Her & Him - liliana941 (read e book txt) 📗

and kissed her hungrily. She kissed me back. The sun warmed our faces and the water seemed to be pushing me closer to her. My mind swirled with different thoughts. The kiss was perfect. I thought nothing could ruin it until she pushed me away. I lost my balance and fell backwards. The rushing water kept my head underwater and pulling me away. Water was surrounding me, going in my eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. When I was finally able to get on my feet and stand up, Christal was out of the river with her feet in the water. I coughed up some water and found my way to her. I stopped at her feet. She wouldn't even look in my direction. I laid my hands on her knees. "What's wrong?" I asked. " It's just," she paused. " Daniel, that kiss- it was-" "Amazing?"I suggested. " No, it was a mistake. Both of the kisses," she said, not trying to hide the disgust in her voice. "No they weren't." I grabbed her chin and forced her to look me in the eyes. " You're lying to yourself if you think that." She shook her head viciously. " No. I'm not suppose to like you and your not suppose to like me." " Why?" I asked harshly. " 'Cause you're the prince and I'm a street rat." " That doesn't matter! I can marry whoever I want!" "No, you can't, Daniel. It's a law." She looked away again. "Then how come I've never heard of it?" " I don't know." There was a moment of silence. "Let's just forget this happened." "What? Why?" "'Cause it'll make things less complicated." " Christal, you can't just forget something like that." I tried to get her to look at me again but she wouldn't. " I can't forget." " You have too." " Christal, I'm not the real Prince. I don't have to go back. I can stay here with you." " No." " Why not?" " 'Cause I don't want you...here," she said slowly, looking down at her hands. " You are lying." " No, I'm not. I never liked you and I never will." " Christal, you are trying to convince yourself that you do not like me but just now you showed your true emotions. You kissed me back and you liked it. Both times we kissed today." " No, I didn't. That's why I pushed you away." " You pushed me away because you are fighting yourself. A part of you dislikes me, while the other likes me. Admit it." " You're wrong," she said plainly. "You're being ridiculous now!" She whipped her head toward me. " I'm being ridiculous?! You were being ridiculous when you were hiding from your dad's guards! You're a coward, Daniel! That's what you are! A coward!" "What? I wasn't being a coward, I was just," I stopped. It wasn't going to come out right. "I'm not scared of them. I was just hiding but not of fear." She shook her head. Her eyes were getting watery. "Maybe your not scared of the guards but your scared of your dad! Your own dad! "I'm not scared of my father, Christal!" "Then how come you didn't stop your guards from taking my girls?! Huh?!" "Because I can't stop them from taking them! I have no right!I'm just a prince not a king!" She blinked the tears away and stared at me. "So-so if you were a king you could stop them?" "Yes,it's possible." Her eyes got big. Tears were caught in her long eyelashes. They looked like small crystals. "Marry me then." "What?" I asked, surprised. "Marry me and then you'll be king. You'll be able to stop them from-from killing my innocent girls. Please! Marry me!" "I can't." A tear slid down her cheek. "Please! I mean you wanted to marry me before, why not now?" "Because I want nothing to do with my father now." "Please! Do it for me!" she said, sounding so fragile that I jumped out of the water and cradled her. "Fine! I'll do it for you." She laid her head on my naked chest and cried. Every once in a while she'd whisper, "thank you." " On one condition, though," I said, interrupting one of her thank yous. She lifted her head and croaked, " what?" " Admit that I am right." " About what?" " Your feelings toward me." She was silent for a moment. " You're completely right." " So why do you fight it?" " 'Cause......all my life I've hated the royalties." " But I have done nothing wrong." " Yet," she mumbled. " Christal, I won't do nothing to hurt you." " I hope not." She laid her head back on my chest. " So when are we getting married?" I smiled. " Soon." I woke up to the smell of scrambled eggs. My eyes flew open and I walked toward the smell. Christal smiled at me when I enter the kitchen. I gave her a weary smile and sat down at the table. She set a plate of cold bread and eggs on the table. She sat down on the chair opposite from me and ripped the bread in half. " You know you're lucky I could even steal this. Normally there isn't breakfast." She handed me one half of the bread and opened her own in half and stuffed it with eggs. I did the same and finished eating it in less than one minute and was still hungry afterwards. I watched Christal eat hers. She was almost done when she offered me the rest. I shook my head and looked her in the eye. " I'm nervous about going to the village so I shouldn't eat much." She put it down and nodded. " True. So, um, do you want to go ahead and go?" " Sure." We both got up and headed out the door. It was nice outside. Birds were singing, there was a small breeze, and the sun was barely