The Daughter of Illéa [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter Ten - Part One

"Oh sh-"

Jess sits bolt upright in her bed.

Her loyal maids poke their heads through a door at the back. "Your Highness, is there something wrong?"

Jess clutches at her tangled mess of hair. "Ohhhh frick," She scrambles out of bed. "No no no no, no!"

Cara and her bouncing, black curls cautiously inch into the room. "Princess Jessica, are you alright? What happened?"

"I FORGOT THE STUPID DATE!!!" Jess mashes her hands into her face. "Ohhhh God, for Christ's sakes, WHY!? UGH!!" She sits on the edge of the bed, head in her hands, frozen with horror.

"Oh, Jessica, it's just one date, I'm sure the lad will be fine!"

Then the guilt settles in.

"Shit," Jess swears. "Evan! What will he think? Oh God, this will prove how immature I am, the press will release more articles about how I'm not fit to be ruler-"

"Your Highness," Cara says, not daring to touch Jess when she was in this mood. "Is there anything you need?"

"A rewind button," Jess says dryly.

"I was thinking more along the lines of extra-strong coffee, or your writing materials."

Jess blinks and sits up straight. "Actually, yes. Get me my writing materials please, then deliver it to the room I tell you to. Immediately."

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"And he's gonna think I completely forgot about him!!"

Cole squints at the hysterical, pacing princess, his bed-hair matching his hastily dressed suit. "Isn't that what you did?"

"NOT HELPING!!"

Rubbing his tired eyes, Cole exhales. "Look. I don't know much about Evan. But I honestly think you're overthinking this. He's a tough guy. We've all been duped before."

Jess slows down a little. "Really?"

He smiles smugly. "Well, not me, I've always been reliable with the ladies," He winks at her.

Jess rolls her eyes. "Not that, doofus. I meant if you really think that I'm thinking too far into it,"

"Oh." Cole creases his eyebrows slightly. "So, you thought that what I think about me thinking you're thinking-" He's cut off by Jess's deadly glare she naturally carries in the mornings. He only laughs. "But yeah. If you're really worried about it, go talk to him!" He playfully glares back at the princess. "Maybe not at five in the morning, though. That's a bit of a stretch."

Jess sighs and chuckles as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll accept my payment in coffee."

"You're such a dork."

"It seems to be working," He grins, and Jess feels her face heat up.

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Jess walks away from Evan with a thankful sigh.

She taps Cole on the shoulder, who was pretending he didn't see the whole encounter.

"Oh, Princess, I didn't see you there!" He says with a winning smile.

"Haha," Jess says sarcastically.

He changes into a seated position on the comfortable armchair and rests his magazine on his knee, keeping his place. "So? How'd it go?"

Jess sticks out her bottom lip.