I opened my eyes to the smell of chocolate and peppermint. As it had the night before, the glass ceiling shimmered brilliantly with little specks of light against the night sky.

Before stretching and pulling myself out of my far too soft and luscious bed, I took a moment to stare at the beauty above me, sighing when I realized that nothing this beautiful could last forever.

I gave the nightstand a quick glance, and frowned when I saw there was a tray stacked with piles of food in addition to a mug of what I guessed-to-be peppermint hot chocolate on the side. I scoured the room, looking for a person to claim this food because it surely couldn't be mine. After all, it was enough to feed at least five people if not ten. But nonetheless, I was alone in my dark blue themed bedroom.

Carefully straightening out the white silk nightgown I had found in my dresser and slipped on earlier in the morning, I sat on the side of my untidy bed, hanging my legs off the sides in an all too casual and familiar fashion; it reminded me of when me and my sister would stay up and talk in my bed before she left for college. I missed Meila.

In an attempt to quickly shove down my feelings for my missed sister along with everything else, I reached for the hot chocolate and sighed when the warm and sweet liquid touched my lips. The heat from the mug was comforting while the mixture of sweetness from the peppermint and bitterness from the chocolate was utterly delicious; it was perfect. At first, I had doubted James' preference for "other delicacies," but this hot chocolate definitely was ranked above that blueberry muffin; no offense to Anna.

I was about to reach for what appeared to be a chocolate chip scone on the very top of the stack, when a folded white piece of paper underneath the tray caught my attention. I carefully unfolded the thick piece of paper, and took note of the elegant cursive handwriting.

Elena,

Feel better.

- James

P.S. If you're up to it, ask Conner to take you to the night room and he should be more than happy to take you. Also, I read about this whole "P.S." phenomenon in an Earth Human history book, why don't you just write: post scriptum? It seems much more clear. And, I don't mean to be rude, but have you tasted Anna's hot chocolate? Surely you must like it better than those blueberry muffins?

I could help but laugh at his note. James' perception on my species was so completely ludicrous and off that it was utterly hilarious. But we couldn't truly be different species could we? Because then, it would make no sense why his parents would try to set us up because different species can't create fertile offspring; something that would seem very important for a royal line to continue. I twisted my head to the side in confusion and frustration; unless they want it to end...? But that wouldn't make any sense, I thought to myself.

I shook my head and shrugged; it wasn't my problem. And as far as I was concerned, It wouldn't ever be my problem.

Nibbling on the chocolate chip scone, I continued to repeatedly skim over the note, searching for some double meaning in James' words. Why would he tell me to feel better? Surely he must care since he did...or did his parents tell him to? Why does he want me to go to the night room? I frowned when I realized I wouldn't know that answer unless I go. I do hate curiosity, I reminded myself, as I made the conscious decision to seek out this "night room".

Despite my better instincts, I couldn't help but smile when I thought about the possibility of meeting James' there. He was certainly an odd boy, and annoying and frustrating at that, but all of these qualities together somehow made me laugh, and I liked to think that was a good thing.

***

I slipped on a short lace navy blue dress that reached mid-thigh on my frame and my pair of white tennis shoes, before heading out the door. I internally groaned when I realized that my closet and dresser were only stocked with dresses, nightgowns, and rather fancy lace undergarments. I made note to request jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts whenever I spoke to Conner and their majesties again. I don't think I could survive in dresses seven days a week; heck, before, I think I only owned one dress total, and I'm pretty sure it still had the tags on it.

I was about to make a plan for mindlessly wandering the ship to find Conner, but to my relief, a familiar figure was leaning against the wall beside my door.

"Conner?" I asked in a small voice.

"Elena," Conner sighed in relief. "I take it you are feeling better?" He raised his eyebrows gently, not harshly, challenging me to lie to him.

"Much better," I replied honestly. "Did James ask you to wait here?" I asked hesitantly, biting my lip on his name.

"No...actually, though I think he would have if I hadn't mentioned coming over here after my meeting," he said awkwardly, in a rather soft and affectionate tone, almost like my father.

