Terms of Peace

I'm Not A Hot Mess. I'm A Spicy Disaster.

Aileen POV

There was no telling how long we sat there by the fountain for. We talked about everything from our favorite books, well mostly I talked about my favorite books and he let me just ramble on and on. Now when the topic of music came up thats when he joined the conversation full heartedly, both of us getting too animated for me to be leaning against his shoulder. "Is there a musical shop here? There's something I forgot to bring with me from Kildare and I'm afraid if I go to much longer without practicing I'll get really rusty. I haven't played since Clay died".

"Name it princesita and I will get it for you".

"I want a flute".

"Where did you learn to play flute mi amor"? Ok so my Spanish wasn't that good but I'm pretty sure I knew what he just called me, however I just let it be and continued on.

"Oh I think was around 12 or 13 years old when an older couple moved to the capital, their names were Rodney and Maryiln Bennett. Mr. Bennett was a veteran of one of our elite military groups but he had always been a musician. Well they moved to the capital to teach music, both instrumental and voice, to those of us that were of the nobility or could afford the lessons. I had always been interested in music to everyone's surprise and my parents, like yours, agreed that I should be well rounded plus it was one of the few times I would actually sit down besides when I wanted to read a book. I was good at it but I always seemed to be drawn more to singing, often times my tutors would get on to me for singing or humming during my lessons".

"It seems like you were quite the handful, doesn't it princesita"?

"Like you have room to talk sir! If what Denise has said is true and from what I can see you were just as much of a trouble maker as I was"! Throwing his head back and laughing I couldn't help but smile and curse myself for it. Where was the girl who fought back against him? The girl who vowed to avenge her brothers death no matter the cost? Believe me I wasn't going to give up just yet, I just needed a solid plan of action. 

Squinting into the sun I glanced up as he rose to his full height and with his hand extended towards me, "Come on princesita, let's go on an adventure". My ears perked up at the word, soundlessly I took his hand and suddenly we were flying. It felt like he was going to pull my arm off and I could hardly keep up with his long strides as we raced through a part of the garden we had yet to explore until we finally made it to what looked like the stables. At our sudden appearance the stable hands pulled out his horse, quickly he lifted me up onto the horse before swinging himself up behind me. 

"Where are we going" I gasped out as the rushing wind kept pulling my words away. The bastard didn't even respond but instead he laughed and nudged the horse into a faster gallop. Letting out a squeal I gripped his arms and pressed myself back deeper into his chest, leaning my head up to look at him he glanced down at me and pressed a quick kiss to my nose before looking back up. At that point I realized we were well outside the palace grounds but now on the road towards the city. It took only a few minutes for us the reach the outside of the city and finally he slowed down to a walking pace. "Don't scare me like that you big dummy!" as I slapped his arm before he wrapped it around my waist. 

"We're here", sliding off the horse first he turned to help me down but I decided that I didn't want his help. Which I probably could've used because when I had gotten to the ground I immediately tripped over the cobblestone streets but luckily before I could hit the ground Chris caught me. "Your hot mess princesita" he said as he helped me stand straight. Standing up straight I patted my hair down "I'm not a hot mess I'm a spicy disaster" as I flounced away not getting far before he slung his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side.

"I can tell you one thing: you certainly are something" throwing his head back in laughter.

"I could say the same for you sir". 

"I won't deny that". We walked in a comfortable silence for a little while just enjoying the freedom of being outside the palace and not having any over protective guards or friends following us around constantly. After a few minutes we found ourselves at this small shop with adorable metal chairs and tables outside the shop and large umbrellas hanging over the individual tables. Pulling out one of the chairs from under a table he gestured for me to sit down and once I was sat he took the seat across from me and as he did a young man with dark hair starts talking to Chris in Spanish as the man wrote some stuff down on a pad and disappearing back inside the small shop. Giving him a quizzical look, "Just ordering a little snack and some treats princesita. I wanted to give you some freedom and show you my people" trailing off at the end as he looked around at the people walking and talking as they passed us by. I surprised myself and probably him too by taking his hand which was resting on the table and covered it with mine, giving it a gentle squeeze and a smile.

"Well thank you kind sir". At that time the young man from before brought out a plate of fried round balls, frosty glasses of milk with something sprinkled on top, steaming bread which looked like it was baked with tons of cheese, and fried rice with bits of vegetables and chicken. "You call this a little snack"!

"Muñeca you have to remember who your here with" he laughed as he scooped generous helpings onto not only his plate but one fore me as well, "we'll come back another day and them we can try some other dishes". I didn't even get a chance to answer him since he was already shoving food in his face. Shaking my head I sighed as I dug into my food.

"Oh my gosh I'm absolutely stuffed"!

"I am too princesita. Lets walk around a little bit and maybe find some shops to look at before we go back, don't want either of us losing our food". We walked around for over an hour before he gasped and pulled me into this small store. I understood his sudden excitement as we walked in the store and there was books on books on books. "Pick as many books as you want princesita. I know you love to read and I want to hear you read out loud to me more often". I was in high heaven. Finally I found five large books that seemed interesting and enjoyable.

"Can I get this ones please"?

"Of course princesita. You don't have to ask". I stood up on my tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek as he walked away to talk to the shop keeper. Once he had finished he pulled the stack from my hands to carry them as we made our way back to his horse. As he placed the books in the saddle bags he boosted me up into the saddle before he swung up behind me. "Hang on tight princesita, don't want you getting scared again" he teased as he signaled to the horse and we took off back to the palace.

"I'm not sure if I've said it already or not but thank you for today. I don't even know when the last time I got to feel so free".

"Anything for you princcesita".

Sorry for taking so long to update guys! Things have been crazy lately and my anxiety has been acting up so I've been a bit out of it. Anyways I hope y'all liked the chapter and as always don't forget to comment and vote!!