#cole schreave

[aileen-hollingsworth]

Run ins with the Prince ~ #4

A/N: Thanks @mila-regan for rp-ing with me! It was great! This is a fic that takes place before we got the results of the “Politiclash” challenge and before the whole Ethan-Liam fiasco that the lovely @aliyatyson and @lizzy-matthews both have fics for here and here. First read the second link lol. This fic is ft. a new character ;) If you decide to read I hope you enjoy it!

You’re a spy, lurking through the halls. Invisible. Sly as a cat.

…..this is so dumb, why am I doing this.

 I was bored. There was no better way of putting it. Also, I hadn’t seen Haiden since the first elimination so I still had his tie. I figured if I gave it to him at night no one would be there to witness the exchange and it would just be a matter of avoiding the guards…so I decided I would give it to him then.

As always, when moving to a new place, I’d scribbled on my journal a map of the areas I’d been to in the palace and by then I had also added in some of the posts the guards kept. You know, just in case I ever wanted to sneak out for some reason.

That was all I needed to get to Haiden’s room and slip the tie under his door with a note. Hopefully he’d wonder how in the world I’d done it and have a laugh at thinking of the possibilities.

Of course, I hadn’t accounted for bystanders I could bump into.

I ran past a corner and felt like I’d hit a wall, my momentum immediately sending me backward. Just before I fell however, a hand found my back and I opened my eyes realizing my hitting the ground never came. I found a pair of startled blue eyes staring back at me, fashionably-messy black hair —yes, you know what I mean—standing up on his head.

That’s when I recognized him. I’d seen that face in enough magazines to do so.

For a millisecond my mind thought of those cheesy scenes in dramas where everything  is suddenly in slow motion when the girl slips (or in my case: bumps into a human-brick-wall)  and the future love interest catches her just in time to stare at each other’s eyes dramatically for a couple of seconds…for inexplicable and illogical reasons. 

But as soon as that millisecond passed something like realization crossed the prince’s eyes and his hand left my back. I let out an “oomph” as I hit the ground, and then yelled in protest staring up at him (he seemed even taller from the floor).

Prince Cole was staring down at me and only blinked at my protests before shoving his hands inside his pockets and saying: “Don’t you Selected girls have a curfew or something? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” His tone wasn’t concerned, but rather annoyed by an inconvenience.

Geez, no apologies? “None of your business I’m afraid.” I countered while standing up. Even then he was taller than me—which let me tell you, I found rather annoying by then—was everyone in the freaking palace over six feet tall? Give me a break.

He only seemed surprised by my response for a second before returning to his annoyed ‘whatever’ stare. “You’re not supposed to be out here.”

“And why is that?”

“Reasons.”

I raised my eyebrow, unimpressed with his reply and muttered: “What a ray of sunshine.” 

“Says the match-stick lurking in the dark.” He grumbled back.

“Well—” I did a double take on his sentence and scowled. “Wait, what did you just call me?”

He only replied by staring at my hair with what I thought was amusement, then something on the ground caught his eye. “Is that…a tie?”

I followed his gaze and realized I’d dropped Haiden’s tie on my fall. Oh dam—“Yes.” I said, quickly picking it up and placing it behind my back.

If I act like it isn’t that big a deal, he’ll think it’s not a big deal.

He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is that from my cousin?” He stressed the word, as if to tease me, as if implying something...but his expression was monotonous.

Play it cool. “Maybe. What are you doing out here?”

“I don’t have a curfew.” He said leaning down a bit, as if explaining something simple to a child.

“Then why should I?” I leaned forward too.

“Safety reasons.”

“You’re the prince here.”

“And this is how you talk to a prince?”

“This is how I talk to a condescending jerk.”

He stood up correctly again and blinked. I couldn’t quite place the look that crossed his face before it disappeared. “I can hold my one.”

It took me a moment to realize that was his response to why he didn’t need a curfew and I did, so I grumbled: “So can I.”

“Doubtful” he said giving me a bored glance.

“Don’t defy the match-stick,” I warned, turning around to leave, making sure to flip my hair over my shoulder for dramatic effect “playing with fire is a dangerous thing, Cole.”

Mila hadn't been expecting me and it showed in her response when she opened the door. I could only grin awkwardly before starting:

“Yeah, sorry...I was just a bit bored, and I realized I haven't talked with a lot of people and you seem nice, and we both love chips, and we haven't talked much since the sleepover, and I'm pretty sure I saw you guys burning things a while ago and I'm slightly curious about that, though I guess it's not really my place to ask... and that was me rambling for some reason.” I finally paused and smiled at her. “So...yeah.”

“No don't apologize, I’d love to talk with you come in.” She said, holding the door open. “And it's no bother to ask! I found out that Tracie and Aliya burned a guards' uniform without permission and they got me so far to burn something as well.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “It was a pity you weren't there!”

I went in laughing. “They have corrupted you Mila. It is a pity I wasn't there to witness it.”

“I guess, it was kind of fun though, I didn't want the flowers, they were dying anyway. How did your debate go?”

In summery it went good, but I was still worried considering I was unable to say much without overthinking at the beginning. Apparently Mila had similar feelings during her debate and that made me relax.  When she suggested getting some chips in the middle of our conversation I might have been a big too eager on my reply but she didn't seem to mind.

“So... I have to ask you something.” She said after asking a maid for the chips.

“Okay, fire away.”

“Is it true Haiden acted like he was me during your date?” She wondered between laughs. “I think your maids told mine.”

“Acted like he was you?” It took me moment to understand. “Oh my...are you talking about—” I burst out laughing at the thought of Haiden giggling like a girl, covered with one of my blankets pretending to be Mila. “Yeah, okay. Sorry about that, your name just kind of popped up in my head.”

“My maid Saniya told me, she knows all the gossip. I couldn't believe it. I thought it was so funny.”

I was laughing when I explained what a horrible impression Haiden had done of her and how I was busted as soon as I came back. “I told Janet not to say anything.” I laughed.

“Ohh, well I heard about the hiding and you saying that it was me. That was all that Janet told Saniya I think. As well as ‘Mila wears quite manly shoes’. I thought it was hilarious.”

We both started laughing again at that.

“Oh boy, I still can't believe we didn't notice the shoes were kind of visible. It was hilarious though. I hadn't done so many random things in one day for a while now.”

“Next time I'll get you when the girls are going to burn something.”

I thought about the oath 10-year-old me had made about never burning things for fun again, but smiled all the same. “It would be a nice addition to my 'strange things I did in the palace’ list.”

“How many things are even on that list?”

“Oh, it is quite an interesting list.” I started ticking things off with my fingers. “So far I did a treasure hunt, stole one of Chef Baguette's baguettes, ran around the palace with Haiden so Baguette wouldn't kill us—” I paused thinking of Alex's comb. “Uh, also I might have or might have not taken something from one of the Selected for the treasure hunt —but that wasn't my idea!” It was Haiden's. “Plus I returned it. Ahh, and I made Haiden bump into a wall twice. There's more, but I don't think I'm allowed to mention it yet…”

“Wait treasure hunt! I think I missed something.”

“The treasure hunt was our date.” I laughed. “Me with my unconventional ideas.”

“That is such a cute idea for a date.”

“Hopefully Haiden thought it was cute too.” At least I know he had fun.

She laughed. “That is quite the list.”

I thought about all the treasure hunts I’d made with friends and suggested making one with her and the other girls as well. She seemed to like the idea and my mind when full-on organizing mode, thinking of possible lists of items, when she leaned closer to me and changed the subject. “But now you've made me really curious about what you can't mention about your date with Haiden. Can't you tell me? Please?” she held out one of the chips her maids had finally brought as bargain.

The chip was rather tempting and she smirked at my hesitance. “C'mon you can't say no to chips.”

“I don't know... I promised I wouldn't say.” I’d promised to Haiden I wouldn't tell people about being on his room.

“Ah...well you can have the chips either way.” She said giving me the bowl and I smiled.

“Thanks. It really isn't that big a deal, don't worry. We just kind of promised to keep it on the low for now…” We hadn’t really done anything scandalous, but I still thought it was for the best considering how easily gossip could spread.

“Ah okay, you just made me so curious, but I'm like that from nature.”

“I can tell you I stole his glasses for a while, and he is ‘blind as a bat’.”

“Haiden's glasses?”

I nodded while eating the chips. “He was wearing them when he uh…tripped over me. I snatched them away for a while.”

She shook her head with laughter. “What did you all do! Tripping over you.”

“We did the unthinkable: we both forgot about our date.”

“The unthinkable... wait you did... Aileen.” She started laughing and I almost choked on the chips.

“No! Not like that! We just both forgot we had our date at that time!!” She was too busy laughing to listen and I was sure my cheeks were flustered. “MILA STOP LAUGHING THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT.”

She fell backwards on the bed. “OH MY GOD.”

“MILA NO.”

“Sorry, this is amazing.”

“I hate you” I huffed.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Let me get those chips from you then.” She jumped forward and grabbed the bowl laughing.

I gasped at her treason. “Give that back!”

She refused to do so and ran out of the room.

“Don't you dare run away like that!” I yelled, going after her.

“Watch me!” she ran down the hallway, and around a corner. I followed, still yelling at her for daring to take the chips away.

She looked over her shoulder and yelled back: “YOU SAID YOU HATED ME SO NO CHIPS FOR YOU—” then she bumped into someone and fell on the ground, the bowl broke next to her. I barely managed to stop before running into her.

“Mila are you okay?” I kneeled to help her sit up, then  I looked up at the guy she bumped into and recognized him immediately this time. “You again?”

Cole was looking down at us unbothered. “You're not supposed to be running around the palace like that, you know?” Charming as always.

Mila rubbed her arm and looked up at him with irritation. “Yeah I'm fine. Nice to meet you too.”

Cole raised an eyebrow at her sarcasm. “Can't say it's been nice to meet you.”

I could only assume Mila hadn't recognized him when she stared at me and asked with irritation: “You guys know each other?”

I said “yes” at the same moment Cole said “no”.

Mila stared at us in turn, confused as I scowled at him. “Okay then... well I took her chips so that's why we were running. I'll call a maid to clean it up.” Then she looked at her arm. “And maybe get a bandage for this.”

I noticed the small cut on her arm, most likely from the broken bowl. “Oh, we better take you to the hospital wing.”

At the mention of medical wing Cole suddenly flashed a look of mild interest and cleared his throat before kneeling next to us. “Are you hurt?”

I snarled back at him, thinking of our first encounter. “Like you care?”

“Excuse you?!” He scowled back.

We were glaring at each other when Mila yelled at us and shot us angry glares of her own: “Guys!”

“Sorry” we mumbled in unison before I helped her up.

“I'll take her to the hospital wing if you want. She better get that checked either way.” Cole added.

I stared down at him. “No, I'll take her there. You clean this up.”

He stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets as if challenged. “And why would I do that?”

I kept glaring at him, ignoring our height difference. “Because if you don't I'll tell Haiden one of his Selected has a bandage around her arm because of you.”

Cole was not threatened by this and gave me a very unimpressed look. “Haiden, really?”

Seems like he doesn’t think Haiden has it in him. Fine, I’ll bring in the big guns. “Or would you prefer Princess Elaine? Maybe she'll even tell Princess Winter for me.”

At the mention of his mother Cole opened his mouth, ready to argue, but thought better of it and closed it again, kneeling on the ground after an annoyed glare and  grunt.

When he started picking up the shards from the bowl I nodded satisfied with my work and heard Mila whisper in my ear “You’re good”. I almost laughed.

“Let's get you a doctor.”

As we made our way to the medical wing I heard Cole hiss, he’d probably cut himself with a shard. “Get a broom you genius.” I scolded and we kept on walking.

“Who even was that?” Mila asked clearly confused.

I rolled my eyes. “Prince 'I'm too good to coexist with mortals', also known as Prince Cole.”

Mila came to a stop. “Wait, Prince!?”

“Uh, yeah?” I mumbled raising an eyebrow when I noticed her astonished look. “What?”

She started to panic. “I didn't know. I was so rude!” Then she looked straight at me like my face was a puzzle. “Wait, why did you argue with the Prince?”

“Cause he's kind of a jerk?” I suggested with a shrug.

“True. But still! You’ve met each other before, where?”

“I've bumped into him before; he's not precisely a gentleman. He actually caught me before I fell, but then it was like something inside him clicked into place and he let go. I fell anyway.”

Mila frowned. “He's indeed a jerk” she paused for a moment, thinking. “Well, when he found out I was 'wounded' not so much.”

I revisited the scene in my head. I had noticed that sliver of worry cross his face when he realized Mila might actually be hurt for bumping into him, but I wasn’t sure if it was concern for someone else’s well-being, or worry of getting in trouble. “Maybe he has a heart for concern somewhere in there.” I shrugged.

The nurse was almost done with Mila’s bandage when I noticed his fancy-suited-self sneak into the med wing to look for something on a drawer near us.

