Emily has made it all the way to the Elite without even really batting an eyelash in the prince's direction. Does she really want this, to be swept up into the lavished life style that comes along with being Caydens one. Or will she revert back to h...
By noon Cayden, Maddison and I are standing outside the palace pool. Looking around I notice the whole of the Elite is here.
"Yay, you're here!", the little party princess yells as we see her coming out of the palace doors. "Mum made me invite all the girls", she complains.
"Well, happy birthday", I kneel down to her and give her a big hug.
"Come on Maddie let go on the slide", Avery pulls Maddison away to the pool. I worriedly watch them as they run on the slippery deck.
"They seem to be good friends", Cayden comments.
"Yeah it's nice that Maddison has made a friend, she's not so sad all the time now".
"Come on let's go in the pool", Cayden says as he takes off his top. I try my best not to stare at his toned abs as I start to take off my sundress. Fiddling with the zip on the back I stop when I feel his hands move my hair to one shoulder. As his breath tickles my neck, he unzips my dress. I mumble a quick thanks before stepping out of my dress. Now I'm left in only my light blue bikini. Before I know what's going on I'm lifted into the air and I feel the warm water engulf me. For the longest of moments, I lie with the water surrounding me, no sound just floating effortlessly. I'm reminded of when I was a little girl and during the summer months, my sister and I would go to the stream in the woods at the back of our house. The only time I ever felt free was in those moments, tucked away in the woods with the stream around me and bird song in the air. I would watch the sunlight reflecting through the water, and Poppy and I would laugh and play all day until the sun met the horizon and our mother called us home for dinner.
Swimming up to the surface I see Cayden only an arm's length away. His smiles fills me with a warmth the sun could never replicate. The feeling starts from deep within and spreads like a wildfire, completely consuming me. Days of fun in the woods and playing in the stream are now far in my past and the boy in front of me is my future.
"I thought you would never come up" Cayden jokes, but with a tender concern behind his blase attitude.
"Worried for me, my prince?" I tease, loving the small blush it creates.
"I will always worry about you Emily" he replies without a moment's hesitation.
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The party was more of a relaxation time. Cayden and I swam for a bit but spent most of the time in the sun loungers just talking. It was nice to talk to Cayden and not have the duties of the prince hanging around us. I watched Maddison play games with Avery, Cayden and I even managed to teach her how to swim. It was as if we were already a family, and that's all I want for Maddison. Cayden didn't even see the need to pretend to be interested in the other elite, which irked Alice.
By the time it was dinner Maddison was dressed in a beautiful pink dress, and I was in a simple ballgown with floral embellishments.
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When we arrived at the dinner table most of the girls had already arrived. After curtsying to the royal family Poppy called Maddison to an empty seat set next to hers. I laughed at how attached they'd become already. Sitting next to Elise and across from Amber, I felt as if nothing had changed from the first dinner we had here.
Just when I was getting comfortable with my new life, my world was spun on its axis.
