Gold Blood

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - Acelynn
    Jana pulled the last strand of Acelynn's blonde hair straight before wrapping it around the piece of blue cloth in her hand. She tied it in a knot and released the piece from her hands, it held tightly in place.
    "Thank you Jana!" Acelynn exclaimed patting her freshly wrapped hair in her hands. Their hope was that for Phoenix's birthday her hair would be perfectly curled and they wouldn't have to work with it much.
    "Anytime Miss," Jana replied walking towards the door. Brianna sat on the edge of Acelynn's bed with a book in her lap. She glanced up as Jana walked by. "See you late Brianna," Jana waved to her and Brianna offered a small smile back. Brianna had started talking to Acelynn more and more at training and she would even say that they were now friends. Brianna was also here because the King had ordered her to watch Acelynn. Acelynn didn't know why, but she didn't care.
    "Do you think it's going to look okay?" Acelynn asked staring at her dress hanging on the bathroom door. Brianna closed her book and chucked it onto the floor, she glanced over at the dress and then back to Acelynn.
    "You're going to be the prettiest girl at that party, Phoenix won't be able to keep his eyes off of you!" Brianna replied with a laugh. Acelynn tried to force back her smile, but it found its way to her face. She shook her head at her new friend and flopped down on the bed beside her.
    "Thanks, is there anything I'm going to need to know?" Acelynn asked nervously. She had never been to a royal function before, let alone been a prince's escort.
    "Okay, first make sure you bow to the King and Queen when you enter. Just follow Phoenix and bow when he does, but make sure you go lower than him as a sign of respect and rank. Second if anybody outside of the royal family asks to dance with you, you must decline, because you are Phoenix's escort you can only dance with royals. I think the only other thing you should have to worry about is who you talk to. You cannot talk to any of the servants," Brianna finished. Acelynn's eyes were wide as she tried to take in this information.
    "What happens if I forget one of those things?" Acelynn asked nervously, she was wringing her hands together pacing the floor.
    "I don't think anything good," Brianna murmured walking towards her and placing her hand on Acelynn's shoulder. "You'll be fine, I'm sure Phoenix won't leave your side," she said comfortingly. Acelynn nodded her head and moved to sit back down on the bed.
    "He's really the best," Acelynn whispered a faint smile playing on her face. Phoenix had been so nice to her, he was always there for her and he always made sure that she was safe when people he didn't like was around. It was actually really sweet of him.
"Yeah, he's been such a good friend to me. Romantically I hope to never be involved with him!"  Brianna laughed trying to lighten the mood.
"Got your eye on anyone else?" Acelynn inquired. Brianna blushed and she tried to force the smile off her face.
"Maybe," Brianna laughed and soon they were both giggling on the floor talking about the new stable boy that Brianna was crushing on. Acelynn was thinking about what Brianna said, did she want to be more than friends with Phoenix?

Phoenix
    "Are you excited for tomorrow?" Queen Isa asked Phoenix. He was sitting at his desk watching his mom pick clothing off the floor and fold it neatly.
    "I'm really excited. It's going to be a lot of fun!" Phoenix answered pushing himself off the chair and walking towards the stack of clothing his mother had cleaned up. He scooped the clothes into his arms and took them over to the closet.
    "I'm glad. What do you think about Acelynn?" She inquired anxiously. Phoenix glanced back at his mom and shook his head. She was looking so hopeful and her eyes were wide with a sparkle in them.
    "I really like her. She's so much fun to be around and she's so nice to everyone. I'm really happy that she said yes to being my escort to the party!" Phoenix exclaimed happily. He watched his mother's eyes light up as his words reached her. She gave him a bright smile and she skipped over to him giving him a large hug.
    "I'm really happy you think that, one day you're going to have to marry her," she whispered before releasing him to arms length.
    "I'm going to have to?" Phoenix questioned. He didn't know this. What if Acelynn didn't want to marry him. What if he didn't want to marry her one day. Thoughts ran through his head quickly and he soon became scared for tomorrow.
    "Yes, one day you two will be married. I know that it sounds scary now. You two have become such good friends and I know that you like her and I think it is pretty obvious that she likes you as well. Don't force anything right now. It'll all be okay honey," Phoenix's mom gave him a soft smile and hugged him again. Phoenix hugged her back and she squeezed him tightly.
"I don't want to tell her," Phoenix told her. He pulled away from his mom and moved back towards his closet where the next pile of clothes was waiting.
"You don't have to yet. I promise that I won't say anything until you talk to her," she said with a soft smile. Phoenix nodded his head and walked back into the closet placing the clothes on their respective shelves.
"You need to get ready for bed, I'll see you in the morning," Queen Isa whispered kissing the top of his head. She left the room and quietly shut the door behind her. Phoenix sighed and started towards the bathroom to brush his teeth.