I gave Mila a glance and couldn’t hide my smirking before walking over to him and leaning on a nearby wall. “What are you up too?”

Cole seemed slightly startled, but composed himself quickly giving me a glare and placing his hands behind his back. “None of your business I'm afraid.” He was quoting me from that first night. “What about you? Are you following me or something?”

I had to frown at that. “Dude…” I said pointing at Mila. He followed my finger with his sight and cleared his throat when he realized Mila was there.

“...right.”

Mila watched in amusement. “Yeah, got wounded in battle.”

I laughed when she winked at me, and then looked back at Cole as he rolled his eyes. I tried to look at what he was hiding behind his back, but only caught the glimpse of something white around his finger before he moved again. “Is that a napkin?”

Cole gave me his usual disinterested stare. “No.”

“Humm, okay…” I didn’t believe that, so I pretended to squint at something near the entrance behind him. “Is that Princess Winter?”

He didn’t initially buy it and looked at me with narrowed eyes, but when I waved politely with a smile staring at the same spot his expression changed and he took a glance over his shoulder. I took the opportunity to reach for his hand.

There was indeed a napkin wrapped around his finger, a small line of red showing through it. “I knew it! You didn't use a broom, did you?”

Cole twisted his hand out of my grasp and rolled his eyes. “The shards were big enough to pick up with my hand.”

“Wasn't my battle wound evidence enough to tell you those shards were sharp?” Mila laughed.

I shook my head at him. “Stubborn” then raised a package of Band-Aids I’d grabbed before the nurse suggested bandaging Mila’s arm. “Looking for these?”

He glared at both of us and then tried to snatch the Band-Aids from me. I took a step back. “Uh, manners? You are a prince are you not?”

“Yes, I am. Which means you should be nicer with me.”

“Pfft, standards.”

The corner of his lip twitched at that, the shadow of an amused smile. “I pity Haiden for having to put up with you.”

Mila crossed her arms from across the room, not noticing Cole’s expression from where she was sitting. “I pity that he has to live with you. Change your attitude first before you start attacking others.”

Cole glared at her. “I don't always live here.” Then looking back at me he added: “Could you give me a Band-Aid?”

I raised both eyebrows but gave no reply.

“... Please?” he added and I smiled.

“Oh, well of course good sir.” I gave him the box and he mumbled a “thanks” before taking a Band-Aid out and fumbling with it. He was utterly failing with one hand.

“Want some help with that?” I grinned.

He only stared at me for a few seconds before sighing. “Maybe.”

I clicked my tongue at his stubbornness and after a few seconds of exchanging glares he handed me the Band-Aid. “Yes, please.”

I smirked and took his hand, pressing the napkin against the cut once more before placing the Band-Aid around his finger. Since it didn’t cover the cut completely I had to add a second one. I was pretty sure he was staring at me as I worked, but tried to ignore it. “See, its better when you're nice.” I assured him. When I looked up at him he was raising an eyebrow at me. “There. All better.”

He only managed an: “Umm, thanks.”

“You ready to leave?” I asked staring back at Mila.

She nodded. “Yeah I want my chips!” For Cole she added: “Be a little more careful next time.”

“Yeah, use a broom.” I mumbled.

He made a noncommittal “hmm” sound.

Mila repeated that we should go for the chips and said goodbye to Cole. I nodded at her and stared back at Cole one last time. “See you.”

He looked at me with the same seriousness as always. “Hopefully not.”

I rolled my eyes snorting, and then shoved him aside to follow Mila. He was surprised by this, but I was almost sure I’d seen the hint of a grin on his face before I turned around.

previous | next

[alexandra-schreave]

A non-exhaustive list of my OTPs

Ten and Rose

Josh and Donna

Percy and Annabeth

Cassie and Cole

Cress and Thorne

Logan and Veronica

Maxon and America

Clarke and Bellamy

Will and Lyra

Fitz and Simmons

[mpinkflush]

Nah, it's so spice things up, it makes them quirky🤪🤪

Authors writing YA male love interests:

Fr what is the deal with this? Almost every series I’ve read this year. Just let the bbys be. 🥰

[raphael-schreave]

Challenge 4: The Midnight Monster Mash

Welcome to Challenge 4, it’s time to get spooky! This time the Royals will be hosting a costume party in honor of Raffy’s birthday on the night of  October 31, 2170 until past midnight. The Great Hall will be conditioned and decorated to replicate The Haunted Mansion, with your classic Halloween set decorations, themed food, and delicious snacks. The famous soft rock/pop bands ‘VI of Clubs’, ‘The Ninth Chord’, and the popular Indie/pop artists, Jack Harris and ‘Blush’ will be in charge of the music as well as DJ Cole. The famous model Jean Faith is going to attend as Prince Archibald’s plus one.   Also, the party will have guests including the families and children of the King’s Council and the National Council, along with governors and foreign royalty from the Monarchical United Nations including Raffy’s cousins from Thailand, (Prince Bhumibol, Princess Chalita, Princess Phatchara, and Princess Janjira) and Princess Cecelia Windsor (yes, the ex #2). On an important note, the Schreaves haven't held any public celebrations of their birthdays for the past couple of years. However, this year-- it had been decided that with this being Raffy’s first year of his reign and the Selection ongoing, it’s a pretty good time to hold a big birthday celebration. At midnight, a countdown will happen during the party to lead into November 1, which is Raffy’s actual birthday. During the party, the host characters will be wearing the following costumes:

An important aspect of this party is the red carpet that will be set up in a hallway leading to the party where members of the press and photographers will be lined up to do interviews with the esteemed guests of the celebration. The Selected Ladies will also be subject to some of these interviews prior to the party itself. (Think of it almost like the MET Gala Red Carpet). You all will have complete control of your character’s experience during this (questions, pictures, etc,) in case you would want to mention it at some point during rps or fics. Please remember it is an extremely controlled event and there are guards posted everywhere to protect the selected and guests. 

The requirement for this challenge is to simply create a poster/make an edit of what your OC will be wearing to the party.

To take dibs on a costume and basically talk about what happens (like the previous two OC’s big parties), here is a doc we’ve prepared for everyone:

[[ LINK ]]

This Challenge will last from October 21, 2170 until November 3, 2170 in the OC Universe, and OOC will last from November 6, 2021 until November 20, 2170. Note: At the end of this challenge, we will also be announcing the picks for the Side Romances.

Eliminations: -Bella -Arely -Emily -Denise -Dahlia 

Edit: There will be two (2) main eliminations after this challenge along with the five remaining throwaways.

[cameronspecial]

I’ve Been Tagged

Tagged by: @celiholland Thanks!

Name: Summer

Nicknames: Patricia, Kiddo, Mer, Idiot, etc

Height: 5 feet

Sexual Orientation: Straight

Nationality: Canadian 

Favourite season: Summer

Favourite flower: Lilies

Favourite scent: Fresh baked cookies  

Favourite colours: Blue and turquoise 

Favourite animals: Elephants and dogs

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: Tea

Average hour of sleep: 7 hours

Cat or dog person: Dog because I think cats are scared of me

Favourite fictional characters:  Newt, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, Maxon Schreave, America Singer, Marlee Tames, Tiberias Calore, Mare Barrow, Kilorn Warren, Cameron Cole, and more because I at least have one favourite character from every book/series I’ve read

Number of blankets you sleep with: 1

Dream trip: Greece, London, or Australia

Blog created: End of June?

Number of followers: 372

Random Fact: I just came back from a concert

Tagging: @upsidedownparker @hollandroos @softspideyboy @glitterypoetrynerd , @erintrain @starksparker

[baguette-le-chef-blog]

Zis vone es for @prince-cole-schreave and @aileen-hollingsworth. Zis es proof zat zis peasants cat sandviches are not better zan mine. Smh. Get in your place, please.

[naomi-lafleur]

@prince-cole-schreave I stole your pumpkinhead 

[hux-the-butler]

A match made een heaven @aileen-hollingsworth @prince-cole-schreave

[haidenschreave]

Confessions | Part Two

Another day, another fic. Stay tuned for the next challenge and eliminations coming tonight. Trigger warning: Anxiety attacks, mentioned drug abuse, and swearing. Proceed with caution and take care of yourselves. <3 (More under the Read More)

It’s a good three days later when I walk in on the Chancellor of the German Federation and the British Prime Minister getting it on in the hallway. They aren’t necessarily all the way there yet, but it’s obvious where it’s going. I’m just lucky that they seem enough into it that they don’t notice me.

The halls are dark, the objects just shadows that are a burden to avoid. It’s late, and I’d just like to go to my room and sleep if I can, maybe stay up and read if my mind becomes restless. I’ve been so antsy the last couple of days with everything that’s happened with the diplomats, the Selected, and Elaine.

Elaine. God, I know I messed up really badly, and I know I should apologize, but… I don’t know, something tells me not to, something that enjoys hurting myself and her at the same time.

I’m lost in my thoughts for so long that I don’t hear footsteps come up from behind me. If I weren’t in a maximum security palace, I’d be concerned, but it’s probably some harmless maid. At least, that’s what I was I’m hoping, but all hope are shattered when they speak: “Haiden.”

I know that voice.

I don’t turn around or even acknowledge that he’s there. When it comes to Cole Schreave. You don’t do anything that could tip him off you actually care. By the proximity of the footsteps, I calculate that he’s a good few feet away from me. I mentally check how far I’d get if I ran.

“Hey,” he says, “I’m talking to you.”

I roll my eyes, still not stopping. “Well, I’m not talking to you, Cole.”

He’s still behind me when he mumbles, “Why are you like this?” He then catches up and grabs me by the shoulder. “Haiden, stop.”

I jerk around. “What do you want?” I haven’t seen him in months, and now he decides to stalk me in the middle of the night?

Cole visibly clenches his jaw. Even in the faint glow of the pale moonlight, he looks perfect. An agile monster that everyone wishes were their prince. I don’t blame them. Cole already looks the part. Unlike me.

“What did you say to her?” he asks me.

I play dumb, which is the only thing I can do at the moment. “To who?”

“Elaine.”

He’s searching for a reaction, I know he is. “I didn’t do anything to her.” Lies.

“I’m not blind. Something’s wrong with her and you’ve been avoiding each other at all times.” Is it really that noticeable?

I snarl. This is not a conversation I want to have, especially at this time of night with him of all people. “Fuck off, Cole.”

“No. I won't. She's hurt Haiden, don't act like you don't see it. Whatever the hell you did, you need to talk to her.” Is she really that hurt? All we did was get in a fight. It happens with all siblings. It’s… normal, right? But what had she said to me before she left? You don’t even care enough to follow. She was right. I hadn’t cared. I hadn’t cared about anything in particular that day.

But I still don’t want to hear this from Cole of all people. “Mind your own goddamn business.”

He glares, inching toward me. “I know we’ve never gotten along, Haiden, but this is Elaine I’m talking about.”

My hands curl into fists. “I don’t want to talk to you. About Elaine, about anything.”

“Trust me, I'm not thrilled with the idea, but I'm here because clearly you're not doing anything about it.”

I scoff. “Elaine can deal with things herself. She doesn't need her sorry excuse for a cousin to meddle.”

Cole laughs dryly and takes a step closer, far too close for comfort. “I'm sorry Haiden, but since her sorry excuse for a brother is so fixed on his tantrum to realize she's actually hurt, I've decided to meddle.” Wow, a low blow, but it’s deserved. I won’t be telling him that, though.

I lean closer to him, our noses just inches apart. “Get out of my palace.”

A lazy smile spreads onto his mouth. “Sorry to break your bubble, but that's not only your choice to make.” Once I’m king, I swear to God.

I shove him before I can help myself, and he stumbles back a few steps. Cole, despite being a fairly fragile child, filled out quite nicely and almost reaches my height. Not to mention he does fencing, so it’s probably better to stay out of a full-on fist fight.

He shoves me back, scoffing. “What is wrong with you? I thought you cared about your sisters! Why are you being like this?” His volume rises with each sentence.

Why am I like this? That’s a question I don’t even know. How am I like what? Myself? Being mean to my sister? There’s a lot of things wrong with me. He’s gonna have to be more specific.

I stop suddenly. “I-I don’t know.” It’s hard to think it, but even hard to voice it aloud. I honestly, truly don’t know.

Cole, who I can tell is trying to calm down, sighs. “Look, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to snap out of it.” He passes a hand through his hair. “I always lose to Elaine on our first round, but yesterday she didn't get one hit on me once. Today she didn't even show up.”

No, that’s bad. Elaine absolutely never misses fencing practice. She always insists on showing up, even when she’s sick or injured. She’s stubborn like that, something I’ve always loved and loathed at the same time.

I slide a hand across my face. “Cole, I don’t know what to do.” He probably doesn’t know what the hell I’m talking about. It’s easy. I just go apologize to Elaine, but I can’t. I just can’t.

