Chapter 15

~Emily~ It was around half past eight in the evening when Colin, Jacqueline and Stephan left my room altogether so that I could sleep. I was alone. It turned out that Sam was actually on a business trip and he claimed that he would be back home in three days time. I was lying down on my comfy bed, thinking. What was he doing right now? Was he looking for me? I bet Prince Nathan was. I was confused. I didn't know what I should do. I couldn't go back to him because he was heartless and cold. I couldn't stay here for long because he would eventually find me very soon. Sighing, I examined my new room. I saw my black piano and wished that I could play it. But, unfortunately it would take a while for me to get back to playing it. I was as useless as a shoe without a sole. Suddenly, I heard the window open and I gasped when I saw who it was. Harry. "What are you doing here?" I said, annoyed. He just stared at me, emotionless. "Well, why couldn't I meet my favourite little girl?" he scoffed. His grey eyes were a shade darker and his short hair was bedraggled. He was wearing black jeans with a plain grey shirt that made his eyes stand out. I noticed that he was carrying a thick, white envelop. He then walked around my room quietly and I could tell that he was not in a good mood at all. "Seriously, what are you doing here?" I asked again in a low tone so that Colin wouldn't come in my room. "Damn it, little girl!" he hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you? Again, you ran away from Nate!" "Well look at my shoulders! I think my reason is valid enough for me to leave!" I hissed back, glaring at him. He sighed. "Well it's only a few broken bones. They'll heal eventually, right?" I glared at him. "I'm a human, stupid. I'm delicate!" I roared. "Fine, I agree with you. Nate shouldn't have done that. But little girl, you're an idiot. If you wanted to escape from him, then why are you here, in Crosire? He could find you here easily," he said. I stayed silent. "You're lucky that I found you first instead of Nate. You could've been in a lot of trouble and your precious family could've been punished. And that punishment could possibly be execution!" My eyes widened. "What can I do?" I asked desperately. He stared at me for a while, silent. "Little girl, I do feel sorry for you but, as a member of the royal family, I have to do something that would benefit the Kingdom and not just an individual. Before I tell you the options of what you can do in this situation, I want you to fully understand what you really are to Nate and the entire Kingdom," he said. I nodded. He sat down next to me on my bed and showed me the thick envelope. "What is this?" I asked. "I found this in Nate's room at the main palace. I brought it specially for you. You'll see what's inside," he replied, opening the envelope and taking out a stack of rectangular papers bound together by a rubber band. Removing the rubber band, he showed me the first rectangular piece of paper. My eyes widened. There were two people on this photo. They were smiling together happily. There was a young man with jet black hair and bright blue eyes; Prince Nathan. He had his arm wrapped around a teenager's waist with bright green eyes and short dark brown hair. She was slightly chubby. "This is you and Nate," informed Harry. "You looked quite childish...and you were fat," he commented. I glared menacingly at him. Then he took another one out and the next and the next until I saw all of the photos of me and Prince Nathan together. There were some photos of me sitting on his lap, a few photos of me shoving ice cream on his face and there were photos of me and him just smiling and laughing. To conclude, we looked madly in love with each other. I stayed silent. "You are not Emily, little girl. You are Prince Nathan Edward Vaughan's soul mate, Sertia Anne Albany, the future Queen of this Kingdom. Everybody will look up to you in extreme respect and you will have to look after the entire Kingdom with Nate." I shivered. "But this is all too much to take in. It was only this morning I actually believed that I am Prince Nathan's soul mate. And now you're telling me that I am supposed to be the future Queen. This is just so crazy and surreal. I'm only twenty-three and-" "You're not twenty-three..." said Harry, confidently. "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. "You're not twenty-three. You are to be twenty-one this year on the 15th of November," he replied. "Oh, I get it now. You got amnesia and you forgot your own age and birth date, right?" "Yes, exactly! Sam told me that I might've been eighteen when he found me. And he told me that my birthday would be on the 4th of May since I was found by him on that date. Wait..." There was a pause since I was processing the new information about my age. "That means I'm not twenty-three. I'm twenty; soon to be twenty-one! Awesome! I get to celebrate my twenty-first birthday again and the best part is; I'm younger than I thought I was!" I exclaimed. Harry just looked at me as if I was a lunatic. He was a vampire, meaning that he didn't know how much humans, like me, valued each and every year of their lives. I sighed. He was such a party pooper. "Anyway...back to the topic. Little girl...I know that you are confused. I know that you are afraid to admit that you are his soul mate. But, don't be. Nate was never always like this; cold, arrogant and ignorant. It was when you left he became like that. Look, I believe that there is still a chance to revive him back to his normal self and I also believe that you are the only person who could do it. Nate suffered for five bloody years. Frequently, he used to wake up in the middle of the night due to nightmares about you being found dead by him," he explained. "He never hated you. Not even for a single millisecond. He just wanted you to come back to him safe and sound, no matter what. And when he finally found you, he was distraught and depressed to learn that you forgot everything about him." I couldn't contain them; my emotions. I burst out crying. Harry awkwardly patted my back. "Nate was forced to attend a meeting. During that meeting, he was supposed to see his fiancée," he explained. My eyes widened. "But before he could see his fiancée, he escaped. He didn't want to be involved in any sort of marriage that did not have you in it. While escaping, he was restrained by guards because his father, the King, who is still ill at the moment, desperately wanted Nate to get married immediately." "But why is the King in a hurry to get Prince Nathan married?" I asked. "I don't really know. The King is a very wise vampire and he is not the type to give reasons for his actions, you know? But, I believe that it has something to do with his deteriorating health and also to secure the royal bloodline by having heirs as soon as possible," he replied. I nodded, feeling uncomfortable with this topic. "But doesn't the King know about me?" "He does. But, he doesn't know that you are found by Nate. Actually, the King believes that you're dead. When you ran away, the King was angered. He was furious to learn that you ran away from Nate since you were Nate's soul mate. As the years went by, he began to fully believe that you were dead." "Then why doesn't Prince Nathan tell the King that I have been found alive?" "Nate believes that the life as a royal was too pressurising for you and that it was the main reason why you left him. So in order to keep you here with him permanently, he decided to slowly let the whole information about you and the royal background sink into your tiny brain," he said, keeping his thumb and the index finger close together to emphasise the tiny size of my brain according to him. I kicked him because he underestimated my intelligence. "So what can I do now, Harry?" I inquired. "Little girl, there are two options for you. Either you run away, but this time you have to go far, far, far away but this option has its risks that could involve threats to your family, or you could come back to the castle and give Nate a second chance. I'm not telling you to just love him or marry him. I just want you to stay there with him because your very presence is very strong and desirable to Nate. This second option could benefit you and your family immensely since your status' will be ameliorated to the most top class of the whole Kingdom," informed Harry. I got the idea that he was trying to bribe me but I didn't let him know that. "Now, the choice is all yours, little girl."