Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 18

How I imagined Anna's necklace ^^

Chapter 18 (Edited)

Thomas opened the door and quietly slipped inside. The room was dark, only illuminated by the moonlight through the windows. He looked around the room to find me, while closing the door. I took a step from the shadows, he saw me and nodded in greetings.

"So, where is this book you were talking about?", he asked, straight to the point.

"I'll find it," I said. I walked to the section and after looking through the titles, I took the mysterious book.

I walked back to him and held it up for him to see it. "Let's read it near the window, so we have more light," Thomas suggested. I nodded and we went to the window. I motioned for him to come next to me, so we could see together. "'The secret of the kingdom of Ravenport'," Thomas murmured.

I opened the book to the first page and reread with Thomas what I already read last time. I turned the page, let him read through it and asked, "So, what do you think about it?"

"It's definitely interesting...", he murmured thoughtfully. I nodded in agreement and turned to the next page.

'These are what the map, the rose and the key look like.'

Underneath, there was a drawing of a rolled piece of paper with a ribbon around it and the word map next to it.

Then was a drawing of a beautiful, fully opened rose, that looked like it was made of metal.

I took a look at the next drawing and gasped. It looked... exactly like the pendant of my mother's necklace. It was a crown with two roses attached to both sides of it. I pointed at it. "Oh my goodness, Thomas..."

"What is it?"

"I have it. I have the key," I said in astonishment.

He let out a short breath. "You do?", he asked looking at me with wide disbelieving  eyes.

"Yes. It was my mother's necklace. And I took it with me, the day I fled from my kingdom."

"And you still have it?", he asked, surprised.

"Yes."

He gave me a wry grin. "Then I believe we might have a chance."

I nodded, suddenly conscious of everything it would imply. Then I asked, frowning, "What do you mean 'we'?"

"Well, I'm going to help you find out this secret, obviously."

"What? But you have so much to do these days? I cannot possibly burden you like that."

"Nonsense. This is far more important. This is the solution to end the war in your kingdom, and I'm obviously going to help you with it."

"But how... I mean, how will you help me?"

"Well first, we have to talk to my mother about this. I'm sure it's going to work with her help."

I felt my eyes well up with tears. "Thank you so much, Thomas. You have no idea how much it means to me," I said, laying a hand on his arm.

His eyes softened. "Of course, don't thank me. I'll do anything to help you," he said, almost tenderly.

"Thank you again," I said with a watery smile.

He nodded and said, "I'll keep the book. I don't want it to fall into the hands of someone else."

I handed him the book and took a step towards the door. Suddenly, a thought went through my mind and I turned around. "Thomas...", I said hesitantly.

"Yes?", he looked at me with a soft smile.

I hesitated, but... I knew I had to ask to have a clear conscience. "You know when the book said that it will determine who the True Ruler of the kingdom is?"

He frowned a bit. "Yes?", he asked skeptically.

"Uhm, I just wanted to know... you won't try... you know... to use it for yourself, right?", I asked carefully. I saw hurt flash in his eyes. "I mean, I'm doing this for my father, and he told me not to trust too easily..."

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I swear, Anna, I'm doing it just for you. I know it is most likely hard for you to trust anybody, and I will do my best to prove myself to you," he said and took a few steps to stand in front of me. "I won't betray you, Anna, I promise. Besides, I am already going to be the king of this kingdom, why would I want another? And also, I know it belongs to your family, I would never try to steal it."

He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek. "The kingdom of Ravenport is yours. I'm just going to help you get what is rightfully yours," he said, looking deeply into my eyes. Overwhelmed, I couldn't help but throw my arms around his neck and squeeze him like my life depended on it. He chuckled softly and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.

We stayed in each other's embrace for a long moment. "Thank you, Thomas. I'll never forget what you're doing for me," I whispered, breaking the silence. I untangled my arms from his neck and looked at his face, which I took in my hands. I saw a variety of emotions in his eyes, which I couldn't really read. His arms were still locked around my waist, holding me close. He smiled softly, "You're welcome, Annabelle."

The way he said my real name made me smile softly too. I admired his face in the moonlight. He is truly beautiful, I thought. I brushed back a strand of brown hair that fell onto his forehead, and then looked back into his blue eyes again. He looked at me so intensely I stopped my movement. He leaned an inch closer, stroking my cheek with a hand and holding me with the other. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. I was completely mesmerized. No man had ever held and looked at me like he was doing.

It's just then that my senses came back to me and that I analyzed our current position. I gasped and blushed furiously. What am I doing? I let go of him and he did the same, looking incredibly uncomfortable. We made more room than necessary between us. I cleared my throat, trying to break the tension. It didn't work. He blushed bright red, and I was sure I looked the same. "Let's... let's go to sleep," I suggested.

"You're right," he agreed.

Still, none of us moved to go. He shifted on his feet, looking anywhere else than me.

"Uhm, just let me know when we can see the queen," I said.

He nodded. "I'll do that."

I paused and then said, "Goodnight, Thomas."

He finally looked at me and smiled softly, which made me smile back. "Goodnight, Anna."

Suddenly taking a bold decision, I took a few quick steps towards him. I stood on my tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. He stood completely still in shock. I didn't want to embarrass myself even more, so I quickly made my way to the door and opened it.

I threw a last glance at him, and he was still standing in the same place, his lips parted in a gasp and his fingertips on his cheek. I smiled to myself and quietly closed the door, then sauntered off to my room.

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Hi friends,

So, this was chapter 18! Tell me what you think!!

Don't hesitate to vote, comment and share!! ♡

Love,

Floriane