(jaylor au) clandestine meetings in beautiful rooms

A Universe Away

Joe

Taylor is so much more alive here, with colour in her cheeks and her eyes full of life. Full of galaxies and stars, of comets and moons. Even under a blanket of moonlight, she's alive. In a way that she isn't allowed to be within the walls her parents keep her trapped in.
The walls are everywhere in this world, they are everywhere but they are invisible. I am trapped in one myself, I am trapped in a cage. We're all animals, trying to be tamed.
And Corinne just... she isn't for me. Somewhere, far, far away is the person for her. It isn't me. She deserves to find that person, and be able to love them.

I go to knock on Taylor's door, telling her that breakfast is ready, and am surprised when I do not hear a response. She'd usually be awake by now, and I know for sure that she wouldn't want to miss out on a single moment of her time here. I just know that Alexander and Corinne won't want to go out in the rain, but Taylor won't have an issue with it. Thinking about seeing her, about the taste of her lips and the smell of her hair, or the way her body fits so perfectly with mine, or the way her eyes sparkle when she's mad... thinking about her sets me on fire.
"Taylor?" I call out, opening the door and stepping inside. It is bitterly cold, and I look over to the bed, and find it empty, the glass doors to the balcony wide open.
"Taylor?" I yell out. Something isn't right. She wouldn't just leave. Not after the plans we'd made last night. She wouldn't want to leave alone, she wouldn't make that choice, because she's so scared of what happened to her brother.
I search her room. I run down the hallway, bursting into Alexander's room. He's asleep, and I roll my eyes.
"Is Taylor with you?" I ask her frantically.
"No. Of all the places she should be, of course it wouldn't be here with me." He mumbles into his pillow.
"Oh my God." I say, my hand flying to my face. "Fuck!"
"What?"
"The meeting. With her parents. It was a trap-" I am already out of his room, pushing through every door  of every room.
"Joseph, what the fuck are you talking about?" Alexander follows along behind me. "Do you sleep talk? Because it's so fucking early. Go back to bed."
"You really are an idiot." I mutter under my breath. "Taylor is gone. Someone has taken her, and this was all a trap."
"So they'd send her away and be less protected." He finishes for me. "Well, what are we going to do?"
"We need to let the palace know." I say, racing out of the room. She was worried about leaving because of what happened to Austin, and now... now she's gone.
I find an office, and scramble to find the phone. There's a catalogue of phone numbers, and I finally manage to find the one for the New York Palace. Although firstly, I alert the guards that travelled with us, telling them that she's disappeared, and that they must search for her immediately.
I was supposed to protect her. I was supposed to make sure that she got home, make sure that she knew things like what happened to her brother don't happen everyday. And now... she's gone. I may never see her again.

"Are you sure she hasn't gone for a walk? That woman always likes walking around places she shouldn't be."" Alexander tells me as he puts on a shirt, joining me in the office.
"Why would she, Alexander? She was so scared to leave the palace walls, she wouldn't go off on her own. Something is wrong. Contrary to what you may think, she's not stupid. She's much more independent than you give her credit for." I tell him, shaking my head, sitting down in the office chair.
"I know she's independent but she also needs the support of a man. Like myself. Not that she seems to understand that." I slam the phone down, there was not an answer. His words make me mad.
"Do you talk disparagingly about everyone you meet?"
"No, just the ill behaved princess that seems to do everything but what she's supposed to." He sits down across from me, and I shake my head.
He then mutters something under his breath. I sigh, because if the two of us want to find Taylor, it's not going to work if we're at war with one another.
"Look. Now is not the time to be arguing. We both care about-" I start, but he swiftly cuts me off.
"Is it not? Of course I do." He murmurs.
"Do you? Because the first time we met, she wouldn't stop complaining about you." I can't help myself, can't help but add fuel to the fire. "How she didn't like how you treated the servants and how she wanted to marry for love! I haven't heard one good thing about you come out of her mouth! You don't care about her, Alexander. You just want the title of King, and by being with her, you get that title!"
He flinches for a second, but gains composure quickly. "That's exactly what I mean. It's like the girl doesn't get that it's not about love. You know? It's not about love. It's about duty. And valour." He slams his hand down on the mahogany desk. "She doesn't have what it takes to be Queen."
"You don't know anything-"
"Yes I do. I know that she feels things too deeply. I know that's going to be her demise, because she can't turn it off. It will be her downfall, and I'll just sit back watching as she drowns herself."
"She probably left because of you. No wonder she wants nothing to do with you. This is your fault."
"This is not my fault! I don't need to take responsibility for the actions of another!" He yells, just as the shrill of the phone brings me back to reality. Taylor is gone. Missing.
"Hello?" I say, picking up.
"What's wrong?" Taylor 's mother asks, I can hear the worry in her voice.
"Taylor is gone."
I hear a gasp, a sharp jolt of air, and then mumbling on the other side of the line.
"We woke up this morning and she was gone. I am going to look for her but we need your help, with your guards."
"It was a trick." The Queen says. "They knew we'd send you away. They knew it. That's why... Joseph, we're coming. We shall arrive by plane in six hours."
The phone goes quiet, and I know that she has hung up on me. I grab my coat off the back of the chair, and march past Alexander, through the door and towards the stables.
"Joseph - wait." Alexander cuts me off. "Where's Corinne?"
I curse, because I hadn't even stopped to check on her.
"I haven't seen her." Alexander looks over my shoulder and back towards the palace. "What if-"
"We need to find Taylor." I push past him. I can't think of Corinne with the urgency that I think about Taylor with. I can't live without Taylor, but if it came down to it, I can live without Corinne. It's not even a choice. If I have to sacrifice her for Taylor, I would. Over and over again.
"If you think I'm letting you go and search for Taylor yourself, you're wrong. I'm coming with you." He says from behind me.
"I don't need your help." I spit at him.
"Well I'm coming anyway. It's not like there's anything else to do around here." He argues, as he leaps onto one of the horses.
Taylor is missing and there is nothing I can do. We were going to run away together. We were going to head for the hills, leave it all behind.
But here we are, miles upon miles apart. And I'm stuck with Alexander. What a truly joyous day.
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Taylor