Ricardiana

twenty one

I wake up the next morning next to Liam. He's shirtless and covered up, and I look beneath the covers to make sure I'm covered as well. I rest my head on his chest and begin drawing patterns into his chest with my finger. He chuckles beneath me and I look up at him, his brown eyes have a gleam in it that I've never seen before.

"You actually stayed." He mumbles, kissing the top of my head and running his fingers through my hair.

"Why would I have left?" I ask, looking up at him.

"You just seem like the person who would." Liam tells me.

"Lovely to know..." I mutter, kicking the thin blanket off of my legs.

"Won't your parents be wondering where you are?" Liam asks me as I scoot closer to him.

"Let them wonder. They know I'll come back eventually." I say.

Liam chuckles and gets out of bed. He's pulls on his pajama pants and then turns to look at me. I get up and follow him into the kitchen for breakfast, where Richard is making eggs and pancakes. We sit down at the table and Richard gasps in surprise.

"Diana, I wasn't expecting to see you here." He exclaims.

"Neither was I!" I respond with a chuckle.

He gives Liam and me our plates and passes us the food. He then sits down at the end of the table and I look between him and Liam. They looked so much alike; from the hair and eyes, down to the nose and lips. They even had the same mannerisms. It was quite weird.

"How was the ball last night, Diana?" Richard asks, breaking the silence.

"Um... It was alright, I guess. I didn't really do much - they aren't my type of thing." I say.

"Well, I bet you looked beautiful." Richard smiles before taking a bite of his eggs.

"She did, father." Liam responds quickly.

I feel my cheeks redden and I blush as I look down at the plate. I was such a girl. There was a knock on the door and Richard goes to answer it. Dean enters.

"Julian is furious. You must go speak with him, Ana."

"I refuse to speak to that sick minded man." I reply.

"He has Delaney." Dean tells me and my fork drops on the plate.

"What do you mean, he has Delaney?"

"He's holding her hostage. He demands to see you in her tower right now, Diana." Dean says urgently.

"Excuse me." I say, pushing away from the table and walking with Dean. I grab my shawl from Liam's room and walk out.

"Diana wait. Let me go with you." Liam says.

"Hurry along now, we don't have much time!" Dean says.

He's scared, I can tell by the tone of his voice. One of the things I've learned about Dean in my short time here is that he really cares for his family, and I really like that about him. He loved Delaney and I, and it was easy to tell.

Liam catches up to Dean and I, and begin walking faster and faster until we reach the castle grounds. I run towards the tower, leaving Dean and Liam behind me. I walk past the guards and walk all the way to the top of the tower, Julian standing outside the door and smirking at me.

"Princess." He greets.

"That's not my name, Julian." I say angrily.

"Why are you here?" He asks, his voice slightly urgent.