Caught

Chapter 18: The Real Kingdom

"We should be back before the week's end." I tell George with a smile.

He nods, "I'll shall see to it that everything is in order when you come back sire."

"Thank you George, and you have made sure all the papers are to be sent to me and not to my mother?" I asked quietly so he could only hear.

"Yes sire, everything is taken care of." He tells with a wink. I take his hand in mine and thank him one more time. I let go of his hand and make my way to the car. Haley already waiting for me. We decided to leave in the middle of then night so my mother wouldn't find out.

I didn't even tell my sisters. This was something that had to be done. If I'm going to be King I need to look at my kingdom and see if I can fix it.

I get into the car and smile at Haley. I take her hand in mine and look at her, "According to my mother you and I are doing things different and she doesn't like it." I say with a smile.

"What are we doing different?" She asks as the car started to move.

I shrug, "I waited four years for you instead of taking you right away. I let you visit your family before we left, and I'm letting you be part of the sign offs. This is the first time in a long time that someone is taking their time. These rules need a modern touch and I think we're the ones that are going to put a lot of changes in." I explain to her.

She leans up and kisses my cheek and puts a hand on my other cheek, "You're going to make a difference and it's going to be amazing. I'm here with you every step of the way."

I lean down and our lips met softly. I could kiss her forever. I'm going at her pace, I wanted to deepen the kiss, but I remembered we were in a car. I gently pull away and I kiss her forehead.

"How slow do you want to take this?" I ask in almost a whisper as I rest my forehead against hers.

She gently pulled away from me and touched my cheek, "I wouldn't mind if we stayed in the same bed. I just want to have you near, the last few nights I haven't slept because I just want to be next to you."

I take her hand in mine and nod, "I'll make the arrangements on the way. We have a long drive ahead of us. Get some rest. I'll wake you up when we get to the hotel." I kiss her forehead one more time as the car started to move.

I put my arm around her and she leaned into me. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. I called the hotel to cancel her room but to keep mine room and Jade's room.

I needed to see the Kingdom. I need to make sure my people are being taken care of. I have a feeling my mother is in on something and it has my brother's stench all over it.

Five hours later we reached our hotel. I didn't sleep much, but I don't need to right now. Okay, maybe a little nap. Long story short, checked in, Haley and I slept for an hour, and now we are at the marketplace.

I just had to make face and see what's around. I can hear people greeting me, but the one thought stood out. Someone was in trouble, but not in a danger sense. I followed the thought with Haley next to me and came to a small fruit stand with an elderly woman.

"Hello," I say softly with a smile, she looked up at me and her eyes widened. She started to stand up, but I stopped her. Instead I kneeled down to her level and took her hand.

"Your Highness, I never thought I would see the day." She tells me with a weak smile.

"I heard your call, what can I do?" I ask her giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Her kind brown eyes looked into mine. She leaned in close, "Look beyond the surface. They need your help."

"Who needs my help?" I could hear her heartbeat rise, I could feel her fear. She was scared. She looked around making sure she no one was looking.

"Do you see any children?" She askes. I stood up not letting go of her hand. I looked around and she was right, no children. I kneel back down and kiss the back of her hand softly.

"I'll find them." I whisper and let go of her hand. I reach into my pocket and took out my wallet, I gave her all the cash I had. She had the smallest stand. She could use more than the rest of them.

"Jade, find out where she lives and make sure she's set up for the rest of her life. I want her to be comfortable with what ever life she has left." Jade nods and I take Haley's hand.

"There's something going on, something that runs deeper than the laundry mats. I don't like it. She's right, we need to look in the underground." I explain to her as we started to walk.

"Do you think your brother has something to to do with it?" She asks.

I shrugged, "Maybe, I know he wants to build his army to overthrow me. He'll take any one he can get. This has been going on for years. I was gone for too long. This isn't my real kingdom, it never has been. It's been in the control of mother. I think she's working with my brother."

"How do we find out?" Haley asked.

I stop and look around. I watch as the people went about their day. Shopping for groceries, trying some samples of food, even laughing with the vendors. I was gone for too long. I should have came back sooner.

"We're not going back home until we find out. I hope you're ready to do a lot of traveling." I said looking at her with a small smile.

She pulled me closer and wrapped her arms around my waist, "As long as I'm with you I'll be okay." I smile and wrapped my arms around her.

I need to find the children, I need to stop my brother.