Kidnapped by a Prince

Chapter 14

Melody's POV
Lunch starts awkwardly to say the least. Xander sat next to a pretty mediterranean looking girl after making a whole show of pulling out a chair for her. He looks at me with a hopeful smile, but I'm not sure what reaction he is expecting. Eventually his gaze returns to the girl next to him. "Thea, this is Melody. Melody, Thea" Xander motions at us as he makes the introduction and I smile shyly at the princess.

"I am pleased to meet you Melody" she rasps with her intoxicating accent. Hmm... I never expected to get an eargasm from a woman, but here I am.

I'm so wrapped up in my admiration that I almost forget to reply, but I eventually manage to blurt out "same, so glad to meet you too. I agree". Smooth. Thea gives me a funny look before letting out an innocent laugh.

She turns to Xander and announces "I like her. She cracks me up like an egg". Xander smiles sweetly at the girl's endearing attempt at English slang and ends up laughing along. I notice the way their eyes sparkle when they look at each other and feel something twist in my heart. Hope. Was this why Xander was smiling? I look up a little and meet Xander's eyes. He must have seen my little grin because he now has a giant, cheesy smile plastered across his face. He's trying to move on for me.

I feel my heart beginning to swell with every little touch the royal couple across from me share and almost cheer when Xander makes Thea blush with a flirtatious grin. God their chemistry is so palpable. I keep stealing looks at the king who must surely see how his son is hitting it off. I'm going home soon.

Lunch ends and I feel myself glowing. I cannot contain my excitement and run up to my room before screaming into my pillow and jumping up and down. This is exactly what I wanted. Xander is moving on! I start packing a few outfits into a bag and pack other nonessentials away for my imminent departure. Surely, the king would rather his son marry Thea than a common girl. I start humming to myself when I hear my bedroom door creak open. To my surprise, I see Xander peeking in. "Please?" he asks motioning into my room. I nod enthusiastically and he pushes the door aside and sits on my bed. I run over to him and throw my arms around him pulling him into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Xander! I get it now" I squeal still holding the prince in my arms. Once I recover from my excitement, I untwine myself from the stunned prince and plop down next to him.

I'm still beaming when the prince asks "why are you thanking me?"

"Because I'm going home. I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you said you didn't want this" I say earnestly.

"No worries. I would have had my doubts in your position. And about going home, don't thank me just yet. Nothing has officially changed" he answers cautiously.

"Regardless, thank you for trying."

Xander smiles at this and softly brushes his hand on my cheek. "Of course. Anything to see you smile, my love. You deserve so much better than this."

My heart flutters nervously at "love" and I can't tell if it's a good or bad kind of nervous. I laugh because I can't think to do anything else before hopping off the bed. I go to my desk and grab the leather bound book before waving it at him questioningly. "Yes please" he answers, so I bring the book over. By the time I reach the bed, Xander has repositioned himself so he is laying against the headboard with a space for me to lay beside him. Still drunk from my thrill at the prospect of being freed, I stupidly climb up and lay next to him. I open the book to where we had left off and read trying to keep my voice from being affected by the close proximity of our bodies. While I'm reading, I see Xander slowly inching his leg towards mine and my breathe hitches slightly when our knees finally knock together. I feel the strong urge to pull away, but something about the warmth of having his knee against mine comforts me and I allow the contact. Every time I look up from the book, I catch Xander staring at me before he quickly looks away with a guilty smile. Even without looking, I can feel his eyes on me and feel my hands start to get clammy. As I read the conclusion of the case, I gently shut the book and roll over to place it on the bedside table. When I return to my original position, I find that Xander has moved even closer to me. "Well, that's all for now," I say loudly hoping that Xander will take that as his cue to go.

"I'm a little tired honestly. You have a very smooth voice" Xander compliments me.

"Thanks. If you're tired, go take a nap in your room," I suggest.

"No" he moans miserably. " That's so far."

"Your fault for living in a castle" I chuckle.

Xander laughs as well before looking up at me through his lashes with his irresistible puppy eyes and pout and asking "can I nap here?"

I am about to say no, but Xander suddenly turns up the intensity of his puppy eyes and I give in. "Fine, but only because I get to go home soon."

"Yay!" he cheers making me smile begrudgingly. He fluffs his pillow before throwing his head onto it with a "foof". He then looks at me expectantly before patting the spot next to him. "You too?" he says it more like a question than a statement. It isn't until that moment that I feel my eyes burning from reading so long. With a heavy sigh, I follow Xander's lead and fluff my pillow before lying down next to him.

"Don't get any ideas, pal."

"Of course not. I am a gentleman after all."

And with that, we fall asleep.

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Ok wow wow wow I am so pleased to announce that my story has reached 1k reads! I am so thankful for everyone's support and promise I won't disappoint you! Please continue to vote, comment, and share this story. I know we can get this to 1.5k.

In other news, I saw my crush today and he said my name and I almost fainted but he 1000% doesn't actually know me. Like I've never talked to him.

What's the name of your crush? •O•