𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑂𝑛 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑂𝑤𝑛 𝐾𝑖𝑑

An Eligible Bachelor - III

 3 and a Half Weeks Later

Down at the lake one sunny afternoon a few weeks after my dramatic fainting down here before, I wanted to get some fresh air and get out of the stuffy castle. I was currently ranting to Jameson because, when, if the voices were correct, Father dies, he wants me to be married, and maybe at least with one child, so was having me look at different men Father had handpicked himself.

"I just don't get why we can't tell him!" I ranted, annoyed at the deeply boring process I had managed to escape from.

"You know why darling. We can't tell your Mother or Father, as there is a very high chance they would Banish me from the kingdom." Jameson said, looking up from his drawing to look at me as I read, my back against a tree nearby.

"So what! I would rather that happen and go with you than stay here and pick which man I should marry." I said, sticking down my book.

"Well, what would you do then if that supposedly happened?" He asked, getting up from the rock he was perched on and walked towards me.

"I think I would be a hunter maybe? Maybe be like Robin Hood; steal from the rich and give to the poor?" I said, chuckling at what I said.

Jameson sat down beside me and I stuck my head on my shoulder.

"What would you do?" I ask him, looking across the lake as I did so.

"Show my art? Actually use the craft my Father taught me. I'm unsure just now." He replied, continuing his sketch.

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's presence as we sat there, but all was forgotten as Sybil ran down to the lake, and we broke apart quickly.

"Oh thank goodness! Father was wondering where you were and I saw you sneak out this morning." Sybil said as I stood up.

"Okay, and why did you run down here to just tell me this?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"No one could find you, so after Father said at lunch that you hadn't appeared for quite some time, I thought you may be down here reading, and it seems I was correct. One thing I do wonder is why on earth is the boy that found you when you collapsed-" Sybil said, but I cut her off partway through.

"His name is Jameson." I say.

"Honestly, Kaitlyn, I don't care. Anyway, why are you down here with him?" Sybil asks.

As she asks this, I hear the clinking of metal and scraping of feet against the pebbles leading down here and Xander appears before my eyes.

"Lady Sybil, you need to get back up to the Castle right now as your Mother is asking for you. Lady Kaitlyn, your Father has more Bachelors waiting in the Castle, and Mr Dorianna, your Father has appeared at the Castle asking his Majesty if anyone there knows your whereabouts. I would advise you all to come back to the Castle this instant before your respective parents become more worried." Xander said and I could see he was trying not to yell at either Jameson or me for being so stupid by disappearing for hours.

"Alright, I better see you back in the Castle Kaitlyn in the next hour." Sybil said before turning and heading back up to the Castle.

After we were all sure Sybil was gone, Xander turned to us with a harsh glare on his face.

"What the hell were you two thinking! First of all, I was worried, second of all, you two were almost caught by your sister that likes to blackmail you! If you guys want to act like that I will just go and tell his majesty, if not, then you two need to start being more careful!" Xander said trying not to get to the end of his tether and explode at us.

"If you knew why I was down here, you would understand!" I argued back, grabbing my book and starting to walk back, grabbing Jameson's hand as I did so.

"Well, I think I bloody well do!" Xander yelled back, running to catch up with my fast pace of walking.

"I don't care! What I currently care about is the man I want to marry, but can't because my Father would banish him from the kingdom if I said I didn't want to marry any duke, but a humble artist who I truly care for! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to getting so bored, I fear my brains may turn to mush and a ball to prepare for!" I say ad give Xander one last glare and then running back to the castle, nearly tripping a few times as I did so.

{-----------}

When I returned, I ran back to my room to find Alice sitting on my bed, one of my books in hand and sticking down when she heard the door open.

"I thought you said you were going to be out till an hour before the ball." Alice said, sitting the book down as I flopped down onto my bed beside where she sat.

"Well, Sybil came down and almost caught Jameson and me, so I had to come as she said she saw me sneaking out this morning, even with your distraction." I said, sighing soon after and getting up to change my dress to something I could move more freely in than the dress I was wearing just now.

"At least you got to see him. I wasn't even sure if I had given you enough time to even get to the front entrance without getting caught." Alice said.

I laughed before replying.

"It's safe to say Alice Olivia Lysandral, you are brilliant at distractions. Thank you. I needed today. Ever since I collapsed, Father has been keeping a watchful eye on me and making sure I'm barely ever out of either his or Xander's sight." I say as I readjust my corset, letting myself breathe.

"You're very welcome dear sister. One thing I will say is that I will need help thinking up ideas for the next distraction needed to get you seeing Jameson." Alice said.

Alice was one of the first people to find out about my crush on the artistic prodigy as she caught me writing a letter to him. From there, we made a deal. She would help me with distractions and kept my secret of my relationship if I let her read any book she wanted out of my endless bookshelves.

"Okay then, but we need to make sure that Sybil is distracted big time with the next few. We can't have something like this happening again." I say.

"Well, then don't disappear while Father wants to talk to you about something." Alice says.

"Fine, I won't do that again. Anyway, I need to change to go for sword fight training." I say as I get out a pair of trousers that Mother would not approve of.

"Who's teaching you this time? Father or Xander?" Alice questions as I stick on the clothing I would need for what I was going to go do.

"Both. Xander's training me and Father is watching to assess me on my progress." I say and then turn to leave the room as Alice grabs my arm.

"Kaitlyn, just please be back on time. I need my big sister to help me prepare for the ball tonight." Alice says as I leave the room, grabbing the sword that was hidden in my room as I did so.

UPDATED: 24/11/2022 

WORDS: 1250