The Hunted Royalty

Chapter 17

Hello beautifuls :)
What's up? Here's another chapter. I can't believe that I started this May 31 and I'm just now getting to chapter 17. But may I say that the story has come a long way from the beginning. Starts as an English free write to this . Wow! Ok ima stop ranting now :)

After we've bought the mask we head back to the castle. According to Aunt Kaitlyn, we have target practice with a gun at two. I only have about 20 minutes so I change into a white fitted crop top and some jean shorts since we'll be inside. Karson changes into a grey t-shirt. We head over and get there a little early. The room is big, with guns of all different shapes and sizes propped up on the far left wall, and targets along with dummies set up all over. Karson walks over to the wall and picks up a sleek black gun. "Wow, an AK47." He murmurs. He points the gun at a target as if he were to shoot. He looks back at me. "Beautiful, isn't it?" I raise an eyebrow. He laughs sheepishly. "Oh, guess I forgot to mention that my dad and I sometimes go hunting back at home." I laugh.
"At least one of us won't be completely clueless."
A guy walks in as Karson's putting away the gun. "I see you know a thing or two about rifles and guns."
"Just a little." Karson says.
The man looks not much older than us, maybe 18, 19. He has just long enough hair to put into a low ponytail but a few pieces escape and get in his face. He has a strong british accent and green eyes. "Hello, my name is Skrymir." He looks like the kind of guy that girls in highschool fall for left and right. He has a dazzling smile and a cunning look. He doesn't look much at Karson but seems to keep his eyes locked on me. Karson looks between the two of us. He seems to make a decision about this guy fast, decision about what, I don't know, but it doesn't seem good.
"Hi, I'm Melina and this is Karson." Skrymir and I shake hands. Karson holds out his hand for a shake but Skrymir ignores him completely. "So, are we ready or what?" I ask, turning to Karson.
"Of course, my princess." Karson smiles big and wide and slides his arm around my waist. Skrymir presses his lips into a firm line.
Skrymir claps his hands together. "Well, Kaitlyn says you two have taken up an interest in shooting."
I easily make up a lie. "Yes. I mean, being from Louisiana and all I'd love to learn to hunt."
Karson joins in swiftly, "Yep, I mean I already know a little, but she knows next to nothing."
"Hey!" I exclaim. We both laugh.
"Well this here," Skrymir points to a gun. "Is a gun." He laughs, I smile, and Karson goes stone faced. Skrymir hands each of us a gun. Karson reluctantly removes his hand from my waist to be able to hold the small handheld gun in his right hand. I hold mine with both, careful of where I place my hands. Karson and I walk to neighboring dummies. Both of us about 20 feet away from them.
"Now, let us get started." Within the time period of five minutes he's taught us how to hold the gun, shoot it, and how to stand. My feet are hip distance apart, my shoulders are back, and the gun sits comfortably in my right hand. Skrymir comes over and hands us each 10 bullets. "Shoot as you wish."
Karson pulls his trigger first and hits straight between the eyes. When I shoot I miss by about 3 feet above the head. I groan. I reload. I shoot again, missing completely and hit the back wall. "Focus Melina." Skrymir says sternly.
"You got this." Karson says. "Breath Melina." I take a deep breath. In through my nose and out through my mouth. I pull the trigger. It hits the ear.
"Yes!" I shout. I jump in the air and squeal. I hit it!
"Good job sweetheart." Karson laughs.
"No, no." Skrymir shake his head. "Again, Melina, not good enough. You won't kill anything with that kind of aim."
Karson rolls his eyes. He turns to me and mouths, Don't listen to him, you got this. I smile at him and give him a thumbs up with my free hand. Karson returns to shooting.
After about 30 straight minutes of shooting and what feels like 3,000 bullets later, I finally can aim, and hit within an inch or two of the preferred area. Another 30 more and I hit in the dead center of where the heart would be. I put the gun down and jump up and down. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I DID IT!"
Karson laughs and smiles. "I knew you could, Princess."
