Royal 2 (Book two in my Selection series)

Chapter 19

The next day Will comes to get me early before breakfast like he promised. He told my maids to dress me in a comfortable dress, short preferably. I had no idea what we would be doing.

Liliana and Amelia put me in a soft dress made of white fabric and had floral markings on it. The top had off the shoulder sleeves and while the back of the dress was flown the front came up and revealed my legs.

Liliana brought me a small necklace to put on with a small pearl on it. My makeup was simple and my hair was in its natural waves.

I pull open the door when I hear a knock and my eyes meet Will's. I couldn't help but smile and step outside the door.

"So where are we going?" I ask as we walk down the hallway. We go down a vaguely familiar hall but I knew it didn't lead to the gardens.

"Just a small getaway. For one day." I raised an eyebrow as he said it. He led me to a set of large wooden doors carved in intricate patterns that were familiar.

This was where I first came in the palace and this is where I'm leaving it.

When he pushes open the door a small private airplane is settled on the ground in front of us. My jaw drops and I turn to Will.

"We are actually leaving the palace?" I ask. He nods and I turn to him and wrap my arms around his neck tightly. "Thank you so much." I mutter into his shirt.

"You're welcome. I thought you needed a change of scenery." I pull back from him and grab his hand and jerk him into the plane.

"Come on!" I say excitedly like a child on Christmas. He laughs and follows me. The plane was very similar to the one I came here on with comfy leather seats and drawers full of snacks. "Are you afraid of heights?" I ask.

"No, why?" He asks. I walk to my choice seat on the plane and reveal the glass window. These were bigger than the ones on the other plane and they stretched for nearly three feet.

The plane doesn't hesitate to take off and starts to raise through the sky. I watch out the window as the clouds go from above us, to beside us, to under us.

"I didn't get a window seat on the way here." I mutter with happiness in my voice. I watch in silence for almost an hour as the plane continues in the sky.

"Are you close with your siblings?" I ask suddenly. Will looks up from his lap and shrugs.

"I guess so. I was never very close with Caroline since she is so much older than me and Logan has always been busy with his duties of being the prince. Then once he moved away I took over them so I guess we are closer now than we used to be, but Paige and I are the closest since we are the only ones left here. We are reasonably close in age too." Will says.

I nod. I didn't understand him in that way of life, but I wanted to. I wanted to understand him more in every aspect.

"What about your parents?" I turn to him and prop my feet up in the seat.

"I've always been close to my parents. We have family movie nights every Friday after the Report, but that doesn't really happen a lot in the last few weeks. But I love them. I look up to them in a lot of ways too. I want to find a love like they had and still have." Will says and looks at me with bright eyes. I tried to hold his gaze but I had to turn away.

"They are sweet together aren't they?" I say and change the subject a bit. "I always looked up to my parents relationship. I didn't know what to do when my dad left. It went from happiness to everything falling apart. All in a few short years."

"Did you ever wish you read the letter your dad sent you?" Will asks. I look up at him and shrug. I pull my knees to my chest and lean my back against the plane wall.

"Yeah. Honestly I do. I loved him a lot at one point and I want him to be happy I guess." Though the other half of me was scolding myself for saying it.

"Well," Will says and pulls out a rectangular envelope from a bag he brought. I forget to breathe as I take the letter him and read the name on the front.

Ryan Meadows

"You don't have to read it if you don't want to. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't changed your mind." I look up and different emotions seemed to have taken over Will's eyes.

I open the blue seal and pull the piece of paper out from inside. I unfolded it and begun to read it.

Dear Autumn,

I wanted to begin with sorry. Three years ago I left your mother and you and your brother. I went back home to my very true love named Scarlet. We live on my parents farm with three kids of our own. I was hoping that if you made it to the elite that they could come meet you at the palace on visiting day. Along with that, I was wondering if we would be receiving checks from your stay at the palace since I'm your family. I still love you Autumn and hope all is well with your mother and Colton. Please write soon.

~Ryan Meadows

I stare at the letter and reread it over and over again. I'd let my mind fantasize over the good things he may have wanted to tell me. Maybe he would've actually tried to apologize instead of covering his selfishness up in apologies.

"You can read it." I mutter and turn my head away from him. I hand him the letter and wait for his blue eyes to scan it.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it." He says and pushes the letter under his seat.

"No I'm glad you did. I need to be sure to write him back and make sure he knows he isn't coming to the place and he isn't getting any money from me and I'm not dropping his child support fees." I sit back up straighter and put my legs in front of me. "If I go back home after this I want to use the money to go to college after this. If not, I want to make sure Colton can. He deserves every chance that was taken away from me and I'll be sure to get him there."

"Just don't worry about that now, Okay?" Will says and puts a hand on my arm. I didn't think I'd ever stop feeling the warm glow inside of me every time he touched me. "We are about to land. We'll have all day to do whatever we like then the plane will be back by ten and we'll go back to the palace."

"So where are we going?" I ask trying to feel more confident and not shudder under his touch.

"To my private island. Reporters don't even know it exists. It's the most relaxing place on earth and that's me saying it."

I smile and nearly jump out of my skin I was so thrilled.