Royal On The Run (unedited)

Chapter Five

Naomi

When we were young kids, Deacon and I would make a habit of running around every chance we could get. Running around the yard, the palace, into each other or up a tree, the options were limitless. we'd always managed to give our parents and nanny a heart attack at least once a day.

We'd climb the trees as high as we could manage. Then we'd try to jump down from their high perch. A few times we escaped with no injury, other times we'd endure a broken arm, broken leg, or be knocked out for a few minutes or hours.

That was when we were kids. We were adults now.

Though we still climbed, we didn't go as high. We also didn't even think about jumping down. Especially not in the dark of night without a guard nearby in case we hurt ourselves.

That didn't stop me from climbing a little too high though. I loved the view from the treetops. I could see the city lights from there. We were in the far distance but I could still see them and enjoy them.

Deacon didn't share the same admiration as I did. At least not from my preferred viewpoint he didn't.

"Nai! Come down!" He hissed low, trying not to startle the wildlife most likely lurking around. "You're going to get yourself killed."

I laughed as I gazed down at my brother, laughing at his worry. "It's almost like you have no faith in me, Deac, what happened to our sibling trust?"

"I trust your decision to come out here." He stated, giving me an annoyed glance. "I just don't trust your decision to not jump from that tree and hurt yourself."

While I'd had tendencies to jump from this height years ago, the appeal wasn't as strong now. "Relax, I'm not going to jump. I don't have a death wish." No, I just had a wish that I didn't have to be confined to the palace. Confined to being a member of the royal family. Confined to being an idolized princess.

Deacon seemed to read my mind. Climbing up the same tree. He didn't go as high, he stopped a few branches down from me. He sat on a branch, kicking his legs out, mirroring my actions just as we'd done when we were younger.

"It's not the life you chose, Nai, but it's a life that you'll do really well at in your own way. You'll change things, make them better."

I cast Deacon a wary gaze. "Why are you being so nice and encouraging?"

He laughed. "I happen to do that from time to time. Maybe it's the British blood flowing through my Americanized body."

Though I tried to hold back a laugh, I really did try, but the moment Deacon let a little blip of a laugh escape, I was a goner.

A loud burst of laughter escaped both of us. We gripped the branches we sat on for dear life, for if we didn't, we'd be hurdling themselves towards the forest floor with no one to save us.

When our laughter died down, we took a few moments to regain their normal breathing patterns. We'd always had moments like this, we'd always gotten along. Having requirements that had us doing their separate respective duties made the time we did spend together more enjoyable. It was odd for us to get along as we did, it may have had to do with our parents not forcing us together even during joint royal events. They let us work on our relationship on our own time, no forcing of a sibling bond. Together, Deacon and I forged that ourselves and were quite proud of the results.