Thalia's heartbeat raced, nearly exploding.
She held her breath and searched for a good hiding spot as the voice drew closer. She heard another voice, this one was lighter and sounded a bit huskier than the other one.Two people. Two men.She knew how terrible it would look if they were to find her. A strange woman in their bedroom, how would she explain herself? She paused her train of thoughts as she spotted a closet. The closet looked large enough to contain about 20 people, it was practically a room at that point.She slipped into the closet and closed the door slowly just as the other door opened and she heard footsteps and voices. Thalia held her breath and hugged herself tightly staying still in a squatting position. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and trickled down her face.She tried her best to decipher what they were talking about but she could only hear bit and pieces of their conversation and a few words she heard made her panic more.Assassination. Anarchists. Infiltrate. Did she land in some kind of weird cult, or mafia or some weird organization? She shuddered as she imagined a situation where they found her. She continued to listen and their conversation only made her fear increase.After a while, she couldn't hear the voices anymore and it was quiet.She almost screamed when she heard footsteps near the closet. Her immediate instinct was to stand and hold onto the closet door from the inside to prevent the person from opening it.It didn't make sense, but she was grasping at straws at that moment. So she did just that and as she predicted the person tried to open the door. She tried with all her might, but her knuckles were turning white from holding onto the door so tightly.She lost the fight.And as the closet door sprung open, it brought her with it. She ended up sprawled on the floor, looking into forest green eyes.Wow.What a handsome man…The view she got from the floor probably wasn't the best but even from there this man was beautiful. He had black hair, striking forest green eyes which she would love to see in a closer range. He had striking features and a nose she could only describe as royal. He was… majestic."Who are you?" He asked in a voice that sent shivers down her spine.Aldric stared at the weirdly dressed woman sprawled out on the floor in bafflement and also wariness.And maybe… attraction?She was beautiful.With lustrous, gold tresses framing her delicate face, she exuded an enchanting allure. Her piercing blue eyes shimmered with a touch of mystery. High cheekbones accentuated her flawless porcelain complexion.Graceful and elegant, she possessed an innate beauty that seemed to transcend ordinary realms. Her blue eyes were sharp and deep and they reminded him of the sea. Her golden luscious hair was spread around her like a blanket. He was lost in her beauty for quite a while before he snapped himself out of it.What was she doing in his closet?How did she even get in there?As far as he knew, security in the palace was very tight and it has always been tight. The strict security system would make it almost impossible for an outsider to sneak in. So how did this weird woman get into the palace, and his quarters and most of all, Who was she?“Who are you?” He finally asked.She just stared.Aldric's head started to go places. Was she one of the Anarchists? Is that why she looked and was dressed so weirdly?His heart dropped to his stomach and he took a few steps back from her. That was the only explanation.After a while she finally spoke, "I… I'm Thalia," she said, and even though she stuttered, her voice sounded like honey and sunshine. It was a velvety cascade that flowed like liquid gold."What are you doing here?" Aldric asked once again, reinforcing his posture and voice to look more confident. Even if this woman who he was weirdly attracted to was a spy, he couldn't afford to show her how on edge he was and how tired he felt from carrying the weight of the nation."Frankly, I don't know why I'm here either." The woman said, while trying to stand up from the floor. Even though he wanted to keep listening to her voice, or staring into her stunning blue eyes, he needed to keep his guard up."Who are you?" he asked again taking another cautious step back from her direction.She stammered, "Th_ Thalia," she swallowed, "I'm Thalia.""If you don't_" Aldric pauses when the door to his room opens revealing Darian who was looking into his book and saying something."I forgot to inform you of your meeting with the ministers tomorrow to discuss the pav_" Darian paused both his speech and stride when he noticed Thalia in the room. He immediately frowned and asked, "Who is this?""Who is this?" Thalia's chest echoed with the thunderous beats of her heart. For some reason, she'd been more comfortable with the presence of the first guy she met whom she now recognized as the prince. From his robes and outfit alone and also with how regal he looked, she could tell he was royalty. While the other guy looked good too, he scared her for some reason.In the dimly lit chamber, the air was thick with tension between the three of them. "Your Highness, who is this?" The guy who just came in asked again as he stared at her with bewilderment and caution. "I don't know," The Man who was apparently called Your Highness said, "She was hiding in my closet when I came in," he moved towards the second guy while speaking and now Thalia was facing both of them.She felt trapped, like a fly in a spider's web."Guards!" The guy who had just entered yelled, and her heart plummeted in response. Maybe she was in more trouble than she thought."Your Highness, step away from her she m
3 days. Thalia had been locked up for three days now. Things were starting to look really serious and she was starting to panic more than before. Talking to Lily made her not lose her mind though, it kept her sane, which she was grateful for. The bread they served that morning and yesterday in the prison wasn't bad so Thalia had eaten some of it. Now she was just staring at a spot on the wall while sitting next to Lily who was doing the same.Suddenly, the creaking sound of heavy footsteps approached, and the clanging of keys grew louder. The cell door swung open, revealing a grizzled prison guard.The guard looked at both her and Lily, then redirected his stare to Thalia, "Hey.. you," he gestured gruffly to her with a careless flick of his hand, "Stand up and follow me." She wanted to ask why but the guard didn't look like a person that had the patience to answer her questions. He looked bored and straightforward.Thalia mustered her strength and stood up, her heart pounding in h
