The Princess of England

Roselle went to the hospital to see James mostly alone. The reason why it was 'mostly' alone was because the army soldiers followed her wherever she went to protect her from any dangers she could encounter. It was comforting since there was a lot of things she was afraid of encountering, but at the same time, she really wanted to be able to walk around without the need for a bodyguard.

She approached James's room, and the English royal guards checked her for weapons. They gave the all clear.

"Clean," said the guard. "You may come in once James is finished seeing his current visitor."

"Oh . . ." She nodded. "Right."

Current visitor? The longer she stood there waiting, the more intrigued she became. Who was visiting James? A friend, perhaps? Family? She'd never had the opportunity to get a look at the king's private life before. Five minutes turned to ten, which turned to an thirty, which turned to an hour. Just who was in there, and what were they talking about?

Eventually, the door opened, and a girl walked out. Her ebony hair was neatly tied up in a bun, her skin was fair, and her eyes were the lightest shade of blue Roselle had ever seen. She held herself tall and proud. The guards seemed to sweat upon her presence. Roselle had never seen this girl before on TV nor in person, but she knew exactly who that girl was: Princess Skylar I of England. James's sister.

The public didn't know what the princess looked like, but they knew her name and that she was eighteen years of age. For unknown reasons, her identity had been kept under wraps and the amount of information made public was limited.

Skylar glanced Roselle's way, and her expression was observant and keen. Why was the princess staring at her so hard? Roselle tried to remember that she'd dealt with people of higher authority than this girl, but it didn't help. Something about her was . . . off. Her authority was present and exuding, even through just a mere glance. Why did she feel this way? What was it about this eighteen-year-old that caused Roselle to shake in her boots and fear for her life?

"Hello, hairdresser," Skylar said, not even bothering to smile. She looked as if she was hardly five feet, but she still stood tall.

Roselle gulped. "You know who I am?"

"Of course I do. I know you know who I am as well." She stepped closer. Perhaps even too close, as if she were comfortable with Roselle even though they'd just met. "You were the girl that my brother risked his life for."

"Oh . . . Yeah . . . I'm really sorry about that." Her heart raced. Was that it? Did Skylar have disdain for her because James got shot because of her? What was this girl's angle? What was her game?

Skylar circled around her, eying her up and down. "Not to worry. It happens."

"Oh . . . Glad you understand."

Out of nowhere, the princess grabbed a lock of Roselle's hair, eyeing it, causing Roselle to paralyze herself in shock. The princess continued smoothening the lock with her fingers and wrapped a finger around the wavy ends, as if testing the authenticity of the curls.

"You have such nice hair," Skylar said. "As expected of a hairdresser." She locked eyes on Roselle, and held it for a long time. Her expression was still straight and serious. She took her own hair out of her bun, allowing her own locks to drop. It was waist-length and wavy, just like Roselle's. She grabbed a bundle of it and held it to her. "Here, feel mine."

The hairdresser gasped. "Um, no thanks. I'm okay."

"Feel it," Skylar said. She wasn't harsh about it, but it was obvious that it was a command.

Roselle slowly reached out her hand to touch Skylar's hair, keeping a keen eye on her to study her expression. The princess remained expressionless. Roselle felt the hair with just her index finger, touching it only hard enough to be able to describe it. "Yours is soft too," she said, almost whispering.

"Not as soft as yours though." Skylar tilted her head. "You're so pretty, Roselle. I can see why my brother risked his life to save you."

What was this whole thing?! Was it a power move?! Was it plastic energy?! Was Skylar going to kill her in her sleep?! She spent a good moment thinking about every single little thing the princess could secretly be up to, and her mind's imagination laced her with anxiety. She already somehow knew that this girl would be a problem.

Skylar finally moved out of the way. "You can see James now." Finally, the princess let out a crack of what seemed to be a smile, but it wasn't warm or inviting. It was one of those psychotic smiles that a plotter would wear. "I hope to see you again soon."

Roselle rushed into James's room so fast that you could practically hear the woosh.

* * *

James was reading a book, but when he laid eyes on Roselle, he put it down and gave her his undivided attention. "Well, it's about time you came to see me, little rose." He gave a half-smile. "Though I must say, it would've been polite if you'd seen me sooner. Perhaps I'm putting my pride on the line by saying so, but if I'm being truthful, I've been longing for you to visit me my entire time here." He pouted. "Oh, how rude of you, little rose. Ten days without a single visit."

Roselle sat on the chair next to him. "I'm really sorry I didn't stop by," she said. "I was . . ." She wanted to say she was having a mental breakdown those days, but could she really say that to the person who had saved her life? He was right. She should have visited. "I'm sorry . . ."

She wept. Great. The last thing she needed was to have another cry-fest, especially in front of James.

"Stop crying," James said. "I was only teasing you." He sighed. "Oh, peasant. You're so sensitive."

Roselle jumped on him and gave him a warm embrace. "I promise that I'll come and visit you more, okay?"

James hugged her back, stroking her hair. He chuckled. "My, what would the president say if he knew you were having such physical contact with me?"

She pulled out of the hug. "We decided that we shouldn't be together for now." She sniffled. "Being together is too dangerous."

The king heaved a sigh. "My, that's terrible news. My condolences to your unblossomed romance with his excellency. When you say 'for now', what does that mean exactly?"

"In eight years when he's not president anymore."

"That's quite a while. Could you wait that long? Eight years is nearly a decade. You two could both have a drastic transformation in that time and become entirely new people by the time his two terms are up."

Roselle shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that I'm . . . lonely . . ."

James took a moment to study her expression, then he backed off. "As am I."

"That girl that was in here just now was Princess Skylar, right? Your sister?"

He nodded. "Correct. I don't know if you could exactly call her the aid to my solitude, however. We were close once upon a time, but in the recent years when I took the throne, we've grown apart. I wonder if she resents me for it. Anyhow, she came in here asking me questions about how to be a ruler. She'll be taking my place as regent temporarily while I recover."

"Do you really trust her to take the throne?"

He raised a brow. "What do you mean by that?"

Roselle searched her mind for an excuse. "I mean, she's young . . ." What she really wanted to say was, 'she's crazy.'

"Well, despite her youth, she's always excelled in academics and other various things. Some may even say she's a prodigy. I'm not ashamed to admit that she's always been more extraordinary than me." He chuckled. "She does share my blood, after all."

"What is she like as a person?"

"Well, if I'm considered to be blunt, she's subtle. She's nearly impossible to read, even for me. I want things upfront and served to me on a silver platter. She's tactful and can play the long game with what she wants for years. In addition to that, she's brutal. I may be known as a narcissistic king who's difficult to work with with a raging attitude, but compared to her, I'm benevolent." His expression became serious for a moment. "She really is quite the hunter when it comes to things she's after."

Her expression went blank. Roselle bobbed her head a few times. "Uh, huh! Good to know!" She leaned in and whispered. "So, when's she leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Right . . ." She needed to get out of there before Skylar tried to see her again, so she got up. "It was nice seeing you again, James."

"Leaving so soon?"

"I just realized I have to take care of a few things, but I promise I'll come back tomorrow."

He nodded. "Very well. See you then."

* * *

When Roselle left James's room, she practically ran out of the hospital in fear of bumping into Skylar again. She got in her car (with the army soldiers) and zipped back home. Finally, she was safe.

At least she thought she was, but there was Princess Skylar sitting in the living room upon her arrival.