At some point during the night, I awoke from a loud clash outside.
An arm draped around me pulled me closer to them, and it was only then that I remembered that I had stayed with Jameson. I turned my head to see him sleeping beside me, and he looked so peaceful, despite what he had to go through, the time between sleep was when he looked the most at peace.
His hair was all ruffled, his rosy lips slightly parted, his lashes thick over his closed eyelids. I wanted to stay here forever, in a place between comfort and something new, but I knew that these feelings between Jameson and me could make or break it all; and that terrified me.
I slowly slipped out of the bed, being careful not to wake him and I strode over to the glass doors that opened to the balcony to get some air.
The past 24 hours just replayed over and over again in my head, and I desperately wracked my brain for a way to help Jameson. I leant against the marble balcony that looked over the palace grounds and, just beyond, little flecks of golden lights told me the town was still awake in the distance.
"Tonight, that should have been enough for you- yes, I have access. When? Okay, you get the girl, consider the rest done." I snapped my head to the left in the shadow of the night to the other balcony, to find a silhouetted figure leaning as I was against his balcony. Hitching my breath, I staggered backwards ever so lightly to hide in the darkness of the night behind a pillar, before I slowly peaked over to see the figure again, and my breathing stopped.
Zack.
I never had a good feeling about him, even if I didn't know the full story to what happened when they were younger, the fact that he was taking this dodgy phone call this late at light- something wasn't right. What was he planning? Or, should I say, who was he planning for?
The cold night air nipped at my skin, and my break for air became all the more suffocating as I listened into the phone call. I heard his phone beep as the line ended and I leaned over the pillar to take another look again to find Zack with both his arms resting on the balcony as he looked out at the night beyond him, lost deep in thought.
"Clara, I know you're there, so there's no point in hiding." My body froze like ice as I slowly stepped back out from behind the pillar, meeting Zack face to face from our balconies.
"I wasn't hiding." I wasn't sure what else to say to be perfectly honest, and my other options weren't polite enough.
"I'm going to need you to come with me. If you really care about my brother, than for the sake of his life, I'm going to need you to keep quiet and do as I say."
"What are you even talking about?" He flexed his knuckles from across the balcony and looked me dead in the eye.
"Clara, I can't explain it to you. Meet me in the hallway in five minutes." I simply nodded, body feeling on edge as I crept back into J's room. He was still thankfully asleep as I crept over to the door, and slipped out without any sound.
I exhaled a shaky breath as I turned to find Zack already waiting outside.
"Follow me." He didn't even spare me a glance as he led me down the dimly lit corridors, past endless oil paintings until we reach a dark cherry oak door that opened with a key only Zack had before he disappeared inside, holding the door open for me to follow suite.
In what I assumed was he office, it was a moderate side, similar to that of the Kings, just smaller in size, with books-shelves to the left and right of the desk in the middle, a stain glass window behind. A small armchair sat opposite a coffee table, and a big fur rug lay sprawled out. Zack walked to his desk and elegantly sat down, signalling for me to sit opposite.
He shuffled through his desk draws for a moment before retrieving a folder and sliding it across the desk for me to see. On the front of the folder, a name was place in the centre-
"Read it out." I snapped my eyes up to him and back down at the folder, in complete disbelief in reading the name across from me. The room began to feel awfully small.
"Maria Rose," I traced my fingertips over my mothers name on the folder, the wound of her passing still open raw in my chest. "Why have you got a folder about my mother."
He didn't even reply, he just simply gestured for me to open the file; and I did.
I couldn't even believe what I was reading.
Pages upon pages documenting my mother throughout her entire life sat before me. Even I was included in some of the images, from walking down the street with her to shopping with her. My hands began to tremble the more I scavenged through the file, until I decided this was insane and slammed it back on the desk.
"What is this? Why have you been stalking her?" I was beyond pissed. My mother passing was probably one of the hardest things that I have ever had to go through in my entire life, and seeing a stranger, prince or not, disrespect her in this way made my blood boil.
Zack leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing in on me as he debated his answer. "Turn to the back of the folder- yes that's the one, to the profile page." I did as he said and scanned through her profile.
It all seemed normal to be until I got to the section about her job and why she had tabs kept on her. "No." I closed the folder shut and stood from the chair. "I'm not sure where you got this from, but this wrong."
I began pacing his office, trying to ground myself. "My mother was not apart of the FBI, and she certainly had nothing to do with any of you."
"It's true Clara, I'm sorry-"
"No, don't be sorry. Tell me what the hell is going on and why you took me to this stupid office in the first place just to show me this?"
"Because you are being hunted Clara, and you don't even realise it. Maria Rose was a former FBI agent working for the kingdom to help erase the threat of rebellion. She died a her-"
"She died from a car crash." I folded my arms as I stopped my pacing and faced Zack again.
"No, she didn't Clara. That was a cover up."
"No-"
"It's the truth. And you need to realise it because you are in danger again. Reports of rebellion from the north are very prominent, and they aren't just after the crown Clara. They are after you. They want to use you are a hostage because of your mother, and they are planning."
"And how am I firstly supposed to believe any of this and secondly what am I even supposed to do about it?" The thought of being threatened by the rebellion didn't even make me feel uneasy, it was the fact that I still felt like I was being kept in the dark that made me feel uneasy.
"The files are enough . What I need you to understand now Clara, is that you are under threat, and so I'm going to have to enforce full time security with you 24/7."
"And why are you involved in any of this?"
"Because the branch that your mother worked for was for the protection of the Royal Family, and I happen to work alongside them as apart of my training to become king."
Oh, well that sort of makes sense. But I still don't trust or like him at all.
"So that's it? Just security measures?" This all seems very dramatic.
"Yes, the others will be notified, I'll tell Jameson myself-"
"Why do you hate him?" Zack almost chocked on nothing as the words accidentally tumbled out of my mouth.
"Excuse me?"
"If I'm supposed to trust you, I want to know what the deal is between you two."
"No. You will have to trust me without knowing. This is your life at risk Clara. Do as I say and what security says, and we won't have a problem."
I remained speechless as the words sunk in. Now reflecting, I think I'd rather have Jameson tell me in his own time anyway.
"I think I'll tell Jameson myself what's going on."
A door creaked and a shadow fell over me from the hallway behind me.
"Tell me what Rose?" I turned to see J standing in the doorway leaning against the frame, his broad arms crossed as his eyes zeroed in on me, before slowly trailing up to meet Zack's. "What the hell is going on here?"
--â--
HEY GUYS!!
I'm really trying to focus on this book now, and I'm sorry it's been such a long journey but I'm so grateful and happy with those who have stayed with me through it all. I really do love writing this book and I'm trying to work on my upload times.
Thank you all so much for all of the lovely comments as well, I cannot tell you how motivated this makes me to continue to write.
I hope this chapter made sense to everyone. This is really marking Clara and Jameson's love story to fully start now.
Also I would like to apologise for any spelling/grammar mistakes
I hope everyone has an amazing day/night!