Cole pinches the bridge under his nose. “I'm sure you’re under pressure or whatever but don't take it out on her or Eloise.” He shrugs. “Heck, I'll let you hit me a couple for times on a ring, if you want.” I wish I could hit him. I honestly do, but I’m almost afraid if I start hitting him I’ll never stop.

I look down at the ground. “I don’t want to hit you. I…” I look up at him. “Something’s wrong with me.”

Cole stares at me for a couple seconds before placing his hands on his pockets. “What do you mean?”

That single question sends a dozen thoughts through my head. Everything’s wrong with you, you’re worthless. No one here likes you. You’re not good enough. You’ll die alone. You’ll be a terrible king. No one cares about you. They’re not here for you. Your family never thinks you’re good enough. It hurts. It hurts and it stings and it makes me want to shut my eyes and never wake up.

I grab him by the shoulders, a sudden impulse that surprises both Cole and myself. “I don’t know what to do, Cole. I’m ruining everything.”

He raises a hand, probably still startled by my touch. I haven’t touched him in years, and it was always to punch him. “First of all, you need to calm down.”

Tears stream out of my eyes before I can stop them. But I know even if I tried, they’d still come. I have no control over myself. “I can't. I've been trying, but nothing works. I've been taking pills, b-but nothing works.”

He frowns. I can tell he’s trying not to be concerned, but it’s not working. “What do you mean you're taking pills?”

“Sleeping pills, anxiety pills, you know.” Xanax. Temazepam. It sounds worse with the actual name. It’s not a big deal. A lot of people had these issues. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

He squints at me, unconvinced. I don’t blame him. It does sounds suspicious. “You are being careful with the doses… right?” His eyes pierce mine, as if he’s able to detect any lie that I try and pass off. The only problem with that is sometimes the person is convinced of the lie themselves.

I don’t answer, and almost as a way to break the silence, Cole takes a handkerchief out of his coat and hands it to me hesitantly. I grab it from him weakly and shrug. “I don't know. I just take them when I need them.” Half a lie. I know how many I take. I think the real problem is that I don’t care.

Cole’s silent for a while, just staring. Right when it starts getting uncomfortable, he says, “O-Okay, just—be careful with it. I—Just— be responsible with them, will you?” I almost laugh. He sounds like he actually cares about me. If he were anyone else, maybe I’d believe that. “Do my aunt and uncle know about this?”

“No.” No, Mom and Dad can never know about this. Ever.

He leans toward me, his voice lowering. “Does… anyone know?”

“No.” My voice is quieter now. If you listen closely enough, you can hear the slight quivering, the sharp breaths. No, no one knows and no one will ever know.

“Haiden,” Cole says, “I don’t think that’s wise.”

I slouch against the wall and slide slowly to the ground. The tile of the hall sends little bites of chill up my spine. “Just leave me alone, Cole. I’m so tired.”

Cole stares at me for a good ten seconds. It’s easy to see the conflict in his face. Honestly, I’m surprised he’s still here. If I were in his position, I would’ve left already. Somehow, though, he’s still here and I’m both shocked and pleasantly surprised.

After a while of awkwardly staring at my shoes, Cole walks over to me and sits down. He’s still a good distance away, but close enough that I can hear his faint breaths, the slight rumpling of fabric. He glances sideways. “You don’t look well.”

I sniffle. “I’m not.” I haven’t been in so long. This isn’t the first time admitting so.

“How many hours of sleep are you getting?”

God, I hate that question. “I don’t know it kind of blurs.” One day into the next. Into the next. Until I finally collapse from exhaustion.

The sleeping isn’t even that big of a problem. Sure, I’m tired sometimes, but everyone’s tired. I have lots of work to do at night, meetings to attend during the day, Selected to spend time with. It’s normal to forget to sleep occasionally.

After a moment of silence, Cole sighs. I immediately know what’s coming. “Haiden, maybe it’s time to ask for help then.”

“No!” I shout, standing up. “You can’t tell anyone, Cole. P-Promise me you won’t tell anyone.” The desperation in my voice becomes more present with every passing second. No. No one can ever find out about this.

He looks startled by my sudden movement, but he remains seated on the floor. “I—” He grunts, ruffling his hair. “Okay, but on one condition.”

Good, good. How bad could it be? It’ll be fine. “Yeah?”

He hesitates a moment before saying, “I’ll manage your pills.”

My hands ball into fists. There’s no way in hell. “No.”

“It’s just a precaution, Haiden. Please be reasonable.” Reasonable? No, no, I will not be reasonable, especially not to him.

“What? So you can kill me?” I look down at him, analyzing his reaction. He does nothing but frown and stare straight ahead from his seated position on the floor.

“So I can… what?”

I let out a sigh and wipe my face with my sleeve. “I'm not addicted, Cole. I just... need to sleep.”

“I’m not saying you are.” He shakes his head. “You're stressed Haiden, enough to actually—do whatever it is that happened with Elaine— and that means you could end up doing something out of... desperation.” He hesitates for a moment. “You never know, right?”

“W-What do you mean? Desperation?”

“I don't know. But whenever pills are involved I know it's good to be careful.”

Is he… talking about suicide? I guess I can’t really blame him. I can’t say I haven’t considered it a time or two, but it’s not like I was serious most of the time. “Know by experience?” I ask, trying to remove the attention from myself.

He doesn’t answer for a moment until saying, “No.”

I back away a bit, narrowing my eyes. “I don’t trust you, Cole.”

Cole visibly deflates. Maybe he thought we were making progress, maybe he hates me all the same. I really don't know and l really don't care. “Well, you've trusted me today, so you can do it again.”

“Why are you even bothering?” I ask, the desperation rising in my voice.

He shrugs. “Well, you are family… even if you don’t like me that much.”

“I don't know why you care. Family doesn't mean anything. I wouldn't help you.”

He looks down the hallway silently before saying, “I know that.” It probably stings, but what else did he expect from me? I’m not interested in helping, being helped, or even seeing his goddamn face. “I don't care if you would do it or not,” he says. “I'm still going to try and help.”

“I don’t deserve it,” I force myself to say.

He shrugs. “That’s besides the point.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Stop trying to start a fight, Haiden. It won’t work.” Nothing works until someone’s face down on the floor with blood dripping off their nose.

My hands curl into fists. “I’m leaving.”

Cole stands up, and there’s a hint of desperation in his eyes. “Is it really that hard to believe I don't hate you?” Yes.

“No, it's hard to believe I could not hate you.”

His eyes narrow. “I got it when we were kids, but you have no reasons to hate me now.”

No, there are reasons, just ones you never thought of. “Cole, I…” I have a million things I want to say to him, a million insults I wish I could throw, but when I open my mouth they all fall flat on my tongue.

He stares at me as if waiting for an answer. But I can’t seem to voice it. A million thoughts swirl in my head, each fighting for its way up top. Dizziness seems to hit my head before any of the word vomit comes out, and I’m clutching the wall as I feel my legs give out. “I don’t feel well.”

“Haiden?” Hands wrap around my arms, barely holding me up. “What’s wrong? Haiden!”

I hit the ground. Cole softens the impact as much as he can, but I’m sure I’ll have a bruise on my hip. I groan. “My head. It’s spinning.” I don’t tell him it happens a lot.

“I... we need to get you to the hospital wing.”

I press a hand against my eyes. “No.”

He places my arm over his, hoisting me to my feet. “Come on, I don't know what's wrong. You need a doctor.”

“Cole, stop. You don't understand.”

“What? What don’t I understand?” he asks, desperation rising in his voice.

I let out a slight whimper. “If… this get out… I will be ruined.” In more ways than one. Dad will probably suspend me from taking the throne, no one will want love me. I’ll have to cancel the Selection. I’ll be the laughing-stock of Illéa.

“We’ll keep it on the low,” he says, still trying to pull me up.

I stumble a little when I get to my feet. “No one, Cole. The doctor will tell my father.”

“Please, let me help you for once. You don't have to take this all upon yourself, you idiot.”

“Just let me die.” I groan as my head pangs in pain. “Oh God, my head.”

He sighs, pulling me along with him down the hall. “You need a doctor.” I doubt Cole wants to do this any more than I do, so it’s surprising that he’s continuing to help me, no matter how much I oppose it.

Tears start streaming down my face before I can stop them. “What am I gonna do, Cole?”

He stares at me, confusion etching his features. “It's going to be okay, that's not important right now.”

I stick the heels of my palms in my eyes. “What’s the point anymore?”

“Haiden, stop.”

I do, indeed, stop. Thoughts flood my mind; every impossibility, every worse case scenario, every fear comes flooding into my mind. It hurts my chest, suffocates me. At first it’s just the tears, but suddenly my breaths become closer and closer together.

I hate this. I hate everything. I hate the coarseness in my throat, I hate the thoughts in my head. I hate the way that it seems like I’ll never get through this even though I know I will. I know I will get through this, and yet that’s the hardest part to fathom.

You’re weak.

“Okay, listen to me. Tell me what’s wrong.” My back’s against a hard surface—a wall, I think—and Cole’s voice breaks through before anything else does.

“I don't know, Cole. That's the thing. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm trying so hard, but I'm getting nowhere.”

You’re not deserving of this.

He doesn’t touch me and speaks slowly, something I’m very thankful for. “Haiden, I know you're scared about not knowing, but you're not in danger. Just take deep breaths.”

I know, I know, I know, I know.

But God, how it hurts.

I bite down on my own fist, trying to muffle my sobs. You’re weak, Haiden. You’re weak and you deserve none of this. You’re better off dead.

“It'll be over soon, just take big breaths, Haiden.”

I scoot further away, my fingers digging painfully into the rug. “You... don't know w-what you're talking about.” I dig in my suit pocket for the familiar bottle of pills.

Cole scoots in front of me. “Do you remember when our parents tried to make us play soccer together for the first time?”

I think about it for a moment and nod just the slightest bit. I open the pill bottle.

“I remember that I didn't want to play, and I said it was because I didn't want to play with you and that was true, but it wasn't because I didn't like you enough to play, it was because I was scared you'd see how bad I was at it.” He laughs. “Uncle Ashton was always good at it and you seemed to follow suit, but I couldn't aim a ball with my leg even if my life depended on it.”

I take out three of the pills and roll them around with my fingers. They’re orange, the color of the sun when it’s setting. It’s comforting, the way I take them and everything seems to be all right. “You were really bad,” I mumble.

He grins. “ Yes, and I still suck at it by the way... But anyway, Dad insisted that I needed to play and be on his team, and I panicked because I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of everyone, I didn't want Dad to realize I wasn't as good as you, or him, or even your dad. I didn't want people to know I was bad at something that was expected of me.”

I know that feeling.

“I couldn't get myself out of playing though, and as you remember I sucked and Elaine and Eloise wouldn't shut up about it for weeks...But it wasn't as bad as I thought. In the end Dad was still proud of that one goal I made—even if it was on our own goalpost—” He scratches his head. “And even though Elaine and Eloise were insufferable some of the things they said even made me laugh.”

He stares up at the ceiling. “That makes me think we should play some time soon. It's been a while.”

I shuffle the pills back and forth between my hands. “I’d like that.”

“Please let me be goalkeeper though.”

I laugh slightly. “Not a chance.”

“Have mercy on my soul.” There’s a small smile on his face.

I look at the pill bottle and sigh, sliding the pills back in and closing the lid. “Here.” I hand him the bottle. “It's probably better with you.”

Cole raises both eyebrows at me before taking the bottle and sliding into his pocket. “I’m honored. You think you’ll be fine without a doctor.”

I nod. “I just need to sleep.” But I know it’ll be a lot worse than that. Withdrawal is coming soon.

“Okay then.” He stands up and offers me a hand. I ignore it and stand up by myself.

“Can you walk?”

I nod. “I’ll be fine.” Lies. I meet his eyes. “Thank… thank you, Cole.”

“Don’t mention it. That’s what family’s for… right?” I try not to think about it. I know the answer to that question, but I can’t bring myself to say.

“Good night, Cole.”

He grins to himself softly. “Good night, Haiden.”

[fangirlingnextgen]

🐍The Viper🐍

A/N: Because writing about a bitch is always fun, here’s a little ficlet about our hated Andrea. Set right after Fitz’s intervention at the Report.

