Checkmate

Chapter 8

     My heart was pounding as I stood next to Flynn. We entered the dining room together, leaving everyone in the room staring at us. Seated at the dinner table were all the princesses and the King and Queen, and Marisa stood off to the side. Everyone seemed confused by our entrance and I glanced at Flynn who was bouncing up and down, ready to burst. He was smiling and my eyes lingered on him, wondering why he wasn't scared like me.

      "Hello everyone," Flynn said. "I have an announcement to make."

     "What is it?" Queen Astoria asked, her eyes narrowing.

     Flynn looked to me then. He took my hand in his, holding it gently and he smiled. His eyes were full of joy and my heart skipped a beat. In awe, all I could do was stare at him.

     "Helena and I are now dating," Flynn said, looking back to everyone. "We made it official yesterday."

     "What!" Natasha exclaimed.

     Everyone's eyes flew wide. Their jaws dropped as they looked between Flynn and I, looking struck. The King looked annoyed and the Queen looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

     "How could you date your servant?" Saoirse asked, frowning. "Why did you choose her?"

     "We grew up together. We were friends and now we're lovers," Flynn said. "And besides, Helena is beautiful. It's not hard to believe."

     Flynn shot me a small smile and I blushed. Lowering my eyes, my heart pounded and I cursed myself. This was all pretend. Stop feeling this way.

     "How did this all begin?" King Orion asked, blinking. He seemed dazed, lost and confused. "How did this ever come to be?"

     "Like I said, Helena and I grew up together and we fell in love as our friendship progressed," Flynn said, smiling. "A few days ago I realized how I felt for her. And yesterday I confessed my feelings and Helena returned them. So now, we're together."

     Flynn's eyes glimmered as he kept his eyes on his father. King Orion kept his eyes on Flynn and I gulped. Holding onto Flynn's hand tighter, I fought off the urge to cower.

     "And you're sure of your feelings?" Queen Astoria asked. "You really love Helena?"

     The Queen still looked like she was about to faint. Flynn was quiet for a moment and everyone's eyes were on Flynn. Even my eyes were on him as Flynn just stared back at his mother, a look of annoyance on his face.

     "Yes mother," Flynn said. "I'm in love with Helena. And I can't imagine loving anyone else."

     The princesses gasped and the Queen closed her eyes momentarily. My heart skipped a beat. Flushing, I grew warm at Flynn's words. He said it so confidently that even I would have been fooled.

     "Okay," King Orion said. No longer did he look annoyed, which left me relieved. "I see."

     The princesses all grumbled. Some of them shot me dirty looks, their eyes full of jealousy and hate. Gulping, I just stood there, my heart pounding. I didn't know what the next few months would bring me.

     "Okay," Queen Astoria said. "Congrats to both of you. I hope you two are happy."

     The Queen smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. And as I stared at her, I wondered what the future would bring us. Flynn looked ecstatic next to me, beaming so bright it was radiant, but I stood there in silence. I had a bad feeling this wouldn't go well.

*****

      Laying in bed, I thought about what happened earlier. I thought about the princesses, of the Queen and King, and of how somehow, we fooled them all. From the way the princesses hated me and the way the Queen looked like she'd faint, I knew they all feared that somehow, Flynn had fallen in love with me. That for some reason, Flynn wanted to date his pathetic servant.

     There was a knock on my door and I jumped. Sitting up, I brushed my skirt and got up and opened the door. And upon seeing Flynn there, grinning, my eyes widened.  

     "Can I come in?" Flynn asked.

     "Sure," I said.

     Flynn stepped inside and he walked to the centre of my room. It was a small room. All it contained was a bed and mirror table, and everything was white. Glancing around my room, I flushed when I realized this was the first time Flynn had ever been to my room. And it was so plain compared to his grand room, full of golden colours and red velvet bedsheets.

     "Can you believe it!" Flynn exclaimed. "We fooled everyone! Everyone thinks we're in love."

     He was beaming. HIs eyes shone with excitement and I smiled, glad to see him happy. After seeing him mope for so long, it was nice to see him finally happy.

     "I can't believe it," I admitted. "But I think they believe us. Half the people in that room seemed like they were on the verge of a heart attack."

     Flynn laughed. His eyes softened and my heart grew warm.

     "Yeah, don't worry. It'll take time, but we'll prove to them that we're in love," Flynn said. "The more time we spend together, the more they'll believe it. We just have to put on a good show."

     "True," I whispered.

     Flynn paced around my room, his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed deep in thought and I watched him.

     "I feel like my parents are going to be the hardest to fool," Flynn admitted. "Even at dinner, they seemed unsure."

     "Yeah," I said. "Well, more so they looked like they didn't want to believe it."

     "True."

     Flynn stopped walking. His eyes landed on me, full of emotions and I gulped. And when he stepped towards me, his eyes locked on mine and his mouth dropping open a little, I stepped back, stunned.

     "What are you doing?" I asked.

     "What?" Flynn asked, confused.

     His eyebrows were furrowed and I blushed madly. Looking away, embarrassment rushed through me.

     "Nothing, sorry," I said. "Anyways, I guess we'll see where this takes us. Right now everything seems to be working out though."

     Flynn didn't reply. My eyes went back to him and struck, I saw that he was staring at me. His eyes were gentle, full of a pain that caught me off guard. Stunned, all I could do was stare back, wondering what was going on.

     "Helena," Flynn said. "I..."

     Flynn drifted off. He looked conflicted. There was a war in his eyes, some sort of battle he seemed to be losing. Gulping, I wondered what he was trying to say.

     "Thank you," Flynn said. "Thank you for helping me. I don't know how I'll repay you for everything you've done for me, but I will somehow. I was going crazy and with this, I'm confident I'll be fine eventually."

     "No problem," I said, bowing. "I'm here to serve you. That's my job."

     Flynn winced and my eyes widened. He looked away, his jaw clenching.

     "I have to go now," Flynn muttered. "I'll see you later, Helena."

     Flynn walked off, not bothering to look at me. He exited my room and I stared after him, feeling uneasy. Something felt off. I wondered if I said something wrong and unease churned inside of me. But knowing there was no point in overthinking anything Flynn did, I jumped in bed and let sleep consume me. And as I slept, I dreamt of Flynn and what we could have been if our lives were different.