Caught Between Two Princes

2018, December 4th

"Are you people out of your minds?" Zoey couldn't stop herself from yelling.

"I met the lot of you two days ago," she sucked in a much-needed breath. "Now you want me to marry some dude I have never even met?"

His Grace raised his hand in dismissal and said, "You are of the House of Arden and you will accept the prince's hand. There will be no discussion on the matter."

Duke Arden, however, was not accustomed to Zoey's temper.

"The hell I will! You know what? How about you keep your money and I keep my hand and we call it even? Cool? Dandy."

She stormed off, well aware that she was bound to get lost in the mansion and not caring at all.

"Why that little... You come back here this instant!" Duchess Arden shrieked.

"She seems to have the right idea," Bart said with a shrug, fishing his keys out of his pocket.

"She shouldn't be having any ideas and neither should you. We do not have the luxury of her throwing a tantrum right now. His Majesty and His Highness will be visiting soon," said the duke.

The lack of gentility displayed by Zoey soon turned the duke's annoyance into anger.

"Ready the Lady Zoey!" He bellowed. "She must be presentable for the visit."

The butler and the maids scattered in search of the lady in question. The place was hardly small and she not knowing her way about it would not help their chances of discovering her.

"The nerve of the man! Does he want to meet me? No! After 23 years, he doesn't want to get to know his only daughter. He wants to use me, as he did with mom. Silly me, thinking it might be different with me," Zoey ranted.

Storming down an unknown hallway, Zoey felt a tug on her hand. She found herself in a room furnished in an arrogant, immoderate style, much like her own. It was well kept, though she could find no evidence of it being in use.

While she examined the room, someone had been watching her. Recalling that she had been brought here, Zoey sought the unknown entity. She spun around and lost her balance. He caught her just as she might have fallen. Her eyes widened as he did, the warmth of his hands seeping through onto the skin of her arms.

"Shush!" he hissed, wrapping his left arm around her waist while covering her mouth with his right hand.

A wink and grin seductively spreading across his face followed. The voices that hit her ears next made her stifle a protest.

"Lady Zoey, Lady Zoey" echoed the maids.

"We require your presence. Please say if you can hear us," the butler, Thomas said, his prudent voice giving way to agitation.

"You're a wanted woman, Lady Zoey," the handsome stranger whispered.

His hand withdrew from her mouth, but without missing a beat, his eyes and lips soon neared hers.

Zoey was a smart woman. She excelled in any endeavour she took on. Unfortunately, Zoey had never taken on dating. Despite ample interest from many suitors, Zoey always seemed to run from the idea. No man, be he handsome or smart or funny, had ever captured her interest. Until now.

Those alluring, ocean-blue, naughty eyes held hers. Nervously searching for elsewhere to look, she found nothing was safe. His long, sandy-brown hair neatly combed into place made her want to make a mess of it. The way his arm enveloped her waist made her want to take a step closer, to curve the rest of her to him. Even his suit wasn't safe. His jacket was open with the first four buttons of his shirt undone. Seeing this made her want to undo more of them.

For the first time, the lady found she wanted for breath because of a man. But Zoey would not remain so for long.

"What do you think you're doing?" She snapped when the voices had passed.

When she took a step back, he only took one forward. This was too much for her and she slapped him. Her mouth fell open. It took effort not to raise her hands and cover her face in horror. He watched a string of emotions dance across her face before he burst out laughing.

"Feisty one, aren't you?" he quipped, mischief swimming in his oceans.

Oh, the things he wanted to do to her! She might've been a mere commoner, but she was beautiful. The way her long golden locks moved with her when she got all worked up was enough to drive any man insane. She was a tiny thing. With inquiring, big, hazel eyes and an hourglass figure. Sparking sexy librarian fantasies in his head.

Seeing how he looked at her, she went back to being angry and stormed off again.

"Wait, wait, wait," he called after her, still laughing. "I was so eager to meet you. When I heard you were at present detained, I thought my heart would burst. I had to come and find you."

He all but sang the words, holding his hand to his heart. When that failed, he jogged a little ahead of her, blocking her path.

Zoey didn't see the danger that was him. It didn't matter who he was or what he wanted. She wanted to leave.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" she demanded, yanking at the doorknob.

"Where will you go? Everyone's looking for you. The moment you step outside of this room, someone will find you."

Aaron grasped his chin between his thumb and index finger and feigned concern.

His question gave her pause. Zoey searched her angry brain for the way out of the conundrum she was in. She was not going to be married off and used as some sort of bargaining chip. No, they would have to find another way. She would have to as well. Perhaps a part-time job or selling off all her mother's bags and shoes.

Aaron could see the gears moving in her head as she contemplated what to do. Her hand was still on the doorknob with only his body preventing the door from swinging right open. He had done this many times, come for some girl in the depths of the darkest nights. But it wasn't night and this girl wasn't pining after him.

Even if he could persuade her to leave with him before the maids found them, how would he get her out? He was not acquainted enough with the Arden mansion to pull off such a feat. It housed not only the Ardens, but a respectable number of servants. If that wasn't enough, there was The Red Guard, His Grace's noble army.

