Chapter 3

            "Jason!" Chloe shrieked, running down the long tan staircase. At the bottom, her socked feet slid along the marble floor. "Get away from me!"

            Jason, Ethan's best friend, trailed on her heels. In his hands he cupped a spider the size of a quarter. "Come on Chlo!" He yelled after her. "It's just a tiny thing! It loves you!"

            The idea of a spider crawling up and down her arms and legs made her shiver. She craned her head behind her, making sure Jason wasn't close enough to—

            Her front slammed into something hard. Chloe slipped, her feet disappearing from under her, and grabbed onto whatever happened to be in her reach. In this case, it was another arm. Both bodies went down and Chloe closed her eyes for the impact. Glass shattered on the floor next to her. Her hip had taken most of the brunt of it and she rubbed at it when she opened her eyes.

            One of the castle's help blinked at her through shocked eyes. Her light blue polo and khakis darkened where water hit and it only took a second for Chloe to notice the bright orange hibiscus flowers draping the floor.

            Chloe looked to the girl on the floor, her mouth open in silent surprise. "I am so sorry." She breathed.

            The girl she'd run into had strawberry blonde hair that had been pulled back into a neat and sleek bun. Her blue eyes were wide, glancing at the mess around her as if she hadn't any clue how she got there. "It's fine. I'm fine." The girl said when she was finally able to speak. She glanced down at her wet shirt and back up to Chloe. Her breath caught when she noticed who she was. A bright flush worked over her cheeks. "Miss Chloe! I am so sorry, this is all my fault." The words gushed out of her mouth. She bit her lip with worry. "Oh, Miss Barbara is going to be furious..."

            Jason stepped near Chloe's hip. "Here, let me help you up."

            Chloe was seconds away from taking his outstretched hand when she remembered. "Get your spidery hands away from me." She warned, then turned an apologetic expression to the girl. "It's completely my fault." She carefully worked her way back to her feet while avoiding the shattered glass crystals. "Here, let me help you."

            The girl's hand felt tiny in Chloe's grip. She pulled her up, half afraid that her skinny arm might just pop out of the socket. "What's your name?" Chloe asked nicely.

            Frazzled didn't even begin to describe how the girl acted. Her eyes darted around the mess on the floor, a note of panic on her features. Chloe swore she kept muttering, "oh no, oh no, oh no..." Over and over under her breath.

            "Hey, it's okay." Jason stepped in. His hands appeared to be free of a spider. Who knows, he might have just thrown it anywhere and now it could be crawling all over—

            She halted that thought.

            "What's your name?" Jason repeated Chloe's question.

            "M-miranda."

            "Hi Miranda." Chloe kicked at a large chunk of glass, scraping it together in a pile carefully with her socked feet. "Don't worry, we will get this taken care of in a heartbeat." She told her, nudging Jason with her elbow. "Jason, go get a broom."

            "What? Why do I gotta—"

            "Dude, just go get a broom." She rolled her eyes.

            Miranda bent down to pick up the fallen flowers. "Miss Barbara is going to fire me." The girl muttered under her breath. Chloe didn't know if Miranda know she could hear her. "Two rules broken already in the first week. Way to go, Mir."

            Chloe patted the girl's shoulder. "You won't be fired. I'll tell Barbara it was my mistake." Barbara had to be the palace worker's lead director. But what broken rules was she talking about?

            The three of them got the mess cleaned up pretty fast as soon as Jason came back with a broom. She didn't even want to know where the hell he put the spider he had. Out of sight, out of mind, she guessed. He'd twisted his red ball cap backwards on his head and started sweeping before Chloe could even say anything.

            Afterward, Miranda clutched the flowers to her chst and held onto them like a lifeline. "Where were those flowers headed anyway?" Chloe asked her.

            Miranda didn't lift her gaze from the orange petals. "They were extras, so Miss Barbara wanted me to take them to the parlor."

            "The parlor?" Chloe hated that stuffy room. "No amount of flowers is going to make that room better. Why don't you take them back home with you?"

            Miranda's head shook, her eyes widened in what appeared to be fear. "Oh no, I simply couldn't."