“Andrea?” He sounds surprised that I call him. I roll my eyes. Last time we talked was like… in January? Not that much ago. “No, it’s your irresponsible daughter.” Alexis. I had high hopes in her, and not only because she is my physical copy. She had what it took to become an ambitious and powerful woman, who needed no one to get what she wanted. But instead she chose “love” and “friendship”. What a disappointment. I thought she understood years ago how pointless and crippling these things are. But one relationship ruined all my plans for her. Brandon Jefford –what an awful name– and his “friends” made her think that she could need to open up to other people. I despise him with all my heart and can’t wait to bring an awful scandal to his family. Though the best part will be when Alexis realizes how wrong he was to bring her toward that path. Then I’ll have my niece back, and she certainly won’t leave again. “You need to be more precised.” Alan answers, trying to joke. I sigh. I can’t believe he still tries so much with me. I hate his sense of humor. I hate his wife too. Well, I hate a lot of things about him. “I have something to ask you.” I look at my nails and wrinkle my nose. I need a new manicure. This time, he’s the one sighing. “Obviously.” He sounds disappointed. I hold back a laugh. Poor man, he keeps hoping I could care for him. “What do you want?” I pace in my office, ignoring the noise outside. Even in one of the highest floors of the building, I can still hear the agitation of Waverly’s downtown. It’s not quiet and peaceful like Angeles… You can’t imagine how much I hate this province. “Well… your daughter dates our dear Prince Dante, right?” He can’t contain a groan. Interesting. Daddy wouldn’t like that his baby girl dates an alcoholic prince? I heard from my informers in the palace that he even took drugs. Maxime always had a talent to choose awful boyfriends. It doesn’t get better apparently. But he’s rich and is a royal, I guess he’s still a good match after all. She spreads her legs, tells him that she loves him, and she gets all fhe advantages dating a prince can give her. I’m impressed honestly. I underestimated her. “You know the answer, Andrea. Just ask what you want to know so desperately that you call me.” “When is he out of rehab?” I didn’t want to need to get his help for it, but the information about Prince Dante’s detox are harder to get than I first thought. His annoying mother protects him better than expected. After all, she let him fall deep into alcohol and depression without doing anything. She probably sent him to rehab just because of all the scandals he provoked with the little and /so/ pure princess Galice. Since when do royals really care about their kids? To be honest I absolutely don’t care about the reasons that led him to rehab. The magazines with his adventures on the cover are bought even more than the ones concerning his sister’s Selection. The royals don’t like it, but people love to hear about the worst side of their life and how imperfect they actually are. “I won’t tell you, Andrea. I’m not stupid.” He is, but that’s not the subject. “Alan, c'mon. People want to know if their prince is getting better there!” I think that once outside, he won’t hold one day before touching alcohol again. It would be fun if he ruined his sister’s wedding because drunk again, no? “That’s not their problem. It’s not yours either. Leave them alone, for once in your life.” Sorry, but no. “You’re so useless.” I sigh, hanging up. I knew it would end up like this, but I thought I could still try. Maxime is my last option. It will be easy. From the two sisters, she’s the one I like the least. She’s always happy, always optimistic, always screaming and exuberant. She’s basically too much. But she’s incredibly manipulable. She thinks that, because I’m family, I can be trusted. She’s so naive, I would pity her if it wasn’t at my advantage. And knowing that her sister is not there to protect her like a guard dog, it will be even easier. “Emily!” I scream. My assitant arrives as fast as she can on her heels. “Yes, miss Holland?” “Book a flight for Angeles. I want to visit my niece.” She nods. “Anything else?” “Tell Marcel to come here.” ———————————————————————— “I should get rid of you, Marcel.” I lean back in my seat, smirking. I can feel how afraid he is for his job. He is responsible of the fail of our latest scandal after all. “How could I know she was lying?” He defends himself. I fake a pout. “You know our first rule, Marcel. We always have to be sure of the information before publishing it.” I revealed a lot of things about celebrities these years, but I always made sure they were true. The last thing I want is a scandal coming back to us. And that’s exactly what happened here. It’s sad for Marcel. He had a lot of potential. “I investigated! And they really knew each other! Randall and Hernandez were described as friends by everyone I questioned!” “But has someone mentioned they were more than that?” No answer. I sigh. So much potential… “I won’t fire you.” I don’t let him time to thank me. “Only if you find me something about the Jeffords. And not a little anecdote. I want something serious enough to be in front cover.” He blinks stupidly, realising what I am asking him. “The Jeffords?” He repeats. I roll my eyes. Nowadays journalists are more and more stupid. “You can’t tell me you don’t know them. They live in the palace, the father and the son are even close to Prince Cole and Prince Collin. Oh, and the mother was a selected!” “I-I know who they are… b-but there is nothing about them.” “There is always something. Find it.” I turn on my seat, having now a view on Waverly. That’s way more beautiful than his face. “Or you know what’s gonna happen.” ———————————————————————— Usually I don’t spend the whole night with David. I don’t want us to be discovered because of a stupid hint like this one. But after what happened with Maxime in Angeles, I needed something to forget. David is perfect at this kind of things. “You’re already leaving?” He mumbles, half asleep. I roll my eyes, putting my earrings on. He’s so annoying on mornings. I don’t know how his wife can bear it. “I have a lot of work to do.” Especially now that it is clear that I won’t get more information about Dante Schreave’s detox treatment. Almost all the issue I planned about him is ruined. And all of that because of his girlfriend, my niece. She’s stupid, and talkative. I thought it would be easy. But she refused to say a word about him. I’m not just surprised she guessed my intentions, I’m honestly shocked. It’s probably my fault too. Everyone is still talking about Randall’s declaration at the Report. She was on her guard because of it, knowing I was looking for a new scandal to make forget this one. She’s more intelligent than she looks like… or Alexis found a way to warn her about me, knowing that I have no limits. This theory is more credible than Maxime being able to think by herself. “I could take you to dinner tonight.” David says, wrapping his arms around me. Shit, I didn’t see him coming. “Your wife comes back this afternoon.” He immediately unwraps his arms with a curse. “Already?” I shrug in answer. I am even a little happy that she comes back. He won’t ask me to go out everyday. “I’ll call you if I have time.” I tell him, grabbing my handbag. Of course I won’t. He’s nothing more than a lover to me. I’m afraid he starts having deeper feelings for me. It means it’s time for breaking up. I’ll convince him that his wife has doubts, it will be enough to make him run to her like an afraid dog. ———————————————————————— “Hourglass you say?” Marcel writes something down. “Okay… thank you.” He hangs up with a satisfied smile, then jumps on his chair when he sees I am staring at him. “M-miss Holland?!” I smile coldly, enjoying the fear I always provoke in my employees. “Have you found stuff?” He looks down at his notes as I sigh. I have other things to do. Such as finding a new issue to replace Prince Dante’s one. “Brandon Jefford fought with two suitors…” I roll my eyes. “I know that already.” The only reason why I hardly mentioned it in my articles is because there were too many rumors about him and Alexis at that time… rumors that ended true. If I protect Alexis and Maxime, it’s not because I am a nice aunt. No, it’s just because they wear the same name as me. If they’re part of a scandal, there will be consequences on me and my magazine too. “He would’ve hit Gabriel Velara because of… your niece.” “Alexis?” He nods. Screw the protect my nieces for my own sake part, this is too great. And I’m not responsible of what they do, right? Plus, if I am the one revealing it, no one can attack me. I should have understood that way earlier. They did so many things I hid to the medias these last years… “Anything else?” “Apparently he had other “outbursts”… like in a pub.“ “Hourglass?” So that’s why he was talking about it when I arrived. “Exactly. And Prince Collin was in that bar with him more than once.” A prince added to the scandal? That will be even greater. I nod. “Good job Marcel. Maybe you’re useful actually.”

————————————————————————

Lalala the shitty article I wrote and that proves that I can’t be a journalist.

How dangerous is Brandon Jefford?

Princess Raena’s Selection is full of moments we will never forget, as in every Selection before hers. Nevertheless, the heiress seems to collect the scandals more than any of her predecessors. The fight between Sir Gabriel Velara and Brandon Jefford, that happened at the very beginning of the competition, is one of them. And it is not even the only time it happened. Indeed Jefford fought with another selected, for unknown reasons. This kind of outburst is common for him. According to our informers, who preferred to keep their identity hidden, Jefford would get angry very easily, and would show it in the worst way possible. He is regularly seen in parties in Angeles bars. Often drunk, he provokes fights with other customers. Said fights often end up in bloodshed. Jefford should have been sentenced for his actions. According to the law it is called “disturbing the peace” and the sanction can be community service or even jail. But of course, no one filed a complaint about Jefford. How could they, when he is clearly protected by royals? Prince Collin is one his closest friends, and often follows him to the parties mentioned above. He obviously makes sure that Jefford never gets problems, and uses his position without scruples. No one can sue him for his crimes. He can freely continue hitting anyone that annoys him without facing consequences. In this context, his break-up with Alexis Beauchamp-Holland can be seen as more than the simple end of a teenage romance. Could his bad temper be the origin of it? Is domestic violence another crime to add to the list? It is very hard to establish, but several members of the palace staff mentioned violent arguments between the two of them, which often ended in screaming and slammed doors. Could he have lost his temper during some of their fights? Is that why Beauchamp-Holland is nowhere to be seen? Indeed, she left Angeles on May 8 and no one can say where she currently is, which leads to our questions. Her sudden disappearance makes think that she ran away… from a violent ex-boyfriend? Anything’s possible, and the bad seems more plausible than the good.

———————————————————————– I didn’t miss Alexis’s strident voice. She got it from her mother, no doubt. Every time she gets angry, her voice gets piercing, it’s unbearable. I have to hold the phone few inches from my ear. “Why do you even care? He’s not your boyfriend anymore.” “It doesn’t mean I–” She stops at the right moment, before saying something stupid. I hold back a sigh. So she still loves him. It’s pathetic. “Why did you do that?” She asks instead. “My readers like drama, especially when it’s about famous people.” “But why him?” She’s so overwhelmed. Just hearing it proves me that this issue was a great idea. I should’ve done something to hurt my nieces earlier. It’s so much fun. “Because his dangerousness had to be revealed! That’s my job.” “He’s not dangerous!” “Tell that to the guys he hit.” I wait few seconds, curious to know what she has to say to defend him, but nothing comes. “I only told the truth, Alexis. It couldn’t stay hidden forever.” “The truth?” She repeats. “You wrote that he was violent with me!” Marcel did, not me. “Well, it’s true.” I answer calmly. “No!” Is it a sob that I hear? Is she crying for him? He made her so weak. That’s disgusting. My disappointment is even bigger now. I thought Alexis was better than that. “No!” “Oh, really? I heard nice rumors from the palace–” “Rumors are often false.” She interrupts me. I go on, ignoring her. “Saying that you went to the hospital wing with him after you got hurt–” “I broke a vase and cut myself with some pieces. That’s all.” She lies. Her voice is too quiet compared to a few seconds ago. “He pushed you. A maid saw it.” She stays silent, desperately trying to find something to defend him. But she can’t argue against the truth. “It was an accident.” She finally says. “He didn’t mean to do this.” “It just proves that he can’t control himself.” I sigh, done with this conversation. She’s so boring. She should rather thank me, after all I decided not to mention this incident in the article. I probably should have, he could have never found a way to deny it happened. “I have work to do Alexis…” “Lives to ruin you mean?” She hangs up before me. Thank God, I thought I would never get rid of her. “Emily!” She appears almost immediately. “Yes, miss Holland?” “Bring me the first draft of the issue of mid-June.” Now that my personal revenge on Brandon Jefford is done, I can think about my next victim. Maxime. She’ll soon regret to have protected her boyfriend, believe me.

[aileen-hollingsworth]

Hospital  C O U R T ~#12

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A/N: Finally got this done asdfghjkl. This takes place literally a day after my last fic, that means the last eliminations haven’t happened yet. This is really short in comparison to other stuff, but inspiration and tests are giving me a hard time. Enjoy Colleen tho!! Hopefully this isn’t bad. No angst this time, Rose. Spot the reference, Viv. Next post will probably be a sort of leaving fic.

“Aileen?”

I shifted at the sound of my name, but buried my head in the covers. “Five more minutes.”

There was a small sound of amusement—not enough to be laughter, but not a snort either—before the voice spoke up again. “Glad to see you’re fine, Match-stick.”

My eyes snapped open at the name and I raised my head from Cole’s bed to look at him. He smiled hazily and relief flooded me again, the action becoming the only other confirmation I needed to know he was okay.

After the doctors had finished their questions and told me to sleep I’d wanted to refuse just to make sure he would be fine, but I’d only managed to stay up for ten seconds before I fell asleep. I’d been exhausted and all the stress and worry had seemed to make it worse. They told me running around right after the concussion had probably not been the best idea either, but at least I’d managed to get Cole help.

By the time I’d woken up from my fifteen hour nap, he was stable and awake as well, but his family was in there checking up on him and I’d decided not to intrude. A couple of hours later they left, but it was to let him rest, so I decided not to go in yet again. Then Haiden had come to check up on me, and found me sitting on my cot, humming to myself as I stole glances at the wing where Cole was being monitored.

He’d asked me how I felt before helping me stand up and mumbling a “come on.” Then we’d ended up in Cole’s room. The nurse had informed us that he was fine, and I’d felt reassured by the way his chest moved up and down as he breathed in his sleep, but the image of his labored breathing had hunted me too much to let go of my worries that easily.

Staring at his smile and hearing his voice however made them disappear.