I smiled at the realization that Conner cared. He didn't have to check on me, but he did. Maybe I should spend more time with the kind man, I wondered. I doubt I would regret it.

"...I just heard that you were having a rough time, and I wanted to make sure you were alright." He smiled kindly at me. "You do realize that your circumstances are both the rarest and strangest I have ever seen? Especially at such a young age; only seventeen," he muttered.

I cocked my head to the side.

"You know my age?" I wondered curiously.

He ruffled his light brown hair and shrugged.

"I was briefed on you before I picked you up with the guys."

"Oh," I frowned. I wasn't certain whether a group of strangers being briefed on me was a good thing or bad thing...it certainly sounded bad enough.

"Is there something I can help you with? When you walked out, you looked like you were looking for something. Perhaps someone?" Conner said with a smirk.

I crossed my arms and groaned.

"I am not that predictable," I weakly argued, hoping that my voice was more confident than I felt.

"Sure. Sure, do you want me to take you to him?" Conner said with a knowing expression.

"Is he in the night room?" I wondered out loud.

"Yes...I don't suppose he told you that?" He said with raised eyebrows.

I smiled sheepishly.

"He might have mentioned it."

Conner shook his head and laughed.

"Is that what that silly boy wrote in that note of his?"

My mouth gaped open in shock as I stared at the older man in front of me.

"You know about the note? How?"

"I delivered the food," he said simply.

I sighed in relief at his very reasonable answer.

"Thank you," I smiled fondly, remembering the delicious hot chocolate. "It was delicious."

"Don't thank me," he smirked. "Blame that absurd prince of yours. Speaking of which...."

James motioned for me to come beside him and we slowly began the walk to the night room; I guessed, since Conner never actually told me where we were going.

"He isn't mine," I stated firmly in a very factual manner.

"Of course not," Conner agreed. "The prince has only ever belonged to himself. I respect that about him. Many others in his position would have succumbed to the wealth or power of his position, but he has turned out to be quite the gentleman. It has been an honor to watch him grow up."

"You care about him," I spoke fondly, remembering the fond and affectionate tone he used when talking about James.

"Don't you? I tend to find his personality rather contagious myself."

I turned my face away, trying to hide a rosy pink flush underneath the surface of my cheeks.

"Like a disease?" I finally asked, in an all too innocent voice, thought inside I was struggling to keep the laughter at bay.

Conner saved me the trouble by breaking into fits of laughter as we turned a corner into a new hallway that I haven't been down before.

"Exactly," he smirked.

I smiled widely at his statement, secretly relieved that he agreed with my sacrament regarding James. However, moments later, I frowned when a thought crossed my mind.

"Conner," I softly said against the silence of the empty hallway. "Did James send the food and the note? Or did his parents tell him to?" The moment the words left my tongue, I instantly felt a wave of guilt. I knew I shouldn't question James' intentions, especially after Conner said that he only belonged to himself, but still, I couldn't help but wonder what part his parents played in our relationship, if we even had one.

Conner looked over me curiously and nodded in approval.

"It was all James. His parents are nothing but clueless."

I paused, before being almost completely overtaken by the need to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be-"

James cut me off and shook his head before shooting me a wide smile.

"Don't be. You can never be too cautious around teenage boys, Elena," he smirked. "Besides, between us two girls" I laughed, "...No offense, but I would have questioned your judgement if you hadn't asked. You can never be too careful around the royals; particularly his parents."

"Ok," I hesitantly nodded.

I got the strange feeling that his advice would maintain an important rule in the future. After all, as kind as James' parents seem, when it comes down to it, I truly know next to nothing when it comes to them or their son. Though a small part of me hoped to partially change that in the near future.

***

Conner and I arrived at the night room a quarter after midnight. Apparently I had slept for the majority of the day.

Conner abandoned me at a black door that sat on the top of a rather long staircase that curled up toward the sky. Honestly, it was rather impressive how long the stairway was, especially considering that we were on a spaceship, after all.

