Chapter 28
SOPHIE'S POV:
I didn't want to let disappointment get to me since I didn't say goodbye to Niall before I left. I was acting so melodramatic when I guess I could've just called him. But I was a girl, and girl likes to feel wanted and needed, so that's probably why I wanted him to do something. I really wanted to take my mind off of Niall for the whole trip, but that was easier said than done.
A flight from Sydney to England would usually take twenty two hours straight, but since we were in our own jet and had less to worry about, it only took twenty one. You're probably thinking, 'well that sounds like nothing', but believe me, I just wanted to get off that plane.
Thankfully, my mother was a good conversationalist. I spoke with her most of the trip, just telling her about how good Jane and Mitchell were as parents and other stuff about growing up. I didn't really mention that it was hard for me to not be around my real parents, or the fact that I hated them with a passion. Because I was willing to start anew. But I also slept for most of the flight as well and that consisted of a few dreams of Niall.
As I stepped onto the plane in Sydney, I was wearing some black leggings, a regular grey loose fit singlet and black vans. My hair was out and straight while I held a big puffed up jumper. Definitely not what you'd see a princess wearing. My mother was begging me to out the jumper on most of the trip because of the weather - but I know she only wanted it because she hated my shirt. But it's mainstream! Hah, me and my mainstream.
Since it was the beginning of November, and nearly my birthday I might add, the weather in England would be the complete opposite to Sydney. Instead of flowers growing and beautiful green grass in the spring, I needed to deal with nine degree Celsius weather and probably snow.
But I wasn't going to let the weather get to me. I had a jumper and plenty of other warm clothes packed. And who knows? Maybe if I love it here, I'll get used to it if I live here. Wait. Did I just consider living here? No. No, no, no, no, no. I need to just get through this month and enjoy the little holiday of which I'm calling it. Just a wonderful holiday, and maybe I'll get to enjoy the experience of snow which I never see in Australia. It's hard to recall snow back in England.
"Sophie," my mum whispered as she snapped me out of my dream state - the one where I was dreaming of Niall. Except that majority of the dreams I had were sad ones about leaving. I had to make myself stop feeling guilty! It was such a burden.
"Yes?" I asked. Yawning and stretching my arms as far as I could in front of me.
"We're here." A small, sleepy smile spread across her face as she rubbed her eyes softly and stood up. I got onto my feet slowly and watched Louis wake up and stretch his arms over his head. Once he shakily stood up on his two feet, he wiped some sleep away from his eyes and instantly brightened up. He was easy to wake up in the morning, I however was the tough one.
"Mmm.." I mumbled back to my mother. It was the only response I could fish out since I could barely walk on my own two feet. She raised an eyebrow and linked her arm with mine to help me stand upright.
"Do you want to be a princess?" She whispered to me. Well, that escalated quickly. How was I supposed to tell her right here and now? Then again, she wanted to know. But why now?
"What? Why?" I questioned her. She hobbled me over towards the jet door, followed by Louis and my father behind. We haltered right in front of the exit. I released from my mother's grip and got the jumper I had been holding and pulled it over my head to keep me warm. Also followed by a sign of relief on my mother's face. Once I poked my head out and fixed my hair, she continued talking.
"So we can know whether to tell the world who you are and see how life is apart of our family. Or, just be a regular person, say, a visitor or just a distant relative, and breeze through England, seeing what it's like." She explained. I was already siding towards a distant relative, or whatever, since I didn't want to get suddenly bombarded with paparazzi and nosey people. I didn't want to spend my whole month being locked away and speaking to people that only want to know me for who I am.
"Regular person, please." I smiled. It was a simple answer. I saw her smile turn into a small frown. She was trying to hide it, but she couldn't.
I sighed, "I know that's not the answer you want, but--"
"Don't be silly, Sophie. Whatever you're comfortable with, is good for me." She smiled again. She had such a strong English accent, it almost felt strange to talk to her and believe she's my mother. Anyone could tell that I definitely came from Australia, but had a hint of English background because a small accent peeked every now and then. Like, sometimes I pronounced plant like, 'plarnt' and dance like 'darnce'. But only very rarely.
"That means we have to take the secret terminal." My father stated. He walked over to the door separating the pilot to us and opened it. He stepped inside and began speaking to the man standing by the pilot. This man looked strangely familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it for the time being. The man nodded and walked over to us, guiding us all to a different door in the pilots area.
We all walked toward it and the man stepped aside and pushed it open. In front of us was a dark, space reduced terminal. I didn't want to go in that first. That thing looked scary. I turned to them all and gulped.
"Oh fine, I'll go through." Louis said impatiently and slightly pushed past me as he climbed into the tunnel. He bravely started walking through the confined space and turned back around, waiting for me. It was almost like I was being asked to walk down one of those playground slides that you go down which is completely dark and covered. But this was bigger this one of those.
I inhaled and took a step inside. This was darker than it looked. I took high footsteps to make sure I wouldn't trip on anything, even though it was flat, and followed behind the sound of Louis' footsteps. Soon after, my mother and father followed behind. After, maybe thirty more seconds of walking, a bright light shone up ahead and I found my feet moving faster just to get out of here.
And I was out! Once I stepped onto a firm ground, I glanced up and noticed we were still inside the England airport, except for the fact that no one was around in this particular room we were in. The walls were a clean white and tall, wide windows took up most of the walls. There was a dark brown door right up ahead and we all walked up to it and pushed it open to reveal a car park.