“Hey there, snowflake” I grinned, standing up slowly.

After sleeping and taking some pills for my headache I’d felt better, but my mind was still a bit foggy, so I was trying to be careful. The doctors had mentioned it would take a couple of weeks for me to get completely better and that during that time I should avoid activities that demanded a lot of concentration as well as physical strain, but besides that I would be fine.

“Please don’t,” Cole laughed lightly this time, but he seemed to be trying not to. “Call me cabbages if you want. Just not snowflake.”

I helped him move the bed to a sitting position with a smirk. “Not manly enough for you?”

He rolled his eyes, but then smirked back. “Let’s just leave the snow jokes to my mother, okay? She and her friends have enough of those to go around, trust me, Princess Winter and all.”

A laugh escaped me, but I was fast to cover it up with my hand.

He frowned. “Oh, come on. I survived a bullet to hear that laugh again, don’t hide it from me now.”

I blinked at his words before my cheeks heated up. Was that a compliment? I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the blush that was probably already invading my face. “I’m uh… I’m not trying to hide it.” I stepped aside, so he could see Haiden slumped on a nearby chair with his arms crossed over his chest, sleeping.

I raised both eyebrows as I realized Haiden wasn’t wearing his coat anymore but then noticed it was on my shoulders and sighed. Taking it off, I walked over to him and placed it over his crossed arms like a blanket. “I don’t want to wake him up.” I whispered, making my way back to Cole.

He stared at Haiden for a while as if considering something and then looked back at me. “How is he doing?”

I sat at the edge of his bed with another sigh. “I think he’ll be good.”

“And what about you?”

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. “Nothing happened to me.”

“What happened yesterday was more than just nothing—whether you got hurt or not—that rebel slammed you into that wall pretty hard.”

Oh, right. He doesn’t know about the concussion. “Yeah well…I’m okay now.”

He eyed me warily before staring at the ceiling. “So, I’m guessing Aunt Alize…” he couldn’t finish the question, but I got it.

“No,” I stared down at my hands as a lump formed on my throat “the Queen didn’t make it.” The sentence seemed to fill the room and we fell silent.

Tears prickled my eyes and I wasn’t sure if it was part of the concussion’s extra moodiness or the fact that the Queen’s passing meant my best friend lost his mother, but either way everything was a mess.

“I see…” this time it was him who sighed. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, something bothering him.

“Were you close with her?” I wondered.

He shut his eyes, overwhelmed. “Not as much as you are with your family, but—”

“She was still family” I finished for him and he opened his eyes again.

“She wasn’t even able to say goodbye. No last words. No nothing.” He examined the blankets for a while and I hesitated only a second before reaching for his hand to squeeze. 

He didn’t glance back at me, but instead looked down at our hands, turning his over so our palms would be facing each other and silently tracing circles with his thumb over my knuckles. I could only stare down at the action as I gulped once more.

Even though it was slightly confusing I remembered the scattered thoughts that filled me during my run for help and my conversation with Haiden as he carried me to the medical wing. I thought of how I couldn’t let Cole die; how I needed to get him help or I wouldn’t be able to handle losing him. I thought of how I needed to dance with him again, make him laugh and push him into fountains. I wanted to take pictures of him with Boots when he wasn’t looking, to see him glare at me whenever I teased him, to hear him call me stupid fire related nicknames. I’d even told Haiden I thought I liked Cole semi deliriously, but I’d spent half of the morning wondering if maybe I wasn’t delirious at all when I’d said it.

“That could have been me” he mumbled, though it seemed to be mostly to himself.

“It wasn’t you.”

He finally held my gaze. “But it could have been me.”

“Stop saying that.” I glared and he gave me a weak smile.

“No, you don’t understand. I mean I could have lost my chance to say so many things.” He linked our hands. “I could have missed my chance to tell you so many things.”

Oh my lordy... “What could you possibly want to tell me?” I questioned, dismissively, and he smirked.

“Oh, you know important things. Like how I went through a five-story-building staircase once. Quite thrilling let me tell you.”

A grin spread across my face at his reference. “That does seem like important information.”

“Of course it is.” A head tilt and a small laugh. “That’s not the most important information however.”

“And what is then?”

“Well, it was supposed to be a secret.”

I scooted closer to him, not really caring about what I was doing. “I’m good at keeping those.”

“You sure?” He moved a stray strand of hair out of my face, carefully placing it behind my ear.

“As much as I kept your kink for staircases a secret.” I leered and his smile widened with the roll of his eyes.

“You didn’t keep that one so well.”

“True, chances are I won’t be able to keep this one if it’s that good either.”

He cupped my cheek with another short laugh. “I’ll take the risk. You see, I’ve been accused of being in love with you.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. “And how do you declare yourself?”

He raised an eyebrow at me, surprised by my response, but recovered quickly. “How about we use a lie detector? Just in case” he brought our linked hands to his chest, making my palm rest upon his heartbeat and it felt like nothing else but the two of us existed as we grinned at each other.

“Cole Winston Schreave,” I began, and he snorted at his full name “you have been accused of being in love with Aileen Hollingsworth, the most amazing girl you’ll ever find if I do say so myself. How do you declare yourself?”

I felt his heart beat rhythmically as he exclaimed, “Guilty.”

“No defense, huh?” I beamed and he shook his head trying not to laugh.

“Nope, it was impossible not to do so, I regret nothing. What is my conviction?”

“Community service.” I teased.

He rubbed a finger over my cheek with a blissful smile. “Do I have any other options?”

“Life sentence” I stated.

“Where?” He grinned.

“Depends on wherever I go.”

His features lit up as he pulled me closer to him and our lips met. It was a soft and delicate kiss, but he poured in all the feelings from the other times he’d almost leaned in for one. His heartbeat fluttered against my hand and I leaned closer to him, wondering who I’d been trying to fool when I’d doubted my feelings for Cole. We parted with grins and he joked about how he should have accepted his verdict a lot sooner—and it was everything I could have wished for in a kiss at the moment.

We looked at each other, our noses touching as we smiled. I’d never felt so much gratitude for bumping into someone on a hallway before.

“I think I just became your accomplice.” I jested.

His blue eyes glistened with another laugh, “Inculpatory evidence indeed, Firework.” 

previous | next 

[naomi-lafleur]

@prince-cole-schreave

[aileen-hollingsworth]

What the wind brought ~ #10

A/N: Last challenge for me probably! There was a ‘who-knows-how-many’ part fic before this, but due to time I have to post this before. I’ll post the others later, however...and I’m pretty sure there will be one or two fics taking place after this...so not the last thing I’ll write lol, you ain’t getting rid of me yet. Something from Cole’s perspective might come, who knows. This takes place during Haiden’s birthday ball. Thanks @prince-consort-kile​ for the rp as @winter-havilliard​ and windy fam. Ft. Cole & his family. As always, apologies if this is horrible ;) (P.S. School sucks for writing)

I had only briefly chatted with one of the ex-selected…and now in Haiden’s birthday party I wondered if maybe I should have taken the opportunity to talk to more—just to see if I could hear any interesting stories—since I would probably leave the palace soon. I looked around to see if I could find the birthday boy, and noticed him talking with a dignitary. Fun stuff there. I almost considered coming in with an excuse to save him but couldn’t come up with anything sufficient.

You are my best friend, you know.

I smiled at the thought of Haiden’s words from a couple of nights back. I really hoped he would be happy and my gaze shifted across the room, wondering who would be the one. Even if he didn’t want to give me a name yet I was glad to know he was at least starting to like someone—whoever it was. 

I was in the middle of pacing the room, thinking of talking to Mila or Naomi, when a rather unexpected companion approached me.

“Hello, darling, I’m Winter.”

“Oh…” I tried to smile, doing a curtsy without seeming surprised “A pleasure to finally meet you Princess Winter.”

“So, I've seen you've met some of my children.”

That’s a weird question. “Yes...Cole and Autumn so far. Autumn is quite energetic, but very sweet.”

“She's definitely a lot. That girl's going to rule the world one day, I'm sure.” She laughed at the thought and I joined her before she added, “What about Cole?”

“Well, he's not the sweetest guy out there” I smirked with an eye roll “or that's what he pretends.”

“Not the sweetest?” the princess seemed slightly bothered by the news “Don't mind him. He's just hopped up on that teenage angst.”

I laughed again. “That's probably true. He's not that bad once you get to know him.”

“Give him a few months. He'll turn 20 and leave it all behind. I like to think I've gotten to know him pretty well. I did birth him.”

“Oh, that does seem to make you a very reliable source. Personally, I've convinced myself he just likes scaring off people with that unreadable expression of his to avoid conversing. Guess it didn't work for him this time.” Gladly.

She chuckled and I couldn’t help but note some of the similarities between her and Cole. “Guess not. He likes his quiet time.”

“Have to say his silent staring was rather confusing at the beginning.” I snorted, but before she could reply Cole seemed to appear out of nowhere, budding into our conversation with eagerness.

“Mom!” He noticed my surprise and cleared his throat to collect himself. “What are you doing here?”

Princess Winter didn’t seem bothered by his strange attitude. “Oh, hi baby! I'm just talking.”

He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion for a reason I didn’t quite understand. “Why?”

Is it bad that she’s talking to me?

“Why not?” his mother countered “It's encouraged that former Selected speak to the current Selected.”

“That is true.” I nodded.

“...Selected” I noticed him clench his jaw. “Right, yes...Of course.” He looked the other way as if to say we could continue talking but didn’t leave.

His mother gave him a peering look. “Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you alright, snowflake?”

He turned to look at her alarmed and slightly flustered as I tried not to laugh. No wonder he calls me nicknames.  

“Mom...” he sounded embarrassed.

“Nice nickname.” I decided it would be fun to press on that.

“Isn't it cute? I thought it was.”

He glared at me and then looked back at his mom. “I'm fine.”

“I don't know, you seem tense, feel free to be more in the conversation. It might lighten you up.”

I could see his cheeks turning red. I’d only ever seen him blush when Haiden and I teased him by calling him kinky, so deciding I wanted to see him flustered again I joined his mother’s queries. “She's right, are you ok?

“Yes.” he insisted. “I'm glad you two are both concerned, but like I said before, I'm fine. I can't join a nonexistent conversation however, so…” he gestured for us to continue and I was disappointed he hadn’t blushed entirely.

“Hmm... alright then” plan B “how was Cole when he was little?”

He cleared his throat. “I don't think that's—” he started, but before he could get another word out his mom started gushing.

“Oh, my little Cole was just the cutest little boy. He had the biggest blue eyes and the brightest smile, such a little thing too.”

That seemed to work.

“Mom, maybe—”

“Brightest smile? Oh, I do agree” I elbowed him playfully “but it isn't as easy to get it out of him now.”

“I didn't smile that much back then either.” he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Darling, don't lie.” the princes pinched his cheeks and I couldn’t hold my laughter any longer. “I used to think your face would freeze smiling.”

“Mom, that hurts.” his voice was muffled by her pinching.

She ignored his protests and then frowned after assessing his suit—her hands immediately straightening his clothes. “I swear, Cole, you need to stop allowing your clothes to wrinkle. You look homeless.”

Almost blushing.

“Oh, I tell him that all the time.” I joked and he glared back.

“You do not” then back at his mother—finally blushing—he added “and I do not look homeless, I make sure my clothes are ironed because of you.”

“Well, at least keep your tie in place. I will not have the country thinking I'm not capable of teaching my son how to look presentable. I am so sorry, Aileen. Sometimes my maternal senses completely take over.”

“Understandable.”

Cole scowled, slightly offended. “I—I look presentable!”

“Oh my gosh, Cole! Aileen listen to him, he sounds just like my husband. He has this little stutter when he's embarrassed. It's the cutest thing.”

“Oh, really?”

“Pfft—whaaa—I…—that's not— Mom seriously I don't—I never stutter...” he trailed off and looked the other way. This was a new level of flustered.

“Cole! I love you, baby. You're just like your father.” The princess was gushing so much I wouldn’t have been surprised if hearts started floating in the air around her like on cartoons. “Isn't he precious?”

“Have to admit he is.” I laughed and he adjusted his glasses, his whole face red now.

“Mom, please, this— this is not helpful.”

She hugged Cole tightly, completely towered by him. “I'm always helpful. It's my job as your mother.”

“Mom…” it felt like the only protest he could utter under the circumstances.

His whine was immediately followed by a new one however. “Mom!”

Princess Winter didn’t miss a beat to turn around. A boy that practically reached my height walked over to us. “Oh, yes dear?” she looked back at me apologetically. “Sorry, this is my son, Jason.”

Oh boy. Thirteen year old flirting boy.

“And who are you?” Jason practically winked at me and Cole glared down at him since he was still taller than his younger brother.

“Too old for you.” He snapped.

“Please, age is just a number.”

He took a step closer to him with a cold gaze. “Yeah, and death is just a nap.”

