THE WEAK SPOT

Liam’s POV

I knew that I couldn’t demonstrate any kind of possessiveness towards the princess, but I must confess that right in that moment my blood boiled in my veins seeing that Reichart guy try kissing her. I swallowed that pill hard and fought to keep my composure.

When he finally left the corridor, I noticed the princess looking at me. She probably knew that I'd seen them, and she looked as pale as a ghost.

We weren’t alone in the corridor, though. I had a couple of other guards watching the princess’ quarters. She saw that we couldn’t speak freely. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a fish trying to breathe on the surface, and then she opened her bedroom’s door and closed it after herself.

I was boiling in anger, and I couldn’t do a thing. Maybe she had a plan and was making me jealous so she could contrive on whatever plan she had to get rid of him. I had to keep it cool and preclude her from doing so, because we never knew what kind of future effects these ideas could have.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the door was opened once again, and Lucille put her head out through it. She looked at me and told me: “Private Caldwell, Your Highness wishes to see you.” I nodded at her command and followed her through the door as a puppy follows its owner.

I got into her room, and Lucille practically vanished in the closet. Seriously, she escaped as if she was a bolt. The princess was sitting on her chair in the corner where her office desk was. She looked at me expectantly, but at the same time she looked… scared.

Suddenly, I didn't want to talk about all that anymore. I just wanted to be sullen in a corner. I realized that there was little that she could say that would help me to cope with the scene I`ve seen a few minutes before.

She took a deep breath and started: “Liam, I…”

I raised my hand to make her stop and told her: “It really doesn't matter, princess.”

Maybe something in my face told her the opposite because she continued: “I know it does, Liam. It is not fair to you. It is not fair to me, and I wanted to explain…”

“No, it is not fair to both of us, but what is the point of complaining or getting into a fight with you because of that snob of your fiancé? You can’t escape your fate, at least not for now, and unfortunately, I can’t give him a good punch in the nose, so we are stuck in this situation, princess,” I told her.

She realized something at that moment and decided to go through another path: “Why do you always call me princess?”

“Because it is what you are.” I told her.

“No! This is my title, and some people could think you are being gentle with me, but I know you, Liam! Since you found out who I was, you didn’t call me anything else. I have a name, you know, right?” She crossed her arms in her chest, in a conflicting posture.

“I know you do, princess.” I told her.

“Then call me Caroline, or Care, whatever!” She exclaimed to me.

“I won’t.” I answered her stubbornly.

“Why not? You used to call me Olivia or even Liv! Why can’t you use my name now?” She asked me exasperatedly.

“Because I thought that Olivia would be mine!” I exclaimed and continued: “I was ready to ask you to marry me! To be mine! But now, I know that I love a girl that probably will end up with someone else! I can’t call her by her name as if she was mine!” I told her. Truth be told, I was trying to protect my heart on this matter, because I knew that when the time came, and all was said and done, she would be in someone else's arms, and I was the only one who would lose with that.

“Damn it! You are so stubborn sometimes!” She exclaimed, frustrated.

I gave her a small smile and told her: “You say that because you’re not facing a mirror. In this matter, we are two birds of a feather, honey.”

She turned her back to me and took a deep breath. I didn’t know if it was to calm herself down or if she did this to hold her laugh. A few moments later, she turned back at me again: “All right. You don’t want to talk about my farewell to Stephan. Let’s talk about something else.” She looked at me expectantly once again.

I shrugged and murmured: “Well, you are the one who called me here, princess. What else do you want to talk about?” I asked her.

“I want to talk about Mr. Guttenberg’s visit. Do you know if he is already in town?” She asked me.

That was the moment that reminded me that I planned to go to town later tonight to know more about the revolutionaries’ plans: “I actually don’t know yet, but I intend to go to town to find out when and how Guttenberg will be brought here,” I told her.

She nodded and murmured: “Perfect. I might have a way to bring him inside the palace. Lucille found a way to go in and out without being noticed. The only problem is that if I let them in, they could probably let more of them in, and some people in their group are not willing to… have a dialogue,” she told me.

I knew perfectly well what she was talking about. If they knew a weak spot in the castle, this spot could be used to invade and make a huge mess inside the walls without any suspicions.

“You are right,” I told her, and then I asked her: “Now what? You wouldn’t be allowed to leave the castle, and you can’t talk to them if they don’t come in.”

“Lucy!” The princess exclaimed.

“Yes, Care,” Lucille came from the enormous closet.

“Do you and Liam know a few soldiers that could help us without making a lot of questioning?” The princess looked at us expectantly.

“Well, I assume that Jake could help me. He is one of my roommates and is a good guy,” I told them. The princess nodded satisfied.

We both looked at Lucille, and she blushed like a tomato. A moment later, she murmured: “Well, there is this soldier that I’ve been seeing for a while now. I believe that he could help us.”

The princess’ face was priceless: “When were you planning to tell me?” She asked Lucille.

“Well, when the relationship became more serious,” Lucille explained, embarrassed.

“We can discuss this later, because I would like to know everything there is to know,” the princess told her friend.

Lucille nodded in agreement, happy to end that discussion, at least for a few moments. “So, what do you want me to ask him to do?” was the next question Lucille made.

“Just to meet us tomorrow night. Until then, Liam will come back with more information about Guttenberg’s arrival, and we can come up with a plan to bring revolutionaries inside the palace, and then return them without them discovering that weak spot,” the princess explained to Lucille, and she nodded, understanding.

“I will talk to Jake too. We will have men enough to protect you and protect the secrecy of the weak spot,” I guarantee to her.

“That’s all I’m asking,” she told me.