A PEACEFUL PLACE

"Where are you taking me, Darren, could you please slow down a bit?" Adriele said nervously to Darren as he made the horse go very fast.

"Why are you scared of horses, I noticed this last time too," Darren asked keeping the fast pace

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am terrified of them" She replied trying to catch her breath, she was becoming very anxious already

Heeding her words he started to slow down and slowly her tensed shoulders began to relax.

Darren got off the horse and helped her get down but her feet were a little wobbly so she lost her balance and just squatted on the ground

"Are you okay?" Darren asked a little worried, her face looked so red right now, maybe she got sick he thought

"No, I'm not. What were you thinking when I said, I was terrified of them" Adriele cried out, she was sick of Darren's attitude and actions

Darren, on the other hand, seemed relaxed with her outburst, she had been acting too much like a "good submissive wife" for his liking, he wanted a challenge and it will be fun to break her walls. He grinned maliciously thinking about it which did not go unnoticed by Adriele and she felt like choking him to death.

"Get up let's go," Darren said taking the reins of the horse and walking along the desolate road

"Don't tell me we are walking?" Adriele asked not wanting to believe it

"Yes, you don't like horses, so we will walk from here on," He said nonchalantly without stopping or looking back at her

"But I am not okay," Adriele said as a matter of fact.

"If you have enough strength to yell at me, your husband and future King then I think you are strong enough to walk"

"Argh" Adriele was fuming angry at him

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"Did you find her?" Killian asked Harley

"No, your highness" She replied,

"Where has she vanished to, she is not yet very familiar with this kingdom what if something happened to her" Dennis who saw Harley searching for Adriele

"No, she's the future Queen, I think she will be okay if they know her identity, right?" Harley said worriedly

"No" Killian and Dennis chorused

"What?" she asked confused

"Her identity should be the last thing she should reveal if she was in danger, don't you know the royal family has enemies," Dennis said to her

"And not everybody agrees with the treaty, some people are very bitter. Her identity as of now is her bane" Killian said trying to figure out where she was

"What happened," Killian asked the guard he put to watch Adriele

"Your Highness, Her Highness left with Crown Prince Darren a while ago" The guard answered

"Darren was here?" Killian asked

"Yes, Your Highness" He replied

"Phewww, that sly girl, she's just having fun with her man eeh," Harley said

"You can go back" Killian dismissed the guard

"Seems like she's not in danger, so I'm going back to entertain my ladies," Dennis said and left them

"Tsk, I can't believe dad even believed you could replace Derrick just in case," Harley thought out loud, which Killian couldn't help but laugh

"He will one day grow up and you are going to miss this carefree side of his, you know" Killian stated

"Nah, I doubt he will ever grow up, and even if he does why would he lose his carefree side, you seem okay," She said to him

"Hmmm, that's just what you think," he thought

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"How much longer do we have to go," Adriele asked Darren

"We don't have to anymore, we reached minutes ago but you weren't paying attention," Darren said

"What do you mean, you did not tell me we had arrived at wherever you were taking me" Adriele answered back. Looking up she saw Darren gazing into the body of water in front of them

"Darren? Where exactly is *here*" Adriele asked looking around, there were no houses, it was just a large lake with the thick forest around it

"My favorite place, I like to come here when I am bored, angry, happy. Actually, I think I come here every day or for any emotion" He said not taking his gaze away from the water

"So, you just come here and stare at the lake?" Adriele asked

"Yeah, that's pretty much it" He answered casually

"So you made me walk all the way here to stare at some lake, unbelievable, so unbelievable" Adriele cried out

"Hey, this is not just some lake, this is where your husband goes to have some peace, are you not supposed to be happy I showed you a very special place for me," Darren said grabbing her wrists

"Let go of me," she said yanking her hands off his. "I should be happy that you have a place to get some peace of mind right when my life is a mess because of you," she thought inwardly

"Your Highness, I am honored that you showed me a special place for you, excuse my behavior. I haven't had a decent meal all day and the cold must be messing with my mind" She said, she had no strength to be quarreling with him tonight, it's cold and she is tired

"Why don't you have your coat on, no wonder you are cold"

"Sorry your Highness but you got me out in such a hurry I couldn't get my coat" Adriele replied blaming him for it

Darren took off his jacket and put it over her and she clung to it.

They both stared at the water for a while without speaking to each other. "The water was actually satisfying to watch" Adriele thought.

How the gentle waves went up and down and the reflection of the moon made the water glow in the dark

She remembered how her mom and dad used to waltz under the moon thinking she was asleep and out of their way when in truth she was trying to get extra strawberries from the kitchen without them knowing.

"Hahaha" She laughed out loud remembering the day she was caught by her parents

Darren hearing her laugh turned to stare at her, he had never seen her laugh so genuinely before.

"You were right the lake is peaceful," Adriele said

"Hmmm,"

"Darren"

"Yes, I know I have not properly apologized for what I said, I didn't intentionally wish for your brother's death" Adriele

"I know, don't worry about it, " He said still staring at her.

Adriele turned to meet his gaze on her, she was confused he had never answered her directly before and never accepted an empty apology or thank you. Maybe Killian was right after all,

"But of course, he is right it's his brother" Adriele scolded herself

"Shouldn't we head back now, the others might be looking for us" Adriele suggested

"Yes, it's getting colder anyway" Darren agreed and Adriele started walking back the way they came

"Where are you going to?" Darren asked

"Back to the party or home, I'm just retracing my steps," She said

"Did I tell you I have been coming here since I was five"

"No, you didn't"

"Well now I'm telling you, which five year old will go through all that long distance just to get here," He asked her

"Someone as crazy as you," She thought

"Go this way," He said pointing in the opposite direction and she started walking through it, this road was rougher than the one they came through after a few minutes of walking she realized they were already at the palace, so the lake was just near the palace.

"You can go up," Darren said to her as he wanted to keep the horse.

When walked in front of him he noticed she was limping and there was blood on her dress, notifying a guard to take care of his horse, he went over to her and lifted her bridal style