Royalty

VIII

A/N: The beginning of this chapter is shit but I'm not sure how to fix it so forgive me. As always, please vote and comment if you're reading!!

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I met Phil that night, and we had a picnic just like the night before. We talked about anything and everything, and then made-out quite a lot. My lips throbbed when we stopped. When we were both so tired we couldn't see straight, we went our separate ways, with the promise that we'd be back the next night.

It became a nightly ritual. We'd meet, talk, and kiss. I had never felt this happy in my entire life. My parents kept commenting on the change in my behavior. I was nicer to people. Every time I saw Phil my world got a little bit brighter. We were blindly happy in our little bubble. And though I knew it wouldn't last, I was glad that something was finally going right in my life.

Tonight was almost two weeks since the ball. I had known Phil for less than two weeks. It felt like so much longer, but at the same time every night felt like the first time I met him. I bounced up and down as I waited in our usual spot. I already laid the blanket down and had the food laid out. He was a few minutes late.

"Hey, sorry" he said as he jogged up. He pulled the bag off his back and sat down. "My sister didn't feel well today so I had to help get the kitchen ready for tomorrow" he opened his bag and pulled something out. "I brought some sweet rolls to make up for it" he smiled apologetically. I took the food from him.

"It's fine" I laughed. "You're not that late" I took a bite of the roll and moaned. "Fuck this is good" Phil grinned at me.

"You're so cute" he said breathily. I playfully glared at him and then leaned over to give him a kiss. "I missed you today" he said as he started to pull bits off of his roll and eat it. "I saw some fliers up all over town about the ball in a few days, and it made me think about when I met you" I smiled fondly. "Are you excited for it?" he asked. I snorted.

"Oh yeah, I'm really excited about having a bunch of girls drool over me"

"Please, they won't be drooling. You're not that hot" I scoffed.

"Excuse me, but I am very hot" I argued. "I'm the hottest"

"Whatever you say" I elbowed him.

"Shut up" he smiled and me. I sighed contently. When he looked at me like that it was like the whole world disappeared around us, like we were the only two people on the planet. I had to look away, because I was afraid I was going to get lost in his eyes. "No," I said seriously. "I'm not really excited for the ball. I don't know what I'm going to do" I pulled on my sleeves nervously. Phil put his arm around me and pulled me closer. I leaned into his side. "What if they make me decide? What am I going to do?"

"Don't think about it right now. Just take it one day at a time" he said. "Something might change between now and then and you'll have worried about all this for nothing"

"I don't know what could change between now and then" I mumbled. "I highly doubt my father's going to change the law for me. I don't even know if he can" Phil nudged his hand against mine, and I laced my fingers through his. Just being close to him made me calm down.

"So just worry about this ball first" Phil said. "And when that's over you can worry about the next thing" I wasn't sure I could do that, it was impossible for me not to worry about everything.

"Are you going to be at the ball?" I asked curiously. I really hoped he would, I didn't know what I was going to do if he wasn't there.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world" he squeezed my hand. I smiled. "Of course I'll have to bring Amelia with me, and she's not your biggest fan at the moment" I laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, I felt terrible about that. I was so busy trying to talk to you that I completely forgot her name, and I kept asking about you. I was so embarrassed!" Phil laughed.

"No, she actually thought it was kind of funny after I told her that you were my soulmate" I swallowed thickly.

"Y- you told her about that?" my voice cracked. Who else had he told? What if someone told the wrong person and they told everyone? Oh god what if my parents found out.

"Yeah, I tell her everything. We're really close" he noticed that I was freaking out. "Hey, don't worry" he turned so he was facing me. "She won't tell anyone. She knows how big of a deal this is. I just had to tell someone. Don't you have someone you can tell?" he asked. I shook my head. "What about Jack?" I hesitated.

"I- I didn't tell him"

"Why not?"

"I just... I'm afraid that my parents are going to find out. And logically I know that Jack's not going to tell anyone, but what if he does? Right now no one in the castle knows about this, so there's no chance that anyone will find out" Phil probably thought I was crazy. "It's stupid, but-"

"No, I get it" Phil said. He put his hand on my cheek. "I understand. It probably wouldn't be good for you if the wrong person found out about this." I nodded. I hated that we had to sneak around. I just wanted to go places with him, and introduce him to my parents. I didn't want to spend my life stealing kisses behind a stable. "Maybe someday we can get away from all of this" I smiled at the thought. I knew it would never happen but it was nice to think about it.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have to dress up anymore, and there would be no more stupid balls" Phil pouted.

"You wouldn't dress up for me?" he asked. I pretended to think about it.

"Hm, no" he laughed.

"Jerk" I smiled. Everything with him was so comfortable. I could talk to him about anything and everything, It was like we had known each other our whole lives. And whenever I looked at him I felt this weird pull in my stomach... I wasn't quite sure what it was but it was painful. Like a good pain. He made me feel things that I had never felt before.

"I should... probably head back now" I said reluctantly. "It's getting late" I didn't move. I never wanted to leave. Phil grabbed my hands and pulled me up.

"Come on, I don't want to get you in trouble" I leaned in and kissed him. He smiled against my mouth. "Goodnight" he said with a laugh. I pouted when he took a step back. "You know if we start doing this you're never going to get back to the castle" he pointed out.

"Who says that's a bad thing?" I said suggestively. Phil shook his head at me, bemused. He started to roll up the blanket.

"You did, like two minutes ago. Plus you really don't want to get a cold right before the ball. A runny nose is not attractive, trust me" I sighed in defeat.

"Fine" I took the basket out of his hand. "I'll see you tomorrow then" he planted a kiss on my cheek.

"See you tomorrow"