            Jason and Chloe shared a look. "Yeah you can. It's pretty easy. You just hold onto them, put one step in front of the other and—ow!" Jason cursed as Chloe's elbow landed straight in his gut.

            "Take them." Chloe gave her a warm, persuasive smile. The girl seemed enamored by them anyway. It'd be better for them to be in a position where they could be appreciated rather than just sit in a barely used room.

            Mind made up, she took a step back and gestured at Miranda. "Now, come on. Let's get you another shirt."

            "Miss, I can't possibly—" Miranda gave a tiny yip in surprise as Chloe latched onto her arm and pulled her towards the staircase.

            "It'll be fun." Chloe waved her hand back at Jason. "Jason, you're not invited."

            "What? I wanted to see you guys change." He whined playfully behind her.

            Miranda's cheeks flared pink. "I'm not even changing, stupid." Chloe turned long enough to stick her tongue out at him. "Go find some other entertainment."

            He grumbled something behind her.

            Miranda and Chloe made their way over to the residence wing where Chloe and Ethan shared quarters. Miranda jerked to a stop right at the threshold. Her upper teeth worked at her bottom lip and she glanced back at the hallway where they came from. "Miss Chloe, I'm not allowed to be in this wing."

            "You are now." Chloe shrugged. "If anyone has a problem with it, they can argue with me."

            Ethan found Chloe and Miranda in the middle of an impromptu fashion show an hour later. Right as Chloe urged a hesitant Miranda to do a twirl in one of her gowns, he strolled through the door.

            Chloe barely even noticed him. The only key clue that anyone had walked through the door was the way Miranda blushed scarlet and rushed to cover her chest. Chloe almost laughed...the dress wasn't that low.

            Warm arms wrapped around Chloe's stomach from behind. She knew it was Ethan by the inviting smell of his familiar cologne and the way her Acemark on her forearm tingled and seemed to come alive under her skin. Her shoulders relaxed, the tension in her body loosening.

            Miranda bowed, "Your Highness." She bit her lip as her posture dropped, her head staying lowered.

            "Hey Chlo," Ethan's warm minty breath swept passed her ear. "What'cha doing?"

            "Oh you know, having a fashion show." She told him. "Miranda here needed a new shirt and I got carried away."

            "I—I should get going." Miranda's voice squeaked. "Miss Barbara is probably looking for me." She turned back to the closet to change. "Grab that purple blouse on the right side. It matches well with your pants." Chloe called out.

            "Jason said something about a vase today?" Ethan asked as Miranda left.

            Chloe shrugged. "In my defense, he was the one with the spider."

            She felt Ethan's chest move at her back when he chuckled. "He asked for it then." He rested a hand at her hip. "Why was she in here?"

            "She spilled water on her shirt...er, I spilled water on her shirt. It's only fair that I replace it. Besides, she's pretty cool."

            "She seems pretty shy."

            Another shrug from Chloe. "I think she's just nervous around us. You intimidate people sometimes. Plus, she started this job recently."

            "I intimidate people?" He sounded wounded.

            "Well..." She bit her lip. "Kind of. You're pretty famous. And your title doesn't help."

            Ethan eyed her carefully. "Do I intimidate you?"

            "Not as much anymore." She replied honestly.

            Ethan placed a gentle kiss on her head and stepped back to release her. Chloe immediately wanted to call him back because she felt bereft without his warmth.  Once in front of her, he brushed back some of her long auburn hair, curling it delicately behind her ear. She smiled at him in answer.

            The prince glanced down at his watch. "I've got a surprise for you."

            She cocked her head to the side. "Surprise?"

            "Mmhm." He reached to the night stand and pulled out his Macbook, which he then placed in front of her.

            The screen brightened and asked for a password. After that, his Skype opened.

            "Remember when I first called you?" He asked.

            "Of course." Chloe rolled her eyes playfully. How could she forget? "I was wearing your album shirt. How embarrassing."

            "I thought it was cute...even though at the time I never got to see your face."