“Umm,” I stood there awkwardly, confused by Cole’s sudden change in manner, but it didn’t last long as none other than Prince Cody walked over to smack him on the head—trailed by a girl around my age holding Autumn’s hand as she fumed.

“Hey, no threatening your brother.” The prince warned. I wasn’t sure if he noticed I was there but I tried not to seem too nervous surrounded by most of Cole’s family. Schreaves. Royals.

My nervousness disappeared however as—who I could only guess to be—Wendy spoke up.

“What? Was being decent for more than two seconds too much for you, Cole?”

A third girl appeared, not much older than the one that had just spoken, staring at us clearly confused. “Why are we all over here?”

Cole ignored the third girl's question and answered Wendy’s, gesturing at Jason with his head. “He was making her uncomfortable.”

“Um, I was fine,” I snickered, but I doubted anyone heard.

“Mom! Wendy won't let go of me!” Autumn protested, clearly annoyed, but both her mother and sister ignored it.

Wendy frowned. “Who? Jason?”

Jason yelled a “No!” at the same time Cole said “Yes!”

“Probably.” The last sister (that hadn’t been mentioned) shrugged. I assumed she was Violet.

“Dad!” Autumn whined again but Prince Cody was too busy whispering something into Winter’s ear.

“What is it?” Their mother asked absently, too busy smiling at her husband, but Wendy still began to explain why she wouldn’t let go of Autumn.

“She tried to convince a guard to steal some food from people.”

Then everyone gave different responses at the same time. Oh, wow.

I hesitantly decided to speak up in the middle of it all. “A pleasure to meet you all…” It sadly sounded more like a question than a statement and I stood there awkwardly bawling my hand into the dresses’ skirt, wondering if I should even bother with a curtsy.

Jason seemed to perk up at my statement however. “The pleasure’s all mine” he leered, reaching for my hand to give it a kiss.

Uh...

Prince Cody hit him this time. “Jason!”

At that I did have to laugh and Violet joined in too. Cole shook his head with a sigh.

Winter seemed to realize some introductions where needed. “I am so sorry, Aileen. This is my husband Cody.”

“Uh, yeah—um hi.” he stuttered.

Winter practically beamed as if saying ‘there it is!’ “Adorable, I know.”

All the children groaned—even Cole—and I found it all so strangely amusing it was hard not to grin.

“A pleasure...and this is great to be honest.”

Cole’s eyebrows shot upward and he glanced at me. “It is?”

Jason took the opportunity for a move. “Of course it is. I'm here” he winked.

Cole rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

“I think I'm going to throw up.” Wendy mumbled.

“I think I just did.” Violet stated, deadpan.

Cole swiveled around to look at her with a frown. “What?”

“Figure of speech. Oh my gosh, Cole. Get it together.”

He scowled at her.

Autumn rolled her eyes for the sixth time in a row. “I'm so bored right now.”

“Well, I guess I'm not too worried about my family anymore.” I mumbled. For a moment had been worried all the random dancing had been a bit too much for him to handle on the first meet. Not that I believe he’ll ever see my family again anyway but…

“I told you they weren't as bad” he grumbled.

“We're not bad! We're just very close.” Winter chided.

“Yeah, don't mind my kids. They're not as great as my wife. It's impossible.”

The Princess’ blush matched the one Cole had had a few minutes ago as she almost giggled. Everyone groaned again and I could only smile at their reactions.

“I'm actually so offended right now.” Violet admitted, but Wendy dismissed her.

“Used to it.”

“Why are you like this?” this time it was Cole who protested and I shoved him.

“Let them be in love.”

He glared at me, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me.”

Jason tried a move again. “So... Aileen... how you doin'?”

“Did you seriously just say that?” Violet practically scoffed.

I glanced at Cole. “At least he has manners.”

He took full offense in this and opened his mouth to say something when Wendy interrupted him.

“I'm done. I'm going to look for a good looking guard.”

“That's my girl. When I was your age, I was married.” Winter proclaimed proudly, but her husband had a different reaction.

“Wha—ah, no Wen—stop,” she was gone before he could even get a sentence out. “Oh God.”

Autumn, who had finally been released by Wendy, yelled “FREEDOM!” as she left. A couple of bystanders stared at her as she walked away.

Violet did a small curtsy before staring at her brothers and parents. “Well... this has been fun. I'm going to go. Love you!

Jason took a step closer to me and winked again. If he really wanted that to work one day he would need to tone down the winking. “Looks like it's just you and me.”

Winter and Cody gave him puzzled looks and I raised an eyebrow at him. He blew a kiss before Cole decided to stand between us, dramatically clearing his throat.

“Don't be jealous, Cole. There's enough of me to go around.”

“Why you little—”

He mother glared him into silence. “Cole! I dare you.”

Prince Cody covered Jason’s mouth. “Alright. That's enough out of you.”

Even though Cole hadn’t finished his sentence his parents seemed adamant on making him remember ‘Mama's rules’ and briefly scolded him for his attempt.

After they were done Jason removed his father’s hand from his mouth. “I'm still here, y'know.”

Cole immediately glared down at him.

“Jason, why don't you come with me to get something to eat? Sound good? Great.” Prince Cody pushed him away, only briefly turning around to kiss Winter before leaving. “I love you, Win.”

Jason took the opportunity to get out of his grasp and kissed my cheek. “HAH!”

I would have punched him in the face if it had been anywhere else.

“JASON” Cole seemed ready to hit him for me, but their father grabbed his shirt and ripped him away with embarrassment, before Cole had a chance.

“Dear Lord, child? Chill your hormones!”

Princess Winter placed a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Calm down, Snowflake. He's just playing. I'll give him the talk later. Is that a worthy punishment?”

“He shouldn’t be playing like that,” he grumbled in response and I was suddenly very intrigued by how overprotective he’d been during it all.

“Wait, why do you even care?”

Cole froze and his mother grinned.

“Ooh, she got you there. If you'll both excuse me, I'm going to go find my husband. It was so lovely meeting you, Aileen. Cole, fix your tie. Bye!” She left and I looked back at him only to have him stare at his shoes.

“It’s a nice party.”

Nice view you’ve got of it there. I elbowed him. “I like your family.”

“They’re crazy.” He sighed.

“I’m crazy, and in case you don’t remember my cousins forced you to dance in the middle of our living room after ‘washing the dishes together’ turned into a musical.”

He smiled. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“I’m beginning to think you and Haiden have really strange standards for what is and isn’t bad.”

“I’ve never had that much fun washing the dishes, so there’s that.”

“I doubt you’ve ever washed dishes before” I joked, and as I rolled my eyes a new song began. We exchanged looks before glancing away.

“I like your dress.” He mumbled.

“I like it too” I smirked and he laughed—I liked the way he tilted his head slightly whenever he laughed—as if his amusement was always followed by curiosity.

“No compliments for me?”

Giving him a sideways glance I stated, “You’re tie is crooked.”

“Guess my Mom is right then.” A head tilt and a light laugh.

“We can fix it though.”

I reached for his tie and pulled him by it into the group of people dancing.

They were in the middle of their second dance when shots where fired and chaos erupted.

previous | next 

[fangirlingnextgen]

No book

Fitz

As expected, there were no books that had any answers for me besides the obvious. The obvious I came to accept. When she had a cold three days ago, I knew it wasn't just the doctor in me that wanted to take care of her, wanted to make her feel better, as I've wanted to make her smile and laugh, for some time now, as I had hopes to run into her, hopes to catch her gaze during dinner. There is no other diagnoses to conclude.

My brain releases dopamine every time we talk, causing the feeling of happiness. Theoretically, it just means I get rewarded with positive hormones when I spend time with her.  In reality, it makes me want to spend more and more time with her, listening to whatever she tells, knowing about who she is, and her to know me. It's a different thirst for information and knowledge than what I'm used to, nevertheless, so far, I don't seem to mind. I feel foolish for ignoring it before, yet all the same, can I blame myself? Can I blame myself that when that nurse thought of a ‘crush’, I wanted a second opinion, a third, even a fourth? Knowing Gal, someone so kind, it felt natural to be wanting to be around that. Who wouldn't? And who would I be if I insinuated a feeling I wasn't sure of?

As I carried her then to her room a couple of days ago, sound asleep and clearly in need of a rest to get better from her cold, wearing my jacket, I couldn't stop staring at her face. I left my jacket in her room on purpose, hoping the maids wouldn't notice as I left it on her desk-chair. At the time, I wondered why. Now I know I wanted her to have an excuse to see me again. She has a different excuse now. The first day I wondered if a crush could become worse than it already was, causing feverish feelings, a hurting throat, but that, naturally, wasn’t the case. Interestingly, it was an actual cold this time. And she came to see me, as she now sits on the edge of my bed. Apparently my macrophages weren’t strong enough to fight of the virus, so now my T and B lymphocytes are fighting inside me to get better. The slight downside to that is...My throat hurts, and my nose is running, my head pounding with heat. But, look on the positive sides, right? “Sorry I got you sick…” she starts, “I guess you should have avoided me a bit more…” She frowns in concern. I open my mouth to contradict, but it immediately makes me cough. Avoided her? “Getting sick was definitely worth it Gal,” I respond, almost mentally patting my back. Maybe, things might work out. Maybe we feel the same, if we cancel out the feelings caused by the cold. So many maybe’s; I still wish there was a book for this.  I let out another cough, turning my head to the side.  Galice her cheeks turn a pinkish colour, looking away just as I look back at her. “I don't like the idea of making you sick.” I open my mouth to object because it’s no big deal, but then a nurse comes walking in to check up on me. “Hey there mister Fitz,” she says, before turning to Gal, “Princess.” Her badge reads Ronja, and I’m quite sure I have seen her before when I visited the hospital wing, not to forget when I got diagnosed with a ‘crush’. She nods in Gal her direction, smiling, which gladly, seems sincere. “How are you doing?” Ronja asks me.  “Fine, really, just a cold.” She quickly checks my forehead. “Hm, a little feverish. Wasn't the crush after all, huh? I'll get you some extra vitamins.” Vitamins? Good. Basically telling her about that crush thing? No, please, no. If my head wasn’t above the average temperature already, I would more clearly feel the blush taking over my head.  “Uh…” Galice seems to have the same reaction, the red reaching her ears again, her eyes widening in surprise. It makes me hopeful, despite it being possible the expression is out of embarrassment.  Ronja looks from one red headed person to the other, her eyebrows raising. “Oh..uh, I'll get those vitamins right away! They are hard to find so I'll take long! Okay kids? Bye!” With a pace above what’s considered normal, she awkwardly walks out of my room, leaving us behind. I have no idea where to look, and I cough, maybe more out of discomfort with the situation than being sick. “Uh, what did she mean by…” Galice gulps before she continues, “Crush?” For a second, I consider whether or not to turn this into a philosophical question.  What do people mean by a crush? Right? I sniff and cough once more. This is the worst time to be sick.   “I uh, I thought I was sick before... I wasn't…” I look away, clearing my throat which is sort of rubbing sand paper up and down. “She said it was-it was that other thing.” “The other thing...As in a crush?” Thank goodness for her not looking back at me for the moment. Yet, even now, in what must be one of the most embarrassing moments in my life, I look at her face. “Y-Yes…” I carefully let out. “So...you have a crush…” she says, looking through her lashes. I nod to confirm, quite sure now of this, the blush still on my face to support that statement. “And a cold now…” She nods as well, perhaps taking in the information, and who can blame her? I confessed this, or actually dear Ronja did, and now I’m waiting. Patiently, nervously, waiting, with my head pounding feverish.  Theoretically, there should be a fifty-fifty percent chance right? If we just discard all the factors of-...of, well basically everything.   “Right... Uh, who do you have a crush on?” she mumbles, looking down at her hands, “Raena?” I scoff without thinking, “What? No of course not! Why-- Gal…” I reach out for her hand, feeling her warmth. Galice finally meets my eyes, slowly, but still. “Yeah?” I tilt my head, shifting the imaginary weight I feel in my head, pressing against my forehead with an annoying ache I decide to ignore. Doesn’t she get it? She shifts her head exactly the opposite sight. “Oh…” she lets out in understanding, gulping. She looks away for a second, returning with a slight curl on the corner of her lips.  “I don't know what you're implying here…” “Goodness Gal!” I reply with a sniff, before coughing to the side, “I like you.” My voice is hoarse, it barely coming out in a whisper. Nevertheless, Galice grins in victory, hearing it loud and clear. She squeezes my hand, her grin turning into a shy smile. “Really?” If she could feel how my heart is trying to beat out of my rib cage right now (biologically impossible, of course), she wouldn’t have to ask. Her smile is enough to question if it really is biologically impossible for that to happen. Nodding, my own lips curl upwards, almost into a full-on grin.  ‘Maybe’ becomes more and more probable. “Well then,” she speaks, leaning forward. Softly, her lips press a kiss on my forehead. “Maybe I like you too…”

In that moment, it’s clear to say science fails in these moments. Science fails to explain. Science can’t grasp this, therefore, I can’t grasp this.

