The Accidental Princess

5. White Flash

    A few hours passed, and the party was finally starting to die down. Jade had disappeared. The musicians left. All that was left in the ballroom were a few reporters, some nobles, and a few royal family members. I started up the stairs, ready to sleep for three days.

    “Bri.”

    I stopped, turned to look down the stairs at who was talking. It was Jacob. He started up the stairs to where I was standing. He stood one step down from me. His eyes were unreadable, as always. He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

    “Congratulations.” He said.

    “For what?” I asked.

    “You succeeded. Your outfits were a hit. My parents loved everything, and the party went smoothly.” He looked away. “So, congratulations.”

    I smiled. “It sounds like you’re admitting defeat.”

    A slight grin pulled at his lips. “I might be.” I grinned, letting out a little laugh. I started up the stairs again. “Wait.” He grabbed my hand. “There was something else.”

    I turned back to him. As I did, my heel caught the hem of my dress. I was falling down the stairs before I knew what had happened. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact. But, before I hit the ground, I felt Jacob’s arms around me. Something pressed against my mouth, and I was afraid to open my eyes.

    When I finally opened my eyes, I found myself lip-locked with Jacob.

    He pulled away, steadying me, his eyes wide. We stared at each other for a long time. That’s when we noticed the flashing of cameras all around us. He turned me around and started ushering me up the stairs without saying a word. I followed his lead and ran up the stairs back into the castle. When we were away from the press, he turned to me.

    “What the hell was that?” Jacob demanded, his face red.

    I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you mean?” He raised his eyebrows at me. “You think I meant to do that?”

    He nodded. “Of course. You’re here to get attention, aren’t you? What better way to get attention than starting a scandal?”

    My eyes widened again, shocked by his words. “A scandal? Please. If I was going to start a scandal, it wouldn’t be with you!”

    Pounding footsteps came from down the hall. We both looked up, forgetting each other for a moment. Rory was stomping towards us, his face dark. I felt frozen with fear as his gaze locked with mine. Had he seen what had just happened? If he did, I was sure he had gotten the wrong idea, just like everybody else in the ballroom.

    “What the hell was that?” Rory grabbed Jacob’s shoulder, pushing him against the wall. “You think you can steal my girl like that, little brother? Has that been your game all along?”

    I pulled at Rory’s elbow, getting him to release Jacob for a moment. “It’s not like that. It was an accident.”

    The prince scoffed. “An accident?” His eyes never left Jacob. “You don’t kiss someone by accident. So, tell me the truth. You were after her the entire time, weren’t you?”

    The younger of the two princes didn’t answer for a long moment. He just stared at his older brother with a blank face. I waited with bated breath to see what Jacob would do. Finally, he looked over at me.

    “Stop spouting nonsense, Rory,” Jacob said, his voice even. “Come, Bri. We have much to discuss.”

    Jacob pushed past his brother and offered me his hand. I took it, which made Rory glare at me. I followed Jacob as fast as my aching feet would allow me. I practically had to run to keep up with his long legs. After a long while of him pulling me behind him, he pulled me into a room and locked the door behind us. This room was dark, but I could tell it was a bedroom. His bedroom? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was his breath on my face and his nose barely brushing against mine.

    “Did you plan this?” Jacob finally asked.

    I shook my head, brushing our noses against each other. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. You have to believe me, Jacob.”

    Our eyes held each other’s in the dark. His left hand was pressed on the door behind me, and his right hand combed through his hair. I’d never seen Jacob even remotely disheveled. His now messy hair made him seem more human. His breath tickled my skin. Neither of us moved for a long moment.

    “Tomorrow, we will be in huge trouble.” Jacob finally whispered. His hand left the door and settled on my hip. “It’ll be worse than you can imagine. You’ll be fired for sure.”

    “And you?” I asked softly.

    The prince blinked at me. “Why do you care?”

    I exhaled. “Jacob.”

    His eyes never left mine as he removed his jacket. “At best, I’ll earn a few new scars. At worst, you’ll have to take me with you wherever you go.”

    Before I could ask him to clarify, he had undone the top few buttons of his shirt. Even in the dark, it was hard to miss the pale scars that covered his chest. I couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and touch one on his shoulder. His hand grabbed my wrist, but it wasn’t malicious. Instead, he held my finger to the scar so that I could feel the softness of it.

