The guards turned towards the sound, and Jared stormed towards her. His wings were large and strong, bringing him up towards her. In a matter of seconds, Bubbles found herself captured with a pair of magical chains around her, which the guard Jared used to drag her to her feet with.
"You?" Jared asked in confusion, "The diplomat's daughter?"
There was no hope for her, Bubbles thought, and felt her hope for freedom disappear. "Yes," she said.
"Should you not leave with the princess tomorrow?" Jared asked.
Bubbles blinked a couple of times before answering, "And how do you know that?" She tried to cross her arms, but the chains around her were too tight.
By that time, the other guard had dragged Bubbles's trunk up from the pile of leaves, "I think she intended to leave a little sooner than that," he said with a grin. "Gee, this is heavy," he continued and groaned as he struggled with the trunk.
"Well, you best come along then," Jared said. "Mind the post, will you?" he asked the other guard before dragging Bubbles along.
"Sure, but what about her luggage?"
"Leave it here for now," he said, and then Bubbles had to watch her most precious belongings and clothes be left behind with a simple guard to steal from if he so wished. She felt a shivering anger pulse through her body just by the thought of him touching her stuff.
The guard dragged Bubbles all the way up the stairs of the Kingtree, not even allowing her to fly, but she did not bother protesting. She knew what the punishment for traitors was, and she suspected that if she was not careful, she could be considered a traitor now after such stupid actions.
After a long walk, they finally stopped, and the guard knocked on a glamorously decorated door. Bubbles looked up and to her horror, she did not see the familiar door of her father's home in front of her. She still knew the door, however, with its gold leaves growing along the side of the doorframe. She felt her heartbeat increase; she was certain that it would scatter through her chest any moment now.
The door opened carefully, just a little, and a few words were exchanged in a whisper. The door closed again, and a couple of minutes passed. Bubbles found herself wondering what she looked like. Did she have leaves and sticks stuck in her hair? Was her dress torn apart? Or was her makeup smudged?
Then the door opened again, this time widely opened. She looked up and saw a pair of dark blue eyes meet hers. She swallows a lump stuck in her throat. The princess lifted her eyebrows and stepped outside. She approaches Bubbles slowly, her eyes still piercing, clear, and dangerous. Bubbles felt her heart racing faster than when she had been caught by the guards. She had been expecting to be brought to her father. She would have had to apologise to him for trying to run away, and that would already have been bad enough, but being brought to face the princess was an entirely different, and worse, thing.
"My princess," Bubbles said, falling to her knees, not even trying to use her wings to dampen the impact as her knees came in sudden collision with the tree branch under her.
"Do you have anything else to say for yourself?" the princess asked her.
"I have no apologies," Bubbles quickly said.
"Maybe an explanation then?" the princess asked, and Bubbles looked up at her again, completely bewitched by those eyes.
"An explanation?" Her heart was so loud, they should all have been able to hear it, she thought.
The princess nodded, "For what reason do you choose to run away from your duty. Not only from a promise of marriage, but a promise to accompany me to the Ice-kingdom."
She thought that she had not really promised the princess anything, only her father, but it did not matter. Bubbles nodded quickly, "I have," she said, but then realised that the princess would think her explanation selfish. And she would not be wrong. "But I am sorry, my princess, I didn't think that far ahead."
"That surprises me not at all," the princess said, and a somewhat kind smile appeared on her lips.
Bubbles breathed a little easier, her heart relaxing a little just by seeing that smile appear and the eyes loosen their intensity.
"Let her go," she said, turning towards the guards. "I trust she will stay until we leave."
"Yes, my princess," the guard named Jared said and released Bubbles from his magic chains that had been holding her. "What do you wish for us to do with her?"
"Nothing," the princess answered, "you can leave."
Jared looked a little perplexed by this but accepted the order and left – without mentioning the trunk that they had left behind by the foot of the stairs of the Kingtree.
"I really am sorry, my princess, but I cannot," Bubbles said and felt her head sink. "I know that I have acted only in my own interest. I apologise."
"Enough apologising already," the princess said, "stand up, and come inside – it is freezing out here in this cold night."
Bubbles nodded, stood back on her feet, stretched her wings, and followed the princess inside, thinking that if the princess found this evening cold, she would surely be the first to freeze to death when they reached the Ice-kingdom.
"You know it would be all fine if only you truly had acted in your own interest, but your escape was a foolish stunt that would only have led to your own demise." The princess sighed and floated over to a mirror standing on a beauty table. "Will you help me get ready for bed… again?"
Bubbles hurried over to stand by the princess's side, grabbed a brush as she had seen her mother do for the queen, and started combing her long black hair. The princess had beautiful hair in a similar colour to Bubble's own, but unlike Bubble's, her hair was silky smooth, whereas Bubble's hair refused to be straight whenever she felt a moment of emotion rise in her.
They did not talk much, as Bubbles brushed the princess's hair dutifully and braided it to protect it during her sleep. When everything had been done, Bubbles finally pulled herself together to say, "I should head home. If I get there in time, my parents might never find out what happened, and everything will continue as planned after all."
The princess let out a chuckle, "You will do no such thing." Their eyes met in the mirror. "I have already sent a message to your house." A mischievous look spread over her face. "You will stay here with me tonight, and I will keep an eye on you."