The Low-Class Prince Charming

Chapter 43

Sky was happy the weather seemed to be reflecting her good mood. The sun was as warm on her skin as if Mason was touching her on every inch of her exposed skin even though he was merely walking beside her.

None of the three had been happy when Sky had turned up the next day with a bag of her own belongings, opting to move out of her parents' house without her knowledge, but Lisette and Michael had agreed to pretend to know nothing unless specifically asked or there was a fear of them losing their jobs. Sky didn't care much for Michael but she cared for Lisette so she agreed to their terms.

Sky sighed as she stretched her arms up, feeling relaxed; in fact, she hadn't felt so relaxed in the longest time and wondered if it was because she'd finally distanced herself from her parents and their house where she'd lived all her life.

"This is so nice," she said, voicing her thoughts.

Mason nodded, seemingly lost in his thoughts. "It is."

Then there was silence again between for a few minutes and Sky couldn't help but think of Lisette.

"So are there any more secrets you want to tell me about?" she asked in an attempt at a joke and unbeknownst to her, Mason stiffened a little at her side.

"What?" he said.

"Well, you know, what with Lisette being your sister and all, I just want to make sure there's nothing else." Sky was still joking but Mason could feel a stone of guilt drop in his gut.

"Uh... No," he responded slowly. "Not that I know of."

Sky nodded. "That's good." Again, there was silence. "Shall we walk down by the river?"

Mason hadn't thought about that but realised Sky probably doesn't get much chance to see the river since her house and school are further away from it. Michael's house was almost on its banks. "Yeah, sure," Mason said, following Sky along a small path leading off the main road.

The path led down into a copse of trees, with the measly English sun barely able to poke its rays through. The closer they got to the river, the louder the gurgle of the water became and the wetter the air around them felt. When they reached the river, it almost felt like they were somewhere tropical.

"Wow, it's so nice," Sky said, her voice full of awe, voicing Mason's thought as they took in their surroundings. "Which way shall we go?" she asked, looking left and right along the path which was void of the presence of any other humans.

Mason shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine with either, just don't leave me behind."

Sky shot him a toothy grin. "I won't. Let's go this way," she said, walking in the same way they had just been walking along the main road.

They were walking for a short while, Mason always seemingly a short distance behind her and not quite keeping up with her. Then she suddenly turned to face him when the path opened out a little and he recoiled a little in surprise.

"I have something for you," Sky said, her eyes holding a certain shine. It immediately made Mason suspicious.

"Why...?"

"Well..." Sky said as she reached into her pocket. "A certain little someone told me it's your birthday today."

Curse you Lisette, Mason thought, knowing straight away who it would have been.

"And I wanted to give you something," she continued. She'd pulled a small little necklace out of her pocket, holding it in the palm of her hand and they both looked down at it. It looked familiar to Mason but he couldn't quite place it, but the way Sky looked at it told him it meant a lot to her.