THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER

Chapter 11

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW.

PS: I STILL NEED SOMEONE TO DESIGN THE COVER OF THIS BOOK FOR ME.

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Asher's POV:

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    It's being two days since I have seen Beverly. TWO DAYS. I have been going crazy ever since. What the guys said kept playing over ad over in my head: will she really become afraid of me? I do not think I would be able to handle it if she becomes scared of me. It was never my intention to frighten her. I was upset. I was upset that she was willing to judge me without knowing me.     

    Yes, I am aware that she does not I am the Prince, but I could not stop myself. Maybe it is because I know she was right. Maybe because in a way, the same thoughts were running through my mind. I know the wise decision is to get married to a Noble or a Royal if I want to expand my kingdom and gain more power. But, I never had the intention to marry for the sake of power or kingdom or army or land. I want to get married for love. I know the strongest power I can get and have is getting a woman I love. A woman who will be with me for who I am. A woman who sees me as Asher, not as the Prince. A woman that I will be assured will stay with me even if I lose my status as the Prince and heir to the throne. A woman who will help me grow my power, strength and kingdom because she wants to assist me not because she wants to gain more power.

    I sighed as I got up from the couch in our secret room. I have not trained in these past two days. I have been anxious and worried. I can not get over the thoughts of Beverly. When I close my eyes, I can still see her jump as I snapped at her. I can still see the panic and fear in her eyes when she realized she had exposed her secret to us. I can still see her run away. I can only hope she does not hate me.

"Are we going again tonight?", Steve asked. For the past two days, I have been going to our meeting spot with the hope that she will come. And I do not plan on stopping. I will keep going till she comes. Steve is having doubts that she might come. Aiden is being supportive while Collins is just being positive.

"Yes", I answered as I got up.

"She might come this time", Collins said.

"Yeah, I have a feeling she will", Aiden said.

    Suddenly we felt a presence trying to get inside. We looked at each other in shock because no one knows this room exist, and even if they do, they will have no means of finding it or even getting in. We got into a defensive stance when Star appeared.

"Calm down, it is just me", she said as walked towards us. She looked at me and said, "I am disappointed in you, by the way".

"I am disappointed in myself too, star", I said as I ran my hand through my hair.

"Good thing you are. Go there tonight, I will try to make her come to see you", she said as I got hopeful.

"Really? you would do that?", I said excitedly.

"Do not get your hopes high, I said I will try I did not say she will come", she said.

"Thank you so much, Star", I said as she shook her mane and disappeared.

    I excitedly looked at Steve, Collins and Aiden with a huge smile on my face as they also mirrored my huge smile.

"Shall we go see my woman?", I said

"Yup", they chorused.

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We have been at the spot for about an hour and she still has not shown up. But, I will wait. I know she must be hesitating which is understandable after what happened the last time. From me lashing out at her to her fingers going ablaze, it must definitely be a lot for her to take in. I kept pacing back and forth as I got more nervous as the second went back. I still do not know what I will say when I see her. I do not know how to apologize. For the past two days, I have been practicing my apology speech but as the time got nearer, I seem to have forgotten my speech. Do I say sorry for snapping at you? sorry for getting upset? sorry for losing my cool? Sorry I made you reveal your secret, by the way, how do you have such power?. Argh, I am going crazy.

"Calm down, Ash, she will come", Aiden said as he laid a hand on m shoulder.

"I hope so", I said. Suddenly, we felt her presence. I turned towards the opening she usually comes from. We waited for about two minutes before she came in like she was second-guessing her decision to come.

    She was dressed in a plain dark green dress with a black cloak. Her face was covered as usual. Her body language was tense. She did not walk close to us. She stayed a few feet away from us. 

"Beverly", I said as I walked towards her. I tried to hug but she flinched and stepped back a little. I could not hide the hurt emotion on my face.

"Hi Beverly", the guys greeted her.

"Hello", she replied with a small smile that did not reach her eyes as she kept looking around like she was expecting someone to come out. 

I went ahead and grabbed her hands. She tried to pull her hands away from me but I refused to let go. I just can not let her go before I apologize.

"I am so sorry, Beverly. It was never my intention to snap at you like that. I do not even know why I did. I have no excuse for what I did. I really just want to apologize. Please, please, forgive me. It was totally an accident. I would never intentionally frighten you like that. I did not mean to do that. I guess I was just trying to think from the Prince's perspective. I was imagining that if I was the Prince, I would want to do things differently. Please forgive me."I said all in one breathe.

    She looked at me with a little smile and said, "It's okay. It was my fault. I should not have said anything about the Prince or the Royal family as it is not my place".