Once a Princess, always a Princess

chapter 13

Chapter 13

“I guess you’re not coming, are you?”

I sighed and shook my head. “No, sorry Bella, I would ask Xavier if he would let me go with him when he sneaks out, but due to our current lack of communication I doubt he’d say yes.”

She gave me a small sad smile. “Don’t worry I’ll still be your friend when you’re deemed a loser.”

I laughed. “Gee thanks.”

Talk of ‘the best party in the history of parties’ had gone from hushed whispers between classes to full scale screaming, on top of table standing and the waving of upper body parts. You couldn’t get a word in edgeways about a different topic to anyone; even some of the teachers were talking about it. Of course they only spoke of it to ‘tut’ and complain about the bad habits of today’s youth, like they didn’t do those things when they were in their teens. The disappointment inside me was almost becoming too much, all I wanted was one normal teenage experience, but that was obviously too much to ask for.

“Right class, open your books.” The teacher attempted to draw order to the lesson.

I gave another sigh and heavily opened the text book to the right page. Today it looked like we would be learning about the women suffragettes, something that would usually interest me, however, today I couldn’t be bothered with work with it being the last day of term and gazing around the room it seemed my fellow students were in the same frame of mind.

As I rested my head on the table, Mr Morris’s drone like voice putting me to sleep, a conversation behind me did get my attention.

“Are you coming tomorrow then babe?” I heard a nasal high pitched scratchy sound that could only belong to one person.

“Maybe.” Was the sort simple reply from the boy who caused hatred to boil in my stomach at the same time as an unexplainable flutter of butterflies.

I turned to watch their exchange discretely.

“But babe.” Stacia continued to whine at a pitch only suitable for dogs. “It’s the party of the century. You have to be there.” She started to stroke her hand up and down his arm.

“Look.” He pushed angrily, frowning down at her like she was an annoying leech, his eyes hard and dark. “I’ll come if I can but I’ve got other stuff on.” He shoved her hand off him and looked away. Straight towards me.

A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes before his frown deepened and his gaze intensified, as if he was trying to read me. He stared me down moodily before I finally looked away. I didn’t know why he was being so impatient with Stacia, as annoying as she was; I thought they were a thing. But the way he shoved her off him and didn’t tell her straight that he was going to the party, which he would be, made me confused. Then there was the gaze that was directed towards me, he still looked angry, though that was a given-he always looked angry these days, but the way he seemed to be trying to work me out was what boggled my mind. He already knew me, we’d known each other practically our whole lives, yet, there was something he clearly didn’t know, something that puzzled him the same way he puzzled me.

I sat there like a squashed tomato, confused and dazed. The only thing that brought me out of my reverie was the final bell of the day that signalled the dreaded holidays.

Yay my life.

I gave Bella a hug and wished her a merry Christmas in case I didn’t see her beforehand. She then returned the wish to me in which I snorted as a response.

“I’ll try to make it merry.”

She handed me a small gift and then we parted ways.

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I tossed and turned that night, the night of the ball, drifting in and out of uneasy sleep. The thing that kept me awake the most was nerves. I was dreading the first public dance I had to do with Xavier. It would be in front of hundreds of high class snobs, wanting me to fall, and with Xavier who probably wouldn’t hold me up if that was the case. I was worried about seeing him and having to be in such close proximity with him.

As the suns early morning rays started to beam through my curtains, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air, I awoke to the terrible nightmare I was going to have to endure. Without even making my ben I slumped of to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

When I arrived a sleepy looking Xavier was sat at a stool eating a bowl of cereal. My cereal, might I add. I almost chickened out and decided to skip breakfast but instead decided to man up and get some. After all breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I said to myself, plus, it was my house and he didn’t have a right to make me feel unwelcome in my own kitchen. Grabbing a bowl and the milk I poured myself some cheerio’s and took the stool opposite him. An awkward silence filled the room as neither of us had even muttered a hello, only filled by the munching of our cheerio’s. I kept my eyes transfixed on my bowl, swirling the milk with my spoon, not daring a glance at Xavier in fear of his hard stare.

Before I even had chance to finish slurping up the last of the milk from the bowl, Mary, one of the maids, had entered the kitchen and was trying to whisk me of to start getting ready for a ball that was eight hours away.

“Miss Adonnia, it’s time to start preparations for tonight.” She said politely.

“No.” I cried dramatically throwing myself at the island and clinging on for dear life. “Please not yet, it’s not even nine yet.

Mary sighed. “Miss Adonnia, I want none of your silly antics, you need to start getting ready, queens order.”

I started to pretend to cry, grabbing the box of cheerio’s. “Please Mr cheerio, don’t let them take me away.” I wailed. “You’re always so cheery and I don’t know how you do it. How can you be cheery in these circumstances?” I demanded. “How?”

Mary shook her head disapprovingly though I detected a hint of a smile playing on her lips. I grabbed onto the island again.

“I’m not going. I’m not going.”

“Yes you are.” A cold voice said into my ear.

I was about to start stomping my feet like a five year old when I realised that my feet were no longer touching the ground. My eyes widened. Where did my feet go? With one big yank I was pulled off the table, my nails scratching along it as I tried to regain my hold, I then found out why I was magically floating. Xavier had pulled me off and was now carrying me out of the kitchen. I started to thrash around in his arms.

“Hey.” I scolded. “Put me down!”

Instead of doing just that, he rearranged me into the bridal hold and held my legs together in a vice grip, constricting their movement. I folded my arms across my chest angrily and huffed, turning my head away from him. As we moved inside my room he still didn’t release me and carried on towards my bathroom.

My eyes widened and I struggled to try and make him stop.  “No, no, no, no, no, no.” Pushing against him with all my might, but without the use of my legs it made no difference.

“You’re going to the ball, and try not to embarrass me.” The menace in his voice was enough to send shivers down my spine. Before I had time to come back with a witty remark he released his hold on me.

Air whipped at my clothes before water engulfed me. My shoes slipped against the bath’s floor before I was able to regain my footing and break the water’s surface, dragging in a huge gulp of air. I was about to shout at the idiot boy who had dumped me in my already drawn bath, fully clothed, when I realised that he was not there. I gave a small scream of annoyance before I stripped of my wet clothes chucked them on the floor and then settled myself on one of the curved benches that was moulded into the side of the small pool. Reluctantly I began to scrub myself clean in preparation of being man handled by the maids.