            A little window popped up with a very familiar name on it. Chloe barely held in her squeal of joy, a wide grin plastered on her face. "No way." She breathed out.

            Ethan clicked on the answer button and placed the laptop in her lap. He crawled onto the bed farther to curl behind her and pull her to his chest once again.

            "Chichi!"

            "Josh! Oh my gosh, how are you?"

            Josh's mop of blonde hair hit the screen. His smirk had to be just as wide as her grim. The red Train t-shirt contrasted hugely against his pale skin. Behind him rested a couple beige chairs and a television mounted on a wall. Next to him sat a bouquet of flowers.

            "Clearly not as good as the two of you." He chuckled. "Look at you guys, being all cutesy. If I didn't have a mate, I'd want to throw up."

            God, she missed her best friend.

            "Where are you at?" She peered hard at the screen. "Is that a hotel room?"

            Josh looked at something past the computer and gave someone a thumbs up. "Naw," He said, coming back to them. "I'm in Danika's dressing room. She's getting ready to do her show."

            The reason why she hadn't seen her best friend in a couple months was because he'd gone on tour with her stepsister...well, ex-stepsister. While she was extremely happy for the two of them, she still missed him dearly.

            "How is she?" Chloe asked.

            "You can ask her yourself." He gestured to someone off screen.

            Chloe smiled as Danika's long black hair hit the screen. "Dani!"

            "Hey Chloe," Danika waved politely. "How are you doing?"

            "Good, good." She said, leaning further back into Ethan's warm chest. "How's the tour going?"

            Danika snorted. "Same old, same old. Got another five shows and then I'm done for good."

            Right around the time that Chloe found out she wasn't actually related to Frank Leighton, she also discovered that Danika wasn't too fond of the spotlight. In actuality, Frank had put lots of pressure on her to be this big pop star that she really didn't want to be. As soon as the tour was done, her and Josh planned to settle into some place more comfortable and enjoy their mate bond.

            As she sat there and talked to her best friend and stepsister, she noticed the way that Josh kept taking glances of Danika and the absolute adoration and love on his face made her heart warm. It was nice to see two people that had struggled for so long finally find their forever.

            After a bit, Danika had to head off to go start her show. Once she left, Chloe could tell by Josh's subdued mood that he wanted to follow her, so she wrapped it up.

            "I miss you, Josh." She said quietly. "You coming back soon?"

            He flashed his white teeth at her. "Next week. But, I might have something up my sleeve before then."

            She eyed him carefully. "You taking care of yourself?"

            He rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."

            "I just miss you," She pouted, and Ethan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. "Promise me you'll call more often?"

            "Of course, Chichi." He said and scratched at the back of his head. "Sorry I haven't been in touch. Touring is freakin' crazy."

            "Don't worry, I get it." She comforted. A thought popped up. She had to mention the bizarre texts he sent her the other day. "And hey, don't send any weird creepy texts to my new phone, okay?"

            Instead of laughing about the joke, he cocked his head to the side in confusion. "You got a new cell phone?"

            He didn't know? Then who...? The blood left her face. She took a breath and schooled her features, not wanting to alarm anyone. She was probably just overreacting. It was most likely Jason's idea of a joke then.

            Chloe gave a forced laugh. Time to play it off. "Yeah, the public one was too hectic. I'll give you the number. Got a pen?"

            Josh pulled his cell from his pocket and she quickly rattled off the number to him. "Cool. Alright, Chichi, I'm going to let you go. Danika's starting soon."

            "That's fine." She pushed her sadness at his leaving away. He'd see her in a week. No big deal. "Love yah."

            "Always, Chichi." He winked at her and clicked off.

            Chloe carefully shut Ethan's laptop and bit her lip. She'd have to track down Jason and tell him that his idea of a joke wasn't funny anymore.

            Ethan pressed a light kiss to her neck and she giggled, squirming. "Hey, you know I'm ticklish."

            "Are you though?"

            She twisted her head to look at her mate and laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows. How could one person be so hot and adorable at the same time?

            She relaxed against Ethan as he pressed another kiss, this one right under her earlobe.

            Eh, Jason could wait 'til later.