Crowned Upon

Chapter 11

James

James entered the stables alone. He'd made his guards wait outside for him. It had been driving him crazy having them follow him around constantly. Before the attack, he got at least an hour or two to himself each day, but not anymore. Now it was constant protection.

"Finn." He greeted the man who was currently brushing a grey and white mare.

"Your highness, it's nice to see you again." Finn greeted him with a smile.

It had been a week since their riding lesson and the attack on the palace. Mr. Lincoln hadn't allowed him to leave the palace in that time. He'd finally given him permission to go on the grounds today. They'd been investigating the incident for days now and still had no leads. Though they were hesitant to say so, it seemed to be an isolated incident.

"I've been being held prisoner in my own home." James joked.

"Decided to break free, huh?" Finn asked.

"I was going crazy in there." James told him. "I need air, space."

"I know the perfect place where you can get that." Finn told him.

"What do you mean?" James questioned.

"I have the afternoon off. Do you trust me?" Finn asked him.

James knew he shouldn't. He didn't know this man. He wasn't supposed to leave the palace grounds. But, like the last time they'd been together, all it took was one look in his eyes and James was saying yes.

"I need time to escape." James said.

"Meet me at the train station in an hour." Finn began to walk away.

"Wait!" James stopped him. "Where are we going? What should I bring? Should I change?"

"Stop worrying so much." Finn told him. "You're perfect." With that, he disappeared.

"I need you to do me a favor." James greeted Rosalie. It'd taken him awhile to find her. He'd never expected to find her in the library, of all places.

"Hello to you, too, Jamie." She greeted him sarcastically.

"Hi. Please help me."

"With what?" She asked, looking up from the book she'd been pondering.

"If anyone asks you where I am, tell them you don't know, but that I'm safe." James instructed her.

"Wait what? Perfect James is sneaking out?" There was a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Will you do this or not?" He was growing impatient.

"Sure." She shrugged. "Have fun."

James told his guards that he was going to take a nap, shutting his bedroom door behind him. He walked to his bedside table, pushed it aside, and pushed open the secret passageway that was hidden there. It led to the woods outside of the Palace property. It was ancient, built hundreds of years ago. Few people knew about it.

James practically skipped to the train station, he was so giddy with the feeling of doing something forbidden. He found Finn waiting beside platform 7.

"Well done." Finn praised him, handing him a train ticket. "I wasn't sure you'd actually come."

"Where are we going?" James pressed again, impatient.

"You'll see." Finn grinned mischievously as the trained pulled to a stop beside the platform.

The two men climbed on. Finn gave James the window seat, "So you can see it."

"See what?" James questioned.

Finn smiled widely. "Everything."

And he did see everything. He saw trees, a river, the mountains in the distance. He saw his people, simply living their everyday lives, but it was fascinating to James. He was in awe of all the different sights, he'd have been perfectly happy staying on the train all day.

He was surprised when the train stopped after only twenty minutes. "Come on, your high-" Finn stopped himself before he could say the full title. "Er, Jamie."

James laughed, following him off the train, and into the parking lot. "You have a car?" He asked in disbelief.

Finn chuckled, unlocking the doors to the well-loved pickup truck. "Yes. How else am I supposed to get to work?"

James was also in awe during their drive. He'd been in very few cars in his lifetime, and those had always been limos. Those had been nothing compared to Finn's car, with the windows down and music playing on the radio. James worried Finn was going to crash, he was barely looking at the road, staring instead at James's excited reactions.

Finn slowed the car and turned onto a long gravel road. James sat back in his seat, watching as a large but old yellow farm house came into view.

Finn pulled into a spot and cut the engine, a small, nervous smile on his lips. "This is my home."

Hiiiiiii. Long time, no update. Been going through a lot  but I'm back!!! Thanks for continuing to read my story, I love you all!!! Let me know what you think!