Lost but Loved

Chapter Four: Horse Rides and Boys

Cayden raced up the stairs to his bedroom where he slammed the door behind him. Pounding footsteps could be heard coming up towards his room. He braced himself by his door, trying to hold it shut. Someone slammed into it from the other side, pushing Cayden forward. He lost his balance and fell. Alcander stood furious over his son, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Cayden, how could you?"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Well, you broke poor Jane's heart! She'll never come out of her room now!"

They were in the market after church when they bumped into Lancaster, the boy Jane was in love with. Cayden had went too far and told Lancaster that Jane was a girl who would use him for her own good. With that, Lancaster had politely backed away, but ran for it after he thought they couldn't see him. Poor Jane was heartbroken and had smacked Cayden upside the head.

"I hadn't meant to do that," Cayden protested.

"What if Jane did that in front of Lucy? Or if Jane had said something bad about you? How would you feel?" Cayden looked up at his father and understood Jane's pain. He hung his head in shame, got to his feet and walked to Jane's room.

He knocked on the door and waited for the sniffling to stop. When the door opened, a red eyed Jane peeked out. "What do you want?" she hissed.

Cayden rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I'm sorry, sis. I didn't mean to do that to you. To put you through that kind of pain."

Jane studied him, then pulled him into her room. They sat on her bed, side by side. "Is that what it felt like?" Cayden gave her a questioning look. "I mean, when Lucy didn't know you liked her. She couldn't tell even. She was blind. Lancaster was blind to my love for him."

Cayden let out a shakey breath. "Yeah. I was a wimp not to tell her long ago. I had done little things, hoping that she could see that I liked her. But she never guessed that I liked her. I think last night was the first time she actually noticed me as a boy her age and not as her friend's brother." He looked at Jane, tears leaking from her not so sparkling green eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to feel this way for so long. But why wouldn't you tell her?"

"I was afraid she would laugh at me and wouldn't want to be around me. You know how she is. She doesn't want to be around boys who like her."

Jane nodded. She knew how her best friend was. Whenever there was a boy who liked her, she would try her best to avoid him. Lucy never liked boys who were in love. They did crazy things, she told Jane one night when she had asked.

Jane placed a hand on her brother's shoulder. "I forgive you. Can you help me through it?"

Cayden gave her a sad smile. "One can only truly travel down the road of love and heartbreak by themself." He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. He left her sitting on her bed, deep in thought.

Lucy woke up in her rooms at the palace. She got out of bed and stretched. A maid with blond hair and dark brown eyes stared at Lucy, then pulled her to the bathroom where the tub was filled. The maid helped Lucy undress and into the still warm water. Lucy sank into the water and sighed. Then she watched the maid put the towel out and her clothes for the day.

"What's your name? I mean, if you don't mind my asking."

The maid looked at Lucy with wide eyes. She glanced around the room, cleared her throat and looked Lucy in the eye. "It's Alice. And you are the royal guest, so I have to obey you. So no, I don't mind your asking."