THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER

Chapter 13

Asher's POV

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"You'll show her our new place?", Collins repeated in shock when we snuck back into the castle."Have you forgotten this is all just a lie? What are we going to tell her tomorrow when she asks to see our cottage?".

To be honest, I did not know what I was thinking when I offered to show her our place. I just wanted her closer. I wanted to keep talking to her.

I'll be yours.

Her words keep ringing in my head. I couldn't believe she accepted me. I had always suspected she felt the same for me as I felt for her, but I honestly thought I had blown my chance when I snapped at her the other day. I had begun to think she wouldn't want anything to do with me again. I can't believe how hard I have fallen in love with her after only knowing her for a little while. She is everything I have always wanted my partner to be. She is not only gorgeous- the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, but she is also very compassionate and sensible.

I constantly want to hear her voice. I want to see her beautiful smile, especially when it is directed at me. I want to make her mine completely and wholly. However, there's a constant fear at the back of my mind. What would happen when she finds out about my real identity? How would she react? Will she run away? Will she still want to be with me? What about my family? How will my parents, especially my mom, react when she finds out what I have been up to? They will never accept her. They may try to scare her way. The ball for me to choose my bride is a little less than six weeks away. I need to make a decision quickly.

" I'm sure we can figure something out. We could magically build a cottage in the woods, a little far from the village population", Aiden said.

"Yeah. I think we can build one close to the orange river. People hardly go there. The population around there are mostly animals, so we would be safe from anyone seeing us and she wouldn't question us about building it there, since we had already told her we are not from around here and would be leaving soon", Steve said.

I looked over at Collins realizing he had been very quiet.

"What's wrong?", I asked.

"I'm just thinking about Beverly and her powers. It's not normal", he responded with a confused look on his face." The only ones who should have such powers are protectors and royals and she's definitely not a protector".

"What are you trying to say?", Aiden asked.

"I'm trying to say that level of control and power is only seen in royals", Collins said.

"Are you trying to say she's royalty?", Steve asked with an apprehensive look.

I began to think. Collins was right. The level of control she showed when she made the tornado wind and waterfall in her palms was miraculous. It's not easy to perform two different magic at the same time. It takes extreme practice for protectors and it's a little easy for royals. Is it possible? Could it be? I do not want to get my hopes high that she might be royalty and end up not being on.

"I can understand where Collins is coming from but, I do not think she's a royal. Every royal and their offspring are accounted for. Besides, no royal will send their child to another kingdom, unprotected", Aiden said as he sat by Collins.

"But she is not unprotected", Collins pointed out.

"What do you mean?", I asked.

"Her friends, James and Mike", he said.

"They are warriors. No royal would be foolish enough to just send warriors to protect their daughter", Steve said.

" They are not just warriors", Collins said again.

Aiden stood up suddenly with a look of realization on his face like he knew where Collins was headed, "She said they were ex-protectors".

"Exactly", Collins said.

"This is a far-fetched idea. It's best not to overthink it just to be let down", Steve said, "What we should be thinking about is when we are going to build our supposed cottage before we meet her tomorrow".

"We'll leave early tomorrow", Aiden suggested.

We all agreed and went to our respective rooms to sleep.

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The next day, we all woke up earlier than usual. I tried to get all my work done on time. My mom and aunt kept giving me strange looks throughout the day. I know they were wondering why Aiden and I were unnaturally focused. My mom kept trying to ask what was going on, but whenever she was about to ask, Aiden says or does something that diverts their attention and I couldn't have been happier. I was not ready to tell them about Beverly. I want to make sure our relationship has a future- I will definitely make sure it does. I want to make sure when she finds out about my true identity, she will not run. She wouldn't hate me for lying to her.

I had missed my morning training due to me getting an early start on my duties, so I had to train in the evening. It is currently 4 pm and it is time for my training. And guess which of my protectors I will be training with? You got it right.

Johnathan.

Throughout the day, he had been giving me side glances. They made me a little uncomfortable. I kept on wondering whether he knew about my little secret. But then again, I wouldn't know. It's extremely difficult to figure out what he is thinking. His constant blank expression is always on his face, never to be wiped off. To be honest, I don't care, all I'm worried about right now is leaving as soon as possible to get my "cottage" built.

I guess he felt I was in a hurry because, at about 8 pm, he ended our training session. I told my mom I was going to bed early because I was extremely tired. I then signalled to Aiden, Steve and Collins and we all went to my room. When we got to my room, I made our usual hologram with a hint of our aura, then we teleported to the orange river.

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"This looks like a nice spot", Aiden said as we arrived at our destination.

We were a little bit away from the river, kind of in the middle of the woods to stay away from prying eyes.

"I agree. Let's get to work", Collins said as we all nodded.

We made a little clearing in the middle of the woods. Then we began to magically make the materials needed appear. As they appeared, we magically made them arrange themselves. The wood came together, the hammers hammered the nails in, and the paints began to apply themselves to the walls. The windows appeared and the door was fixed. By the time we were finally done, the cottage looked amazing.

It was an ocean blue-coloured cottage. The doors and windows were painted white. It was a modest one-story cottage. There was no chimney in order to prevent the smoke from being detected. Inside the cottage was more impressive. The walls were painted sea green. There were seashells and ocean paintings on the wall to sell our Triton story. Three huge white couches were surrounding a blue wooden table with light glass on top. Opposite the table was a magical fireplace that didn't give off smoke. There was a small kitchen with basic essentials. Opposite the kitchen was a corridor. The first door on the left was a toilet. Opposite the toilet was a small closet. Further down the hall were five doors. Two pairs were opposite each other. These were the four bedrooms. Each bedroom was decorated differently and uniquely. In the middle was a bathroom and a connecting toilet. In all, the cottage looks amazing.

"Wow", Steve said, as we all admired the finished look.

"Time to go. It's already 9:50 pm", Collins said with a bright smile.

"The things we do for love", Aiden said with a smile, and I couldn't have said it better.

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Hey dreamers. I am so sorry for my absence and lack of updates over the past few months. I will try to begin to update frequently. Please be patient with me.

I'm back guys!!!!❤️Love you, dreamers.

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