Skrymir stands up from his spot on the floor where he watched us. "No, stop celebrating!" He shouts. I stop instantly. My smile falls off my face. "That was one good shot. Only one. If you expect to catch anything you do that every time and not just once. Keep going, no breaks." Okay, yeah, no.
"Listen, βλάΚας *βλάΚας is pronounced vlάkas, put into google translate as Greek*. This is my first try so stop bringing me down about it. I've been at this for an hour so you can either shut up, or leave." I shout. Skrymir looks as if he were to say something then decides against it. He silently returns to his spot on the floor. "Good."
Karson looks back at him a big smile and wide eyes. He slices one finger across his neck and mouths you're dead. I snort and almost drop the gun
that I just picked up again. Skrymir scoffs it off. Karson and I return to shooting. Eventually every 9/10 shots hits the desired place. At around 4 o'clock I hardly ever miss and can reload quickly. At around 4:30 Karson and I hang up our guns, say quick goodbyes to Skrymir, and head back to my room.
Once we get back and sit on the couch, Karson gives me a high five. "Don't listen to him, he was just being a jerk."
"I know." I say.
He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. I bury my face in his chest. After a few brief moments he pulls away. "Wait a second, how do you know Greek?" He raises his eyebrow.
"I taught myself a few things here and there." I giggle. He laughs and pulls me back. We sit there for a while in silence. Eventually my stomach growls. Apparently Karson fell asleep, because his movements are slow, his voice is low, and he tried opening his eyes but closed them almost immediately.
"How much sleep did you get last night?" I ask. He seems to be thinking about his answer. "Karson?"
He scratches the back of his neck and doesn't look me in the eyes. "3 hours?" He grins timidly.
"Karson! Why?"
"I dunno' I just couldn't stop thinking." He refuses to look me in the eyes.
"About what?" I ask, gentler.
"Stuff." He chuckles nervously.
I grab both of his hands on top of each other in one hand, and with the other, I take my thumb and force him to look at me. "Come on Karson, you can tell me anything."
"You." He blurts. I smile lovingly. "No, don't smile it was nothing good."
"It's okay." I whisper and play with his hair a little.
"No, it's not." My smile falls. His eyes glisten. "What if this doesn't go right? What if you get shot, hurt, or worse, killed. I wouldn't know what to do. How am I not supposed to throw myself in front of you?"
"If you jump in front of me and the bullet doesn't kill you, I will." I giggle and attempt at humor to lighten the mood. He stays stone faced. Okay, no humor is going to get him to even crack a smile right now. "Listen, I'm trying, bud, I promise." I feel his hands tremble. A tear tries to slide down his face but I catch it before it can touch his lips. I bear hug him. He holds so tight that if I didn't know any better I'd think I was his last lifeline. I couldn't mean that much to someone, could I? No. Maybe? Ever since my mom died, I stopped caring. Caring about, friendships, guys, grades in certain subjects, appearance. But, when I met Karson, it seemed to unlock something; and ever so slowly, the cold cage that surrounded my heart started to melt. Wait a second, the first day we talked, he knew my name. How? I was an outsider, I didn't mingle with them, even before the accident.
Warily, I ask. "Karson?"
"Mm?"
"How did you know my name the first day we met?"
He takes a deep breath and waits about 3 or 4 beats after that before answering. "When your mother passed away everyone knew but never seemed to speak of it too loudly, as if not to frighten you." I hated those times. Everylook was one with sympathy. With every whispered conversation, they looked at me. I was invited to many sleepovers and parties of people whose names I barely even knew. None of it was because they truly wanted to, it was just that they felt bad. I declined every single one with a shake of my head and not even looking them in the eyes. "Well, I heard your name every corner I turned. Soon, I began to keep an eye out for you. I wanted to try and get closer to you, not out of tenderness but understanding; and if I'm being completely honest, you were a mystery that I desperately wanted to solve. You hardly ever raised your head so you never saw me wave. You always kept your earbuds in so you never heard me call you through the halls. I was too scared to tap you on the shoulder, I mean what was I gonna' say. 'Hey, heard your mother passed, mine did too, wanna' be friends?'" He takes a deep breath and looks to me. Trying to find any indication if he's said to much. I tilt my head as if to say I'm interested and want to hear more, keep going, please.
