Prince and the Pauper

Chapter Forty-Four

A strange tickling sensation stirred me from a blissful sleep, warm heat trailing from the crook of my  neck and downwards, along my collarbones and down further. A smile spread to my lips as I opened my eyes and saw it was Harry, trailing his lips down my body. When he reached my stomach and his slightly wavy hair tickled my stomach a giggle spilled from  my mouth. His head rose and his lips stretched into a victorious smirk, his eyes sparkling.
"Good morning fiancee." Harry whispered, and I smiled, pulling my hand out from under the blankets to see the dazzling ring on my finger.
"Good morning." I smiled back , and I released a dreamy sigh as he stretched his body over mine, bringing his face above mine, pressing a firm kiss to my mouth. Comfort cocooned me just like his arms did as he wrapped them around my back pulling me up from the mattress and into his chest. My head still heavy from sleep flopped against his shoulder, and Harry sprinkled kisses down the back of my neck, along my shoulders, and warmth spread throughout me even further. Just as my eyes started to flutter closed again a beeping sound filled the room through the curtains surrounding the bed, and I pulled back reluctantly from Harry's heavenly embrace. Both of our eyes landed on the beeping alarm clock, and slowly traveled back to one another.
"Verdict day." I whispered, and Harry gave a tight nod. I reluctantly went to climb out of bed when Harry's large, warm hands grabbed my shoulders.
"No matter what happens in court today, Dev, whatever the verdict is, promise me it won't come between us. Between this." Harry picked up my hand and kissed the engagement ring. I raised my hand towards to handsome face and stroked his sharp jawline.
"Nothing ever  could babe." I assured him, leaning in to press a firm kiss to his pink lips. Harry quickly slid his hands into my hair and deepened the kiss, to which I happily obliged.
"Your outfit is lay out on couch by the way." Harry told me as I staggered out of our secret haven, his words halting me.
"Not another damn pencil skirt." I groaned, and Harry laughed, shaking his head.
"No, no skirt." His eyes told me he was going to love it, and at the same time, I was going to hate it.
"For future references, where most girls love their man buying them expensive clothing, I don't. I'm happy with the clothes I own."
"All five items?" He remarked slyly, and I turned towards him to give him a fierce scowl. He winked at me instantly disarming my glare, and I growled as I headed back out of the lounge. The minute I picked up the  one-piece suit I let out a loud groan, which must have traveled to our bedroom, because a deep laughter floated back out. It was a black pant-suit, something Harry clearly loved me wearing, and to add salt to the injury, there was a slightly revealing plunge line. Not so much that it was flirtatious nor inappropriate for court, yet enough to add a femininity to business. Walking back into the room Harry stood in some briefs about to get ready and when he saw me he grinned, and picked up some undergarments for me to wear. Black of course.
"I'm not going to undress in court, I don't think the coordinating lingerie is necessary." I sniped, and Harry slowly licked his lips.
"Admittedly that is more for my benefit."  He smirked.
"Men." I rolled my eyes ignoring his laughing as I walked into the bathroom to change.
"You know you could just get dressed in front of me. I have seen it all, and I am your fiancee." He reasoned.
"I have to save something for the wedding night." I retaliated through the wooden door.
"What, undressing?" He scoffed.
"No. A sexy stripping session, followed by a demonstration of how beneficial my gymnastic lessons my neighbor gave me growing up were." There was a beat of silence, and then,
"Please tell me that is true, and you're not just teasing?" I smirked, and now fully dressed, I opened the door, Harry leaned against the door frame, only sporting dress pants.
"These long limbs aren't just for looks." I confirmed, and his bottom lip was captured between his teeth.
"Hey baby?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you want to get married tonight?" We both laughed as he ducked to dodge a stray shirt I threw at him.
"Hurry up, we'll be late." I shook my head, still giggling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Chins up, heads high, poker faces, and no fidgeting." Monica ordered us as we took our seats in court. Harry and I sat side by side, hands locked, and Monica sat next to Drake. His appearance had surprised us both, but what was even more surprising was him sitting with us, on our side of the court, rather than Dante's.
"I'm going to be sick." I grumbled, the anxiety and anticipation simmering a sickly heat in my stomach.
"Throw up and I'm changing sides of the room." I heard Drake remark, and I glared over at him and met his shark smile.
"I still don't like you very much." I huffed, and all three of the Styles' family laughed.
"Well, well, we do have something in common." Drake quipped.
"Drake." Monica tried being stern, but her ruby lips faltered and gave a hint of a smile.
