Lost Royalty

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day was a particularly cold day. It was windier than usual and the air had an icy edge to it.

Due to the temperature of the day, Elle's Pa had made her take his job of visiting a large house on the outskirts of town and delivering some books for the library.

The owners of the house were a very rich old couple. The man had been mayor of Grea before the current mayor had taken over. They regularly ordered books for their library, but always asked for them to be delivered straight to their house.

Although the afternoon was cold, Elle was glad to get out of the book store and take a walk in the fresh air. Her cough had been bothering her even more now that autumn had approached, so any escape from the dusty book shop was a huge relief.

As Elle was walking through the town the wind was ripping through the holes in her cardigan. She pulled he scarf tighter around her, but in the process she dropped the package that she had been holding. It was by luck that it had landed on a very clean piece of ground, when it so easily could have landed on a pile of mud just a few feet away.

Elle bent down to pick up the package of books, but she was beaten to it. She straightened herself out and waited for the package to be handed to her.

When it wasn't given straight back to her she looked up at the man holding it.

Elle looked into his eyes and saw that it was a boy around her age. She wasn't overly sure of his name, but thought that it was James.

She reached out to take the package, muttering a "thank you" in the process, but he only pulled the package further away from her reach.

"Let me carry it for you," he said, a smile spread across his face.

"You don't have to do that," she replied, "I'm headed out to old mayor's house at the edge of town."

"Well, I have been wanting to take a walk, may I accompany you?" there was a twinkle in his eye as he asked.

Elle only nodded her head, still confused at why he might want to walk with her. She started walking, and he fell into step beside her.

For the first few minutes, they walked in absolute silence.

James was the first person to break the silence.

"I'm James Parson," he said. "I don't think we have had the pleasure of meeting."

"Elle Winters," she replied.

He sent her a small smile, which she returned.

"Are you excited for the party?" he asked.

"Oh, I won't be going to that." She replied, keeping her head low and hoping that he wouldn't ask any questions.

"Well why not?" he seemed confused now. "Everyone is going!"

"I'm not fond of social gatherings," she said, not going into too much detail.

At this point they had reached the old house, and Elle took the package and wandered inside.

She quickly came back out, and was shocked to find James still waiting for her. He quickly joined her and they started walking together again.

"I know a different way home, it's much prettier than waking through the market," she said. "Is that okay?"

"Of course," he answered.

They waked in companionable silence across a field for a few moments, until James once again broke the silence.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the party? It will be really fun and it's not like you have tried anything like this before. And besides, everyone is expected to go."

Elle quickly thought of an excuse of why she couldn't go, but her lack of ideas meant that her excuse was not strong.

"I don't have a dress!" she blurted out, looking straight at the floor.

He stopped and looked at her suspiciously.

"Well that won't be a problem. Mr Pavey said that the King will pay for dresses if money is an issue." He said, not quite believing her reasoning. "If I can get you a dress, will you come?"

"I don't need charity!" she answered, although the truth was that she was nearly accepting the offer.

"It's not the dress, is it?" he asked. "Why won't you come to the party?"

"Why do you so desperately want me to come?" she asked, now looking him straight in the eye.

She didn't notice the blush that had crept onto the top of his ears.

"I-I just want everyone to have a good time." He muttered, silently begging her to believe him.

The sun was going down now, and they had made it all the way to the hill above Elle's house. Elle sunk down into the grass and started watching the sunset.

James was quick to follow, but instead of watching the sunset, he was watching her.

"What's the real reason, Elle?" he asked, softly.

"My Pa doesn't want me to go." She answered truthfully.

"But it's not his decision. You could come anyway!" He said, confused.

"I'm not coming, and that's final." She stubbornly answered. "Please, just leave it."

"Why do you obey him so much?"

"There was an accident, just before we moved to Grea. One day our carriage was overturned. My mother was instantly killed, and I was severely injured. It was when I was about 6, and I don't remember anything from before then. My Pa looked after me, and nursed me back to health. I guess I just feel like I owe him a lot." She told him. It was something she had never told anyone before.

"I'm sorry, that's awful" he answered, his eyes full of pity.

"It's okay, it was a long time ago anyway." There were a few escaped tears that she wiped away, but not before he could notice.

"Mr Pavey won't be happy. He wanted everyone to come." James stated.

"Please just make an excuse for me." She said, her eyes begging him.

James knew that Mr Pavey would not respond well, but he knew that there was no possibility of Elle being the lost princess. Her story just added up so well. Besides, Princess Elizabeth disappeared when she was seven. Elle moved here when she was six. They just couldn't possibly be the same person. 

"Okay, fine." He replied, feeling like he owed her this. She had just told him her story, after all.

She sent him a grateful smile back, and a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

They sat and watched the sunset in silence. When the sun was finally hidden they both stood up and started walking down the hill.

"It's really pretty out here." James said. "Do you come here a lot?"

"Yes I do, it's kind of my thinking spot." She answered, with a soft smile.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, they said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways home. It had been a very enjoyable afternoon for both of them, and they were both sad to see it end.

A/N- A longer chapter today- my aim is to get them all to be this length or longer! Thanks for reading, commenting and voting- it really means a lot. I've decided that I will be updating every Monday (because everyone needs to be cheered up at the beginning of the week!) and Friday (because wohoooo it's the weekend!!). Hope this is alright!