rising. I walked alongside Christal watching the sky nervously. Each step we took was taking us closer to the palace. We walked passed old buildings and across a large field with dead grass. We walked through an alley that lead to the village. Many people saw me and whispered to the person next to them. Christal hid behind me. " Don't hide," I told her. " You're safe with me." She slipped her hand in mine and walked next to me. I was heading to the palace until I heard a familiar voice. " These street rat were found yesterday sneaking around our village! OUR village! We owe our thanks to General Shnitwit and his obedient soldiers!" There was a roaring applaud. I walked toward the noise and saw a huge crowd surrounding a stage. On the stage was my father, General Shnitwit and a couple of soldiers. They all smiled and waved at the crowd. " Okay, okay. Settle down now," my father ordered. Everyone instantly fell silent. " Okay, now let us bring out the filthy rats!" Everybody booed as ten or more people were lead up on to the stage with chains on their ankles, hands, neck, and everything else you could think of. They were all in poor condition. Christal stiffened. At that moment three girls stood out. One was about thirteen and the two other ones were twins about the age of six or seven. They were hunched over, looking weak. My father laughed. " Okay, ladies and gentlemen, this is not new. You know the procedure! We start with the betting!" Men hooted as a young women around the age of twenty was brought to the middle of the stage. She recoiled as a guard hit her with a whip. " Stand up straight!" he yelled. She did as she was told without making a sound. My father grinned. " Okay! Let us start the betting at five hundred silver maligans!" " Right here," someone screamed. " We have a bettor! Okay going once-" Christal dug her nails into my palm. She whispered, " how much is five hundred silver maligans?" " Depends from where you're talking about." " The country side." " Oh, errrrr, about two hundred and fifty bucks." " Going twice!" my father yelled. Christal frowned and spoke quietly," those bastards think we're that cheap?" I didn't respond. " Eight hundred!" a man next to me yelled. " Ha! She's not worth that much, my dear good man but okay! Eight hundred it is! Going once!" " Eight fifty!" another man hollered. " Eight fifty going once!" " Eight ninety!" the first man called out. " Eight ninety going once!"The bets kept getting bigger and bigger until a tall, weird looking man challenged one thousand silvers. " Well now isn't that big. It might even be a record for the highest bet! One thousand going once!" Silence. " Going twice!" Silence. " Sold to the highest bettor for one thousand silver maligans!" The woman lowered her head as she was taken to her new owner. He took hold of her and gave her a wet, disgusting kiss on the lips. I turned away. " I can't stand this anymore." Christal growled. " I hate your dad!" I cleared my throat and spoke clear and loud. " Father! I've heard you've been looking for me!" Everyone stop their talking and turned their heads toward me. I looked straight ahead at my father.  He looked surprised but then a smile curled up on his face. " Son! Where in the world have you been?" The villagers moved aside and made a clear, straight path to the stage. I squeezed Christal's hand and began to walk forward. Christal yanked her hand away. I looked back at her. " Come on!" She shook her head. " Go by yourself." I stared at her. " Come with me." " Just go," she urged. I sighed and turned back to the stage. My eyes collided with the thirteen year  old girl. Her eyes glossed with tears. I noticed they were green, maybe darker than mine. I walked forward, never losing our connection. She seemed to be studying me. Whether I was there to help or to torture. I tried to show that I was there to help and the message must have reached her because she gave me a tiny smile. I reached the stage by that time.  I slowly climbed the stairs. My father hugged me. " Oh, son. Where have you been?" I faked a smile and turned to the crowd. " I ran away!" People's jaw dropped opened. My father looked at me like I was psycho. " why?" he asked. I forced a loud, fake laugh. " Father, I am just fooling with you! Why would I runaway when I have everything? When everything is perfect!" I sounded to harsh at the end but no one caught it. Instead, everyone laughed  as if it was the funniest joke ever heard. My father smiled. " So where were you  really?" " Well, father, I have been searching for my wife and, my dear father, guess what? I have found her!" There was an explosion of noise. It was a mixture of claps, screams, and, oddly, a band. My father patted my back. " Congratulations, son! Now where is she?" I searched for Christal. I spotted her walking to the back of the crowd. Why is she acting like that? She wanted to get married. I pointed at her direction. " Ahh, there's my beloved future wife. She's the brunette that is trying to hide. Don't  be shy sweety." Christal stopped in her tracks and turned stiffly toward me. She smiled and walked swiftly to the stage. When she reached me, she gave me a huge hug and whispered quietly in my ear, " you'll pay later." I chuckled. " This beautiful