I hesitantly opened the door, immediately understanding the necessity of its color. The night room was a large cylindrical room with black painted walls, and a dome shaped skylight instead of a ceiling. The view from my bedroom was nothing compared to this. Not only could I see thousands of stars sparkling in the distance, but I could also see red and blue planets, larger glowing dots that marked themselves as planets instead of stars because of their size.

My face glowed as I took in the glorious sight in front of me. I would never get tired of staring up at the stars.

"Well, I must say you look much better," a voice said from behind me.

I immediately jumped, only relaxing my posture once I recognized who it was.

"You scared me," I groaned when James reached to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. My face flushed a brilliant red.

"That wasn't my intention," he murmured. "I was just making observations."

His light grey eyes sparkled in the darkness as light from the stars reflected off of them. They were piercing against his unruly dark brown hair and pale skin.

"Observations?" I asked in an innocent voice.

"Yes. Observations. Such as: you don't look nearly as pale, I can tell that even in the darkness, and the circles underneath your eyes have almost completely faded." He said all of this in a very casual way, as if he observed my face on a regular basis. The thought made me blush.

"I didn't realize you noticed," I spoke calmly, taking time to gaze up at the stars above us.

He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged in a relaxed manner.

"It's hard not to. Honestly, it would probably take more work on my part to try to avoid it, than actually just doing it."

I smiled and turned my head to look up at him. He towered over me by at least a foot, if not more. I was only a few inches past five feet, so it made sense, especially considering that I happened to be rather short, even for a female.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For being honest...and the food...and the note. It was all very kind of you," I said, giving him a sideways glance, as I searched for his reaction.

He laughed and gave me a boyish grin.

"A thank you really isn't necessary. It was my pleasure. Besides, that wasn't even half of it." He teasingly rubbed his chin, before gently placing both of his hands on my shoulder, turning me so I faced a blanket lit with candles that was full with pillows and a basket of food.

"You're insane!" I gasped as I took in the beautiful scene James had set up for us. The fact that it was planted directly underneath the skylight with the best view in the entire room, certainly didn't help my series of very irrational emotions: shock, awe, gratitude, adoration for the boy who had done this for me.

James chuckled behind me, with his hands still on my shoulders.

"I prefer the term determined," he said nonchalantly.

"Determined?! First you send me a plate of food that was far too delicious for its own good. Then you sent me a kind note that you didn't have to write. And now, this? It's too much James! It's far too much, especially just for me," I spilled out in a nervous rush.

James moved so he hovered in front of me and sighed.

"Just for you? What do you mean by that?" He murmured in his soothing voice, searching my eyes curiously for an answer.

I looked towards the ground gravely and frowned.

"I-I just...I'm one person James. I appreciate everything you've done for me; I do. It's just...I'm not worth it," I said quietly in the awkward silence.

As soon as James opened his mouth, I knew he disagreed with me. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at me with obvious confusion and disapproval.

"Of course you're worth it. Why else would I go through the trouble of sneaking behind my parents' backs?" He rubbed his hand against his forehead and sighed in exasperation. "They truly can be a pain in the you-know-what when they want to be."

I frowned, immediately forgetting about everything else but James.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, hesitantly reaching to place a comforting and reassuring hand on his shoulder.

He raised his eyebrows playfully and smirked.

"About my parents? Or saying you weren't worth my time?"

I laughed, and teasingly pushed past him, pretending to ignore him briefly.

"Both. Though, I never said that I wasn't worth your time, technically."

"Good." James smiled, leading me to the candlelit blanket, gesturing for me to sit opposite of him.

"I thought we could stargaze and eat dinner at the same time."

I smiled brightly at him and laughed.

"How brilliant of you. You do realize that you just stuffed me on scones and hot chocolate, right? And that doesn't even touch the fact that it is past midnight...."

James shrugged and reached into the picnic basket to pull out two plastic bags with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches inside.

"Midnight is more private. Most prying eyes are asleep, which saves me the trouble of getting Conner on their back. I do hope you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it was a pain to get Hannah to smuggle these in past the guards," he murmured as he handed me my sandwich.

