Of Rebels and Crowns

Chapter 7

The two stood in the portrait hall speaking of nothing in particular.

Amelia pointed to the portrait in front of her. "Well, in this one you do look like your father. And my! What a mane of hair you got Your Highness!"

He laughed in embarrassment as he came to stand next to her, both hands tucked behind his back. "I do so hate the way I look in paintings. So unreal, wouldn't you agree?"

"I wouldn't know. Nobody's ever painted my portrait before." She smiled at him. He did not smile back.

"Well, they should."

She turned away from him and made to walk around the spacious room. It made him only want to know about this quiet, beautiful girl.

"How come I have never seen you before?" He moved closer to where she stood.

"Maybe we just never crossed paths."

"Impossible! I have been to every ball thrown in and around our kingdom and I am quite certain I danced with every beautiful girl there!"

The lady in question patted her hair lightly, "Well, when you say it like that..."

Jas's eyes grew to twice their normal size. "No, no! I did not mean it like that!" He held out his hands in defense.

"I only mean that I'm the Crown Prince-whom everyone expects to marry very soon. They all throw every viable candidate at me and then-"

Amelia laughed at the prince's rambling.

"I was only joking!"

He looked even more distressed than before. "A joke?"

"Yes!" She emphasized. "You know some of those, don't you?"

He rubbed a spot at the back of his neck, "I just don't want you to think I'm one of those princes."

"Well, Jas, what kind of a prince are you?" She grazed her fingers along the length of the small couch in the room. Such fine tapestry.

He looked up briefly before he let out a resigned breath. "I don't know."

Gesturing to all the paintings on the wall, he said, "Look at all these faces! Every one of the great in their own right-legends. Now they are all looking down at me, my people will look up to me and I do not want to look at myself one day and realize that they have made me into the person I never wanted to be."

"No one makes you become anything. You are in charge of that. You will become who you need to be if only you will have courage and be kind. To others but most of all, yourself."

The words brought buried memories bubbling back to the surface of her mind. Her heart sank as she realized that she had betrayed them. She pushed them out of her mind and focused on the role that she was playing - rather well.

"That was so profound. Thank you."

She made a slight curtsy in response.

The Prince edged closer until he was directly in front of her.

His eyes darted to her rosy lips then back to her eyes. When she made no move to push him away, he leaned closer, closing the distance between them.

He heard only the rustle of silks before he felt the cool blade against his bare throat.

Vote, comment, share! <3