The Hidden Princess: Kingdom's Fate (book three)

Chapter One: I Enjoy Kidnapping You

Shivering, I pulled my cloak a little tighter around my shoulders. Debating whether to go inside or not, I remembered what awaited me if I did. Leaning back, I looked up at the grand trees with leaves turning to shades of red, orange, and yellow. The crunch of leaves brought my head to the left.

"Avoiding your royal duties, your highness?" Nikolai asked with a smirk. He slid down next to me putting an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close.

Grinning, I nodded. "I couldn't handle one more question of what food to serve, who got the goat, or another marriage proposal," I said, shaking my head. In the past month since my coronation things had changed more than expected. Erik had taken over the Dragons. It was a natural shift, but still came with hardships as we all continued to grieve the loss of Orion. Yesterday had been a day of celebration at the compound. It marked the end of my third year and the end of the boys first as apprentices. If training wasn't hard enough, I was now learning the ropes of being royal. We were hosting royalty from Eskalay at the end of the week and Jone had been pestering me to help with the preparations. I had also sat in on the people's court where they could bring their issues before King Philip who would help resolve them. Then to top it all off, the past two weeks marriage proposals had been arriving, people wanting to raise in station through marriage.

Nikolai smiled down at me. He then stood up without warning and pulled me to my feet.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he hurried us through the garden. His eyes sparkled, but he didn't say anything as he guided me to the dock where a row boat was tied. "Nikolai, I don't have long. Your uncle, the King of Eskalay, is coming and I need to prepare," I said.

He laughed. "I am very well aware my uncle is the king. I also know that he won't care what color of napkin he uses to wipe his dinner off with," he smirked. "Now, are you going to climb into the boat on your own or am I kidnapping you?" he asked. We held each other's gaze before I sighed. "Good," he said, as I climbed in. He quickly untied the boat and started rowing towards the small island in the middle of the lake.

"You had this planned!" I said, looking at the picnic set up on the island. Helping him tie the boat, we made our way to the blanket.

He nodded pulling me down to the ground. "Yes. You've been under such stress lately and we've hardly gotten time together. I figured the only way to do so was to kidnap you. I told father, Erik and Alexander where we'd be. However, I figured if many more knew we wouldn't be alone," he said.

Sighing I leaned into him. "I like being kidnapped by you," I smiled up at him.

Chuckling, Nikolai leaned back on his arm wrapping his other around my waist. "I enjoy kidnapping you."

Closing my eyes I found comfort in the peace. Nikolai and I had come to a place in our relationship where conversation wasn't the glue holding us together. We could sit and enjoy each other's company with or without words. "Do you think they'll be an arranged marriage between Alex's baby and Chloe's?" I asked after a while. Not long ago Erik and Chloe had officially announced she was with child and soon after Alexander and Amber informed us their family would be growing shortly before Chloe's.

"Possibly. Their parents do get along so family gatherings wouldn't be too stressful," he said, earning a grin from myself. "Do you want to have kids one day?" he asked.

Sitting up I cocked my head. "You know, I've never really thought of it. Marriage was a topic I avoided and with it motherhood," I said.

He nodded as he listened. "You are so good with kids though. You have Sparrow wrapped around you and so many of the village kids adore you," he said leaning forward. "You'd make a great momma," he said, causing me to glare and blush. Instead of responding I took a roll from the basket and shoved it in his mouth.