    “You want to know why I’m so uptight?” Jacob’s voice was almost a quiet hiss. “You want to know why I’m a stickler for rules and traditions?”

    I looked up at him, finding his brown eyes dark and full of anger. Why was he telling me anything? Why were we in this dark room together like this? I couldn’t understand what he was getting at. What dark secret was he hiding, and why was he the only one in his family that seemed to have it?

    “We were rambunctious kids, my siblings and I,” Jacob said as I pressed my palm to his skin. He laughed. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. Maybe it’ll matter. Maybe it won’t. Jade and Jason never got punished for things they did because they were never caught. Me? I was born unlucky—the only one out of my parents’ ten children who received such a curse. Every bad thing I was caught doing resulted in lashings from the church.”

    “They can’t do that,” I whispered, feeling tears fill my eyes.

    He laughed. “Of course, they can. My father lets them. My grandfather before him did the same. We must be perfect at every moment.”

    I continued to stare at him, unsure of how to respond. I never knew that Jacob could be vulnerable. This was the prince that always had everything under control. Now? Now, he seemed like he was going to shatter under my fingertips. And even though I had hated him and his egotistic attitude, I couldn’t help but want to take care of him.

    “Will they beat you tomorrow?” I asked, not sure if I actually wanted to know the answer.

    He nodded, and I could tell he wanted to cry. “Don’t worry about me, Bri. I’ll be fine. Worry about yourself. But, I do have one final favor to ask of you.”

    He leaned forward, and I felt his breath hot on my lips. Before he could kiss me, though, a phone began to ring. Jacob groaned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He frowned, took a deep breath, and then answered.

    “Hello?” Whoever was on the other line was not happy by the sounds of their screams. “Fine. We’ll be there soon.” Jacob put his phone back into his pocket, turning his eyes back to me. “The king wants to see us in the throne room.”

    I had no chance to argue as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bedroom. I followed him down through the castle until we got to the throne room. There, we stopped, and Jacob turned to me. The princes’ eyes were lifeless as he looked down at me. I couldn’t tell if he was scared or not. But I knew that my hand was trembling in his.

    “Whatever happens, don’t try to save me.” He whispered. “It’s not worth you getting hurt, too. Just close your eyes and bear it.”

    I had no words for what he was saying. His warning shook me to my very core. Instead of saying anything, I let him drop my hand and walk into the throne room. I followed him in and felt the gloom of every guards’ emotions as they refused to look at us. The king was sitting in his chair, and two men dressed in all white were on either side of him. They both had whips hanging from their hands. My stomach instantly dropped, and my feet stopped moving. Jacob looked back at me, motioning me forward with his head. I followed until we were standing side by side in front of his father.

    “Jacob.” The king said, his voice even. “I am severely disappointed in you. You, of all people, involved in a dating scandal?”

    “I apologize, Father.” Was all the prince said.

    I looked over at Jacob, who had his head hung, then turned to the king. “No. Wait. This was an accident. It’s not like that, your majesty.”

    The king glared at me. “Don’t talk out of turn, Miss Underwood. You are in as much trouble as he is. Keep quiet until I give you your punishment.” He turned back to his son. “Now, Jacob. You know what your punishment is.”

    The two men in white stepped towards Jacob. Instead of looking scared or even anticipating the c***k of their whips, he held up his hand. Slowly, I watched the prince undo the button of his shirt one by one without ever looking up from the floor. When he was done, he took the top off and handed it to me. I held the silk shirt to my chest, unsure of what he was doing.

    “Bri made that shirt for me, and I don’t want one so nice getting torn up.” He explained to no one in particular before turning to me. “Close your eyes.”

    I did as I was told, squeezing my eyes shut against the horrors that awaited Jacob. I clung to the shirt, waiting. The first lashing came quietly. I heard not even the huff of air escape the man standing next to me. I exhaled, allowing myself for just a moment to believe that maybe his punishment was not as cruel as I had imagined. That feeling lasted for only a moment. The cracks of the whips continued to come. As did the sound of skin on skin, the sound of them beating him. I flinched at every sound of the whips hitting his skin and fist connecting with his jaw. Still, Jacob remained quiet. He didn’t scream out and let out any breaths of agony. He continued to take his beatings without complaint.