In result, I simply grin like a fool, seeing her pink-coloured face, making me want to kiss her in response, those lips that match the sweet shade of her cheeks. I shouldn’t yet. “That's-that's great…” The smile stays on her lips as we look at each other, nothing to say for several seconds. Her soft fingers run circles on the back of my hand, as the tickling sensation in return runs as well. “It is…” “Getting sick was even more worth it now,” I tease with a smirk. An adorable giggle escapes her, the flushed red now calming down, nevertheless still covering her ears, nose and freckles. “Shush,” she reprimands. Coughing again, wincing a little at the ache it gives, followed by a sniff, I respond: “Yes miss.” She moves some of my un-styled hair away from my forehead, silently taking in the contours of my face. I doubt I am worth looking if I look just slightly as miserable as I feel. Psychically, that is, because mentally? I could take on anything right now, no one able to wipe this smile of my face. “I want another tour for as soon as I get better if I may,” I say eventually. She laughs shortly, it fading out in a smile, while she rests her hand on my cheek, burning on my skin. “Are you asking me out?” “Maybe, if you say yes?” I smirk as I speak. “Hmm, maybe…” “I'll take a maybe.” I squeeze shortly in the hand I still hold, and don’t plan to let go. Galice gives a beautiful grin in response. I really like her grinning, a little mischievous, despite the fact that she looks like she wouldn’t hurt a fly, I’m sure she can cause a little trouble within boundaries. I try to breathe through my nose, even if that’s impossible right now. Gal tilts her head at the sound, which I suppose is fair, as I did the same when she wasn’t feeling well. “Maybe you should rest.” As if I’m given permission, my eyelids fall down. Adrenaline and emotions can tire a healthy body enough as it is. “Hmm maybe…” I answer, my smile not fading, not even slightly. “I'll come see you again only if you sleep,” I hear her say. “As you wish…” I let out, accepting how my body decides I have no energy left for now.  Faintly, there’s still a tickling sensation on my hand, as I doze off further and further.

I dream.

Regardless of my lack of focus these past days, I sit in the library, trying to read a book on how cells from the bone marrow can be used in different types of treatment. I have enough to think about, now that I am no longer laying in my bed to recover from a simple cold, I should figure out how to find a perfect date for Gal. Not to forget, figuring out how I should tell Princess Raena.

Abruptly, my thoughts get disturbed by a person with fire red hair, which I see moving in the corner of my eyes. She sits beside me, as I recognise her as Princess Adara Schreave, sister of Galice Schreave, daughter of Aileen and Cole Schreave. Sister of Galice. “What you reading there, handsome?” Oh dear goodness, no. Raising my eyebrow at her behaviour, I remind myself to answer politely. However, didn’t I see her multiple times with the clumsy curly haired guy? Didn’t her sister tell about...us? “Clinical medicine, Princess,” I respond casually, before turning back to read further. “Hmm…” she lets out, pausing for a moment as she averts her gaze to something else. Then she scoots closer to me, “Sounds interesting.” She rests her chin on her hand, leaning her elbow on the desk, close to my book. The smile on her face could be easily described as coy, as she continues. “Care to share some information about it?” Oh come on. Subtly, I try to shift my chair just slightly away from her, feeling uncomfortable with what this is. “Uh, not specifically, it's just about medical stuff basically so…” Focusing my view back to the letters on the page, I pray she will understand. Just to be sure, I add: “Have a nice day, Princess.” She scoffs, leaning against the backrest of the chair with an amused grin on her face. “Good enough Doctor, no need to be rude,” she says as she lifts her hand in the air and motions. It simply leaves me frowning in confusion, and even more so as I see two more persons come closer. Prince Collin Schreave, middle name unknown, brother of Gal. Brandon Jefford, son of Aliya and Ray Jefford, friends of the royal family. “Wait...W-what is going on?” I wouldn’t have considered it possible to find the book I was just reading easy compared to figuring out this situation. Brandon Jefford is the first to speak, not answering my question however. “Well done,” he says, addressing Princess Adara, “I'll tell Steve you can flirt like that.” The grin on his lips is teasing, yet doesn’t leave me any less confused. She in response, rolls her eyes, “Shut up.” The Prince takes a nearby chair and plops on it, casually, as if he has known me for ages. I admit I have done a fair share of observing all of them during dinners, simply out of interest. “So Fitz, what's up?” Three questioning faces are aimed at me, as I look from one to the other, aiming to read any hints on them. “Not much…” I let out. “Really? Are you sure buddy?” The Jefford kid answers quickly after.  “No?” The frown on my forehead deepens, “What is this?” “Just a simple conversation,” Galice her sister replies with a smirk.  “It seems as simple as a mitochondrion so far…” “Mito-whatta?” Prince Collin sighs, slightly shaking his head at his friend. “Please use terms he'll get.” “...Okay, then why are we having this simple conversation?” “You know why, you punk!” Jefford says, raising his voice a little as he pricks his index finger in my chest as a warning. It makes his friend sigh again, within just 30 seconds apart. Almost impressive. I don’t know whether I should be annoyed, amused or kind of scared. So far I still settle on confused. “Dude, why?” He shrugs as if to say ‘why not’. Princess Adara seems to have chosen to be amused by them, reminding me slightly of Galice with her expression, then turns back to me. “Okay, how about with start with introductions?” I raise my eyebrow in suspicion, however I doubt I have a lot of choices, cornered by the three of them. “Eh, okay,” I say, offering my hand to the Princess, who is seated closest to me.  “I'm Fitz Randall, nice to meet you, I think.” “You think? Wow.” She shakes my hand, firmly enough. “Of course it is nice to meet me. You wouldn't want an intervention with just the two of them, trust me.” “Intervention?” Of course. “Is this because of…” Her brother raises his eyebrow as he waits for me to finish the sentence. He’s gonna make me spell it out, isn’t he? Nurses, and now brothers, determined to make me uncomfortable. I’m quite sure my face shows said discomfort, yet I can’t help it. “Oh crap…” Closing the book -I will probably won’t get the rest to read further any time soon- I continue. “Okay, so it is because Gal…” In unison, the siblings reply. “Yes.” I sigh. “Okay, what do you want to know?” “Criminal record?” the Jefford asks immediately.  “....No.” “Hmmm.” “Any girlfriends back home?” the Princess asks next. How do I look to them? Do I seem like I would do such a thing? Absurd. “No? Why would I-- No, of course not.” She shrugs, “One never knows.” “Okay, enough about that,” her brother interrupts, “Why do you like her and what's your angle here?” Embarrassingly, a blush creeps up at my cheeks. “Well she's…” Just thinking of her, my lips for a smile, “She's funny, caring, talented and--” And I am telling this to them. Inappropriate to say the least, so I clear my throat, and shake my head slightly at my own behaviour which I still don’t understand. The way Galice her sister raises her eyebrows, entertained, I wonder if she will tell her. Even her brother smiles. “Go on.” And make more a fool of myself? I avert my gaze, hoping to hide the heat on my face. “Okay this is kind of cute,” Brandon speaks.  “Well, well...if it isn't Branbran's shipper heart showing,” the Princess teases. “Oh shut up. The guy likes mint cookies ice cream!” “How do you know that…” I ask puzzled. “Because he's that good a stalker,” his friends says, backing him up, or trying to make me more nervous. So far, they have been civil, nevertheless I am sure they are forming opinions of me. Opinions including if I’m good enough for Gal. I want to be good enough for Gal.  “That doesn't say much, I'm just good at everything.” I decide to grab the book of the desk, before I leave a bad impression somewhere, somehow.  “Great! So we're done here?” I smile awkwardly. Prince Collin presses the book down to the desk before I can leave. I gulp at his determination. “I didn't say we were done.” His sister whispers in my direction, “I'd stay put if I were you.” Gee, thanks for the tip. I let out a breath in the form of a sigh, trying to let out useless nerves with it. This chair has become severely less comfortable. “Good kid.” She grins. “So you like her. I believe that, but what's your angle?” the brother asks again.  Angle? I don’t know? A hundred-eighty degrees? Straight? “Angle? Does there have to be an angle? Can't I just like her?” I heat up just saying it out loud. “How adorable.” Ignoring his sister, Prince Collin continues: “With angle I mean what are you going to do about it.” “Is that like your standard line Collin?” Brandon Jefford asks, before he mimics his voice in a teasing manner, honestly not a bad one, “'What are you going to do about it', seriously you and your dad…” Oh dear goodness, the dad too? I frown in concern and confusion, not following exactly what he’s implying. “I uh..I guess I will ask her out properly.” As the Prince reprimands his friend for teasing him, the sister turns to me. “So you're serious then?” “Y-yes? I at least want to try...If she wants that too, of course.” “Want to try dating? Being a couple? Be more specific, man,” Collin Schreave asks, the undertone in his voice making me wonder if he dislikes me already. Hell, it makes me nervous. “D-Dating first I'd say? If that's okay?” Did I just ask that? “Hmm…” He takes his time as he thinks about it and I swear, this chair is turning into some uncomfortable thing somehow.  Brandon looks from me shifting in my seat, to his friend, and back to me, clearly savouring every minute of this torturous scene. His sister rolls her eyes, crossing her arms at her brother.  “Fair enough I guess…” he says eventually, “She told you about the whole incident with Dante, right?” Instantly, my jaw clenches. “I think all she wanted to tell, yes.” “Well, you know it was bad I assume.” Sadness fills me just at the thought of Gal being so afraid, as afraid as I’ve found her in that panic attack. “Yes…” “You know he hurt her?” ”Yes. I know,” I reply, looking down at my hands. He nods. “Good. I held back because he's our cousin and even then... I might have been a little aggressive... You should know I won't hold back if you hurt her.” The Jefford lifts up his hand to join the little club of ‘Threaten Fitz Randall’. “Make that two.” Princess Adara clears her throat, “Technically three.” I swallow with difficulty, and nod to confirm I clearly understand. “I-I won't.” If I could prevent the look on Galice her face that I saw then, I would gladly do so. Brandon laughs and lifts up his hand to the Princess, waiting for a high five. She rolls her eyes, yet gives in. Prince Collin holds in an amused laugh at his friends, and addresses me again. “You seem like a good kid, I hope I'm not wrong.” “ I hope you're not wrong either, I don't think I'd survive it,” I joke, smiling with a hope they will follow. No doubt, they are important to Gal as Gal is to them, and therefore I want to know them on a civil level.   The brother smiles a little, as his sister smirks and slaps my back. “You wouldn't, but welcome.” I close my hands around the book again, having enough nerves for one day. “So... I'm good for now?” They all look at each other, silently debating it as if they are able to talk just through looks. I know I can with Ben, and these people seem close enough to be able to as well. “Don't look at me!” Brandon Jefford says against his friend who’s looking at him, “Let him go on study the human body, might be useful.” As he lets it out, he starts laughing immediately, too loud for a joke that vulgar that makes me wrinkle my nose. The sister shares my opinion and lets out an annoyed grunt, as her brother narrows his eyes and punches his arm as punishment.  “Ouch!” he exclaims, rubbing the spot as he pouts his lips. That guy shows very infantile behaviour that almost fascinates me as to why. I scoff at him for it. The Prince shakes his head before looking back at me, “It's fine, I think we're done.” I nod in reply and take the book with me. I’ll read in my room where it’s nice and...quiet. “Eh, it was..nice to meet you all.” Galice’s sister looks entertained as she answers. “That's a nice way to put it.”

Another day passes where I haven't found the courage yet to talk to Princess Raena. To be honest, it seems somewhat absurd to fear it, yet on the other hand, this used to be considered treason. And perhaps for good reason. Goodness, the misery is making me rhyme.

Luckily, in those times there can always be found comfort in books. Though chances of someone missing them significantly are considerably small, I find it unkind to hoard all those books and keep them for myself. So I carry a stack of books, holding a wide range of medical information in their pages, back to the library. To my delight, I quickly spot Galice sitting at a table. Instantly, I decide to sit next to her, putting the books down. I give her a wide smile as she turns to me. "Hey Gal." An adorable smile appears in return, while she places a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Hey there." She places her hand on the stack of books, which, considering the length of her arms and her whole small sized body, actually looks kind of funny. And cute. Strangely almost everything she does looks cute. "Looks like you've been busy," she says. "I don't just take Palace tours, no," I respond with a smirk. She laughs a bit, and I plan to tell Ben how someone actually considers me to be funny. "Right, of course, my mistake." "So, what are you reading?" I ask as I lean closer, trying to glance over her shoulder at the book. She smells nice. Like lavender.   Before I'm able to see the words, she lifts up the cover to reveal a French book. "Just studying." I cross my arms on the table and lay my head on them, looking up at her. "Need a break?" A grin spreads across her face, definitely showing similarities between her and her sister. "Yep," she answers, "I've been working for a while. I can manage a break." I lift my head up in excitement. "Great! So how is the best tour guide of the Palace?" I ask with a mischievous grin.

