Kidnapped by a Prince

Chapter 18

Melody's POV

I wasn't alone long before I heard yet another knock at my door. An older woman came in apologizing for the intrusion and informed me that she had been sent to help me prepare for dinner. Even though I didn't really feel like dressing up, I didn't want to get the maid in trouble by refusing her help, so I put on the pale green slip dress that she gave me and sat as she curled my hair and applied my make up. With a few final touches, I was done and the woman accompanied me to the dining room. The other royals were already seated, and I felt everyone looking at me as I walked in. 

"You're late," the king remarked. 

"But look at how beautiful she looks, darling," the queen cooed. 

The king hummed pensively but did not remark any farther. 

I took my seat without a word and the meal was immediately brought out. Everything was delicious as usual and the triple chocolate mousse cake at the end was divine. I caught Xander looking at me, but he played it off by pretending that he was gazing at something in the distance. While his attention would have made me scowl before, now I can't help but snicker at his pitiful acting. 

After that incident, he didn't look over again. Instead, Xander's attention stayed trained on Thea. The pair seemed to be getting along well during dinner which left me feeling relieved. I was worried since Sam said that she stormed off earlier when she saw Xander and I... but the boy must be a smooth-talker because the pair were acting lovey-dovey again. I took note of the way she leaned into him whenever he spoke as though his words were quicksand slowly pulling her in. The gentle touches he left up and down her arm whenever he laughed. The warmth in her smile when he whispered in her ear. The way their eyes flirted without them having to say a word. 

I felt sick. The unholy amount of food I consumed left me feeling quite queasy, so I excused myself from the table and escaped to my room. Good, things were progressing quite nicely with Xander and Thea. Everything was going according to plan. Soon I would be back with Darren, and Xander would finally be free to get lost in Thea's eyes. The knot in my stomach wouldn't go away, so I decided to wash up and just go to bed. Before, I jumped under the covers, I heard a gentle knock on my door. "Yes?"

"Melody?" Xander's voice floated into my room. 

"What's up?" 

"I just wanted to check on you. Are you feeling alright? You left dinner kind of suddenly."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just feeling a little sick from overeating. I mean how could I not? Everything was so good!" I jokingly complained. 

"Oh, that makes sense," he said sounding relieved. "I'm sorry the food was so tempting. I'll tell the chef to hold back on the flavor next time," he said with a laugh. "Alright, I'll leave you to sleep off the food coma. Goodnight, Melody." 

"Goodnight, Xander," I replied. I pressed my ear up against the door and heard his quiet footsteps sneak away. Once he was out of earshot, I cozied up in my bed with a smile and fell into a deep sleep. 

Sam's POV

Somehow, Thea and I ended up being the only two at the table. Melody left first, then mom and dad, and finally Xander excused himself to handle an important matter. The two of us sat across from each other awkwardly for a few minutes before Thea finally broke the tension. "So, Sammy, how are... knight things going?" 

"Good, good. What about you, and your, uh, princess duties?" 

"Alright. Tons of meetings with this or that world leader which were, you know, yeah." 

"Cool." 

"Cool." 

We fell into silence again. When the quiet became unbearable, I asked the question that had been on my mind all dinner. "So, are you and Xander good again?" I could tell that she was probably uncomfortable with the fact that I had seen her in such a vulnerable moment. 

"Oh, uh, yeah. It was just a misunderstanding." Thea explained.

"Ok, good. I'm glad. That would have been a dick move otherwise."

Thea laughed at my crude comment. "Yeah for sure." She fell quiet before continuing. "Thanks, by the way, for... talking to them for me. I don't think I would have had the courage to bring it up to Xander. So, thanks for helping us clear up the confusion."  

"Well, I am a knight after all, so helping the princess is kind of my whole deal," I replied. 

She laughed again at my attempt at chivalry before hitting my shoulder lightly. "You really have to take your knight training more seriously, Sammy. Solving relationship problems is definitely not part of your job," she replied as she got up from the table. "Tell Xander to meet me in my room if you see him," she said as she ruffled my hair. "Night." 

"Goodnight, princess." And then there was one. 

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AN: Hi y'all! I've gotten new ideas for where I want this story to go (still a very basic outline) but some of these ideas contradict information I've already written. Sorry if this makes the story confusing! This is my first real story, and I'm still trying to figure out how to go about it. Thank you for sticking with me on this rough first attempt! I really appreciate your feedback to make this story as readable as possible. I've decided to change how Melody and Darren meet in the last chapter. If you don't want to go back and read it, here's the short version:

Darren and Melody first meet in high school. She can't find her class, and nobody is stopping to help her. Darren decides to give her a hand. Melody thinks he's cute and starts to have a bit of a crush on him. They end up running into each other in a class (he is the student assistant). They talk for a little bit and end up walking to lunch together where they find Cynthia and the three of them become friends.