The Hidden Princess: Secrets Revealed (Book Two)

Chapter Fourteen: She's a survivor just like us

"Sam, who is he?" I heard Nate ask as my body started to shake in his hold.

"Sam, is it really you?" the young man asked, stopping a few steps in front of us.

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded.

"Sam," he whispered as he opened his arms.

I tore myself from Nate, falling into the arms of the boy I thought had died. "Aaron," I cried holding tight. I felt little hands on my arms. Pulling away from Aaron, I looked to see his three sisters all standing waiting for their turn. "Girls," I said, pulling them close. "Oh goodness look how you've grown," I said, shaking my head as I took it all in.

"What's going on here?" a voice called. All heads turned to see a woman strolling towards us with a rolling pin in hand, a grim look on her face.

"Mrs. Rudder, I'm sorry for the disturbance," Aaron said, turning to face the women. "But, this," he said, pulling me close once again, "is one of my bestfriends from Hillsdale. She's a survivor just like us," he said smiling down at me.

Mrs. Rudder's face softened as she looked at me. "Oh my. These four came to me so devastated at the loss of family and home. It's nice to see they aren't alone. Go, go take some time together. I'll get Opal and Treva to help out," she said, then turned and left.

"Aaron," I said, my hand came to rest on his cheek. "It's really you," I whispered.

"And you're the one that saved us," Kate said.

We all turned to see her pointing at Nate who stood silently watching. Raising an eyebrow, I looked between Aaron, the girls, and Nate.

Kate stepped towards Nate. "You were the one that came into our house on the night of the attack. You told Aaron how to get us to safety. We never made it to the castle, but we made it here together," she said.

Nate looked at Aaron and his sisters and nodded. "Your right little one. I'm glad to see that you did make it and now you have been reunited with a friend," he said smiling at me.

Aaron didn't look as happy as he did a few seconds ago. "You may have helped us, but you were still with the men that destroyed our lives. Why are you with Sam?" he asked, then turned to me. "Sam, what's going on?" he asked.

Nate cleared his throat and nodded to where we were drawing a crowd of viewers. "Why don't we take Mrs. Rudder's advice and go," Nate said, leading the way out of the Inn. He then motioned for Aaron to take over. Aaron led us behind the Inn to a small grassy area.

Aaron positioned himself with his sisters and I on one side and Nate on the other.

"Shall I take a walk through town and leave you alone for a bit?" Nate asked.

Before Aaron could respond like I knew he wanted to, I shook my head. "No, you are part of my story. Stay," I then turned to Aaron. "Let's sit," I said, sitting down and pulling him with me. The girls quickly joined us. Nate slowly walked over and sat a little ways away.

"I don't even know where to start," I said, wrapping my hand with Aaron's. My eyes continuing to wander between the four siblings.

"We will!" Kate said. "When the destruction started I was out playing with my friends. Papa came and told me to go back home where Aaron was waiting with the twins. When I got back Nate was there. He wasn't like the other men though, I could see it," she said smiling over at Nate. "He told us how to get out safely. It worked," she said.

The twins nodded. "We started towards Jarrow," Hannah said.

"We ran until it was dark," Nora continued.

"Then camped under the stars," Hannah kept going.

"Aaron went back for papa," Nora said, tears coming to her eyes and her siblings.

"He came back saying that papa went to be with momma in heaven," Hannah said.

"We made it to Backington. We came to The Rats Inn where Mrs. Rudder took us in," Kate said, taking back the story. "We were going to keep going to the castle like Nate told us to, but then we found that Mrs. Rudder was willing to provide us a good home," she said.

"So we stayed," the twins said together.

"And you've been here since?" I asked, turning my attention to Aaron.

He nodded. "I went back to Hillsdale a few weeks later. Someone had buried our people," he said. He must have seen the look on my face, he let out a sigh. "It was you. How did you do that? How did you survive and end up with Nate?" he asked.

"I guess it's my turn to share my story. It's a little more complicated than yours," I said. Then started my story. From when we first heard the screams from my birthday picnic to becoming a Dragon. The only thing left unmentioned was how I was The Crown Princess and the family blood that Nate and I shared. "It has been awhile since I've seen Andrew's family as our last time was cut short, so Nate was escorting me down to see them," I said explaining why we were going through Backington.

"You're leaving us? We just got you back," Kate said, taking the hand that Aaron wasn't holding.

I sighed as I let go of Aaron's hand and brought both of my hands around Kate's. "For a bit. Andrew and his family took me in as one of their own. I need to spend time with them. However, now that I know where you are, when we return to Jarrow we will stop again," I said, gently brushing her hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"How long will you stay with us?" Hannah asked.

"We will only be able to stay a night or two. I am an apprentice and have to return to my training," I explained.

Nate cleared his throat, gaining our attention. "If Mrs. Rudder would allow it. What would you say about joining us on our return journey to Jarrow? There is a ball coming up and I am sure the girls would enjoy that. Also, Chloe may have our heads if we return and tell her of our meeting, but don't bring you to be reunited with her," Nate said.

The girls squealed and turned to their brother. "Oh Aaron, can we?" they pleaded. Aaron looked hesitant.

Turning my body, I took hold of his hands and looked at him with big eyes. "Please Aaron. Remember how we talked that one day we would explore Jarrow together? Let's make that a reality," I said. I heard Nate chuckle softly behind, but didn't understand what was funny.

Aaron sighed as he shook his head smiling down at me. "I never was able to say no to you was I?" he chuckled.

I grinned, throwing my arms around him knocking both of us to the ground. When I went to get up I was pushed back, when the three girls piled on top of us. After a moment the weight lessened as Nate had picked up the twins and we were able to push Kate off.

"If we are to reach Andrew's by midday tomorrow we need to be on our way now. We'll be back in a week and then hopefully you will have convinced Mrs. Rudder to let you travel with us," Nate said.

With final goodbyes and lunch in hand, Nate and I mounted our horses and continued on our journey.

"So, you and Aaron dated before you came to Jarrow?" Nate asked as he rode out of Backington.

"What? No!" I exclaimed, shaking my head. "We are just friends. I've known him since we were young," I said.

Nate chuckled, shaking his head. "So you both had feelings for each other but never did anything about it," he stated.

"No! Aaron has always thought of me as a little sister... nothing more," I said.

"Nothing more," Nate repeated, with a shake of his head and grin.

"It's true," I argued as I nudged my horse into a faster gaite and moved ahead of Nate.