Someday My Prince Will Come (epic love story) (13 page)

"Miss Arianne?" I heard Jameson call me, and I looked up to find him waiting for me to sit down. I quickly walked over to where he was and sat down in a seat that looked like a recliner. It was definitely the most comfortable airplane seat that I'd EVER been in! Heck, the most comfortable seat period! Jameson decided to buckle me, and I wondered if he really thought I was that incapable, or if those were his direct orders. Either way, I didn't mind and watched Jameson walk away into away into a separate room. A few minutes later, after the steward fetched me a refreshing beverage, Jameson came in and sat on a seat near me. Two seconds later: "Prepare for takeoff," and we were flying.

~

10 long hours later, I felt Jameson shaking me gently. I couldn't believe I had slept the whole way. I must have been more exhausted than I thought! We had just landed in Bieland and we were about to get off the jet! I was so excited! One of the reasons was Freddie. Plain and simple. I missed him, I needed him. That's just the way it works. Another reason was that I would actually be seeing the country that I could possibly be ruling on day! I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty exciting! I was following Jameson out of the plane when he suddenly stopped short at the outside of the door. His hand flew out from behind him and signaled me to stop. He almost hit me in the stomach. I stood stark still
was something wrong? Jameson took a pair of binoculars out of his suit coat pocket and I saw him scanning the area. For a couple of minutes we just stood there like that, and then finally Jameson reached back and grabbed my arm, still checking his surroundings. I sighed as we made our way down the stairs provided.

"Is this really necessary, Jameson? I'm starting to feel like a little puppy. You already checked the area, so I'm sure I could walk around by-"

*CRACK* A loud gunshot interrupted my sentence. I jumped and screamed, covering my head with my free hand; not knowing where it came from! As soon as the first one started, more started to sound. I kept screaming and by this time Jameson and I were sprinting across the airfield. I kept my hand over my head, and by now tears were streaming down my face! What was happening? Why were they trying to shoot me!? Jameson had pulled out a gun and was firing in random directions; I was pretty convinced that he didn't know where it was coming from either.

I was losing stamina. My breath was coming faster as the loud shots continued to ring through the air. Crying and the running at the same time were starting to have an effect on my body so I started to slow down. My legs wouldn't go faster! Go faster! I almost screamed at them. Just then I heard a whistling sound and felt the ground behind me vibrate. I realized that a bullet had just barely missed my feet. I jumped about ten feet in the air and screamed again; hyperventilating beyond control. The next few moments seemed like life was flying in slow motion. Everything was a blur as all around me became suddenly silent. All I could hear was my heart pounding and my breath pushing against my throat. My adrenaline seemed to be the only working function in my body, because my running legs were growing increasingly weaker. Tears blinded me as I clung to Jameson's hand as he led me toward a plane hangar.

I stopped breathing as the building grew closer and my fear started to subside when, finally, after what seemed like hours, Jameson and I were safely behind the building. For a moment I closed my eyes, wondering if this was a dream. My lips were forcing out jagged spurts of air; the brain desperately trying to connect to my lungs.

Suddenly, my eyes whipped around in a million directions. I had the horrid feeling that someone was watching me. I didn't see anything as I scanned the area, but I could feel evil eyes on my weakened body. Where were they?

I almost lost it as I hallucinated the form of a sniper coming from behind me with an M-16. Jameson was muttering something into his walkie-talkie in French, but I wasn't in the mood to translate. I tried to push away the thoughts of someone running at me from around the corner, but I checked just in case. I closed my eyes again and really tried to breathe. My mind was going through an extreme case of paranoia and I could feel my knees locking. I had to sit down! My body slumped to the ground and I desperately tried to keep myself calm. One second later I heard Jameson muttering to me and he told me in French to stay calm and that help was on the way. I nodded my head, still crying. This was madness! What a welcome! I just wanted to go home! I didn't want to be here anymore! The only thing that kept me going was the thought of my darling Freddie. At this point, I hoped and prayed that he wasn't going through something even half as awful as this!

I was offered a breathing device and it instantly helped to clear my lungs and calm me down. None of the men said anything to me, but I was grateful. This was not a time that I wanted to be chatting. After about 15 minutes, my tears were dried and I gave the breathing device back to the man in black. He curtly nodded his head but still didn't speak. He probably didn't speak English.

"Excusez-moi,
ou¹ est Frederick?" Excuse me, where's Frederick? I asked quietly in French. The man looked at me and replied quietly, "Il est sauf»." He is safe.

I nodded my head and asked, "Ou allons-nous?" Where are we going?

"S'il vous plait," The man replied a little roughly, "Aucune plus de conversation." Please, no more talking.

I lifted my eyebrows, surprised at his manners. He didn't have to be rude about it. Unlike him, I wasn't going through this on a daily basis! Then my attitude softened as I realized the reality of what I was thinking. He WAS going through this daily. It was his job. He was risking his life all day and night for me and my loved one. What about his loved ones? What if he didn't come home one night? I shivered at the thought and felt guilty for being so selfish.

As I sat in the helicopter with a blanket over my shoulders, I thought about the day I had. When I woke up earlier, I thought that I was going to see Freddie, not be shot at by monsters! My head was throbbing but I tried to get through it. Hopefully, we would be going to the palace and I would get to see Freddie. That would make everything so much better.

About twenty minutes later I felt the helicopter landing. I prayed that this time I would have a safe exit and almost didn't want to get out this time. The man in black looked at me sternly and as if by instinct, my body almost told me that I'd better be brave. Freddie wasn't lying when he said that it wasn't a piece of cake. Boy was he right. I jumped out of the helicopter and landed on what seemed to be a roof of some sort. Beyond it was a gorgeous sight. The sun was shining over lush green meadows and fields. There were little huts about a mile from the castle rooftop and I assumed that they were part of a village.

