Chapter 15: The Art of Getting Caught in the Act

~Louis~

"Mar!" I heard Malia scream out as she pushed her tiny hands against my torso.  If it weren't for the fact that we'd been interrupted, I might have laughed at how cute she looked when she got embarrassed, but I was so close to getting her to kiss me, and of course whoever this 'Mar' person was had to ruin it.

I hoped to God my father wouldn't hear about this, just another reason to add to my ever growing list of punishments assigned to me after he found out that I had been "Off gallivanting with girls of questionable virtue" I believed was how he so eloquently put it.

Although the fact that she was Lady Spencer might actually please him, something I dreaded even more.

I despised the fact that he could still punish me and could not bear the thought of waiting any longer for my eighteenth birthday than I already had to, but even then when I reached full maturity in the eyes of the country, they still had control over my assets, all of my holdings overseas, all of my future.

They could destroy it in the blink of an eye if they wanted to, if they deemed my fruitless endeavors too 'untrustworthy' to the crown and the throne that I was set to inherit and give it all to my that selfish prick of a cousin Henry.

And then it happened, the train of thought that always followed the thoughts of Henry taking over the throne.

The idea of just letting it happen, abdicating the throne and passing it onto him when my father either stepped do

It was likely that my father would continue to be King for at least another forty years or so, unless an unexpected illness or accident occurred.

I wondered if I'd have to suffer through the incessant thoughts of 'should I or shouldn't I' when it came to my actions and the threats that my family made to me.

I was brought back to my current situation when Malia's cheeks turned an adorable shade of bright pink at the insinuating look on 'Mar's face and I wondered if it was her sister or something, considering how much they looked alike.  But, then again, if my parents had said anything it was that I needed to date someone like Malia of noble birth and if there was a sister they would have mentioned her too.

I wondered if that was why I was trying to get close to her, if that was why I wanted to get to know her, because subconsciously I actually wanted my parent's approval.

Wait.  Did I just think that her pink cheeks were 'adorable'?!  What was going on with me?

I shook my head and tried to concentrate on the scene unfolding in front of me in Malia's kitchen.

"So, what's going on here?" the woman with the dark raven hair and striking blue eyes that were eerily similar to Malia's asked the both of us.  I decided to pipe up with my sharp wit and searing dialogue.

"Oh I was just about to teach Malia here about how to properly snog a man, you see she's been doing it wrong all along and-"

I was caught off with a sharp jab in my ribcage and I noticed that Malia's eyes were wide as saucers and her female relative looked as if she were about to burst out laughing.

"Nothing, Mar.  Louis here was just leaving, isn't that right, Your Highness?"

She said 'Your Highness' in a way that made it seem as if she had something lodged in her throat and couldn't get it out, which was quite hilarious to me but I figured I wouldn't make anymore headway into getting to know her or flirt with her while other people were around who would expect a certain set of manners from a man of my noble birth.

"Yes yes, my driver is right outside.  It was lovely seeing you again, Lady Spencer.  And lovely to meet you, Miss..." I trailed off, hoping the mystery woman would give me her name.

If it hadn't been for the fact that I was so enamored with Lady Malia Spencer I would have been itching to get more well acquainted with her equally as divine counterpart, but-wait, did I just think that I was enamored with Malia?

I seriously needed a reprieve from her insanely intoxicating presence, it was like I was being wrapped in a warm blanket of contentedness whenever I was around her, like none of my problems existed, as if we were kindred spirits.

Her eyes held a certain wisdom that only tragedy could illicit from them.  They say that eyes are the window to the soul, and her ocean blue orbs were filled with a certain type of pain that I could barely fathom.

I knew that earlier she had said that she had a boyfriend who 'set her nerves on edge'.  I wondered if that was truly the case though, because I could already tell when she was lying.  All I knew was that she had an ex boyfriend named Robert and that he made her uncomfortable, and I knew that if I ever met this Robert, Malia would be the last thing on his mind.  The first thing on it, however, would be pain, and lots of it.

It made me wonder just what had happened to her, just what he might have done to her, that made her so deftly scarred and pained, and I just wanted to take that pain away from her but that would mean taking away her memories and unfortunately, technology just wasn't up to that task yet.

I didn't know yet, but I definitely planned on figuring out all of her little secrets and what made her the person she was.

"Lady Marissa Spencer, I am Lady Malia Spencer's aunt.  Lovely to make your acquaintance as well," she said while doing a perfectly polished curtsey for my sake.

I waved my hand towards her to show her that the formality was not needed.

"No need for that, we are all friends here now.  I'd love to have you both over sometime, especially you Malia.  My chamber doors are always open for you," I added towards Malia's way and I got the reaction I wanted.

