The Jewel of the Five Kingdoms

James Raymond Elliot

  A/N: Something went seriously wrong with my Watpad app and it accidentally published my last chapter without me actually finishing it! I'm sorry if it didn't make any since... I have completed it and posted it so if you need to go back and read it please do!

Nella's mother was about to hit me with her basket (which would be quite embarrassing in front of Nella and her siblings) but luckily Nella jumped between the two of us before she could.

"Who is this?" Her mother yelled on the verge of hysteria, pointing at me with a terrified expression on her face as she grabbed for Dylan to come closer to her.

"Mama! Please understand! I found him hurt! I couldn't let him die! He had the badge of a soldier... and I thought of Papa," she turns to look at me, her eyes sad.

I frown, taking her hand in mine "Your father?" I ask.

Nella nods slowly. "When I looked down and saw you in the river...  All I could see was my Father." She turns to her mom, shoulders back in confidence. "I couldn't let him die."

Nella's mother was quiet for a count of five, and I hold my breath anxiously. I am not sure how I would  react if I were in her shoes. She exhales deeply though her nose. "He's the prince," she comments in a small voice. Nella and her siblings nod.

"Nella, they will take him away... and will want an explanation of how he got here," she says, looking at her middle daughter with terrified eyes.

Nella nods quickly. "I-I know... and I want to leave with him," she responds firmly.

Her mother was quiet again. "You nursed him back to health... You saved a life, Nella." Her mother takes Nella's free hand in her own. "I couldn't be more proud of you, my love."

Nella laughs in relief, and thanks her quietly. Her mother's eyes shimmered with tears which made me slightly panicked and confused. I never was good with crying women.

The two embraced each other. I stood to the side and let them have their moment together. It made my heart heavy as I thought of my future reunion with my own mother. I am so very close.

When they part, her mother looks at me with an expression that was difficult for me to decipher. She is waiting for an explanation on my part.

I clear my throat. "I love your daughter very much, ma'am," I say glancing at Nella, the joy in her eyes filled me with strength. "I promise she will be safe with me, and when we return to my palace I will immediately send for you all to come join us."

The family gasps collectively, and Nella's mother suddenly embraced me in a bone cracking hug.

When she pulled apart she was hastily wiping tears from her eyes. "I know you love each other, I recognize that look from the one in my husband's eyes when we were together," she says in a whisper.  She places a calloused hand on my cheek, and smiles softly. She and Nella share that same grin. "Go. Write for us when it's safe. I will try to buy you time to escape."

I nod in determination, ready for the escape. Nella hugs Dylan and Marygold goodbye, promising to write when it was safe for them to join us.

I take up Nella's hand in my own once again, grabbing a crutch in the other. I figured I would need it for getting used to balancing with the prosthetic foot, and I will need it to move more efficiently.