A dense forest lined the horizon of this brilliant masterpiece known as Bieland. It looked dark and mysterious at first, but the way that the sun kissed the apex of the trees gave the woodland a welcoming and affectionate facade.

Just like Jameson always did, the man grabbed my arm and turned me around. At first all I saw was the rooftop. It was very large, and the helicopter was blocking any part of the view behind it. I was led a couple steps away before I stopped dead; dead in my tracks. A vast, dazzling, antique and an incredible castle stood in front of me. This roof top, I noticed was the only flat one on the entire palace, and it was lower than most of the walls and towers. The dark grey stone shone under the sunlight and illuminated all of the hundreds of windows. The glass was reflecting the great ball of fire and it made everything look just like a fairy tale in the aura of sunset.

There were towers and shining windows, pointed rooftops and those that were steep; to top it all off, a delightful little bridge connecting the castle to the land before the river and aft. It was trickling and peaceful, and the water gently lapped over the large rocks that comprised the riverbed. It seemed that I had barely seen it when we were already going down an elevator that descended from the roof. I wanted to look at this masterwork longer, take it in, relax; but there was no time for that now. Some other time, I promised myself. The elevator was small but it wasn't a tight fit for it held me, the man in black, and the helicopter driver. They weren't men of many words, if you know what I mean, and in the silence I noticed that the elevator buttons didn't have any numbers. They were just evenly pressed into the wall. The walls were metal and cold at the

touch, and I was surprised. I was expecting beautiful gold walls and red carpeted floor. But maybe those movies had you getting the wrong impression about palaces.

Without even the slightest 'ding', the elevator came to a soft stop and the doors flew open. What I saw before me was something that I was definitely not expecting. A dark hall way made its way to my eyes and I almost felt scared to walk into it. However, I convinced myself that with the man in black holding my arm, and the helicopter driver directly in tow, it was impossible to feel in danger. Maybe it was just the solid gray walls of stone and the dimly lit atmosphere that had me feeling uneasy.

Suddenly, I was pulled to a stop and my thoughts of disgust were erased as I was pushed through a door. Behind it was a black wall; the hallway sloping directly to the left. Some palace this was. What part of gross walls and damp air screamed 'royalty?' I sighed as we walked on and on; and on! When would this end? It seemed forever since we had gotten out of the elevator, even though in reality it was probably more like five minutes.

Finally, as the man in black opened another door, my expectations were fulfilled. I found myself being led out of the damp, dusk hallway and into a gorgeous little hall with pillars edging the sides of the gold and white patterned carpet. I gasped as I saw the dark red walls contrasting the creamy white pillars laced with gold and silver diamonds and dots. It was like they were covered in a beautiful net, each end of the diamond secured by a small silver ball.

There were about eight pillars, four on each side and each about fifteen feet apart. The little hall stopped at a dead end after a little while. There were two options, left and right, and the man in black directed me to the right. The heli driver followed silently; what else? At every hall way, I marveled at the unique styling and beauty of it. In this particular area, all of the walls were the same luscious deep red, and had random pillars or statues that were either gold or silver; coordinating with the entire look. I loved this, every minute of it, even though there were two grim secret service officers leading me around everywhere.

Also, at the end of almost every hall there was a guard, standing still in dark sunglasses, a dress shirt and dress pants. My, those were popular here. Each of them quietly nodded at the men accompanying me, and as we passed I could feel a hole; boring into every inch of my body. They were no doubt doing an analysis on me but hey, what do you expect?

After about four or five different hallways, and turning in random directions, we entered another part of the castle. I could tell that this was where most of the guests were brought to, because the floors were no longer carpeted, but a rich white marble floor. My flip flops made a clacking sound with every step, and I suddenly remembered that I was still in sweat pants and a white work-out shirt with a sports bra underneath.

I cleared my throat, self conscious, and tried to walk a little bit taller; more like royalty perhaps. This hallway seemed to be particularly long, for it stretched both behind me and in front of me. This area of the castle was more open; on either side of me, spaces like living rooms were set up and I found my contentment at how open and airy they were. There were windows that shone light over the open rooms; couches, bookshelves and other random furniture occupied the space. I was amazed at how many rooms looked completely different but matched in perfect coordination.

My mini-tour of the castle was ostentatious, and after a few turns, I found myself walking into what seemed to be the front of the castle. A humongous foyer stretched out all around me, and there was a gorgeous, grand staircase that flew up to unimaginable heights. This foyer was majestic; so very beautiful that I can scarcely describe it! Gold seemed to be the main color here, because almost everything in this lovely 'foyer' was accented with it; but not overly done. Everything was perfect. I was gaping and staring and I must have stopped subconsciously, because the man in black jerked my arm impatiently.

Gracious. This was my first time being in a castle! Give me a break here! We were going up the staircase, and I wondered why. Was I to be taken to my room? Maybe to see Freddie in some romantic little private library! In any case, I was excited and I almost squealed at the whole prospect.

My first guess was the right one; I was being led quietly to my room. The second floor of the palace was just as lovely. A beautiful dark green color was placed on the walls, and more wood-like antiques seemed to be the main theme up here. It almost seemed like it was designed to give a homey feeling to the guest.

All too soon, our fabulous trio stopped in front of a room, I presumed. The doors were double, and made out of solid oak. They looked heavy and expensive, and beautiful flourishes were etched into the once living