The Accidental Princess

7. White Snow

    I spent the next few days talking and reading to Jacob. He had many books lying around his room that seemed half-read, so I helped myself to them. The prince didn’t seem to care. He just laid his head in my lap as I read him stories of knights, kings, and fierce beasts. For those three days, I felt like Jacob was a prince locked away in a tower, and I was the dragon defending him from the outside world.

    “The outside world is a scary place,” I warned him playfully as we laid in bed one afternoon.

    Jacob, who was lying not a foot from me, chuckled. “Is that so? You must protect me then, fierce dragon.”

    “I shall burn the church to the ground with my fire breath,” I growled, only half-joking. I was lying on my back, staring at the ceiling. “That way, they can’t hurt anybody ever again.”

    Jacob was lying on his side, staring at me. We hadn’t touched each other since sharing this bed, aside from him putting his head in my lap. But, suddenly, he reached over and smoothed my hair away from my face. I turned and looked at him. His eyes were distant, far away, as if he was thinking about another time and place.

    “When we take the throne, we’ll burn them to the ground.” The prince whispered. “I will take them down, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

    I rolled over onto my side to face him. His eyes focused then on mine. He looked shattered for a moment, so vulnerable that I didn’t know what to do. What could I do to help him? Then, his previous statement returned to my mind. He said “when,” not “if.” He fully expects us to have to get married and take the throne. Did he want that? Or did he think that there was no other option? For him, I could see that there was no other option.

    “None of your siblings would take them down if they became ruler, would they?” I asked.

    He scoffed. “No one has suffered like I have. They see the church as the backbone of our country. It makes me sick.”

    “Not Jade, though.” I objected. “She’s seen what they’ve done to you in the past. Surely, she can’t see them as good.”

    His face went blank for a moment as he thought about it. “No, I suppose not. But I know Jade. I know that she would not have the guts to change our traditions if she ever took the throne.” He laughed. “Isn’t that funny, coming from me? I’m a stickler for rules and traditions. But, the church rubs me wrong. They are one tradition I could stand to break.”

    “Where would we get married then?” I said, teasing him. “From what I’ve read, all marriage ceremonies have to be approved by the church."

    He nodded. “You’re right. So, we’ll get married in Paelford.”

    I laughed, but he didn’t seem to be kidding. He really didn’t want anything to do with the Arvendon church. I couldn’t blame him, though. Maybe we should have taken exile. He’d be broke but maybe happier. My imagination began to run off for a moment. I imagined him in holey jeans and a baggy sweater sitting at my parents’ dining room table with me, drinking coffee. I imagined his hair growing out, starting to curl underneath like it did when he was sweaty. And he was smiling.

    “Bri?” He asked softly.

    “What?” I whispered back.

    “Why did you save me?” Jacob asked, his face softening.

    I frowned. “I don’t know, to be honest. But, if I had to guess, I suppose I saved you because it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t let them continue beating you for no reason.”

    Jacob reached gently over to put his arm around my waist. It looked like the movement hurt every inch of his body. I stiffened at his touch. I expected him to pull me closer to him, but he didn’t. Instead, the prince pulled himself closer and buried his head into my hair. He stayed there for a long moment before speaking again.

    “You need to shower.” He whispered.

    I groaned, pushing him away. “Way to ruin the moment, Jacob.” I sat up. “I haven’t showered because I’ve been busy taking care of you.”

    Jacob frowned. “Why are you so mad? I was just speaking the truth.”

    I glared. “You don’t have a nice bone in your body. Fine. I’ll leave you alone here and go back to my room to shower.”

    I got off the bed and started for the door. Before I could reach it, Jacob grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his head into my torso. Then, his body started shaking. He was crying. Sobbing, actually. He held me close and sobbed into the sweater I hadn’t changed out of in days. I had no idea, so my hands stayed put in the air where they had wound up when he pulled me to him. Finally, after a long moment, I had to speak up.

    “Jacob, please,” I begged. “Let go. You can’t keep me hostage here.”

    He pulled away, glaring. “I’m not! I just… need you right now. Is that so hard for you to understand?”

    I was the one glaring now. “You basically just said that I stink. So, why would I want to be around you after you insulted me?”

    Jacob rolled his head back, seeming annoyed with this conversation. I went to take a step back, but he hadn’t released his grip on my waist. In fact, stepping back made him tighten it and pull me closer. We were probably a mere inch from each other now, his legs parted around my body to hold me in place. We stared at each other for a long moment, and I wished I knew what he was thinking. But Jacob was Jacob. There was no chance at reading him. He sighed, putting his chin on my chest to look up at me.

    “Please.” He begged. “Stay. Shower in my bathroom.”

    I huffed, turning away. “I don’t have any clothes up here.”

    “So wear mine. I’ve got some sweatpants and t-shirts you can wear.” He countered.

    “I don’t have any underwear or bras,” I told him. “I’d have to go to my room to get them.”

    “You don’t need a bra.” He said. “And you can wear my underwear. Or go commando.”

