Learning | Jacob Frye x Reader |

A Prince of Sorts

"A prince? Me?" Jacob repeats in confusion. He then lets out a husky laugh.

"Yeah! Like in the stories I read! The prince always saves everyone and marries the princess!" Charlotte says enthusiastically. Jacob smirks and kneels down to face the young girl.

"This prince doesn't have a princess my dear girl," he says, looking at Charlotte.

"What are you talking about silly! She's right there!" Jacob feigns a confused look and spins his head around, examining the nearby bystanders.

"Where exactly?"

"Here." Charlotte walks to my left side and pulls on my jacket sleeve.

"What? Charlotte I think, uh, um I don't ha-" Jacob mumbles, creating new and illegitimate words. While Jacob continues to do whatever he is doing, I decide to rush along the conversation.

"We better get going. It's going to get dark and cold soon," I interject swiftly.

"I don't have anywhere to go," Charlotte says, eyes swelling with tears again. In effort to stop her crying, Jacob picks her up and carries her in his arms.

"You will not be alone again," he says softly. She hugs his neck with her small arms. I smile at him and rub his shoulder. We talk with young Charlotte while walking to the closest train station. Charlotte is quite smart for her age, which turned out to be eight. She enjoys reading and playing with the fancy chess pieces in her spare time, which she had a lot of considering she was eight. Her favorite fruit and food in general was apples, the green type to be specific. Her favorite colour was sky blue just like her eyes and she knew a little bit of French (turns out the lady next to her was quite the drinker and often talked very loud, in French). Nearing the station, Jacob spotted an ice-cream vendor.

"Do you like ice-cream?" he asks the small girl that was tangled in his arms.

"Yes! Daddy never bought any for me!" she squeals in excitement.

"Well you'll have some today," I say, tracing my thumb around her delicate hand. I shudder at the thought of that tedious man even in a meter distance of the fragile girl.

"Which flavour Charlotte?" Jacob asks, looking at the ice-cream himself.

"The pink one!" she says, pointing in excitement. Jacob tells the man operating the store.

"(Y/N) do you want some too?" he asks me.

"Oh, I won't be able to finish it. I never can finish too much sweet," I say, truthfully.

"We'll share then," he says, smiling. I project the smile back at him. "Just pick a flavour."

"Uhh, maybe rum?" I say to the man. He nods and takes out my selection. I reach for my wallet and take it out of my coat. Jacob reaches around for his wallet, but with an eight year old in his arms, that proved to be a much more difficult task. I start to take out money.

"Just let me get it."

"No! The lady never pays!" Charlotte adds in. Jacob nods in agreement. I roll my eyes.

"Can you please grab my wallet?" Jacob asks, slightly embarrassed. I reach for his diver pocket and feel his lighter and finally his wallet. I grab it out and pay the man, before returning the wallet to Jacobs pocket.

"Thank you Jacob," I say.

"Thanks Jay-cob," Charlotte says, taking a bite out of her pink ice-cream. I take a bite out of the rum flavored delight smile.

"Hey! We are sharing that," says Jacob, granting and giggle from Charlotte. I hold the ice-cream up for him as he takes a bite. We finish our ice-creams as we walk onto the train.

"Do you live on a train?" Charlotte asks, looking at a weird plant next to Evie's desk as Jacob put her down.

"Yes we do, but we get busy a lot so we're not here often," Jacob responds to the curious girl. She looks around and sits down on a sofa.

"That's a shame, it's very nice in here," she says, happily taking in the rooms physical features. I notice that her skinny arms are shaking slightly.

"Are you cold Charlotte?" I ask her. She nods.

"I might have a jacket in my room," I pick her up from the sofa she had grown fond of and started walking towards my room.

"Can Prince Jacob come?" she asks Jacob and I both laugh.

"Does Prince Jacob want to come?" I ask him. Charlotte looks at him, as if she trying to force him to say yes.

"Yes he does," he says walking in front of us. He opened my door for me seeing as I was holding Charlotte. Jacob moves a few things off my disarrayed bed and piles the collection of things onto the arm chair in the corner. I prop Charlotte down on my bed and Jacob pulls the blanket over her tiny body. I start to go through my small collection of clothes. I find a small wool jacket that had small pockets for her teeny hands.

"Here we go. It might still be a little too big I'm afraid," I say, as I slide the jacket over her small shoulders. She giggles as Jacob straightens her collar behind her. The sleeves went a little longer then her arms, but otherwise it suited her quite well.

"I love it!" she says, filled with joy. Despite my mother, I had a very happy childhood, where this jacket had accompanied me though most of it. Despite being privileged, I refused to have a new jacket and stuck to this one. I'm not sure why I decided to bring it to London, maybe I just had an instinct that I would run into little Charlotte that would be in need of a jacket. I hope Charlotte grows fond of it like I have. Jacob, who was now also sitting on my bed, was trying to get my attention. In my deep trance of thought I hadn't realized that Charlotte had fallen asleep. He carefully moved off the bed, while I took off my own coat and lay it over her. I smile at her peaceful face and leave the room behind Jacob.

"Now, where is she going to stay?" I say collapsing onto a sofa in Jacob's room.

"I don't know," Jacob says. He looks back towards my room, just in case.

"Agnes can look after her until we figure something out," he adds on.

"We can't let her go back to the streets," I say.

"Yes, that can't happen. She's been through enough already."