The coldest breeze I’ve ever felt, hit me like a thousand knives. My arms instantly flew up to my shoulders and I rubbed them furiously. A long black limo sat in the middle of a clear long road. The moonlight shone right on the roof which showed just how clean and glossy the limo was. My mother and father walked ahead of us and I saw the same man my father was talking to earlier. Who could he be? The dark brown hair. I was trying to recall any sort of memory I had in England when I was younger.
And then it hit me. It was Ed! – The guard who worked for my parents. He was the one who caught Charles Henderson the night I was getting kidnapped. I can’t believe I didn’t realise sooner. He was probably one of my closest friends when I was a young girl. He was one of the very few guards that would sit down and play dolls with me instead of my very own parents. He would play chess and video games with Louis and practically raised us. It seemed like everyone but my parents were doing a good job of taking care of us.
I get that my mother and father are the royals of England, but when I think back, they never really made time for us. Sending Louis and I to Australia must’ve been a giant relief for them - weight would’ve just flown off their shoulders. But I didn’t want to think about that right now. Holiday. England.
We all hopped into the limo in a very uncomfortable silence. I felt like everyone could read my mind, because suddenly, everyone else was acting strangely awkward. I glanced at Louis who was sitting next to me and he was mirroring my awkward look. I spent the car trip tapping my fingers on my thigh at its own little beat.
Small talk was thrown around every now and then, but I still felt nervous and uptight. This next month held either a big adventure, or a boring, slow and painful day-by-day routine. I’d just have to wait and see. We arrived at The Buckingham Palace in just under a half an hour and it was magnificent. Everything about it looked identical to the books, paintings and websites we studied at school. Although it was hard to learn about it, since it seemed like everyone was taking a look inside my home, I had to deal with it.
We drove slowly around the back of the large mansion and smoothly came to a stop inside the gate. The car had to go through plenty of guards and security, but we made it through, obviously. Butterflies started forming inside my stomach and I began to feel sick. This was actually happening – what I had pictured for years on end – I was home. Technically, I'd call Australia 'home' but this was the real deal. And that was scary to me.
"Stop freaking out, you can do it." Louis whispered sassily. I wiped my nervous expression off my face and glared at him. The limo doors opened from the outside and I pushed past Louis and stepped out. It was getting quite dark already and was I was still frozen to the bone. My teeth began to chatter immediately and goose bumps rose. Even though it was autumn here and not even winter, I think I had felt enough coldness for a day.
"It's okay, it should be very warm inside." My father reassured me as he picked up his pace and walked beside me. I nodded to show that I heard and we followed Ed around the side of the mansion. There was so much detail in the garden outside and even on the outside walls. I saw endless shrubs and sculptures across the ground, all created to every inch of perfection. Everything here just seemed so neat and flawless.
Small outdoor lights from the ground and hanging off the wall were our only light as we turned a few corners and made it to the back door. I was starting to remember things now, but only just a little. I did leave here when I was nine, so I guess I was old enough to remember some things.
Like, throwing rocks into the fountain in the backyard and getting in trouble, walking outside the gates and scaring sightseers and also getting in trouble. Come to think of it, I was quite the naughty kid. And I'm very surprised that no one had found out about me sooner.
We finally made it to the back door and Ed slid it open for us. I took one step inside and instantly felt the most beautiful heat wave. It wasn't too hot though, just perfect. I ended up in this big white room. Though it was still dark. I took a look at my surroundings and saw, of course, more sculptures. The walls were filled with paintings of people and places. Suddenly, the lights flashed on and I could see everything more clearly. There were paintings of my mother and father on the walls and my ancestors.
I think I had seen enough for one day. Jet lag had just hit me, and it hit me hard.
"Mother," I turned around and called for her. She was stepping inside, right behind Louis and my father was following behind her.
"Yes?" She asked.
"I think I'm getting jet lag or whatever. Can I go to bed?"
She looked down for a second, like she was thinking, or disappointed - I just couldn't tell. "Sure. Let me show you where it is."
It bugged me though, because I couldn't get into my pyjamas since my luggage was arriving soon in another car. So I'd have to sleep in this for now. But that wasn't really a problem. Leggings and a jumper is comfortable enough.
She took me through a million different rooms, each equally detailed, until we landed in front of a door. Opposite were a few more and I guessed this was a hallway for bedrooms. I looked at her and showed a small thankful smile. I didn't know whether I should give her a hug or a motherly kiss on the cheek.
"Umm, good night." I smiled and threw a wave in the air. Without getting a response quick enough, I opened the door and slammed it behind me. Since my vision had just gotten cut off and I couldn't see anything in front of me, I began searching for whatever was a bed. Once I felt something soft, I kicked off my shoes and jumped right on top of it. Darkness began to surround me very quickly.
A month of this.A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, and I'm soo sorry that this chapter was probably one of the most boring chapters EVER! But I'm getting writers block quite easily lately :/
Not much left until the end of TSP! I'm actually thinking about doing a sequel? Not a story about Sophie, but someone else she knows ;) Just an idea! And within the next few chapters I'm going to create a competition! I don't know what the prize will be though? Ideas? :)
Dedicated to the amazing @1DNiall for making me an incredible new cover! :)
Love you all! xox
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