2019, March 5th James opened the door fully and pulled the bell boy standing on his doorstep into the room. He planned ahead for the wedding, before he decided not to go through with it after all. He didn't remember this young man being a part of the staff he had handpicked to be present. James' head felt like it was splitting open as bits and pieces of his memory came back. "Why were you at my wedding?!" James demanded. "I never asked for you to be there." Fear was now swimming in the tears the bell boy was making. "I'm really sorry, Sir! A friend of mine asked me a few hours prior to be on the lookout for Your Grace and the Lady," he said shakily, his eyes darting to Zoey. "What friend?" James asked, involuntarily forming a fist with his right hand. This only served to terrify the bell boy even more. "What friend?!" he screamed, slamming the door shut with his fist. "James!" Zoey yelled. He whipped his head around and what he found was a glass of water poured over his newfo
2018, December 4th and 5th (Aaron and Zoey on Height of Caines) No matter how he wished it differently, Aaron knew that inevitably things had to end. Time had to start again. He pulled away from her eager mouth. She wasn't in her right mind. Things had gone far enough. Listening to her laboured breaths, he took her hand and turned her around slowly so that her back was facing him. He laid his chin on her shoulder, bringing both of his arms to rest around her waist. When she opened her eyes, Zoey saw the whole of Caines lit up and spread out before her. "Wow, it's breath-taking." He'd gotten her to smile. "Where we are, it's called Height of Caines. It's not usually a view you almost die for, but it's pretty cool. Figured you should at least get to see it after your crazy ride up here," he said, an edge to his voice. "You're not still mad at me, are you?" she asked, leaning into him and letting herself relax as the cool breeze caressed her entire body. Maybe it was because she h
2018, December 4th and 5th As people filed into the palace's grand ballroom, CC and Aaron were seated on either side of their parents. CC took the time to accept every birthday wish and gift graciously, as was the duty of a princess. She stunned with the new tiara from her parents topping her high updo in her classical ice blue ball gown, with a sleeveless bodice studded in blue sapphires. Aaron's gift, a pair of blue diamond earrings, hung from her ears and complimented the dress perfectly. The compliments to CC took so long and were so plentiful that Aaron was getting impatient. Aaron already knew his sister was beautiful. He had seen her all dolled up a million times. The woman he wanted to see had yet to appear. He raised his head up to look for her in the queue of people coming to pay their respects and this is how Aaron was surprised by the appearance of another woman he should have braced himself for. "Princess Caroline, many returns on your 18th birthday," said Emily. Aaron
2019, March 5th (Zoey and James on the road) Zoey's eyes opened to an ominous conversation. James was talking to someone on the phone in hushed tones. "I said I'm handling it. Tell Lady Cassandra that I will be back when I'm back," he said, abruptly ending the call. Zoey yawned. "What was that about?" "Give me your phone," James said, holding out his hand. "What? Why?" "Give me your phone or get out of my car." "Charming as ever," she said, handing him her phone. He pulled out a burner phone and, after fidgeting with the two for some time, promptly tossed her phone out of the window. "Hey! What the hell?!" "It's got GPS, can be tracked." "So you just tossed it out of the car?!" "There's a bar up ahead. We'll take a little break there." "That was my phone!" "Yeah, it was also a way for them to find us." Zoey pouted. "That phone was my only way of staying in touch with my mom and Bart. Plus, I hadn’t saved the wedding photos to the cloud yet!" James sighed. "Good! You
2019, March 5th Bart, Zoey, and James sat down at a table in the far back of the bar. The tension in the air was palpable. James was getting more and more enraged by the second. "I can imagine everything that's happened to you has made you reckless, maybe even desperate, but I never thought you'd actually do this," said Bart, trying not to sound like he was taking his hat off to James. After all, he hadn't changed anything. This would only delay the inevitable. "Were you followed?" James asked, staring out the window. "Probably. I'm guessing we have about 30 minutes." "He's saying I kidnapped her?" "It's brilliant, really, if you think about it. It throws suspicion off of the wedding and it gives the king legal grounds to strip you of land and title." "But that's not what happened. So what now? Should we have a press conference or something? Set the record straight?" Zoey asked, looking between the two men. Bart's eyes softened. This Zoey looked nothing like the one from yest
2018, December 5th As the duke and CC took to the floor, making perfect dance partners and even somehow looking like they were conspiring, it was as though the room had received permission to come alive again. "What are you doing?" CC asked. "Obliging a princess by dancing with her," her partner replied. "You shouldn't be here. Who knows how the king-" "I am here on official business on behalf of Copia." She shot a quick look down and back up his attire and said, "I see that." "Happy birthday," he said. "I got you something." "You did?! What?!" she asked excitedly. The duke smiled. "It's sort of too big to bring to you. I will give it to you tomorrow." "What's with the sash?" "Did you forget how to read rank, CC? I am the new duke of Copia. Really, you should be more hospitable to your guests." Meanwhile, off to the right of the room, where the king and queen's thrones rested, His and Her majesty were just getting ready to retire for the night, when they were forced to sit
2018, December 5th Flowing from the speakers in the room was Simple Plan's Save You. As he took slow steps towards her, waiting for her eyes to find him again, Bart mouthed the lyrics of the song. CC smiled her first genuine smile for that night and it felt so good and so perfectly cheesy that when he held a hand out to her, she took it without hesitation. He continued to sing along into her ear as he pulled her close and she relaxed into his arms. "This is super cheesy," CC said, swaying effortlessly to the music. Not trying to remember to be perfect by dancing the too perfect waltz. "You deserve a little cheesy," he said back to her, catching her off guard as he twirled and dipped her. She laughed out loud. Bart was taken aback. He'd never made a woman laugh like that. When the song ended, the crowd went wild as Katrina and the Waves' Walking on Sunshine came on. Hands went up, hips moved from side to side, and people let loose. Bart twirled and dipped her several times after t
2019, March 5th Her lungs were burning, but this only made her run faster. She wanted to stop as her eyes blurred with sweat, but this only made her legs move quicker. So when his hand came out of nowhere and yanked on the back of her sweatshirt, she was in two minds, partly pissed off, partly relieved. "I thought I told you, you go where I say you go until further notice." James bent over slightly as he caught his breath. "That's not exactly what you said. You said I go where you go. You said we'd be together until all of this was over and now you're just taking off on me!" She was yelling even through her breathlessness. "Then tell me what else am I supposed to do?! There are armed men chasing you! And there will continue to be until you go home!" "Then take me home! Take me back to Rosa!" "Zoey, if you just go back to the Arden mansion-" "I don't want to go back! I don't want to see him. I don't want to be treated like a woman in the dark ages." She was on her knees now,