?Chapter 0617


    Anna''s words stayed with me all through the night. I was haunted by them, even as I eventually drifted off to sleep on the air mattress.


    Was I truly considering the King''s demand because I wanted what was best for the country? Or was I simply hiding, pushing off responsibility to retum to a life of normalcy?


    Bridget would make a lousy queen. I knew that.


    Anyone would be a better choice.


    Even... me?


    Could I be queen?


    I hadbeled the idea as oundish straight from the start, so much so that I barely considered it even when I tried to think critically about it.


    I was constantly making excuses: I knew so little of politics. I knew so little of royalty. Everyone looked down on me. No one would take me seriously.


    But these were just excuses, I was realizing now. Anna was right. I was running away.


    I needed to do better. I needed to think about how I could actually contribute as a queen, and showcase those abilities. No more hiding. No more putting myself down.


    If I wanted a family with Nichs, I had to earn it.


    The thoughts and worries stayed with me even when I woke up again. I had a dreamless sleep, though I felt rested. My body must have decided enough was enough and shut off my brain.


    I was resolved to lie on the air mattress until Elva or Anna woke first, but a knock sounded on the door. It was soft at first, but with a growing urgency the longer no one answered.


    I wasn''t sure who it could be. It seemed too early for the camera crew, and Anna hadn''t said she''d been expecting guests.


    Crumbling, Anna emerged from her room and slunk herself toward the front door.


    "I''ming! I''ming!" she shouted, when the knocking continued. "Someone better be dead, to get me up this early."


    She unlocked and pulled open the door. The grumbling immediately ceased.


    "Oh, shit," she said instead.


    Worried now, I pulled myself out of bed. From the living room, I could easily see the front door. The apartment was still dark, with ck out curtains hanging over the window, but the hallway light was on. So I could clearly see Nichs standing in the doorway.


    I rushed to stand up. I was self-conscious in my pajamas, but Nichs had seen me at my worst. I tried not to worry as I hurried forward.


    "Piper," Anna said as I came closer. "I think it''s for you."


    "Let him in, Anna," I teased. "Can''t have a prince standing in the hallway. What will the neighbors think?"


    Nichs smiled when he saw me. "They''ll surely think, there goes the neighborhood."


    Anna backed up and invited Nichs inside. I flipped on the kitchen light as he entered and we both went in there.


    "I''ll keep an eye on Elva..." Anna said. She was looking at Nichs with wide eyes. I can''t imagine she ever expected to have an actual prince on her doorstep. "So you two can talk. "Thanks," I said.


    Nichs nodded. "It''s a pleasure to meet you..."


    "Anna," I told him, when Anna just looked at him wide-eyed.


    "Anna," he finished with a smile.


    Anna immediately began to giggle, like it was an impulse, or a reflex.


    Nichs grinned wider, pleased with himself.All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    Anna backed out of the room. "Yes... uh.. same!" She fled. "No one is ever going to believe me," she said when she was outside the door.


    Alone now, Nichs turned to me. "Piper," he said.


    "I missed you," I said at once, my own reflex. I couldn''t help myself. It had been less than a day, but his absence had been noted. His presence had been missed. I hated that I couldn''t call for him if I needed him.


    We''d only been apart a short time, but he had been so far away.


    It was reassuring having him near. It calmed some part of myself, deep down, that felt strung out by the distance. That part of me hummed happily now.


    Nichs held open his arms for me and I immediately went within them. He closed his arms around me and I felt like home again.


    We stood like that for a very long moment. Out in the living room, I heard Anna waking Elva and shuffling around, cleaning no doubt. She''d worry about having a royal in her apartment.


    I kind of worried about it too. What must Nichs think, being in my former home? It was smaller than anything he was used too. It even seemed smaller to me than it had been before, having lived in the pce for so long.


    Undoubtedly, he had questions. I braced myself for his judgement as we pulled back.


    Whatever harshness I had expected to see in his eyes was not there. Honestly, I should have known better. Nichs had never been the judgmental type. He was the kind of guy who worried about everyone, and helped out at the orphanage in his spare time.


    As he gazed around this ce that I used to live, he seemed more curious than critical.


    "Will you give me the tour?" he asked.


    I looked around. "This... is the kitchen." It was small, but it had all of the major amenities. Stove, fridge, oven, coffee pot. Not much to report on there.


    When I led him out into the living room, we could hear Elva and Anna talking in Anna''s room. Elva was asking Anna if she was a princess.


    Nichs nced around the living room with interest. His gaze snagged on the boxes in the corner. "What are those?"


    I shrugged. "That''s my whole life."


    Nichs looked at me sideways.


    I quickly exined. "Anna had to get a new roommate. Which, I need to talk to you about thatter. But, with the new roommate, Anna had to pack up all me and Elva''s stuff. This is... it." Nichs walked closer to one of the boxes, the one that had held Elva''s toys. He spotted one of the books that had been on top, that was now set to the side.


    He lifted it. My heart dropped. I hadn''t noticed before. It was our yearbook from when we had been at the Academy - when we''d been in love.


    As he opened it, a loose photo fell out of the book and fluttered to the ground. Coming closer, I grabbed it and we looked at it together.


    It was a photo of us from back then, smiling as we tilted our heads toward each other.


    We both looked so happy back then. Peaceful.


    "This was my favorite picture of us," I said, dipping my head to hide my embarrassment. "I never could part with it."


    "I loved your smile," Nichs said, looking at the photo. "It was the first thing about you that drew me in."


    "Oh?"


    He smiled. "You were so pretty back then... Though nothingpares to the beauty of the woman you are now."


    "Nick..."


    Nichs set the yearbook aside and stepped closer to me.


    "I know I shouldn''t be here," he said. "I tried to stay away. But I couldn''t hold myself back from seeing you. I''m drawn to you, Piper. Like we''re connected to a single thread. It hurts me to be too far from you."


    He felt the same as I, then. That things weren''t quite right without the other.


    Nichs cupped my face in his hands and leaned down and kissed me.


    Nearby, a door opened.