Running From The Prince

Chapter Thirteen

It has already been a few weeks since the incident and Alex had gotten used to her new life as a prisoner. Apart from Juliana who visited her on some occasions, she wasn't allowed to interact with anyone else. She didn't even have access to newspapers anymore to know what was happening outside the tall walls of the manor

Apart from Ryan non of her other family members had so much as spoken to her over the past weeks. And Alex would be dammed if she tried to apologize for something she did not fault in. Since they plan on ignoring her forever she'll ignore them too. Unfortunately even Loenell had gone back to his kingdom leaving her alone to live out this boring life

Today however things had changed. She had heard earlier that day from Emilia that there were some guests over at the manor, she learned that one of the ministers was to have a meeting with her father, she had even made sure to avoid passing by the main living room where she knew Jeffrey Silva always held his meetings. She decided to spend the rest of her day in the library reading cringe biographies about people she knew. On her way to the library however she was suddenly pulled into a dark corner of the hall, her mouth was clamped shut before she could scream

" Calm down, I won't hurt you" A familiar voice whispered in her ears

Alex looks up in surprise but stops her struggles immediately on recognizing who it was. Xander gently freed her from his arms. " Xander? Why are you here?"

He raised a brow at her. " Is that any way to greet a friend?"

" I...I am sorry, am just surprised to see you here"

" My father is having a meeting with the prime minister. I'd tag along in hopes of seeing you, you're hard to find these days "

" Right. I suppose you must have heard what happened. Am under house arrest at the moment"

" I see"

" It sucks! Is not allowed to go out of the manor and everybody keeps thinking that am such.." She paused. Was there a reason to tell that to Xander? Sure they had interacted in the past but she didn't know if that qualified them as friends. But she's been alone these past days and she needed someone to confide in, someone that might at least believe her side of the story once. " I didn't push Rachel"

" I know"

" Y..you do? But what do you know?"

" I don't know you that much but I am a very good judge of character, I don't think you are the kind of person to scoop so low," He said " Also, I once saw Rachel cutting herself on purpose so Albert would fuse over her. It doesn't surprise me that she might jump off the stairs only to frame you"

" Wow," Alex says in awe. " That's the longest sentence I've ever heard you make"

Xander pins her with a look but doesn't respond. He pushes himself back to lean on the wall behind him. " How are you coping"

" I don't know. My family wouldn't speak to me and everyone in my household thinks am suicidal"

Xander eyes her carefully, his gaze sweeping over to her wrist. Although her injuries were healed, the doctor still insisted that she wore the bandages, because they somehow carried medicinal properties that would make sure she doesn't scar. She knew that refusing would just have Edwin on her back again

" you're not?"

" Of course not!" She pins him with a glare. " how could you even think such a thing?"

" You did lose the love of your life"

" I won't kill myself because of that ass. He doesn't deserve me"

" He doesn't "

" But that's still going to be a problem"

" How so?"

" I am expected to get married a few months away" she sighs miserably. It's one problem after another

She shivers when she feels Xander's palm against the side of her neck. He nonchalantly traces the line of her collarbone.

" What are you..?"

" I don't think that's a problem at all" his other hand closes in on her waist and draws her closer. Alex finds herself too stunned to act out. He tilts her jaw up so she was looking directly up into his eyes. The twirl of warmth in them drew her in like a magnet " Maria Alexandra Silva, if you would do me the honors then it would be my greatest joy to marry you"

She resisted the urge to shiver at the way he called out her name, well it was all her but..it still managed to melt her. " Y..you want to marry me?"

"As I said, the prince is the biggest fool in the kingdom"

" When did you say that?"

" Two years ago"

" Uh..okay" she could feel herself smiling. Well, this wasn't a part of her plans, she had been sure that marriage was something she could never consider in her former life but...seeing it from a different angle it wouldn't be so bad right? She wasn't a fool to think she had a hundred percent chance of going back home, she might never be able to. So in the meantime, it was fine if she settled down and maybe gave love a chance

He grabbed her hand gently yet firmly, almost as if knowing her answer even before she spoke them. Her heart begins to beat faster than ever, she closes her eyes and breathes out

Xander kisses her shoulder, and he runs his lips on her skin towards her ears but doesn't quite make it that far. She tilts her head and after her deep breath out he bites her gently. It doesn't hurt, it somehow only makes her want more. He turns her around, they are facing each other. He stares into her eyes and smiles.

He kissed her as she had never been kissed before, as no boy had ever kissed her, soft and moist and hot and breathy. The heat rose in her cheeks as his tongue slipped into her mouth, quick and electric and delicious, then firmer, more determined, more curious about the heat that lay within, seeking to chase down that elusive liquid lightning that reached through both of them. Her breath came out in gasps, his lips moved against her in sync

Then the kiss became rougher, his lips mashed against hers as if trying to flatten and destroy her mouth. She hungrily pushed back, her mouth open, tongue pushing past his clenched teeth to the moist space within. She worked her mouth against his, their tongues battling back and forth like wrestlers, each trying to pin the other.