"Don't fret darling. I'm sure come new year we'll only marginally bump heads." Drake leaned towards is wife and kissed the top of her head. Both Harry and I gave each other a disbelieving look, and our heads slowly turned back to the now seemingly in-love pair.
"What the hell happened between you two?" Harry accused his parents, and they both laughed again.
"So an Abel and a Styles can fall in love, but a married couple are fixing their marriage and it's a crime?" Monica quirked a perfect eyebrow, and Harry and I both slumped back into our seats like children after a scolding.
"Kinda gross."  Harry muttered and I giggled lightly, earning a delicious smirk from Harry.
"Dev." Our smiles faltered as he man that broke my heart for the first time, Sebastian, stood in front of us.
"You've got a lot of nerve approaching her, young man." Monica snarled for the first time I had ever witnessed, and I glared up at my ex best-friend.
"You have three seconds to disperse before I make you disappear. For good. You understand me?" Harry got to his feet, and Sebastian flashed me a pleading look.
"It wasn't supposed to be you. It never should have been you. And I hate myself everyday because it was you, Dev." He begged, his eyes watering.
"Get away from her!" Harry snarled, and went to lunge for him but Drake must have known his son better than I thought, because he jumped up and caught him, holding him back.
"This isn't going to help son." Drake reasoned looking at his child sternly.
"That's why I helped you escape." Sebastian continued.My heart just ached looking at him,and both of our eyes were now glassy.
"You also helped abduct her!" Harry struggled against his father, who by some miracle was managing to hold him back.
"It was that or have Dante kill her!" Sebastian argued. "He wanted her gone, and if he couldn't hide her away, which would have taken several hands to pull it off, he would kill her, and it only takes one pair of hands to pull a trigger." His words halted us all at him talking so bluntly about my death. No, my assassination.
"You still allowed my brother to be attacked. Dante hit him with the bat, Chandler held me back and forced me to watch, and you were the one that kept  watch at the door."My voice cracked, and Sebastian looked defeated.
"Had I known how that day would end I never would have gone." Sebastian firmly shook his head.
"So it would have been okay if it had been some stranger who was attacked? So you didn't have to be witness to the aftermath it left me in?" I growled, and Sebastian let out a pained sob as he shook his head.
"No. Nobody was supposed to get hurt! I didn't think anybody would put up a fight if they saw we were armed, but then Geordie mentioned Dante by name and I knew Dante wasn't going to let a witness live. I wanted so badly to get you out of there but-"
"You could have!" I hissed.
"You and me against Dante and Chandler? It wouldn't have worked. Dev, he had a gun on him too. Had I intervened the gun would have been pulled out and the blood shed would have been much worse. You, me, the clerk, and whose to say Geordie would have survived a bullet any better than than he had with the bat?"
"He is a good shot." Drake addressed the comment to me, and I nearly choked when I was sincere pity in his eyes, silence falling upon us all.
"Court stand!" A voice boomed and we were all torn from the hostile situation. We all obeyed, and Sebastian's lawyer scurried over and urged him away as he told him off for approaching me, but that didn't stop him from turning back and shooting me one last pleading shot. The jury entered and I barely listened the white noise of the judge summarizing the case and the ramblings of what was to happen next. My head was spinning with what Sebastian had told me. Could I believe him? Should I? How much of our friendship had been a lie? It was all too much on an already big day, and I couldn't deal with it, so I zoned out, and let my heavy thoughts drown me. Eventually Harry tugged at my hand, and I looked up from my lap to see a woman from the jury walking forward.
"Miss Cannes, what verdicts has the jury come to?" The question that had been plaguing me for so long was here, and it felt like the finish line just coming into view after a tedious  marathon.
"Your honor, we find the accused, Chandler Simmons and Sebastian Giles, on the account  of being accessory to kidnapping, bodily harm, and attempted pre meditated murder, guilty."  All air was expelled from my lungs, but was it all pure relief? Part of me was worried about Bash. I shouldn't, I should hate him. But he had saved me from death's doorstep, and as much as I couldn't forget his harsh betrayal, I couldn't forget our sweet memories either.
"On the account of Dante Styles, facing charges of abduction, and attempted pre meditated murder," my eyes squeezed shut, and Harry pulled me in to his side tightly, my head buried into Harry's neck. I could scarcely breath and the seconds felt like a lifetime had crawled by. This was my chance of sweet justice and sweeter vengeance for my little brother. A moment I had been waiting for from the moment it happened, a moment I didn't  think would ever come. A moment so heavily craved for I could almost taste it,  but was afraid to savor it in fear it would be snatched away. A moment that had finally arrived, and a moment that finally passed with a roar of the crowd and manic flash of cameras and the words,
"we find the defendant guilty."