The Royal Within

Chapter 21

Chris showed me to my room after the dinner, and told me we could talk tomorrow. "Chris, you can't keep doing this. Just talk."

Chris shook his head, and leaned on the door frame. "It's not the right time. You need to trust me before we talk."

I rolled my eyes. "Holding me captive is definitely the way to get me to trust you." He nodded to my comment, but then backed at of my room. "You know it."

I sighed, and then left my door unlocked as Luke told me to do. I was already asleep when I felt someone tapping my shoulder.

I opened my eyes, and grimaced at the wave of tiredness that passed over me.

Luke chuckled, and pulled me out of the bed. "Nice dress."

Tonight, I was wearing a vibrant blue nightgown that went down to my ankles.

"Nice pajamas." I told him back. He was wearing white pajamas with little gold crowns on them. "They're perfect for you." I mumbled.

He laughed, and grabbed my hand. "Stay quiet." He whispered.

He led me down the hall, but then I stopped. "Luke where are we going? We could get in trouble." The halls were so dark, I could hardly see my hand that held onto Luke's.

I was wondering if he was going to respond, but then his face appeared inches from mine. "Remember when I asked you to trust me?"

My eyes widened at our proximity, and my pulse quickened. "Yeah, I do." He nodded, as if glad to hear that, but then didn't move. His eyes were hooked on mine, and I couldn't look away.

He used his other hand to put a single strand of my tangled hair back behind my ear. His finger stayed next to my ear, while his eyes were on me the entire time.

I was in a trance, but then I remembered why we were here. I pulled my self from Luke while still holding his hand though.

His eyes widened, and took a step back. He looked shocked, and a little concerned. "Sorry, I, uh, didn't mean to do that to you."

I looked down. Of course he hadn't. "Yeah sorry I'm not Sophia." I joked, but really it was to cover up my disappointnent. Right after I said it, I felt guilty, but lately I have been saying things on my mind, and not thinking things through.

Luke, now appalled, took a step closer to me. "Why would you say that?"

I searched for words to say, but I couldn't find anything to answer his question. So I shrugged.

Luke shook his head. "Are you jealous of Sophia? I just don't understand why you would."

Because you like her. Because you care about her in a way I could only dream about.

I stood my ground. "I'm not jealous." My voice wavered.

Luke sighed. "Your comment said otherwise."

I huffed out a breath. "I'm not jealous." I lied.

Luke rubbed his free hand on his forehead. "Good. You shouldn't be."

I arched an eyebrow. "Why?" I wanted to see what he would say.

Luke looked like he turned slightly red, and shrugged. "You have the guardian, and some magical powers that are keeping us alive. You..uh.." He fell silent, and didn't add to his last sentence starter.

I egged him on. "I what?" I asked innocently.

He smirked. "That's all." I held my hand over my heart.

"Ouch. I thought I was more special than that Lukey Pookey." I said in a mock tone of Sophia, although she never called him what I called him.

He laughed and continued to pull me down the dark hall. "Sure you are Ru."