"Soon I started to notice how pretty your blue eyes are from the little glimpses I was lucky enough to see. I loved seeing your hair move and bounce when you walked. Soon, I would stray in the locker bay and hear you talk to your brother, saying that you would stop at the bookstore and stay for awhile to read. After you would leave and be out of hearing range, I'd call my dad, informing him where I would be. I would dash the other way to the bus station as soon as the coast was clear." I giggle
"What?" Karson doesn't laugh yet but starts to grin.
"Nothing, you just seem to have been on some important spy mission." I giggle some more.
His smile widens, "Well, to me, it was! Now, back to the story. When you would go look for book I'd watch from the other end of the aisle. I'd open my book but keep look from the corner of my eye. I'd figure out what book you were gonna get by following you around. Normally, I could tell when it was the one. You would stand with your back up against the sheves, reading the book without looking up for a solid 10 minutes. Yes, you would do that to many books when deciding, but when you've found the one, you display an emotion on your face, such as a pout or a smirk. Sometimes, and only in the romance section, for some odd reason." He rolls his eyes and I swear I can hear the hint of a laugh. "You would close the book against your chest, holding it with both hands, look up, and audibly sigh and sometimes you would give a little 'aww'."
I snort. "Sounds like me."
"I know right?" He laughs which makes me smile wide.
"I literally would have to force myself to buy some of those romance novels I sometimes would walk away telling myself, 'No, no, no, you don't need this one.' around five minutes later I would head right back, grab the book, and head to check out. I'd read the book, no matter the length, within a day or two. Let me say, you have amazing taste in books. I'd always walk in front or to the side of you when I could so you'd see the book and maybe want to strike up a conversation with me. I was too chicken to talk to you first." I laugh fondly, as if remembering a happy memory from the past.
Then I remember something. "That was you?!" I exclaim, wide eyed, trying to stifle my laughter. He nods. "I noticed that someone always seemed to have the same book as I did! I always wanted to talk to them but I was too scared. I had no clue that was you!" I laugh.
"Aww look at us," he starts. "Two little chickens together." I snort and lighty punch his arm. "What? I'm not wrong." He laughs some more. "Well, to wrap up the story, I started to notice that I liked you. That I've liked you for awhile now."
"Wow, a shocker there." He howls. I laugh. I try to act like I have total confidence in this situation. When in reality, I'm petrified. I feel something about this boy that I've never felt for anyone else, and it scares me.
"And lately," he trails off, his eyes leave mine for the first time since he's been on this roll. I tilt my head again, I need to hear what he says next more than I've ever needed to hear anything in my life. He shakes his head. "I don't know?" He shrugs. I grab his chin and force him yet again to look me in the eyes. That's all it seems to take for him to say what he needs to say. "And lately, I've noticed that every thing in my mind is about you. Not in a bad way, but I care about you so stinkin much. I can't talk about the future but I know that for right now, in this instant, I want you. All of you. Every good thing and every bad. Every painful moment, every loving time. Even when you say you want me gone but I know that you want me to stay." All of the sudden I feel tears well up in my eyes and I don't stop them when they start to flood. "Melina Rose White, I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I'm completely, undeniably, in love with you."
All of the sudden, I say the words that I thought I would never say to someone outside of my family. Through the tears and choked back sobs, I manage to say. "I love you Karson. With my whole heart."
In this second, us on the couch, sharing this moment, I realize that I'm doing exactly what my mother would want me to do. To open my heart to someone, to give them my all even when I'm scared. I know she'd be proud. That only makes me cry even harder. His hand cups my cheek as he rubs his thumb back and forth. "Aww, poor baby don't cry." He puts his forehead against mine and leans in. My eyes flutter close and so do his. Right as our breaths become the same, I hear a noise, a turn of a knob. I continue to ignore it. This is it, and a little noise from the outside isn't going to stop me. The second his lips are less then a miniscule inch away, someone bargers through the door.
I don't even pull back before shouting at the only person who it could be.
"KAIT LYN!"