I carefully opened the resealable bag, satisfied when I heard the plastic snap open. Slowly nibbling on the delicious sandwich, my eyes curiously slid over James as he began to eat his sandwich.

"So..." I started, breaking the comfortable silence. "I must admit that I feel guilty...."

James opened his mouth in protest impressively quickly, but I held my hand up and successfully silenced him before he could.

"...Here you are, constantly asking questions and worrying yourself about me, when I have yet to get the opportunity to ask you questions about yourself."

James laughed and shook his head in amusement.

"There's not much for you to ask; I can promise you that, but nonetheless, you are welcome to try."

I paused for a second, considering which question I wanted the answer to the most.

"...You don't get along with your parents?" I asked, honestly very curious about the relationship he had with his parents.

He sucked in a shuddered breath and chuckled quietly under his breath.

"Going for the deep stuff first, I see."

I cringed away from his words, and scrunched my nose up, before shrugging.

"Not intentionally," I offered.

He thoughtfully rubbed his chin before releasing a very disappointing: "It's complicated."

I frowned.

"That's broad. Everyone's relationship with their parents is complicated," I said mocking his tone.

James hesitantly nodded and sighed, looking up to the skylight.

"I suppose so."

I gave him a moment to see if he would open up further. I really didn't want to push him for information; especially if it wasn't any of my business. Thankfully after a long moment of silence, James resumed talking.

"...It's not that I don't get along with my parents per say. We get along fine when shoved into a room together. The issues arise from less...personal matters," he said softly.

"You don't agree with their decisions," I said when the realization came to mind.

"No," he simply stated. "I don't." He sighed, dragging a frustrated hand across his face, before ruffling his messy dark hair. "But unfortunately, as of right now, there isn't much I can do about it, but sit there and watch."

I stared at him curiously, taking in his frustrated expression before I spoke carefully.

"So you don't."

"So I don't."

***

We sat there in the comfortable silence for what felt like forever.

But it was a comfortable forever.

We would take turns staring at the night sky and pointing out constellations to each other, smiling when we pointed to the same one.

However, like all good things, it must come to an end

I frowned, growling in frustration when I realized that my eyes no longer had the strength nor will to stay open.

"Elena?" James called a couple minutes after my eyelids closed.

"Yes," I hummed groggily as sleep begged to take over me.

"Are you awake?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Yes," I weakly nodded, too tired to come up with a more coherent reply.

"Are you sure?" He asked in a more lively and amused voice.

"No," I groaned pulling a pillow over my face so I didn't have to look up into the piercing grey eyes above me.

"I just wanted to let you know that I am going to sleep," he said casually.

Before picking out constellations, James had set up two makeshift beds with an extra blanket that was packed inside the basket and a few extra pillows that were laying around. Obviously we weren't going to sleep together; that would be weird.

"How kind of you," I grumbled against my pillow, desperate for even a minute of sleep.

"Goodnight, Elena," James said in an amused voice, a bit too cheery annoying me in my sleepy state.

"Goodnight, James," I sighed as I moved the pillow off of my face, adjusting it and my blanket so I was comfortably wrapped up like a burrito. The night room was far too cold for my liking. Thankfully the stars made the chilliness worth it.

I nuzzled my face into the soft blanket, sighing in pure happiness as I closed my eyes, relaxing into my pillow with an audible sigh.

Slowly I drifted off, no longer aware of my surroundings. Though, I could have sworn I heard a distant voice mumble the words: I love you, before I fell completely unconscious into a blanket of darkness.

AN: So I officially finished my longest chapter! I'm not gonna lie; I did debate whether I should split this chapter into two parts since I had two good stopping points, but I figured I would give you guys all of the good stuff in one chapter. I apologize for not having an official update schedule, but I figured this worked better with me posting multiple chapters a week once I complete and edit them , opposed to making you wait forever for them to come out.

Lastly, thank you for reading this far. It truly does make me beyond happy that people enjoy my book enough to even get to this point. Feel free to leave a comment with your opinions on the book so far, or whether you prefer shorter or longer chapters.

Stay tuned for future updates in the near future :)

- Elly6431