Forgotten Memories

Chapter 10

Cole turned over to his side and curled into a tight ball, attempting to keep himself warm. He hadn't realised just how cold the night was even though it was the middle of summer. Of course, he'd considered getting into the bed with Arael but he knew that if she woke up she would get a fright from someone being in the bed with her. So he'd stayed on the cold floor with nothing but a shirt, his pants and a sheet covering him. His lips had turned blue and his muscles hurt when he moved from being tensed up all night but he didn't want to leave Arael's side. A cold gust blew under the door and hit his body, making him curl into an even smaller ball, if that was even possible, knocking the night stand in the process. He froze as a book crashed to the floor and prayed that it didn't wake Arael. He heard a soft groan and held his breath, hoping she'd go back to sleep.

"Cole? What are you doing on the floor? It's freezing",he heard Arael say softly. He looked up and saw her looking down at him while half asleep.

"I'm fine, little bird. Go back to sleep",he told her. She shook her head and reached out for his hand noticing the blue of his lips and how tightly he was curled up.

"You're ice cold. Come here",she told him softly. He hesitated but stood up none the less.

"Arael, you really should go back to sleep. I'm fine really. It's just a little-"

"Hush you. There's more than enough space in your bed, come on",she interrupted as she tugged him closer. He knew she wouldn't go back to sleep without him getting into the bed so he picked up the pillow and got in on the other side.

"Alright I'm in the bed now please go to sleep, little bird",he begged softly, knowing that the sooner she went to sleep, the sooner he could get out of the bed. He really wanted to sleep next to her but he knew that if she weren't half asleep she would've shouted and had a fit because he was in the same bed as her.

"It truly amazes me that you would go through so much for me when all I do is cause you pain",she whispered as she tried to move closer to him, hissing at the pain in her shoulder. She looked up into his eyes and he saw the silent plea for him to come closer to her. He knew he would regret it in the morning but he didn't care. He moved closer, allowing her to pull him towards her chest as she lifted the blanket over them. She wrapped her good arm around him and motioned for him to move even closer. He looked at her with wide eyes as he moved right up next to her and hesitantly wrapped his arm around her. The fear of her rejecting him grew greater as his fingers brushed against the exposed skin of her stomach where her shirt had ridden up. He heard her breath get caught in her throat as her eyes softened while looking at him.

"Please hold me",she begged, her voice barely coming out as a whisper. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around her tiny waist. She tangled her fingers into his hair, pulling his head in towards her. He buried his face in her neck, placing a small kiss on her collar bone before relaxing into her. Their legs tangled together under the duvet as they hid their bodies from the cold. They slowly warmed each other up and Cole fell asleep within minutes with no nightmares that whole night.

* * *

A knock at the door woke Cole and Arael up. Arael knew Cole was holding her but she pretended not to notice so that he wouldn't leave her side and Cole didn't bother letting go of her anyway. The door opened and Maggie peaked into the room.

"My prince, breakfast is ready. When you and princess Arael are ready your mother invited you to join them",she told him before leaving them to themselves. Cole knew that an invitation from his mother wasn't really an invitation. It was an order and as much as he wanted to spend the rest of what was left of the day just lying in the bed with his little bird, he knew they had to get up.

* * *

Cole made his way into the dining room after getting dressed and saw his parents along with Arael's parents sitting around the table. The wonderful smells coming from the breakfast attacked his nostrils and the small talk in the room was interrupted by the loud whale noises his stomach made.

"If you wanted them to notice you, Cole, you only needed to say good morning",Arael told him as she walked past and to the table. His cheeks flamed up and he quickly took his seat next to her, hoping that his stomach wouldn't try to keep up its conversation.

"Good morning",he said as he smiled at their parents. His cheeks slowly started to return to their usual colour as he picked at the grapes he had pulled from the fruit bowl.

Arael spoke quietly with her parents and Cole listened in secretly, tapping her leg every time she said something rude or out of line. He hoped that he could help her return to the polite girl she once was if he taught her that what she was doing was wrong. A knock at the door drew their attention. There stood Aaron holding a little girl that looked to be about three that Cole figured was his daughter he spoke about.

"I hope I'm not interrupting, but I thought it was time to catch up and introduce someone to you all",he told them, gesturing to his daughter. Arael squealed and raced over towards them while holding her arms out. Aaron chuckled as he hugged Arael before handing the little girl over to her.

"Say hello, Valerie",Aaron coaxed his daughter. Valerie looked up at him before looking at Arael shyly.

"Hello",she said softly in her high pitched baby voice. Cole watched as Arael's face softened in awe. He had never seen her look at anything like she looked at the little girl.

"Hello, Valerie, my name is Arael",she told the little girl as she made her way back to her chair. Valerie smiled and grabbed hold of her top as she sat her on her lap.

"Arel",she said, trying to say Arael but not quite getting it. Arael smiled and nodded at her encouragingly.

"Almost there but you'll get it, baby. Are you hungry?",she asked her. Valerie nodded and Arael picked up a piece of pancake for her to have. Everyone watched her with the little girl and Cole felt his heart sink slightly. He had hoped to have what Aaron had with his wife with Arael one day but he knew that it was slowly becoming impossible. He would need to take over the throne in a year and he had to have a queen by then or he wouldn't be able to carry on with the tradition of having a child within a year after becoming King. It scared hit that within two years he would be King, he would be married and he would have just had his first child. He had hoped that it would be Arael that would be his Queen but the chances were slim, one because she didn't remember him, and two, because they were no longer the same age. She wouldn't be at this point for more than a year still.

"Cole, just think, in less than four years you'll have a baby of your own and all the responsibilities of a parent. Don't be fooled though, my boy, they might look cute but they can be hell to take care of",his mother told him. Arael's head shot up from where she was playing with Valerie.

"I-I need to go... Excuse me",she said as she handed Valerie over to Aaron and rushed out of the room. Cole didn't miss the hurt and broken look she had on her face and he glared at his mother for being so insensitive to the situation before running after Arael.