Lady Illea (Lady Illea #1)

Chapter Ten

    I jumped and and my feet landed on the grass my heels not to far away. Adjusting my cape I slipped my heels back on, looked around, and smiled. It turns out that climbing down the vines on the side of the palace was not that much of a tedious task.

   The moon was a silver dollar and stars shone like crystals spread across the sapphire blue silk sheet that was the night sky. The land of the gardens looked like it stretched out forever and would not seem to end. There were beautiful trees and beds upon beds of the most beautiful flowers I'd ever seen.

   I walked, venturing further, the smell of summer filling my nose and wondered if there was a rose bush somewhere. I loved roses.

   I was walking, gently touching the petals of flowers as I went, when all of a sudden I heard a noise. I had my hood over my head and turned to see where the sound had come from. There was the sound of a horse and immediately my attention turned to the stables.

   There was a figure jumping onto the back of a horse. It was so strange. He, I could tell by his well built figure, was cloaked in black. I squinted bending down the bushes when I realized something. This man...was trying to steal a royal horse!

   I could see the horse was hesitant to move but after the man tried a few times the horse finally went faster. In the distance I could see the man grow closer. I didn't know what came over me. I had to stop him! You can't just steal royal horses!

   I picked up my cape and ran, but what was I supposed to do to stop him? Scream? Yell? Pointless. Then I'd be in trouble for being outside when I was not supposed to. Suddenly I looked down and saw rocks. I picked them up, just about the size of my palm and with weight, and aimed.

   The first one flew and hit his arm. I heard him grunt in surprise. I flung the next one.

"Get off that horse at once!" I called.

   When He kept riding I ran. I picked up the largest rock I saw and flung it. It hit him right in the face and he grunted falling off the side of the horse. I wanted to grab more rocks to throw at him but there weren't any on the floor.

He scrambled on the floor, getting to his feet quickly and oddly gracefully for someone that just flew off the back of the horse.

"How dare you!" i said. "Who do you think you are stealing a horse-!"

Hastily he ripped his cloak off and I gasped, my words suddenly stuck in my throat.

I was face to face with him.

I had dreamed about this ever since I was a little girl.

His Royal Highness.

William Shreave.

I looked down immediately, feeling my heart drop.

"your highness" I said breathlessly. "Forgive me. I did not see you."

"Ha!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "With that aim I highly doubt that!"

I almost giggled. There was a small bruise right above his left eyebrow.

"I...I-" I shrugged, keeping my head down. "I didn't know it was you."

When I finally peaked up through the hood of my cape he was staring at me with his head tilted. He looked at me carefully.

"Who are you?"

I winced. 'Must you ask?"

His eyes blinked, astonished. "I beg your pardon?"

I needed to watch my tongue.

"I"ll try this again." he shifted his weight onto one foot. "What's your name?"

  I could see where my crush on him came from. His voice was deep and liquidity. It reminded me of melted chocolate. His eyes were large and under lashes long and black like wings were eyes green like a pear with specks of blue and gold. He had dark hair that could pass for black that sometimes fell in his face. He had a beautiful structure to his face.

   It reminded me of that picture Fern, a girl I went to school with, drew. He was all beautiful angles. A perfect jaw, lovely nose, and gorgeous symmetry. It made me wonder. Weren't girls supposed to be lovely? He had lips full and blushed like the petals of a rose.

I kept my hood on "I guess I'm in trouble now?"

The Prince squinted at me, as though he was trying to decipher something. "Who are you?"

"One of the selected" I swallowed. 

He raised an eyebrow. "And what are you doing out here?"

I shrugged. "Sorry?"

He sighed heavily, part irritated, and a part of him looked intrigued. "Care to give me a name now?"

"Alessandra Carswell, your majesty"

"Hmph" he smiled a little. 'That's a beautiful a name"

Despite myself my cheeks burned. I cleared my throat. "Thank you."

Then the Prince sighed heavily, picking his cape up. "Until tomorrow then, Madame Carswell?"

"Alessandra is fine, really" I said. "I don't care for formalities"

He laughed. "I would hope not. Secretly I hate formalities."

I smiled.

"What shall I call you then? Rock thrower?"

I laughed, feeling the nervous butterflies disappear. "No! I don't know. Whatever you'd like I guess. My family calls me Allie?"

The Prince crinkled his nose and I smiled again. He looked so child like. "No. I won't have it."

"Why not?"

The horse had since made its way back over to the prince and he grabbed onto the saddle jumping on. "I'll need to give you a name of my own of course."

I looked at him. "Like what?"

"Alessa" He thought to himself for a moment, before nodding with approval. 'Yes Alessa. My darling lovely Alessa. Alessa whom throws rocks at this very pretty royal face."

I squinted at him. "I'm not your anything."

He laughed. It was musical. "Tell no one you saw me here tonight and I will tell no one I saw you, Alessa." he dipped his head. "Good night, my darling."

  Before I could tell him anything he rode away.