Royals and Rebels

Chapter 2

"You can't treat royalty like people with normal perverted desires."
-Tom Stoppard
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

'Well, I'm glad you trust me Princess.' He says, flashing me that knee-weakening, soul-melting beautiful smile. By this time we've already danced our way across the ballroom, I only stepped on his feet a few times in the beginning, until I realised that he wasn't going to react. The music stops and it is announced that snacks and drinks will be served, allowing the guests to take a break from dancing. The music starts up again, but this time it's a soft, pre-recorded CD playing Mozart.

'Shall we go outside? It's getting rather stuffy in here.' He asks me, offering his arm. I gratefully take it, nodding my head.

'So tell me Princess, why is your father forcing you into marriage?'

'He is a greedy man who thinks only about himself. When he chooses the man I'll marry, he'll only consider how rich my future husband is and how easy it will be to manipulate him. Do you know, he told me that I'm not allowed to choose who I marry because I'm just a girl. As soon as I'm allowed out of the castle, I'm going to go and look for the rebels.

'I completely disagree with how my father is running our country. He is spending all the kingdom's money on prostitutes, drugs and alcohol. I have not seen much of Felcia because I'm not allowed out of the castle, but I do know that it is being run into the ground. You only have to look at how skinny everyone working at the palace is. So my plan is to locate the rebels and try to help the over throw my father. I know I should be on his side, but I no longer see him as the caring father he once was. Before, you know, my mum was killed.'

Niall is silent and I can see the cogs in his brain turning. I know I shouldn't have told him all that, but I just couldn't keep it all in. I needed to vent to someone, anything besides that hideous pink diary that I have begun to write in.

I am pulled from my thoughts when I hear James take a sharp breath.
He shakes his head and turns to look at me. His blue eyes seem to be staring into my very soul.

'My original plan, princess, was to come here, lure you away to get you on your own and then kidnap you. But I see that won't be necessary. I am, in fact not a prince, but a Rebel.'

To say I'm shocked is an understatement. I suppose shock is the very reason that I do not start screaming or running. Instead, I take a deep breath and with as much confidence as I can muster I ask him to prove it. He looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and takes his jacket off. He pulls the sleeve of his shirt up and turns around to show me his shoulder.

There it is, the Rebel's mark. A black flame enclosed in a circle.

'Alright princess, let's go.' He put his jacket back on and turns to walk away.

'No, wait, stop!' I call after him.

'What? Now that you've finally met a Rebel, you don't know what to do eh?'
I laugh at this.

'Oh no, I know exactly what I'm going to do. But first, we need to go inside.'

'So you can alert the guards? Fuck! I knew I should have just drugged you!'

'Hey, don't start jumping to conclusions. I want to go pack a change if clothes-

'Clothes? Seriously. You want to go inside, putting this whole thing at risk to get clothes? I don't think so. Alex can lend you some of her clothes. So come on!'

'What did I say about jumping to conclusions? Fine then, I can borrow this Alex girl's clothes but what I was going add was that I a blueprint of all the secret underground passages that can help you get in and out of the castle unnoticed. Not only that, but I have keys to my father's study which is where he keeps all of the battle plans. But we can just leave if you want.' I say the last part sarcastically to drive my point across.

He stares at me for a few seconds, obviously trying to suss me out. Eventually he gives in.

'Lead the way' he sighs.

'Of course, right this way Mr Bond'

We manage to get up to my room, grab the keys and blue print with no trouble and sneak across to my father's study.

'I've always wondered why these keys to the study are so damn big.' I complain, forcing the right one into the lock. The door swings open and we creep inside.

'Okay, he keeps the battle plans somewhere along here,' I scan the bookshelf for the plans, knowing that they are stuffed here somewhere.

'Hurry up princess, the guards are probably on their way now!'

'I'm trying, I'm trying!'

Just at that moment I see the flash of crimson. The book with the plans, got it!
I pull the book out of the shelf and walk across the room to Niall, just as the door swings open.

I know I'll never be able to explain what we're doing, so I decide to take a chance.

I kiss Niall.

He seems to be rather surprised, but works out what I'm doing when the guard yells
'Oi, you two love birds, you're not supposed to be in here. Beside, the ceremony is about to start!' And trundles off mumbling something about 'crazy hormonal teenagers'.

Laughing, I pull away from him.

'Well princess, I think that was the most fun I've ever had almost being caught, and may I add, you're welcome to try that again, i feel the guard left too soon.' He chuckles, winking at the end.

'Shut it Horan besides, you heard the guard. The ceremony is starting soon. We need to leave.'
He winks for a second time, turned around and walked out the door.

As he walked out the door, I couldn't help but to run a finger over my lips and smile. So that's what kissing is like.

'Oi Princess, you coming?' I hear him call from the passage.

'Oh, yeah, um, just, I'm, er. Coming!' I never knew that just by kissing someone I could be reduced to a stuttering and stumbling mess.
I rush out the door to catch up with Niall.

'So, how are we going to get out of here? We can't just walk out the front door.' I ask him when I finally catch up.

'Simple really, we jump.' He says, gesturing to the French windows.

'We jump? I'm sorry, but did you fall on your head as a child? Was there a lack of oxygen at birth? Incase you haven't noticed, we're on the third story James!'

'Funny fact, I did actually fall on my head as a child. I fell out of a tree house. But that's not the point, the point is that if we jump out of the window, we're going to have our falls broken by that haystack. Trust me.'

With that, he pushes me out the window.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to-

'Oof!' I land on the haystack. Okay, so maybe I'm not going to die.

'You've got a bloody weird way of showing me how to trust you!' I yell up at him.

'Oh don't be such a pussy princess, you survived didn't you? Now if you don't mind, please move over. I have to jump'

'Only because you said please.' I grumble, hopping off the hay.
He gracefully hops out the window, making it seem like the easiest thing in the world

'Righty oh, let's hot-wire a care and get the fuck outa here.'

'Niall, language!'

'Fuckitty, fuck fuck fuck, shitty shit-'

'By Zeus Niall, I get it!'

Chuckling, he walks off to the garage, me struggling to keep up with my long dress. He picks the lock of the garage door and we creep inside. I can hear a commotion starting up inside the castle. Obviously my disappearance has been noticed. We've only got a few precious minutes.

'Now just finding the keys to one of these.' He states, gesturing to the lavish vehicles.

'They're literally hanging up right there.' I tell him, pointing to the rack of keys on the wall.

'Oh, right I knew that' he awkwardly chuckles, walking towards them.
We get in the car and James starts it, the engine purring to life.

We race out of the palace grounds, away from the misery that awful place has caused me. Hopefully, I'm racing towards a brighter future.