"I am sorry I don't know why I suggested that ?" she gently pushed him away.
"Did it help ?" he asked.
"I don't think so ...nothing came to me " she breathed.
"Don't force yourself ..if you have any questions, ask me instead ", he muttered.
She bit her lip, "Did my father send any more men after me? I am worried you might get hurt because of me "
He smiled taking her hand into his, slightly squeezing it.
"That man will never hurt you again, I promise " he let out.
"But his ...." he stopped her.
"Come here " he pulled her in carrying her off the bed with ease.
She held onto him as he moved to the window.
She gasped at the beautiful view of the imperial palace. And when she looked further she could see the capital far below.
"This is beautiful " she murmured.
"You're in the imperial palace, the highest, most protected, and respected place by any king ", he said into her ear.
"Really ...I didn't know you were this powerful ", she murmured.
He chuckled.
"I am the Emperor; I wield more authority than your father can ever have ", he answered.
"Then he can't hurt me even if he wanted to ?" she innocently asked.
He nodded.
She glanced back at him, "I know I should be grateful, but I can't help but worry; I have a lot of questions about how you seem to know me or how you were able to rescue me from those men ..."
"Bel"
"Mmm," she met his gaze.
"Let's take it slow ..don't try to rush into understanding anything . I am right here to help ".
"But I am confused to even take it slow ", She frowned.
He moved placing down into a chair, he knelt before her.
"Let's see, where do you want to begin ?".
She blinked sighing.
"I know your name is Sebastian, and you the Emperor "
He nodded.
"You call me Bel, a name only mother used to call me . And it's been so long since she passed that I heard it called again . You said I told you to call .e that but I can't remember when ".
"Yes, you did; it was a long time ago".
"So, does that mean we met when I was young?".
He seemed to be thinking about it then finally nodded.
"Something like that " he muttered.
"Oh," Anabel seemed to believe him.
He smiled, he couldn't tell her she was reincarnated and he had waited years for her return.
"Do you know why those men were chasing me ?" she asked.
"Partly ".
"Partly, so you know about him wanting to marry me off to some rich noble ?"
He nodded it was the reason he finally made his move, but he had arrived too late and found out she had run off and was currently being chased down.
"I know I have to play role as his daughter but I can't marry someone I know nothing about. And I have been hidden away all this time I know nothing of the world outside so I was scared I would mess up and cause Father and the kingdom shame " Her eyes dropped like a sad memory was playing in her mind, "but no matter how I pleaded with father he didn't listen so when I finally got the chance I ran off ".
"You don't need to worry about that anymore; you can take your time here and learn all you want to find out. The maids will assist in anything, and if you have any questions, you can come to me ".
His tone was so reassuring that she found herself nodding.
"I am glad I had such a wonderful childhood friend ".
He nodded but his eyes seemed to flicker.
He soon left, and the maids popped with the other five maids holding different dresses.
They placed them aside and left.
"Those are ?".
"These are some of your new outfits. We selected them to match your skin, hair and eye colour "the one named Lia muttered.
"And since you have dinner plans with the Emperor tonight, we thought we could help you choose one ", another named Hope added.
"Oh..." she had never had such attention before, no one at her father's palace had cared for her. They all seemed to hate her even her stepmother and sister.
"But before that, you meet the queen's mother and the other lady nobles ", they said.
"Ah...but I wasn't informed of this "
"We were just told by the head maid, it seems she wants to see you and also introduce you to the others "
Anabel gulped, this was going to be a challenge for her. All she wanted was to hide away until she was comfortable enough to go outside.
"Umm does the Emperor know ?" she asked.
"Oh, I don't think he does; during the day, he's too busy with official work. And I think the queen's mother didn't tell him since she is in charge of taking care of all the noble women in the palace," said Hope.
She sighed.
Will this turn out well for me?