charles // like a broken arrow

[CHARLES EDWARD PALMER]

When she didn't pull away from him, Charlie let one of his hands return to her hair. He used the other to pull her closer to him, losing himself completely in the sensation of being so close to her. She smelled delightful, but that was nothing compared to the way that his heart started skipping beats as their tongues played together.

Meanwhile, Arabella had woken from an impromptu nap. Unpacking her things had proved to be an exhausting experience, and she'd fallen asleep in a heap, her head resting against the pile of clothes she'd been gathering for the laundry. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that the sound of voices was completely gone. Frowning, she stood, carried the clothes she'd gathered to her hamper, and made her way to the door of her room. She couldn't see her father or Bethany anywhere, but she didn't mind that too much. She'd only woken up because she was thirst. Arabella was a pretty self-sufficient girl, so she padded across the house to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. When she reached the door of the kitchen, though, she found her dad and Princess Beth locked in one another's embrace. Bella let out a delighted squeak. "I'm going to be a real princess!" she declared, jumping up and down in excitement.

At the sound of his daughter's voice, Charlie quickly pulled away. He felt his neck getting hot and knew that an embarrassed blush would be creeping into his cheeks. "I thought you'd gone to bed," he told Bella. She just grinned at him, too excited to even speak. Charlie offered Beth an apologetic look, not really sure how to right the situation. Arabella was obviously not going to be going back to bed anytime soon. If she did, she might miss out on something.

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[BETHANY ANNE HEAVENSBEE]

It was, in a word, divine, being there with him. His hands were strong and lightly rough- probably from dealing with so much parchment all day as a professor. His skin was hot and her heart was racing. There was passion here, and she was feeling very good about their real date ahead of them. She had gotten so lost in his touch that she had forgotten about Arabella until the moment her little voice rang out loudly around them.

She and Charles pulled apart, both blushing at the little girl in the doorway, who had probably saved them from simply going at it, which wouldn't have been very adult. Beth found herself chuckling softly, a little embarrassed at being caught. Not to mention that Bella seemed to put kissing equal to marriage, which of course made sense for her having only seen her mother kiss Charlie (probably). It was a slightly awkward thought, but Beth decided to just roll with it. She had won the hearts of both of them, and how bad could it get after such a good make out session.

She gingerly took out her tea bag and held her mug so she had something to hold. Were they going to address what just happened to move on as if nothing had. He was the parent after all. But then she thought of something, "Did you show your dad the little crown we made you?" she asked, hoping to distract her with a task -- getting and explaining the crown for her dad.