    I scoffed. “Not happening.”

    “Then, I’ll have Tanner bring your stuff up,” Jacob argued.

    I shook my head. “He is not rifling through my drawers and touching my undergarments.”

    He groaned. “Then, I’ll have one of the female servants buy you some new ones. Just stay. Please?”

    I sighed. “Fine, fine. You win. I’ll shower in your bathroom if you have a servant bring me some underwear and a bra.”

    He smiled. “Thank you.”

    I started towards the bathroom as Jacob got up to go through his drawers with his cell phone pressed against his ear. I closed the bathroom door behind me. This room was bigger than my room and bathroom combined. There was a single sink to my left underneath a mirror lined with blue stones. To my right was a giant jacuzzi tub with neatly organized soaps and a white loofa sitting on the edge. For a moment, I imagined Jacob scrubbing his legs with the loofa and almost pissed myself from laughter. Next to the tub was a walk-in shower. It had to be bigger than my entire bathroom itself. I gawked for a few minutes before reaching in and turning on the water.

    The shower heated up fast, so I shed my nightclothes and climbed in. The hot water felt amazing on my skin. I hadn’t slept much in the last few days. Staying up to keep Jacob company was draining on my body, but I hadn’t realized it until now. Not that I minded helping him recover. But it had taken a toll on my body.

    I heard the door to the bathroom open, and I froze. Quiet footsteps sounded against the tile floor. I listened carefully to see who it was.

    “Bri.” It was Jacob. “Clothes are on the counter for you.”

    I didn’t respond. His footsteps sounded again, and the door closed. I continued my shower as quickly as I could. I couldn’t risk him coming back and getting any funny ideas. I thought back to the right before they called us into the throne room. He said that he had one final favor to ask me and then leaned in like he was going to kiss me. What had he intended to do? Kiss me? More? Could I put it past him to try again. 

    After my shower, I hurriedly dried off and dressed. The bra Jacob had brought me was bright pink and just a tad too big for me. It made me laugh. Still, I pulled it on and then put Jacob’s sweatshirt on over it. His sweatpants hung off my hips a little, and I had to hike them up so that I didn’t step on the leg. Whatever. They were clothes, and they were clean.

    When I stepped back into the bedroom, Jacob was sitting at the table. He had a book in his hand that I didn’t recognize as any of the ones I had read to him over the last couple of days. But, there was something strange about the way he was sitting. He was hunched over his book too far, and I could tell his eyes weren’t focused on the words in front of him. And his cheeks were pink. I walked straight up to him, narrowing my eyes.

    “What are you blushing about?” I asked. “Are you reading a s*x book?”

    The pink darkened in his cheeks and stretched up into his forehead. He slammed the book closed. “No!”

    I laughed. “No? Then why are you blushing?” He didn’t answer. “Did you peek at the bra?”

    He stood up, slamming his hand on the table. His whole face was pink now. “I would never!”

    I laughed again, turning away. “Oh my god, Jacob. No need to be so uptight about it.”

    Jacob stormed to stand in front of me. “I’m not like that.”

    I scoffed, trying to suppress my laughter. “You’re a guy. Of course, you’re like that. All guys are.”

    He frowned. “I’m not.”

    I smiled. “But you did peek at it.”

    He didn’t answer because it wasn’t a question. It was a statement. It had been a few days since the beating, but I could tell his energy had wained quickly. He didn’t have the energy to argue or to lie. I smiled as he conceded the point. I sat on the bed, picking up the book I had left on my temporary side of the bed. I waved it at him.

    “Want to pick up where we left off?” I asked.

    His face was back to its normal pale color. Jacob continued to stare at me without answering. I pushed myself back to make room for him. Still, he didn’t move. I sighed, setting the book back down on the bed.

    “I want to go for a walk.” He whispered.

    “Are you sure?” I asked. “You still haven’t fully recovered from the lashings.”

    The prince nodded, pulling something out of his pocket. It looked like a key. “My father wants us to see something.”

    I scoffed. “Your father? After he let them beat you and then forced us into an engagement? Why?”

    Jacob shrugged. “I don’t know, Bri. Just get your shoes on, and let’s go.”

    He gave no room for argument. So, I got off the bed and slid my flip-flops on. I hadn’t even looked at them since the first night I came up here. There had been no reason to. I followed the prince out of the room and down the grand staircase to the front door. Servants brought out two coats before we walked outside. One was for Jacob, a long black coat that seemed perfect for the soft snow falling outside. The second was a short red coat that the servant offered to me. I let her help me into it, and I realized it wasn’t nearly as warm as I had hoped. I sighed, turning to look at the snow.

    “Apologies, my lady.” The servant whispered, bowing and backing away.

    “What’s wrong, Bri?” Jacob asked.

    I shook my head. “Nothing. The coat just isn’t thick enough.”

    The prince frowned. “That’s not good enough then.” He turned to the servant. “Get her a better coat at once.”

