The Inside Story

Chapter Three

  "We found Alex!" Cosette yelled. 

  "We found John!" A little redhead boy yelled. I walked back to where Marie was. 

  "Guys, can you two help her with her car?" She asked. I kept my eyes on my feet, because I was determined not to stare at Prince Alexander. 

  "Sure, I don't see why not," John said. John and Alex started walking, and I looked at Marie, then followed them. I could see that they were talking, but not hear what they were saying, so I tried to catch up with them. I walked quickly, but it ended up not being worth it because they were speaking in French. We eventually got outside the orphanage, and I was shocked to see the tiny yellow Fiat was missing. I dropped my bags on the ground and stepped forward into the street. I looked up and down, and couldn't see the ugly little car anywhere. 

  "Well, where's the car?" Prince Alexander asked. 

  "It's gone!" I said. 

  "Did you lock it?" He asked.

  "Of course I locked it!" I exclaimed.

  "Then how is it gone?" He asked. 

  "I don't know!" I yelled.

  "Here, we can just drive you to your house," John said.

  "I don't live here, I'm staying at a hotel," I said, putting my hands on my forehead.

  "Okay, which hotel?" John asked. 

  "I have it written on a piece of paper... in the car," I said. 

  "Do you remember which hotel?" John asked. 

  "The name of it is French," I said.

  "That doesn't help, pretty much everything here's in French," Prince Alexander said. 

  "Yeah, I've noticed," I said crossing my arms. The three of us looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. 

  "Well, I guess you can stay with my family for the night, so you can find your hotel," Prince Alexander said. I stared at him.

  "Really?" I asked. Could getting on the inside really be this easy?

  "Yeah, we have lots of room where I live," Prince Alexander said. I held in a smile. "I usually stay at the orphanage until it gets dark, but afterwards, we can leave."

  Now I thought to myself, this could be dangerous. But then I thought to myself, this is the prince, he can't kidnap a person in their own country. 

  "Sounds good," I said calmly.

 But I was not calm.

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  I felt a tug on my leather jacket. I looked down to see a little girl smiling up at me.

  "You're pretty," she said. I laughed.

  "You're much prettier than me," I said. "What's your name?"

  "Mavis," she said. 

  "I'm Stella, it's nice to meet you, Mavis," I said to the small girl. 

  "Stella, will you read me a story?" Mavis asked. I nodded my head, and she went to pick out a book. When she came back, we sat on the floor, and several more kids joined us.

  "Hi, kids. I'm Stella," I said. The other kids were Ricky (he was the redhead from earlier), Percy (he didn't like to talk), Talin (she liked to look at the pictures), and Cherilyn (she didn't like it when Talin got to look at the pictures before her).

  After I finished the story, Prince Alexander came up to me. 

  "Time to head home," he said. I stood up and headed to my stuff, but Prince Alexander beat me there. 

  "I can carry those ya know," I said. He looked down at the bags, a rolling suit case, a duffel bag, a backpack, and a purse, and handed me the purse. "I can carry more than that," I said.

  "No, I can get it," Prince Alexander said. I surrendered.

  "So, where's your car?" I asked. 

  "Car?" He laughed. "We're walking, if that's okay." I laughed.

  "That's just splendid," I said, silently crying on the inside.

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  "So, what's your name?" Prince Alexander asked after we had been walking for a while. 

  "Charlotte, but I go by Stella, it's my middle name," I told him. 

  "Why? I think Charlotte suits you," he said. I laughed.

  "Charlotte is just so- weird," I said. He laughed this time.

  "You've just got to get a nickname," he told me. "How about Charlie?" he asked. I shook my head.

  "Charlie is the name of the intern at my work," I said. Prince Alexander laughed.

  "So, no Charlie. What about Lottie?" He asked. 

  "That sounds like a grandma," I said. 

  "That's better than an intern," he said with a smile. "So you are Lottie, I'm Alex Montgomery." He held out a hand and I shook it. 

  "Nice to meet you," I said. We walked down the streets until a castle was in view. 

  "By the way," Prince Alexander said, "I live in a castle." I looked at him.

  "Really?"