Disguised Vengeance

Chapter 21

Sorry for the delay. I appreciate all the apple-sized cherries :) Thank you to everyone for supporting my story. Do vote and comment if you like! 

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Catherine leaped into a tall hedge when she heard Chris’s voice.

It had been exactly nine days since he kissed her. The familiar voice sent a sharp pang through her heart, bringing back fond memories of their lifelong friendship. An image of them ballroom dancing painted the back of her eyelids. Chris was sixteen and she was twelve. The dance instructor had instructed Catherine to balance a stack of books on her head while Chris twirled her around. The books had fallen on Chris’s feet and he had spent the rest of the hour hobbling around in pain.

“See to it that everything is as planned, Sir Hamish” Chris commanded with authority. His voice broke Catherine out of her reverie.

“Aye, Captain.”

Catherine held her breath as the pair made their way toward her hiding spot. Her heartbeat accelerated with each step they took. Panicking, Catherine dug through her mind for a reasonable excuse in case they discovered her among the leaves and thorns. Admiring the roses? Avoiding a crazy bee? There were neither roses nor bees in the middle of winter.

Through the thick bush, she caught a glimpse of Chris. His eye bags were so heavy it looked as if someone had punched him in both eyes. She yearned to reach out and pull him into a warm embrace. He was so close, yet so far. Tears of anger and longing prickled at the back of her eyes.

She watched him disappear behind a large pillar and was left staring at nothing.

“What are you doing in a rose bush?” A deep, masculine voice that had grown increasingly familiar startled her from behind.

The rose hedge served as an elegant, natural divider that separated the back of the palace from the barracks. Catherine twisted around to look for the source of his voice, wincing as her hair, dress and sleeves caught onto the branches and thorns.

“I was looking for Jase,” she replied simply. She had indeed been looking for Jase, until she heard Chris’s voice.

“You were looking for me in the rose bush? Were we playing hide and seek?”

Catherine smirked. “I wasn’t looking for you. I was referring to Jase the Tortoise.”

Jase rolled his eyes. A genuine smile graced his face.  

For the past nine days, they had been enjoying each other’s company. With each passing day, Jase smiled more easily in her presence. During those fleeting moments, the shadow that constantly darkened his face would vanish, but never for long. His mask would return, tougher and harder, until she cracked it once again.

“You want to take a stroll in the palace gardens?” Catherine asked. Spending some time together – as friends – had quickly become part of their daily routine.

In response, Jase reached for her hand.

And froze midway.

His eyes stayed fixated on the space between their hands – hers limp by her side and his outstretched at an angle. Jase wished with all the remaining fragments of his heart that he wasn’t born a prince. He would still have parents to love him, a home to return to, and a grandmother to pamper him.

But he was born as the Prince of Esyria. He was also orphaned and homeless. He could not kiss a girl, smile at her or hold her hand without experiencing gut-wrenching guilt. Not if she was the daughter of his sworn enemy. Not when he wanted her father dead.