He could make her whereabouts known. This would allow him to look at and speak to her like he wanted. It would also mean she would look at and speak to others and this was the trouble. He was never very good at sharing.

So he did what he always did when he found himself in a pickle. The absolute wrong thing.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Aaron asked, breaking the silence.

This caught her attention. She gave him a questioning look. Her eyes darted to the window and then back to his face.

"Wait here," he said with a nod, as though in answer to an unasked question.

"What? Wait, where are you going?" she called after him.

It didn't matter to her, she told herself as she stood there frozen. Less than a minute later, the loudest alarm she'd ever heard filled her ears. The sound must have reached every corner of the estate, which was at least half the size of Rosa.

Next came the panic and screaming as the maids rushed to get outside. Soldiers poured into the vast mansion to ensure that it was empty. The stranger burst back into the room, a hoodie pulled over his head.

He grabbed her hand and said, "Time to go,” before breaking into a run with her in tow.

"What the hell is happening!" Zoey yelled in frustration.

"It's perfectly alright. A mere ruse to get you out!" he yelled back over the screaming voices and blaring alarm.

"What is it with you people? Are none of you sane?"

"Afraid not," he replied with a laugh.

As they rounded a corner, he pulled out his phone and said into it, "Jesse my man, ready the car."

Zoey's calves were to her the only thing louder than the screams of panic. It felt like they'd been running for hours by the time they made it back to a car the stranger had waiting. That is to say, Zoey assumed it was his. She honestly didn't think she could rule anything out at this point. The driver, a slim-looking young man dressed in a formal black suit, got out of the car and bowed.

"Your Highness."

Zoey did a double take.

"Your Highness?" she echoed.

She looked between the two men in disbelief. The prince's crooked grin made him look even more mischievous as he bowed elegantly.

"At your service, my princess."

The driver turned to Zoey and bowed too.

"My Lady."

"Well, we'd best be off," said the prince.

Taking advantage of Zoey's shock, he bundled her into the back seat before jumping in right next to her.

"Jesse, let's make like the wind and be gone."

Zoey reacted a moment too late. When she tried to open the door, she found it locked and the car had already started moving.

Elsewhere on the estate, everyone was in an uproar, but no one more so than King Henry. With his position not as secure as he might like, he was always afraid of assassination attempts.

"When will we hear what's going on?"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Captain Fields, captain of The Red Guard implored with a bow.

Duke Arden stepped forward and said, "Report."

Again Captain Fields bowed.

"Your Grace. The house is clear. The fire alarm was sounded, but there is no indication of fire in the main house. Rest assured, we are currently checking the rest of the premises."

Upon receiving this news, King Henry and Bart came to the same conclusion.

"Where is my son?"

"Where is the prince?"

Jesse was speeding towards the gates of one of the biggest estates in Caines. He was sweating profusely. There was never a dull moment working for Prince Aaron. Jesse had become accustomed to being less of an assistant and more of a getaway driver to the prince. It would take at least 10 minutes to make it to the gate. Jesse wondered what kind of trouble His Highness had gotten into this time as he raced to outrun The Red Guard. No doubt Captain Fields and his men would be at their heels any moment now.

"Your Highness?" Zoey spat the words out as though they were an insult, glaring at the prince.

"Please, it's Aaron to you. We should be on a first-name basis. We are engaged, you know, Zo. "

He winked at her. It annoyed her, but then everything he did was starting to annoy her.

"I am not your fiancee. I will not be bullied into marrying... well you."

"Okay," Aaron shrugged. "Unlock the doors, Jesse."

Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Okay? Just like that?"

Even him agreeing with her was annoying.

"Zoey, my love, I have no need to bully women into doing anything. They naturally fall for my charms," said the cocky prince.

They were about two minutes away from leaving the estate when Bart stepped out in front of the gates.

"Oh boy. Well that complicates matters," said Jesse.

Any sensible person would have stopped, but Jesse knew better than to ask Prince Aaron if he should.

"Bart," Zoey said the name under her breath.

She wasn't sure if she was glad to have Bart intercept them or not. How could one not be torn when all one's options were lousy?

"Your Highness, please," Jesse pleaded, so nervous that he stepped on the gas instead of the brakes.

Despite her train of thought, the way forward seemed obvious to Zoey.

"Is he going to pull over?" Zoey tapped Jesse's shoulder. "Why aren't you pulling over?"

They were inching closer, but Bart made no effort to move. He stood tall with his arms folded and a bored look on his face.

"You are too cute!" Prince Aaron chuckled.

"What?" Zoey mumbled through a gasp.

"Would you like Jesse to stop?" Prince Aaron asked, delighting in watching her squirm.

"What do you mean? Of course, he should stop," she said, flabbergasted, looking at Aaron like he was a madman.

Prince Aaron's face drew close to Zoey's, until little separated his lips from hers. Her crazed eyes became subdued, hypnotised as her heart rate climbed.

"Are you sure?" he cooed, the words soft and velvety.

He ran a finger along her burning cheek, his eyes on her lips as he watched them part.

"If you're found like this with me, there'll be no discussion about it. You'll definitely be stuck with me then. Are you sure, princess?"