Ariella (Princesses Uncovered #3)

Chapter 8

“Tobias! Where have you been?”

Tobias cringed as his father’s angry voice blasted across the still, empty space between them where the sandy seabed stretched, doubling as a floor in their palace. “I went out.” He answered, clinging to Ari’s hand.

Ari wanted to protest and tell him to stop grinding her fingers’ bones into dust, but she could tell he was having difficulties dealing this. She couldn’t ask him to take his hand off hers. He obviously needed her to steady himself. Needed her? No. He’d been dealing with his father his whole life. He didn’t need her for help.

“And when did out include a stranger?” His father’s jaw clenched as his eyes lit on Ari.

Ari stood firm, but Tobias hunched over, avoiding his father’s eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t expect…” he hesitated.

“You didn’t expect what?” His father’s tone was softer now, but still dangerous.

“I didn’t expect to find her.” Tobias finished, looking down at the seafloor.

Ari flinched. Would his father ask any more questions?

Tobias’s father turned away from his son, sighing. “Tobias, when will you listen to me about losing the guards? You're eighteen. Old enough to know better! And it’s most unlike you to come home with a girl. Who is she?”

“This is Ari, Father.” Tobias seemed relieved that his father wasn’t yelling at him anymore.

Well, I would be too if my father were to yell at me like that. Ari thought as she followed Tobias’s gestures and bowed at the waist.

His father nodded to Ari and looked back at Tobias. “Why are you walking around with the likes of her? She’s hardly dressed!” He gave Ari another critical looking over. “What is she wearing anyway? Is that… seaweed?”

Ari flushed, this time from anger. “Yes! It’s seaweed! And for your information, I can talk, I am a person, and I will not be plowed over like I’m not here.”

He glared at her. “Hold your tongue, girl, or I’ll have you arrested. Where did you come from? Another kingdom where they do not teach respect for one’s rulers?”

Tobias stepped forward. “Father! Please… She’s my guest.”

His father glared at his son too. “Tobias, stay out of this. She isn’t our guest. I forbid it.”

Tobias’s face hardened. “She’s had a very traumatic life, and she had to flee her kingdom nearly three months ago. She was a princess there, and she had to run when they were attacked by another Nereid group.”

The king frowned. “What? How did I not hear of this?”

“Like I said. It was three months ago and that’s how long it took her to journey from there to our kingdom. I stumbled across her, and she needed my help. I couldn’t very well just leave her there to deal with unfamiliar waters alone.” Tobias’s voice was quiet but firm.

Ari was grateful for his help even if most of it was a lie.

“I see.” The king sighed. “Fine, Tobias. She can stay. But she’d better not get in the way of your relations with the noblewomen we’ve been looking at for potential brides.”

Ari flushed. How dare he ignore her like she didn’t exist? She held her tongue though, gritting her teeth to keep from screaming at the inconsiderate man.

Tobias didn’t say anything, but instead turned and led her from the throne room.

Once they were alone once more, Ari finally let her annoyance flood over. “How dare he just ignore me and plow over me as though I don’t exist?”

Tobias looked away, studying the pictures and shells adorning the marble walls.

“Tobias?” Her voice softened.

He looked at her then, silver eyes sad; the blue flecks in them looked like tear drops within the silver. “Ari, you should know something about my father.” He took her hands, stopping her and pulling her into a small alcove where they were hidden, but tightly wedged against each other.

Ari liked the contact, but she stayed still, breathing only slightly, afraid that Tobias wouldn’t.

Tobias took a deep breath. “He’s going to ignore you all the time so long as you don’t bother him. For your sake, please don’t bother him. He might put you in the dungeon or something worse. He’s not a terrible man… Really, he isn’t. He’s always given me everything I needed, but…” His breath hitched on the last word, and he bit his lower lip, fighting back some sort of emotional pain. “But he never pays any attention to me unless it’s to try to get me interested in another potential bride… Or to yell at me. So, you can’t expect anything else from him.” Tobias whispered.

Ari looked down at their hands, which were linked together, her fingers twined with his. Three months. You only have three months to make him fall in love with you. She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, Tobias.”

He shrugged. “I’m used to being alone. It’s not so bad really.” His voice trailed off.

Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest.

He stiffened in her embrace, but then relaxed, wrapping his arms awkwardly around her too. He hadn’t hugged anyone or been hugged since a few months before his mother’s death eight years ago when he was just ten. But it felt natural to be doing it again as he held Ari, and she hugged him back.

“You’re not alone now, Tobias.” She whispered. “I’ll be your friend.”

He smiled into her hair, which was being swept about in the currents of the ocean as they passed through the corridors of the palace. They wove about his cheeks gently, sweeping through the magical barrier that filtered oxygen from the water so that he could always breathe. “Thank you.” He whispered back into her hair.