The three of them ran across the beach. Running the fastest, Janes long golden hair was blowing effortlessly in the sea breeze. Alex close behind her, smiling his dazzling smile, enjoying every moment outside of the castle, away from his father.
"Slow down! I can't run that fast!" Jane and Alex could hear young Charlottes whines but continued running towards their favorite place among the rocks.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining its fantastic glares of light down on them as if praising the ground on which they ran.
Alex had managed to catch up to Jane as she started to slowly make her way across the jaggy rocks to their special place.
It didn't take long for both Jane and Alex to jump from the rocks which they had clambered over and land with a thump on the soft, sparkling sand.
Jane spun around to look at Alex standing behind her and smiled. As always Alex's stomach fluttered with love.
She was the most beautiful girl he had ever known. Her body small yet powerful, her mind brave yet loving. Even at 17, he knew he loved her. He loved her the moment she arrived at the castle when she was 8 and him 9. Her big emerald eyes were shimmering golden with fear and sadness. She stood in the great hall, owning nothing but the raggedy clothes on her back, and Alex's mother standing defiantly by her side, stating to his father that Jane was going to live in the castle with them. At first, the king was in a strong refusal, she was after all just a peasant girl, she didn't belong with royal blood. Yet he too was mesmerized by her golden flaked emerald eyes, and it's hard to argue with the Queen when she has her mind set on something. So he allowed it, as long as she was trained to be a proper lady.
His mother, Lily, the queen of Dál Riata, was a loving woman. She cared greatly for her kingdom and people. Eight years ago their kingdom was attacked by the Vikings. It was unexpected, and they suffered great loss, but the king was smart and brave and in the end that is what helped him gain back his power.
The queen had visited her people after the attack. Upon entering a house which had been decimated by the invaders, she found a small girl no older than eight. Even then the Queen saw she radiated beauty. Not just in appearance but in soul. As she had no surviving parents or relatives, the beloved Queen decided to take her in, nurse her, teach her the ways of the kingdom. You see after Alex, the Queen could no longer have another baby, as the birth didn't go very well, yet both mother and son managed to survive. However, she desperately craved a daughter. Someone to dress up, and teach her motherly knowledge too, in ways she couldn't with a son. She never told anyone about her being infertile, no one apart from her son, who kept the secret close to heart when his mother brought home Jane. She fit in like Cinderella's foot in the silver slipper. Everyone loved her passion and love for everyone and thing.
"Hey! I told you to slow down." Charlotte states finally arriving in their little cove. "And anyway, young woman are not supposed to run, it is very un-lady like." She added in a huff, still catching her breath.
Charlotte is 4 years younger than Alex. She is his mother's dearest friends daughter, whom practically lives in the castle. She is the most arrogant little child Alex thought to himself.
"You didn't have to come Char." Alex says to Charlotte as he brushes past her shoulder, to sit on the sand.
Jane watched Charlottes face scrunch up trying not to cry. Even then she was still very pretty. Her brown hair was wound up in a plaited bun, which illuminated her blue eyes which shimmered like the sea. She was skinnier than Jane, a lot like a model. Long-legged and elegant, that's how one could describe Charlotte. Even at thirteen, she was just as tall as Jane.
"Well- I- I-" Charlotte stammered so Jane jumped in and grabbed the young girl's shoulder.
"Do you want to go swimming? I am a bit warm after that run, we should perhaps just walk back to the castle when we are ready. I don't want to be sweating if we run into Lily." Charlotte looked up at Janes friendly eyes and nodded. But underneath her gratefulness, her jaw was clenched in frustration. How can she be so beautiful and so pure at the same time? Charlotte thought to herself.
The two girls made their way past Alex who was now lying on his back in the sand with his arms covering his face from the sun. He looked up when he heard two footsteps walk past him towards the little beach that belonged to the Cove.
He leaned up onto his elbows and watched from a distance the two girls splash enjoyably in the water. He smiled before running and joining them, the late afternoon sun beating down on their backs.
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:)
YOU ARE READING
Hidden
Teen Fiction"Look for her where you least expect, for she will be the downfall of the Human Reign." Jane is in search of herself. What her life was like. Having been adopted into the Royal Castle after a war with invaders, Jane grows more and more curious about...
