They Call Me Princess

Chapter Nine: Return to Czechavani

I was was seated on my sofa with people I didn't know running around my apartment packing my bags for me.

To say I was upset was an understatement.

Stitch lay in my lap, growling every time someone got too close, sometimes even swatting at them. After the first few times most people got the message and backed off.

"Miss Richards? Are you sure that you're okay with all of this?" Paul asked from his spot in front of the door.

I gave him a small nod with a smile on my face. Even if I felt like I was going to be sick.

I knew that he didn't believe me, but I couldn't tell him why I was so upset. He didn't need to know about my troubles.

He didn't need to know about then.

"Lady Richards? We are done packing your bags. All we need to do now is put the cat in the carrier to take to the airport." The maid attempted to grab him, but all he did was hiss and hide behind my arms.

"That's alright. I'll put him in the carrier once we arrive to the airport." She nodded her head before joining the other maids in a line.

I stood up with Stitch curled up in my arms and walked over to Paul. "I'm gonna miss you Miss Richards." I smiled and gave him a one armed side hug.

"I'm gonna miss you too, ya big lug." He chuckled a bit and pat my back. "Some of the others came to say good-bye too."

I looked behind him to see all of my friends from work.  Ruby was bouncing around with a smile on her face as usual, while Mrs. Jones was attempting to calm her down.

Liz was front and center with a huge smile on her face. "Oh, come here!" I happily ran to her and hugged the life out of the poor woman.

I made sure to hug the other two as well before I reached the final person. Mr. Leroy stood off to the side and leaned against the wall, his face showing all of his emotions.

The most prominent being sadness.

I walked up to him with tears daring to spill over. "Miss. Richards," I looked at him as he spoke unsure of what to do.

"You have been the most brutally honest person I've known, not to mention bossy at times, and very stoic. If it wasn't for you I'd..." He stopped abruptly, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"I'd have driven my company into the ground. You were my rock in the most hectic of times, and now you're going to leave me." A few tears spilled over as I jumped into his arms.

"If it wasn't for you sir, then I'd probably be working a dead end job somewhere." He chuckled and gave me one last squeeze before letting me go. "You have a flight to catch."

I wiped my tears away and nodded, readjusting the cat in my arms. I slowly made my way down the steps and into the waiting limo, which held all of my luggage.

As I slid in I ignored the other Princes, who in turn didn't speak to me. Noone even bothered to question the cat in my arms.

By the time we arrived to the airport I was visibly shaking. I promised my self that I would never return to that place, that country.

But it was better that ruining both my own and Alexei's reputation.

"Come on." Said Prince whispered as he tugged my arm slightly and carried Stitch in his kitty carrier.

Photographers and reporters attempted to break through the security to speak with us, but ultimately failed as we breezed right past them and to the private jet that awaited us.

There were four total jets waiting, each for a different prince as indicated by the countries names painted along the side. I read each one carefully until I saw it, the bold letters printed in black: CZECHAVANI.

I felt sick to my stomach. In a few minutes I'll be flying back to place I had promised myself I would never return to. And a few hours after that, I'll be in the most dreadful country known to man. I sucked in a deep breath as we neared the stairs leading into the plane. I held tightly to the Prince's arm in pure terror. My head was swimming with all of the possibilities.

What if they recognized me? Would they capture me? Force me to return? To fight? What would happen to Alexei?

But it was too late to turn back. The flight attendant had already seated us and checked our seatbelts. I had the window seat luckily, and the tan leather seats were plush and comfortable- easy to fall asleep in.

"It will take a few hours to get there, so do whatever, as long as it doesn't disturb me that is." It was the first and only time he talked to me throughout the entire flight.

~~Time Skip~~

Hours had past and I was still awake.

The sky outside was dark and it was nearly impossible to see any clouds. None of the stars were visible either tonight, it was just dark.

My phone had died an hour ago by this point- or maybe it just felt like an hour? Alexei was typing on his laptop, the screen reflected off of his reading glasses and his hair tossed over to the side. Sighing I looked away, I didn't feel like being teased for staring.

"We will begin our descent soon, so please buckle up." The flight attendant had a fake smile and dark circles under her eyes, with an obvious 'I don't want to be here' look in her eyes.

I began to buckle myself and watched Alexei out of the corner of my eyes. He seemed aggravated by something, his usual scowl was deeper and far more hateful than usual. The plane slowly began to land and before long, I was in the last place I wanted to be.

"Welcome to Czechavani."