get up bewildered, my head turned backwards, anxious to see what they'll do next. I start running once more, still looking over my shoulder, those men are far too big to crawl underneath like I did so-

I collide with something hard and I let out a huff before staggering backwards. A quick hand on my waist steadies me and I look up. Two green eyes inspect my face and for a second the world stands still. I stop breathing all together and my mouth opens partially. Then I remember I'm being chased by the cops at midnight and I've just ran miles through the woods.

I immediately start panting, hard, and it feels like there isn't enough air in the world. However hard it is, I take my eyes away from whoever is still holding on to my waist and I throw my head around, multiple hands and feet try to wrench themselves through the bush and it won't be long before they succeed. I turn back to mister green eyes and before I've even had the chance to plead, he takes my hand and guides me inside quickly.

We enter the hallway and I look around, completely taken in by the atmosphere. Paintings line the walls, on some of which a familiar pair of green eyes greet me. Then there's the stairway, grand and elegant, leading up to what I'm guessing are tons of rooms.

I'm pulled back to reality then when I hear a click behind me and I note that mister green eyes has locked the door and continues hiding me by closing the curtain. I breath in deeply, which was a mistake, because a sharp pain hits me near the side of my stomach and I keel over, placing both my hands over the place of impact.

I feel a hand on my back, that retreats instantly as a female voice echo's through the grand space,

"Benedict? Is that you?"

I can feel the man next to me stiffen, and so I do the same. He moves in front of me and I lift my head, then I notice there's three of him. I squint, all six eyes look at me intently, all three mouths move yet I hear nothing. That's not good, is it? Six green eyes turn into ten and back to two in the span of only seconds. A lot of eyebrows furrow in a very concerned way and in the far distance I hear that female voice repeating itself.

Just as the room starts spinning, mister green eyes undertakes action and I'm lifted off the ground. The movement makes my head throb and I let out a little grunt.

"Sorry," he whispers soflty near my temple, and I realise that's the first time I've heard his voice. We move up the stairs, his arms closed around me, and I want to reply to him, I want to tell him he didn't have to do this for me. I open my mouth to do so, but then he hoists me closer to his chest and the sudden movement makes everything go all too dark all too fast.