Falling for Royalty

Chapter Twelve

I dog ear the page and close the book, setting it down on the pillow next to me as I hear the bathroom door quietly squeak open. I instantly cover my eyes as he comes into view. "You couldn't have gotten dressed in the bathroom?"

He shakes his head. "No, what fun would that be?"

I groan and mentally face palm because there was no way that I was moving my hands so he could have the satisfaction of me seeing him in a towel again. "Of course not. Why would you be courteous and do the polite thing?"

He grabs a shirt from the dresser and quickly slips it on over his built torso.

"Thanks and if you would be so kind as to put your pants on in the bathroom, that would be great."

He sighs. "Fine your majesty."

I accusingly raise my eyebrows. "Uh, who are you talking to exactly? Because I am most definitely not part of any royal family."

He laughs. "I was just kidding. There's this thing called a joke, you know."

I get up from the bed and push him into the bathroom. "For now, start with changing then we can joke."

He closes the door. I walk to the dressers and grab a pair of jeans off the top and knock on the door. "Forgot these. I think these are vital in order for you to change properly."

He snatches them from my hand. "Yeah, um, thanks."

"My pleasure." I close the door and patiently wait outside, tapping my foot against the floor. He comes out and I find myself staring at him with his close fitting grey v-neck shirt and light tinted jeans. It was unnatural to see him in such normal clothing. I look up into his eyes and ruffle his wet hair, water droplets flying in every direction. Getting a whiff of his scent, I smile to myself. "You don't stink anymore."

He laughs. "Yeah, neither do you."

I put a hand to my chest in fake shock. "Excuse me sir, I believe you were smelling yourself because I happen to smell lovely."

He twirls a strand of my hair around his finger and smells it. "Well, you didn't earlier, but yes, you do smell lovely."

I grab his hand and lead him to the door. "So, where we going?"

He grins mischievously. "On an adventure. Just kidding but its something fun. You will really enjoy it." We exit his room and of course Scarlett happens to walk by.

She stops in her tracks and raises her eyebrows suggestively. "Well well, Evelyn. Making a second trip to his room?"

I feel myself flush, my face turning a deep crimson red. I hurriedly release his hand and scratch my neck. "It's not like that at all."

She laughs hysterically. "Oh really, tell me then, what it is to you."

Prince William steps forward. "Um Scarlett, we would love to stay and chat but we have somewhere to be going for our date. If you don't mind, we'll be leaving now."

She nods. "Oh, okay. Have fun." She grudgingly walks away, waving behind her.

As we walk outside, I am glad to see the rain had gone leaving behind clear skies, a bright sun, and a gorgeous rainbow floating in the sky over the castle like a colorful sky guardian. I gasp at its beauty so simple yet so intricate at the same time. He smiles before taking my hand again and leading me outside the castle gates. I slide into the old style horse drawn carriage after he assures me of its safety and after he slides into place next to me, the carriage begins rolling. The carriage was white with brown leather seats, drawn curtains where there should have been doors, and a single light shining from the ceiling. It was very old timey but I must admit, it was romantic.

He must've detected the look on my face for he smiles proudly. "This is an antique. It was actually my great grandmother's."

"It's beautiful. It's bard to believe something like this could be preserved for so long and still look remarkable."

He nods. "Yeah, it's a favorite of mine so I made sure they kept it in perfect condition."

"I can see why. It's so beautiful and it must hold a lot of history."

He nods. "Yep, my great grandparents went on their first date in this carriage, my grandparents met and had my dad in this carriage, and my parents fell in love and had their first intimate moment in this carriage."

I fidget uncomfortably in my seat. All of a sudden it didn't seem as beautiful knowing someone had done unspeakable things on these seats. The rest of the ride is silent-an awkward silent at that-and I try my best to avoid eye contact with William. Finally, we arrive at...a stable? I furrow my eyebrows together in pure confusion. Did he really think I knew how to ride a horse? If so, he must've lost his mind.

Apparently, he thinks I am-which is totally bizarre considering at home, I never would've even had the money to do something like this-because he leads me to the third stable and proudly points to a black horse with white "socks" and a white five pointed star on its forehead. "This is Starfire."

My mouth gapes open at her beauty. She was magnificent and unlike anything I'd ever seen before-animal wise-and he expected me to ride her. I felt truly sorry for the horse. "I-I can't ride a horse! Have you completely lost your mind?"

He chuckles. "Well, I guess you're gonna have to try. Boys, saddle her up!" Two young-13 years old by the look of them-boys come to the stable and put a saddle on her sturdy back and within minutes, she's ready to be ridden. They politely hand the reins to William and open the wooden gate. He pats her back. "Go ahead, get on and get comfortable."

I carefully climb onto the horse's back and he hands me the reins. "I-I don't know how to do this. I've never ridden a horse before!"

He climbs onto his chestnut colored horse's back l, firmly grabbing the reins. I'm glad he knew what he was doing. "It's okay, the horse knows what to do just guide it."

And like that, we were off to wherever we were going.