Thalia woke to someone knocking on the door. It was interfering with her precious sleep and it honestly was the best sleep she'd had in ages. Sitting up in bed and stretching her arms deliciously, Thalia stared in the direction of the door.But she found herself looking at a wall. A blank light yellow wall. Wait. The door was meant to be there. With a jolt out of the bed, all of Thalia's memories of the past few days came back in a flash. The letter, the little girl, the magical book, time travel and the prince. The person behind was knocking continuously and when her still delirious brain recognized that she wasn't in her small rental apartment and that she could be in danger, she felt a trickle of fear.Who could it be? Was it the guards? Have they come to arrest her again? While she was being released she had a a thought simmering at the back of her mind that beheading still existed in this era and it was meted out for crimes against royalty and crimes that concerned being
Thalia was sure she could hear her own heartbeat as Ann led her through a dimly lit corridor. She was on her way to meet the prince. To have dinner with the prince. Despite how the situation was definitely not in favour of her, and how she probably had a lot of things to worry about, her head was filled only with thoughts of the prince. Oh, good grief! Thalia gasped inwardly as her imaginations went too far and she quickly shut them off. She had to focus on making it out of the meeting with her head on her shoulders. And security of her head being on her shoulders for a long time. There was a big door at the end of the corridor and a few guards standing in front wearing their normal stoic expressions. Ann paused in front of the large door, "This is The Great Hall, where you'll be dining with the prince." She gestured towards the door then turned to the guards and gave them a signal to open the door.When they opened it, Thalia was met with a lot of inquisitive stares from people wh
“Who are you?” The prince asked again. He was itching to know who this woman he felt so much attraction to was. There were no traces of her in any records. It was like she dropped from the sky. Maybe she did.She looked like an angel. Aldric's eyes flickered once again to the black dress hugging her body. The moment he entered the hall and saw the dress, he wanted to take it off of her. The thought had surprised him because he was hardly ever interested in women in that way, and now they were seated in close proximity and talking, the dirty thought still lingered.It was made for her. “As you said before, I seem harmless,” She replied in a sultry voice that made him want to take her lips in his. “That I am.” "Then?" Prince Aldric raised a brow in question or as a signal for her to continue.“I know this will sound crazy but I’m from the future.” She said lowering her eyes.Prince Aldric was a bit taken aback by her answer but that was the only answer that made sense. It sounded no
Prince Aldric watched Thalia's dumbfounded face with a raised eyebrow. She seemed flustered, but for some reason, he could tell she wasn't putting on an act. He made his decision there and then. He'll keep her in the palace instead of in prison as his right-hand man would prefer. She would be under surveillance by guards just in case his intuition was wrong and she was a threat or danger to him. That would mean Darian was right. He didn't want Darian to be right though. The mysterious woman was drawing him in andIf that was her plan, then she was damn successful with it. "You can go," he said amused by her bewildered face. "Just like that?" She asked, standing up slowly. "I'm free to leave?" At her full height, the dress was more visible and so were her delicious curves."I meant back to your room… in the palace," he explained, dragging his eyes away from her body and back to her face. "Darian will investigate further before we decide to let you roam free. You'll be under surve
Several thoughts swam around Thalia's mind as she walked the Halls of the palace. The guards and Ann were escorting her to her assigned room. According to Aldric, she was to stay in the palace until further orders and under strict surveillance. How would she do that though? She was experiencing something she'd only seen in movies and read in books and she was just supposed to stay put?They passed by a huge beautiful window Thalia hadn't noticed before. Just outside the window, there was a beautiful garden with a small stream. Before she could let her eyes explore more, Ann tapped her arm and they continued walking. She took note of the place, planning to visit later. If she got the freedom.A shiver touched her spine when the last expression the Prince wore came to mind. He was looking at her in a way she couldn't even begin to describe but it made her jittery and weak. Her last lingering glance at him had surely shaken her. Now, she could stay in the palace at least for a while wi
Saying she was caught off guard by the prince was an understatement. Her eyes slamming on his beautiful face was more exhilarating than the shock she got from him pulling her in so suddenly.His next words snapped her out of her shock."What're you doing wandering around? I thought I confined you to your chambers until your identity is confirmed?" "Yes… uh…" she scrambled for an excuse. He cocked his head to the side as if waiting for her excuse mockingly. His beautiful eyes trained on her turned her brain to mush and she felt helpless under his scrutiny. "I… I was bored," she blurted the first thing that came to mind. She almost facepalmed in front of him even though she was telling the truth."Hmm…" he crossed his arms and continued to scrutinize her face as if searching for the truth… or lie. Thalia's eyes trailed his arms. Through his thick suit, she could see the outline of his bulging muscles and her eyes fed on them before she snapped out of it."I really was just bored and