That pink dusting across her face made my face light up with a smile I was sure hadn't graced my stiff features in years, and I was beginning to wonder how just by making her blush I was already happier than I had ever been.  Strange how a stranger could elicit such a response for me.

I sarcastically bowed and walked past a stunned Malia and outside of their lovely home to my awaiting driver who just rolled his eyes at my antics and opened the door for me.

I spent the entire ride back to the palace thinking about ethereal blue eyes and bright pink cheeks against soft alabaster skin and a cascading waterfall of raven black hair.

***

~Malia~

"Soooooooo, the Prince, huh?"

"Don't even, Mar, please. I've had enough of a day as it is," I groaned out at her probing question, leaning my head down against the cool granite of the kitchen island.

I turned my head just in time to see her shrug her shoulders and put her hands up in a surrendering type of way.

"Hey I'm not judging, but are you being safe?  I didn't miss what he said about his 'chamber' door and all of that, plus you two did look pretty cozy when I came in..." she trailed off and I didn't even want to think about what she might have walked in on had she waited only a few seconds before gasping and squealing like she did.

"Mar!  Please stop, there is no reason to have the talk with me, I'm almost eighteen!"

"I know I know, you're a big girl and you can handle yourself, trust me.  If I had gone through half of what you have already gone through at your age then I can guarantee I wouldn't have gotten into half the crazy shit that I used to, I would have known better, but I honestly think it would be good for you to have a bit of fun!"

I almost choked at her words as I took a sip of my sweet tea that I had poured for myself previously.

"Excuse me?  Have a bit of fun?!  I can't sleep, I can barely eat, knowing that he's out there somewhere, plotting his revenge against me or something!"

"Malia, you can't live your life in fear of what could happen and start living your life!  You don't know it, but you have two armed guards watching your back everywhere you go twenty-four seven.  We have you covered, you can stop worrying that he'll get you because he can't and-"

"Oh he can't get me?  What about in my dreams, where he hits me every single night?  Where he spits in my face and chunks beer bottles at my head?  I'll never be free of him, I'll never get to be normal and live a worry free life, I'll never- never-" I stopped because the tears overtook my words and Mar knew this and rushed over to me.

I allowed myself to soak up her comfort, allowed the tears to flow freely down my face, and it felt good.  I was glad that they had given me a security detail after they found out that Robert had escaped, but it wasn't enough.

I couldn't put armed guards on my dreams to make sure they didn't turn into the nightmares and night terrors like they did almost every single night.  I wished that I could say that sleeping pills helped, but all they did was trap me in my nightmare without allowing me to wake up, the drugs working so well that I barely even woke up sometimes in the morning.

My best bet was to just stay up as late as I could until I finally crashed and hoped to God that I didn't make it into deep sleep where dreams happened, just so I could finally escape him at least one time, but it never did.  My body needed deep sleep and I always dreamed about him.

Mar rubbed my arms soothingly and I allowed myself to think for just a tiny millisecond that she was my mom, that it was me as a little girl crying over a boy stealing something of mine on the playground and she was comforting me as any good mother should.

I sobbed even harder into her shoulder and I felt my soul release some of the torment it had been hanging onto ever since I left the US.  It was a specific type of torture that I'd held onto just so that I knew not to let my guard down, but there I was, spilling my guts out of my eyes and onto my aunt's shirt.

I wanted to be hard like a rock, to be strong like Daniel tried to teach me to be.  Bless his heart, he really did try to teach me self defense, but it always ended in us making out and having little tickle fights that he always let me win.

I missed him in that moment more than ever and the tears gushed out of me even harder like a geyser that had been stopped up for months and was finally allowed to blow.

Mar just sat there, stroking my hair and letting me feel guilty by ruining her probably thousand dollar top even though I knew there were tons where that came from. It still made me feel a little bit less alone knowing that I had her there with me.

Once my tears dried up and I left her to get cleaned up for bed and I was staring at the old photos of Daniel and I, I realized that I was never truly alone.

My mother and Daniel may have been dead, and my father a deadbeat who walked out on his own family, my step father a raging alcoholic with a gambling and abusing problem who was probably working with a gang conspiring to either kill or kidnap me for money at that very moment, but I wasn't alone.

I had Mar, and if I had someone, at least one person in my corner, then I would be okay, at least, for that moment.

And then I thought about the beast that was high school that I had to attend the next day and suddenly I wasn't so sure that I wasn't alone.

An alert beeping on my phone pulled me out of my reverie and I could feel the bile rising up in my throat at what the article said.  I had alerts set to make sure that if anything said about me, Robert, or his gang on the internet that I would be instantly notified of it.

"Lady Spencer and the Prince, A Match Made in Heaven?" the headline read and I was suddenly realizing that I was going to have a completely different nightmare that night after I went to sleep.

Author's Note:

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