August tightened her grip on the princesses' hand. They were caught red handed and she couldn't help but realize that it meant she was going to be killed.
But Izzy's fear quickly subsided when she realized who she was looking at. It wasn't a man at all, but in fact a boy just about her own age. One of the stable boys who she would sneak around with when the King was too busy to notice. His wide eyes quickly softened as he realized the princess was the culprit of the laughing and he couldn't help but grin a wide toothy smile.
"Why hello your majesty," he whispered, "I suppose a welcome back is in order?"
She smiled, thankful that for once things were working out just as planned. "I suppose so. But no one can know that we're here. I don't know if you've heard but I am apparently a very wanted individual."
He raised his eyebrows. "Have I heard? Why you are the only thing the kingdom has been talking about. The king has placed an order of protection over the kingdom. Until you are found everyone must abide by a new curfew and be willing for questioning. But, uhm, if you don't mind me asking Princess, why are you hiding under there?"
She let her weight shift slightly, it was by no means comfortable where she was. "I have some business to attend to here but I needed to get inside without drawing attention to myself."
"Ah, you always liked your hiding. Well I suppose I shouldn't pry too much. If you like I can escort you to the back entrance so you can enter through the west wing. You know no one is ever there, especially at these hours."
"That would be wonderful actually. Is the coast clear?"
The stable boy looked around for a moment before nodding. Izzy and August finally let their hands fall apart as they awkwardly shimmied out of the under carriage. The dark Aldham sky was transforming to a deep maroon above their heads. Day time was coming quick. Izzy and August exchanged a quick look before the princess left the way with the stable boy by her side.
August couldn't help but feel a ping of jealousy rise up as she watched Izzy silently joke with him, playfully pushing his arm as they quickly walked for the open archway ahead of them. After living alone for so long, she found herself weirdly attached to the princess after the last few days. The entire feeling was very foreign to her.
Izzy looked back and smiled at her, reaching her hand out to grab onto August's once more. She couldn't help but grin as she quickened her pace and interlocked her fingers with Izzy's once more. She liked they way they fit together so effortlessly like that.
"Well here you are," the stable boy pronounced, "I trust you can find your way from here?"
"I think we can manage," Izzy replied. "Thank you so much though."
"Anytime your majesty. But your majesty?"
"Yes?"
The boy nodded his head towards August, his eyes subtly trailing down to their two girls' hands together.
Izzy paused for a second, contemplating what to say. "She's a ghost. And in fact you didn't see her either," she smiled.
His grin appeared once more as he nodded, seemingly understanding the situation. August got one last look at the outer kingdom of Aldham before she felt a tug on her hand and was whisked away into the palace.
...
When she was little and her mother would tell stories of the palace, August would take it upon herself to fill in all of the little unsaid details herself. For example, her child mind was once fully convinced that the royal gardens were littered with puppy's and that there were chefs working day and night to prepare harvest- like feasts for every meal. People to wash your hair and bring you what you needed. Even once August drew a picture of what her bedroom would look like if she lived in a palace. It was surely full of puppies and excitement. And while her expectations for the palace were sitting quite high, it didn't even compare to the beauty on the inside.
The floors were all marble and made August feel as if she was walking on an icy pond. Each doorway, and there were many doorways that she could see, was guarded by magnificently deep oak doors. The hallway was full of trinkets, from displays of challises and weaponry to full size knight in shining armor statues guarding some doors. The one thing that truly surprised her though, was the lack of human beings near them.
Izzy stayed quiet as she navigated the back way to her quarters. Having lived her whole life in the palace, she knew exactly how to get where she needed to go without being spotted. In this case it meant traveling down the western wing hall to the small stairwell whose entrance was clerverly hidden behind another knight statue. Once at the top they would need to backtrack down the upper western hall until finally arriving at the double doors laced with gold knobs and locks.
August was so impressed by the sheer size of the doors that she could hardly imagine the room on the other side. Thankfully though she didn't have to because Izzy dropped her hand softly and reached out to open one, quietly rushing them inside. The princess began locking each lock on the door, nervous that someone would mistakenly find them if she wasn't careful. Whereas August was mesmerized with the site in front of her.
The princesses room was nearly four times the size of her whole home. The massive king bed was tucked into the back corner, dressed with what must be a million pillows. While on the other side were four large shelves filled up and down with every book August could imagine. There were armoires, two in fact and most exciting of all was a small seat built into the large window facing out onto the kingdom. She was going to comment on the grandiosity of the room when she noticed the princess struggling with the locks.
"Here let me help you." August walked to the doors and placed her hand on the crease between them. She closed her eyes and let the energy flow from her fingertips and seal the room with them in it but quickly she clutched her chest gasping for breath.
"What's going on?" The princess asked, panicked, as she grabbed onto August's arm in case she fell.
Still holding her chest, she shook her head. "The energy here is unlike any place I have ever been. It's strong. Very strong. Strong enough to hurt me if I'm not careful it seems."
Izzy definitely was concerned. The last thing she needed was to bring August all the way to the palace just to have the palace cause her to be hurt.
"Here, come lay down over here." Izzy walked with her towards the bed, "You should rest, it's been a long night."
August shook her head, "We both need to rest. But I'm not going to take your bed from you. I can just sleep over there on the floor," she motioned to one of the large rugs laid out.
"Oh, I uhm, was hoping that we would just share it. Like, together? If that's okay with you? I don't want to make you feel weird about it but also after everything tonight I really don't want to sleep alone." The princess was looking at her toes as the pink returned to her cheeks again. She was hoping August didn't notice.
But in reality, August was too busy trying to hide her own pink cheeks. "I'm fine with that," she replied much quicker than she meant to. Anxious that she sounded too eager, she made her way to the side of the bed. One by one she stripped off her chunky boots and large coat. She continued shedding layers until she was left in nothing but a slightly oversized white t shirt and a pair of grey long john bottoms. The palace was much warmer than her poorly temperature regulated cabin and judging by the sheer number of blankets at her disposal there was no need to wear layers. She turned around to see where the princess went and felt her lungs grow tighter in her chest.
Izzy had changed out of the large dress she had been living in the past few days and traded it for a white silk nightgown that sat impressively high above her knees. She ran her fingers through her messy hair and tossed it over her shoulder. Her eyes met the brown eyed girl staring back at her and she blushed harder.
August knew that the princess was beautiful but something about seeing her so stripped down, took her breath away. Never had she seen someone so soft and yet so strong. This girl had shattered every expectation of a princess that she had. She was real, and August liked that.
"Uhm, we should probably," Izzy pointed to the bed behind her.
"Oh yeah," August laughed, embarrassed at her behavior.
The two made their way over and climbed into the bed.
