Catch Me If You Can (on hold)

Awakening

My eyes were glued shut, the universe was forbidding me from seeing the world around me. What did I do wrong? What happened to me? Even though I was blind to mortal sight, I could still notice someone standing close to me The warmth of their body heat ebbed into my cold one, my heart fluttered and bounced. Something it had not done in a long time even though Brady and I had just broken things off a few hours ago. Groggily, with some force unknown, I peeled my eyes open where blinding white spots invaded my baby new vision. I blinked furiously, eyebrows furrowed as I tried to relieve myself of the white glare. I heard a chuckle then stopped immediately, remembering the presence I felt earlier. I must look idiotic! "Stupid!" I scolded myself, slapping my forehead with my palm, imagining the loud crack echoing through the room just like I did my hand moving. I still hadn't regained the use of my limbs. "Who's there?" I asked, worried that it was a stranger. No answer came until a while had passed. Then, a soft, beautiful voice spoke.

"I'm not entirely sure I should tell you the truth, M'lady."

My sight returns in a haze of immaculate white and a beeping monitor with moving lines. Up and down. Up and down. I look for the voice but he is out of reach. "I will not stand for anything else, sir. Whoever you are," I responded softly, my voice sounding anything but rude. I tried to sit but strong hands pushed me back down slowly and gently so I was lying again. I frowned, never before had I been treated like this. Like a lady.

"If I tell you the truth, you will not act yourself. Alessandra White," the man said but I pondered on the last two words. How did he know my name. did he also know my secret? Who I really was? Would I be thrown out for treason? It was treason wasn't it? Impersonationg someone else.

"How do you know my name? Have you been following me? Are you going to take me away and put me in the dungeons?" I stuttered, panicked for my life and family.

I heard his breathing cut short, "whatever do you mean? I have not been following you, it is actually quite opposite. I have lost you for some time now."

Lost me? I have not been lost. Not for a long time, not since my father died. "Please kind sir, I would like to know your name and why you know my name," I begged, still staring blankly at the ceiling.

He chuckled and walked into the line of vision. He had blonde hair, cut slightly shaggy, and his eyes, don't get me started, oh they were beautiful and blue. Just like the sea on a sunny day. "My name, Alessandra White, is Thomas Blakeston. Prince of Nevania, at your service. I certainly hope you remember me, as I most definitely remember you although you have grown to be far more beautiful than I ever imagined."

My cheeks heated up and memories of my early childhood flooded back. "Tommy," I cried and launched myself into his open arms.

"Thomas do you promise you'll catch me?" I shrieked. My small knees were shaking and the swing looked even higher than it did from the base of the large oak tree.

The small boy with soft locks stared up at me, holding his arms out. Ready to catch. "Of course, Alessa, I'll always catch you."

"OK," I said, "I'll count to the number of my age and then I'll jump. OK?"

Tommy nodded enthusiastically as I was the first girl that had ever dared to try jumping from the swing.

"Alright then. One, two, three, four, five!" I jumped but the time slowed down. My arms flailed for the swing but my fingertips brushed the rope before the clocks turned back and I was falling. I heard the panicked screams of my parents as they watched me fall like a rag doll. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of my body hitting the ground but none came. I opened my eyes to see the face of the King. His eyes held worry and fear but calmness and safety. "Am I dead, Andrew?" I asked quietly. The King laughed and set me down. As I collapsed into a sitting position, I noticed that Tommy, even though he was seven, had caught some of my weight. His earlier words echoed in my mind, and no matter how much I tried, they never left.

"I'll always catch you."

"Hey, rag doll, are you OK?" Thomas asked, leaning back so he could see my face. I slapped his chest with my fists and the tears started falling.

"Damn you! Damn you, damn you, damn you, Thomas Blakeston!" I cried. Tommy looked shocked but he let me continue anyway. "You said you'd always catch me but you just watched as my aunt took me away from everything I knew! My mother, my father and you!" Thomas grabbed my wrists and pulled me into his chest, my tears stained his white shirt but neither of us seemed to mind.

"I tried, Alessa! But I was nine! What good could I do? Father wouldn't listen! Did you not think you leaving would not affect him and mother as well? We all missed you! We tried to get you back but it was as if you had disappeared of the face of the earth." Tommy started off yelling but his voice became hoarse and strained. I guess I didn't think of what they went through. Thomas and I were the closest of friends. We were inseparable. Sometimes I wondered why my aunt took me away in the middle of the night and dropped me on the doorstep of the local orphanage. I tried looking for her but she had vanished.

"What do you mean? Couldn't you have scoured the area?"

"We did, Alessa! But it wasn't that easy. Your aunt changed your identity and even managed to tattoo over your birthmark."

My eyes widened in surprise and I lifted my shirt up to see my birthmark that rested just below my waist
. "This- this is fake?"

Thomas nodded solemnly, "it used to be the vague shape of a star but now, it's just a black spot."

I was honestly surprised that he remembered all of this. I thought he would have forgotten about everything, even my existence. I removed my face from his warm chest and look up at him. Time had done Tommy well. He was so handsome, nothing like the chubby little boy he once was.

"I've got to go, Father will kill me if her knew I was out of my room," Thomas began. He placed a soft, gentle kiss on my forehead and lay me back down on the hospital bed.

"Tommy, how long was I out?"

"One and a half weeks," Thomas answered before leaving the ward, closing the door behind him with a soft click. I drew my hands up and touched the place where his lips graced my skin. It burned and tingled and I smiled giddily. Maybe my story would have a happy ending after all.

Ohh so some of Alessandra's past is reviled!

What does everybody think of Thomas? I think he's such a charm. Who do you think Alessa's parents are and why her aunt took her away from the palace at such a young age AND hid her away for years and years?

Please comment, star and keep reading my story! If you have anything to say, please do say it in the comments below!