Cherish

I don't move from under the covers when I hear a knock on the door. The door opens, and from where I'm at on the bed, I have full view of Xander coming into my room. He’s not wearing the clothes that are from my world, and it’s really weird seeing the guys in their guard uniforms.

Since they’re this kingdom’s royal guards they wear a mixture of arctic blue and black. Normal guards wear just black on black. The uniform isn’t like those old-days knight outfits and are actually kind of tasteful, it’s just a little weird seeing them wear those blue capes like they’re Dracula or something.

I honestly don’t see the reason behind the capes.

"Hey, princess," he says with a soft smile. His eyes fall on my uneaten breakfast on the tray beside my bed and his smile turns into a frown. "You haven't eaten."

"I'm not hungry." I haven't eaten much since I was brought here three days ago. I've barely even been sleeping because whenever I try, I'm haunted with the memories of my sister dead on the floor. Other times I'm haunted by the happy memories I have of my family, all ending in their deaths.

Xander sits on the bed beside me and brushes my hair out of my face. "I wish there were something I could do to make this better for you, easier for you." He rubs his thumb under my eye. "You haven't been sleeping again?"

I shake my head. "I can't." My voice breaks, and I feel tears threatening to surface, but I'm all cried out.

Xander leans forward and presses a light kiss on my forehead. "I know it's hard, princess. We're all here for you."

I take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. "I know. Thank you. I couldn't have done the funeral yesterday without you guys."

He smiles sadly. "I swear to you, we will find who did it, and they will die."

I look him in the eye. "You find them, I get to kill them."

He blinks, probably in shock. "Cherish," he starts, but doesn't finish his sentence.

"I'm not stupid, Xander. I know taking a life isn't a simple thing but I have to do this. I have to do this for my family."

He nods in understanding. "Okay." His eyes fall on my full tray of food again. "You should eat, princess."

"Xander–"

"You need to eat, Cherish." He grabs both my hands in his and pulls me up into a sitting position. "Come on, we'll go for a walk around the gardens when you're done."

I sigh when I see the resolve on his face, and I know that he won’t let it drop. "Fine."

I eat slowly, mechanically, the food settling in my stomach like lead. When I get halfway through, I push it away from me. “I can’t eat anymore.”

Xander studies me for a second. “Okay. Why don’t you go shower and get dressed? I’ll wait for you in the hall.”

I push the blankets off me and swing my legs over the side of my bed. "Alright. I'll be out there in a bit."

He smiles. "Good girl."

I scowl at him. "I'm not a dog."

He rolls his eyes and stands. "Just get ready, princess. You haven't seen much of the land, and I think you'll like it."

I walk into the attached bathroom when he leaves the room and take a quick shower. With a towel wrapped around me, I search through the clothes Xander had brought me from my house and grab a pair of panties, a bra, jeans and a t-shirt with "Some people just need a high five . . . in the face . . . with a chair" written on the front.

Since I'm not feeling very . . .sociable today, maybe the shirt will keep people away from me. Though, I'm pretty sure I could look like a homeless person, and these people would still come up to talk to me and try to be my friend just for the simple fact that I'm their princess.

Leaving my room, I shut the door behind me and look at Xander, who's currently reading my shirt and from the twitching of his lips, is doing his best to not laugh. Or at the very least, smile.

"Ready?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

His lips quirk on one side. "Waiting on you, princess. Let's go."

I almost jump as his hand rests gently against the small of my back, leading me down the vast hallway and out of the castle. I still can't wrap my head around the whole castle thing, if I'm being completely honest.

Xander leads me down a path outlined in rose bushes. The bushes disappear shortly after they started and the path is then outlined in tall trees.

"Where are we going?" I ask after walking for a while.

He peeks at me and a stunning smile takes over his face. "I'm taking you to my favorite place."

I tilt my head to the side and watch him for a second before nodding. "Okay. Lead on, then."

He chuckles and keeps walking. The path ends a short while later but he keeps leading me through a thick patch of woods, and I glance around, noticing there's no one around.

"Is this where you kill me?" I joke.

Xander rolls his eyes. "God, you're dramatic. We're almost there, just another few minutes."

He was right. A few minutes later, I'm standing at the edge of a waterfall that falls into a crystal-clear lake that looks like it's got diamonds glistening from the sunlight under the water. My breath catches in my throat as I take it all in. The trees. The water. The sun glinting off the water. The fresh air.

"It's beautiful, Xander." I swallow hard. "Ella would have loved this," I whisper painfully.

Xander pulls me to the edge of the lake and makes me sit down beside him. He wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his chest. "I know you miss them, Cherish. You just need to remember that they may be gone, but they will always be with you."

I look up at him and see that he's watching me intently. "It's my fault," I whisper, tears threatening again.

He squeezes my shoulder and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. "Disa, it is not your fault."

I shake my head, making his lips graze my forehead again since he hasn't exactly moved back. "It is. They wanted me." I bury my face in his chest. "It should have been me," I say, the words coming out muffled, but I know he understands me.

"Ma hai, it shouldn't have happened at all, and it definitely shouldn't have been you."

My brows furrow at the unfamiliar word. "Ma hai?"

He shakes his head, giving me a soft smile. He cups my cheek and rubs his thumb gently across my cheekbone. "It's not important. What is important is that you don't beat yourself up about this. It is not your fault. This guilt will eat you alive if you let it."

"They wouldn't have been killed if it weren't for me."

"They wouldn't have been killed if it weren't for the asshole who caused it. We will find him, princess. I swear to you, we will. We won't let them get away with what they did."

"Xander," I breathe when his gaze drops to my mouth and I'm suddenly hit with the crushing desire to know what it's like to feel his lips on mine. I bite my lower lip, unsure of what to do or say.

He meets my gaze then without realizing what I'm doing, I move closer to him until our mouths are a breath away.

"Cherish," he murmurs my name like a prayer before he closes the rest of the distance and presses his mouth against mine. His hands tangle in my hair as he deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue in my mouth to tease mine. Xander pulls back, breaking the kiss a few minutes later, our breathing labored as he rests his forehead against mine. He releases his hold on my hair and rubs his thumb against my lips. "We shouldn't have done that, I just couldn't help it," he mutters quietly.

I pull my head away from his, so I can study his expression. "What do you mean?"

He sighs. "Cherish, things are different here. You know that our culture is vastly different than what you grew up with. We don't exactly have the right to be with whoever we want to be."

I narrow my eyes. "I'm not understanding."

His face pinches in a pained expression for a second before his poker face is back. "Guards and royalty . . . it just doesn't happen here. You being a princess will most likely mean that you'll find a prince or other high-ranked noble from this kingdom or another bordering here to be with."

I snort. "I happen to have a mind of my own, thank you. No one will dictate who I decide to be with." I stand up quickly and walk away, leaving Xander sitting beside the lake. Though, I don't doubt he'll follow behind me a safe distance away.