She placed her hand on his chest while their mouths were still connected, then it slid down but her hand was held firmly before they could reach somewhere dangerous. They finally parted from each other, lips moist and sore from the make-out session. She looked up at his smirking face in confusion

" I am sorry, but we can't go further than this"

At the moment she really couldn't help rolling her eyes. So maybe s*x was something to only be experienced after marriage here, it wouldn't be so surprising

" It's okay"

* * *

When she had said her goodbyes to Xander, Alex made her way upstairs to her room. She nearly got a heart attack when she opened her door and found Edwin standing stiffly in the middle of the room

He had stared at her for a very long and she was almost convinced that the whole truth about what had happened between herself and Xander was written on her face. But thankfully Edwin spoke up and broke the awkward moment

" Take this" He handed her a white envelope. " The royal family is holding a ball in two days in celebration of the Prince's engagement. As the daughter of the prime minister, it is required for you to attend, you shall go with escorts of course "

So in other words, she was allowed to go but under the close watch of her father's security. Honestly, she didn't even want to go to such an event. The last time she had seen Albert it hadn't ended, why was it that her family were forcing her to see him again? Who the f**k cares if he's getting engaged to that b***h!

" Edwin" She calls out just before the other could leave the room. He doesn't turn to look at her even as she speaks. " I don't want to go"

" You don't have a choice. It is a courtesy"

" Was it courtesy when he ripped my heart out? I am trying to get over this but you all keep pushing me to the edge! Am afraid I will.."

" You will what?" He finally turns to look at her, there is a fire in those silvery eyes of his. " Will you cut out your wrist like before? Or will you come up with more brilliant ways to take your own life"

" I.."

" Wake up to reality Maria! There are thousands of princes out there, why do you insist on this one? You are to go to his engagement Ball and I want you to see with your own eyes that he will never love you. Maybe then it will put some senses into you naive scull"

He turns to leave once more but Alex runs to grab onto his arm. " What if I tell you there is someone else I like? Would you arrange an engagement with him instead?"

For the first time, she saw Edwin look genuinely perplexed. She could tell that he hadn't expected her to say those words in maybe a thousand years

" You...you like someone? "

" I do, and he likes me too. I want to get married to him"

" Who is he?" The look Edwin gives her is filled with suspicion. It seemed that he was expecting her to pull some sort of trick on him anytime soon. " Is he a peasant?"

" Xander Bloom"

He blinks once more in surprise but soon his face falls back into a neutral look. " The Bloom family" seems to be in deep thought. " I shall talk to father about it"

" Thank you"

He gives her an uncertain look. " I have met the young master of the Bloom family before, are you sure you want to establish a relationship with him?"

" I wouldn't have informed you If I didn't " She gives him a reassuring smile

" Very well" He gives her a nod and walks out of the room

After he is gone Alex tears open the envelope to take a look at the letter inside. She reads out the clear handwriting

The Silva Family

It is with great respect that the royal family requests your presence at the Grand Ball. With good wishes, we celebrate Prince Albert Alexander Louise's engagement to Rachel Evermore

We hope you make time to grace the occasion

" Such nonsense. He's only trying to rub pepper to my nonexistent wound" She tears the letter and tosses the pieces away. Honestly, she has never seen such a cunning pair as those two, they were perfect for each other. The Egotistic prince and the hypocritical Cinderella

" Caw! Caw! "

Alex is startled when she notices a crow perched on her windowsill. She wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for its obnoxiously loud cry

She stares at it and it stares back at her. Who knew how long that thing had been sitting there? From what she's read about this place, not only does a craw signify bad luck but it was also used as a spy by the royal family. She once heard from Juliana that prince Albert's favorite pet was also a craw, he even trained the damn thing to pass on letters and deliver messages. It was completely unsettling

" Shoo!! Shoo!" Alex makes swift movements with her arms to drive away the offending animal but it wouldn't even move, it continued to stare at her with unblinking eyes. Finally, she gets angry and grabs a shoe. " If you don't get out of here then I'll hit you with this shoe! "

It only continued to stare at her not seeming to have even a shred of fear

" You don't happen to be a spy of Albert's are you?" She laughs at the mere thought. " But if you are I want you to go and repost to that son of a b***h that I've gotten over him. I've even fallen in love and hopefully, I'll be married to Xander before he settles down with that b***h of his"

" Caw! Caw!"

To her surprise, the bird flaps its wings and flies away. Alex blinks and then tosses the shoe away

" So creepy"

* * *

Meanwhile, the crow makes its journey back to the palace and lands smoothly by the Prince's windowsill

" Caw! Caw!"

" She's getting married you say?"

" Caw Caw!"

" To Xander Bloom? " Xander frowns as he listens intently to the rest of the information