    His voice was demanding, and it shook me to my core. I shook my head. “No, it’s fine for today. We’re not going very far, right. Let’s just go.”

    Jacob huffed. “No. If you go out like this, you’ll get sick.” He turned back to the servant. “A better coat now. And some socks and snow boots.”

    I sighed but didn’t say anything. There was no point arguing this with Jacob. I had to get used to him looking out for me and ordering people around. We were engaged now, after all. The servant came back shortly with a thicker jacket, socks, and snow boots. I pulled them all on, realizing that the shoes were too small. I quietly sighed but said nothing. Jacob glared at the servant before saying anything.

    “What’s wrong now?” He asked harshly like it was all my fault.

    I shook my head. “Nothing. Let’s just go.”

    I started walking past him towards the front door, but he grabbed my arm. He pulled me back, making me look right at him. I could see the anger in his eyes. I glanced over at the servant, then back up at Jacob. I touched my hand lightly to his, and he softened.

    “It’s fine, Jacob.” I looked over at the servant again, seeing her eyes gleaming. She knew we were engaged. There was another young servant nearby, and I saw the same look. I sighed, squeezing Jacob’s hand. “Let’s go, okay?”

    Jacob sighed. He let go of my arm, only to give my hand a squeeze. He felt their eyes on us, too. Everybody knew by now. Jacob laced his fingers with mine, and we walked outside together. When we were out on the lawn out of earshot of everyone, he stopped and turned to me. We were still holding hands, but I could tell he wanted to fight.

    “Tell me.” He growled. “What’s wrong? What is bothering you?”

    I shook my head. “I told you. Everything is fine.”

    His grip tightened on my hand, and I could tell he still wanted to argue. Instead, he sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

    I followed Jacob with our hands still entwined across the courtyard to a path that looked like it hadn’t been used in a century. I couldn’t have possibly guessed where we were going. The hedges around the trail were far from the gate, so no one coming in and out of the castle grounds would see how overgrown they were. The prince and I had to step over underbrush and vines growing across to not trip. What was this hidden away place? Why were we going there?

    We rounded the corner and found what I would call a large cottage. It was two-story, and I found it cute. But it definitely needed some work. Jacob and I stood side by side and looked at the house for a long moment. I didn’t understand what was going on. Was the king giving us this house? I turned to Jacob.

    “What is this place?” I asked.

    “Our new home.” He whispered.

    He didn’t provide any more explanation than that. Instead, he led me closer to the house. Now that we were on the doorstep, I could see that the white paint was flaking everywhere. I reached out to brush off a section, feeling disappointed. If this was true, the king was giving us a run-down s**t hole for our first couple’s home.

    I heard Jacob sigh and decided to change my tune. “It needs some work,” I told him, looking up at him. “I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

    He forced a laugh. “If you say so.”

    The prince put the key in the door and unlocked it. For the first in what seemed like ten minutes, he let go of my hand. I followed him into the house and stopped almost immediately. s**t hole was right. We could hardly take two steps into the house. The floor was ripped entirely up in places and sticking up in others. We tread carefully further in, watching each step. I didn’t want to fall through the floor into who knows what was under the main floor.

    The front room sat to our left. It had a brick fireplace that looked like it was holding on for dear life. To our right was the kitchen. The kitchen was pretty much the same as the floors. It needed some work? No. It needed a lot of work. I couldn’t even imagine how much money this was going to cost. We couldn’t live in this place when it was like this. I’d seen enough, and the lack of heat in the house was seeping into my clothes. I huddled closer to Jacob to steal his warmth.

    “I’ve seen enough.” His voice was almost a growl. “Let’s head back.”

    I nodded, lacing my fingers with his again. He pulled me back outside and into the courtyard again. I watched the snow fall to the ground as we stopped before going back inside. When I had been in Arvendon in early November, the grass was still green. It was beautiful. Now, the grass had died and was being covered by the snow. This was my home now. This place that was cold in more ways than one. I looked over at Jacob. What had I gotten myself into? Would I last the winter here? It was beautiful in its own way, but I wasn’t sure it was for me.

    “I’ll call my father when we get back upstairs,” Jacob whispered. “I’ll have him hire people to start working on the house. It’s unlivable as it is.”

    I nodded in agreeance but said nothing. We continued to watch the snowfall. Finally, Jacob squeezed my hand and lead me inside. As we walked up the steps to the front door, I heard the shuttering of what could only be cameras. I stopped, turning to look at the front gates. There was a crowd outside the steel gates. There were flashes randomly as I stared at the people. Paparazzi.

    “They want to see the new princess,” Jacob told me. “You’ll get used to it. Come on. It’s too cold outside.”

    I turned away from the paparazzi and followed my fiance into the castle. That was the first time I had called him that. My fiance. That’s what he was now. And, just like his country, he was something I would have to get used to. We were calm in each other’s presence for now, but would it last? I looked up at him, worrying. Of course, nothing lasts forever, so I wasn’t expecting this to either.