    And I continued to stand quietly in my spot, holding his shirt to my chest for comfort. That is until I heard him hit the floor.

    I opened my eyes, looking down at Jacob. He was on his knees, forehead pressed to the tile floor. His skin was glowing bright red and a pool of blood laid underneath him. He was clutching at the ground for dear life, and I wasn’t sure how long he had left. They were going to kill him, I was sure of it.

    So, I did exactly what he told me not to do. I stepped in front of him, holding out my arms to stop the attackers.

    “Please stop.” I pleaded, my eyes on the king. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

    Before I could even finish my sentence, a whip cracked. Pain erupted in my left shoulder, and I shrieked. I fell to the ground, my hand coming to my shoulder immediately. Jacob was there as soon as I collapsed, wrapping his arms around me. I felt some of his blood drip down onto me, but I didn’t care. The pain was excruciating, and I couldn’t understand how Jacob had endured it for so long.

    “Stop!” The prince yelled, lifting his head to look at his father. “That’s enough. Leave Bri out of this. She didn’t do anything.”

    Even in this situation, I had a hard time believing that Jacob was standing up for me. I turned my head slightly to look up at him. His eyes were full of desperation. Even with the blood dripping down his lips, I could tell he was genuine. He tightened his arms around me, waiting for the king’s response.

    King Alvin got out of his chair, stepping down towards us. “We don’t have many options in this situation. In fact, I see only one option that will get you both out of this with your lives and your dignity. We would have you fake an engagement.”

    Nobody said anything. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Fake an engagement? All over an accidental kiss? The rules and punishments of Arvendon really were no joke. I slowly looked back at Jacob. He was staring somewhere far off in his father’s direction, but not really at the king.

    “And if we say no?” I finally got the nerve to ask.

    “You’ll be fired.” I turned back to the king. “And Jacob will be disowned. If he lives through the night, that is.”

    My mouth fell open. We either had to pretend we were absolutely in love with each other when we were usually at each other’s throats, or I would have to go back to Paelford and hope that Jacob didn’t die from his wounds. There was no winning in this situation. But, at least one of the options had a better outcome.

    “We’ll do it,” Jacob said quietly behind me.

    For some reason, hearing him say that made me want to refuse the offer. Still, I knew it was truly the only option I had. I looked up at the king and gave him a slight nod to confirm the choice. I could almost feel the tension in the room lift as the king took a long exhale. He was glad this was over, too. Still, I knew deep in my heart that I would never forgive him for doing this. Neither of us deserved this form of punishment over a simple accident.

    “Good.” The king finally said. “Both of you go the infirmary and get bandaged up. Rest for the night. I will hold a press conference in the morning to announce to the country your engagement. So, take tomorrow off, both of you.”

    I gave the king a slight bow of acknowledgment, then helped Jacob to his feet. He whispered directions to the infirmary in my ear, and we left the throne room. Nobody followed us out. I was grateful for it. Jacob leaned his long body heavily down onto me, and it took all of my strength to keep him upright.

    “You shouldn’t have done that.” The prince whispered.

    “Done what?” I asked. “Stood up for you?”

    He nodded. “You could’ve been severely hurt.”

    “I did what was right,” I told him. “And I’d do it again. So, don’t complain.”

    He let out a weak chuckle. “I’m not. Thank you.”

    We finally reached the infirmary. Once inside, I place Jacob on one of the beds as a doctor worked on treating his lashes. A nurse treated my would as well. Once she was done, I waited for Jacob. Part of me wanted to just go back to my room and sleep this nightmare off. But, I knew I had to stay and wait for the prince. We were engaged now, after all. When he was done, he shrugged the shirt back on, and I helped him back to the room we had been in earlier that evening.

    “Will you be alright?” I asked him at the door.

    He nodded. “Don’t worry about me, Bri. Rest. I’ll see you later.”

    I watched him hobble inside the room, seeming so broken. He told me not to worry, but I did. Still, there was nothing I could do for him. So, I padded back to my room. Once there, I changed into my pajamas and slipped into bed to sleep.