Before she can answer, a low voice behind us replies instead. "He's doing very well, why do you ask her?" Startled, I almost jump up, the sudden movement kicking me out of balance as I almost fail to keep the chair underneath me, close to ending up on the floor. Barely catching my breath, I turn to see Mister Schreave, her father, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Your Highness! Eh, nothing, I was just...making conversation?" I blurt out. He doesn't look impressed it all at my excuse, which is certainly understandable.  "About tour guides," he states in a flat tone. He doesn't precisely have a look to kill, yet it certainly doesn't look very inviting either. Galice covers her mouth with her hand, desperately holding back a giggle. Of course, she finds this amusing. "Uh, yes, they are too often overlooked," I lie, for whatever reason my mind thinks that is the best solution at hand, nevertheless shake my head to keep up the act, "Such a shame, sir, such a shame." Gal nods to support my statement, yet her expression gives away how she sees it all as a joke. "Really? I wasn't aware you knew the palace tour guide," he says. "Uh, well," I reply hesitant. Instead of answering I stand up and outstretch my hand, "I think I haven't introduced myself to you Sir, I'm Fitz." Prince Cole Schreave looks down at my hand and then back at me, a gesture that, even if our heights are merely the same, feels very intimidating. He then looks at his daughter, who gestures something I miss in that second, and then eventually, he takes my hand, even if he lets out an exasperated sigh before doing so. Firmly, he shakes it, tightly closing his hand around mine, a clear sign in dominance as men have many subtle signs they tend to use to show dominance. "Fitz Randall," Mister Schreave says. He knows my name. He knows my name? That is either very disturbing or worse. I raise my eyebrow, folding my hands behind my back, thinking over all the times I was in this Palace where I could have made an impression on this man to make him remember me. "Eh, yes, Randall..." Goodness, since when is the library a dangerous territory like this?

There's more pressure now on finding a way to talk to Raena, as I now promised Prince Cole Schreave I would, and very soon too. Eventually, he seemed to accept my presence, which is an accomplishment at least. The concept of a father in law is intimidate any boyfriend of their daughter, and even if I haven't given Galice a yellow rose yet to become that, he succeeded either way. Not that I was planning on hurting her, on the contrary, however I notice myself watching my table manners with a little more importance now that I feel practically half the Schreaves and a Jefford their eyes focused on me. Not to mention I still have to think of a perfect date idea. As expected, I read, showing clear ambivalent behaviour instead of facing my fears and worries for the matter at hand. As I am in the middle of avoiding those things, reading a book on ethics, someone storms into my room, making me question this person's ethics instead.  "Hey, Fitz, you got a sec?"

Of course. Theo doesn't knock. Instead, he wears that smile he uses to make people think he has good intentions. I have yet to find him have good intentions. I've called him out around last week, when he thought it necessary to talk about Areli in a manner that was uncalled for, certainly with Areli present. In conclusion, he can be diagnosed simply as an ass. Nevertheless, before jumping to an incorrect judgement, I hold in a sigh when I look over my shoulder. Not too long. I can't stand his face, something not many people manage to make me feel, an accomplishment from his side. "What do you need Theo." I hear him let out a sort of gasp, the kind people use to fake a sense of hurt, in this case by my unfriendly reply, I suppose. "Such lack of excitement," he says, while I find him leaning against my wall. He left the door open. Manners? "I bet you’d prefer if I’d been a certain Princess."

Gal.

I instantly turn around in my desk chair, frowning and clenching my jaw, hoping not to show and give myself away. He could ruin me, us, and he probably wouldn't hesitate to do so.   "Excuse me?" He raises his eyebrow, the smug grin on his face indicating I said too much already. "I heard you have a certain interest on miss shorty pants... I’ll take that reaction as a confirmation. Must admit I’m surprised. Didn’t expect you to be drawn by a pretty face." My fists ball in anger as I quickly try to go over whoever could have told him. And in that moment, I realise how I should have been way more discreet, how I should have been way more careful as this could harm Gal. It could have been anyone.  Tempted to hit him right there and now, I walk up to him, simply to close the door to make sure nobody else hears this, my balled fists still at my sides. "You can take my reaction for whatever you want, but you have nothing against me but speculations Theo,” I reply, keeping my voice as even as I can, “And I have more than just speculation against you.” He feigns confusion as if he can’t believe I’m suggesting he has bad goal here. “Speculation of what? I’m not the one cheating on Raena.” Cheating? “I am not---....” His expression asks me to finish that sentence, to confirm more than I already have.  “This is none of your business,” I sneer.  He smirks in a way that simply taunts me. “Really? And here I thought we could be friends.” Again, my jaw is clenched. “You have a very twisted definition of 'friends'... What do you want!” He raises his hands, surrendering. “Slow down tiger. We’re just having a conversation,” he says, “I was here to warn you about the media, that’s all. I know how they can be. They love a good story... like young, innocent Galice stealing a suitor from her beloved cousin?” He sucks air in through his clenched teeth with a wince to make sure I understand exactly how bad this is.  “They’d eat it right up.” Eaten up by anger, I let out a growl. “You are such an ass... Don't do that to her... Please, what do you want from me,” I spit. I can’t have him tell the media about us. I haven’t talked to the Princess yet, getting it out in the open now would give everyone a terrible image of Galice when all she deserves is a right one, to let people see her for how she is. “Want from you?” he says, again with fake confusion, “I’m just here to talk dude, calm down.” His eyes tell the opposite, definitely a threat, “I’m trying to warn you. That’s what I hear friends do.” He shrugs, “You wouldn’t want someone spreading rumors about you I’m sure. Gotta cover each other’s backs... I do want you to root for me now that you’ve realized you’re not interested in Raena after all…” Of course.  “Can’t imagine how devastated your girl would be if everyone started talking about her like that. She doesn’t seem like the type to take stuff like that well, you know?” I cover my face with my hands and sigh out of desperation.  “You're really going to blackmail me? Galice has done nothing to you, keep her out of this,” I plead. “ Dude, seriously,” he says with a disgusting smirk, “I know you don’t like me but blackmail?”He shakes his head as if that isn’t just what he did. “Little far fetched.” “Then leave Galice alone,” I say, attempting to regain my calm, subconsciously folding my hands behind my back, “Say whatever to the media about me, cheating with a maid for all I care. Getting her involved is unnecessary.” “I never said anything about talking to the media... but they like news that are real just so you know. Something they can tweak a bit to make the headline better. Focusing on the worst and taking the juice out of it. They can only make it work for long if it’s real... “ He leans closer to me, invading my personal space as he is invading my personal life. His voice lowers as he continues, “And I bet it would only really hurt you if it was about her. Such a fragile heart she seems to wear…” At least she has one, you ass.  Instinctively, I grab his collar, no longer in control of myself not to just hit him.  “You--!” This is what he wants. I step back, letting go of him. Breathe, don’t give him what he wants, breathe, don’t let him ruin this. “Fine!” Going through my hair, I continue with a softer voice, “Fine…I-I will 'support' you then,” I sigh.  Does that smirk ever leave his face? He adjusts his collar, looking annoying as hell.  Fuck, I actually have to do what he says. I actually have to do this, or Gal will have to go through more than she’s been through already.  “Thanks man, that’s real nice of you. I appreciate it.” He places his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed even.  “But be careful with what I told you. I doubt people will find out considering how you’re dealing with it but you never know…” You could say that. 

Someone knocks on the door, and Galice of all people appears, poking her head inside. “Hey Fitz…” Then she notices Theo standing next to me, who has made sure he doesn’t look as threatening as he did just a second ago. “Oh.. didn’t know you were with someone…” A small hint of pink on her cheeks, one I wish wasn’t there for the first time. “I was heading for the library to study and... well, it doesn’t matter, you’re busy.” The bastard puts up a smile that’s probably convincing enough, then turning back to me with raised eyebrows and a smug grin. What sick mind enjoys this? “Don’t worry Princess I was just leaving.” He pats my shoulder, playing buddy-buddy. It makes me wrinkle my nose, clench my jaw, and ball my fists, yet still hope Gal won’t see as her vision gets blocked by him. “See you around.” Turning around, he does an idiotic curtsy towards Gal as a joke. She chuckles shortly and waves him out, tilting her head at him.   “He can be a bit odd sometimes.” I want to tell her, then again, it will only worry her. This is my fault, my responsibility to solve without it hurting Galice. Despite all the things he said, there is some truth in the fact that she would not be able to handle this right now. I should have talked to Raena already. I should have been more discreet. Then again, I didn’t expect him to be this...this… Letting out a breath, I put up a smile for her. “Yes, I suppose he is...something. I-I can't go with you right now Gal...I'm sorry, some other time.” My smile turns sad, her looking away as I reject to go with her, making her feel bad even if I am trying to avoid just that. “That’s okay! I uh…” Her voice turns softer, her ears turning pink. I pray she doesn’t doubt herself. “I just thought I’d mention it in case you happened to have a plan to head there too, but you don’t have to go.” She smiles slightly, but it doesn’t meet her eyes. I could hate Theo just for that. “No, no I didn't mean I don't want to... Just right now I... can't.” I have to talk to the Princess first, and even then, Theo can use this against me. Looking down at my polished shoes, I debate the options in my head, though nothing comes to mind. She blinks several times before she nods. “That’s alright.. I’ll see you later then.. Everything okay, though?” Trying harder, I pull my lips in a smile, “Yes, I'm fine, thank you... Good luck with your studies.” Another nod follows, forming a frown of her own. Please don’t worry, I will fix this. She mumbles a ‘Thanks’ and leaves. I stare at the door. 

The door I desperately want to open. To run up to her, to kiss her, to ask her to be my girlfriend, and then proceed to tell everyone in this whole damned country. The first thing that comes to mind is to call Ben, even I am sure he has no experience in sort of almost dating a Princess and then getting interrogated by her family member’s, told not to hurt her, as someone then comes to you to assure he can make sure exactly that happens, basically blackmailing you in result.

I bet there is no book on that either.

[fangirlingnextgen]

Forming a diagnosis

Fitz

Fibula. Tibia. Lateral Malleolus. I read the Latin names like a spell, as if they’re magical, holding knowledge I wish to know. I must be muttering the words out loud, softly, but I’m not sure. Ben always says I do that, so I assume I must be. Calcaneum. Medical Melleolus. I really shouldn’t be walking around these unknown halls with my nose in a book, or I might break one of the bones whose names I’m trying to remember. I can’t help it though. It’s like a hunger, one I experience quite often. One for knowledge, and one for food.

Then the inevitable happens as I should have known it would. I bump into something, or more surely, someone. For a split second, I wonder about the muscles on this person, as it feels quite hard, but as I truly look up from the book, I see it’s a cast. The girl is wearing a camera, and a cast on her arm. Fracture in her…Ulna? Radius? It seems too low to be the Humerus. I want to praise myself for finishing the chapter on the upper body first, but then remind myself of manors. “Oh! I’m sorry!” I say to her. The girl is a Princess. Princess Galice Schreave to be precise, daughter of Prince Cole and Princess Aileen, Prince Cole being the cousin of King Haiden. She has a brother, Collin, a sister, Adara, and yet another sister, who’s called Kal. This space in my mind was reserved for Latin names for muscles, but the Selection had other plans, it seems. She almost drops the camera she’s holding, forgotten to use the useful safety strap she could have put around her neck, but manages to hug it to her chest in time before it drops to the ground. “Sorry, my mistake,” she answers politely. The upbringing, I’m sure. It’s impossible to recall whose fault it was, so I shouldn’t bother to say it is in fact, my fault, but being polite is what I must be, as well. Certainly to Royalty. Certainly considering she’s wearing a cast, and a camera which could probably pay for my nonexisting degree I work so dedicate for. I close the book I’m holding, one I don’t dare to call mine but want to, and put it under my arm. “Well, I think I would be in the wrong considering…” I point at her cast, now wondering if it was a nice fracture or maybe a messy one, tiny pieces of the bones shattered from being whole, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” “No, I’m afraid I already had my arm broken,” she replies, attempting a joke. Her attempt succeeds, making me chuckle. “Yeah, I figured. I just meant if it didn’t shift or anything,” I say, knowing that could mess up the healing process, but I assume her joke answers my question that she’s not experiencing any pain of it, “I’m Fitz, by the way, nice to meet you Princess.” I should probably extend my hand, yet I don’t want to trouble her any further, her cast on one hand and a camera in the other, she literally has her hands full as it is. As I fully take in her face, it takes up my focus. A face reveals a lot. Hers shows kindness at first, her eyes open and bright, waiting to give love to the people she thinks deserve it. A warm glow grace her cheeks, healthy, full of life. Yet the little twitch at her eyelid gives it away. She hides beneath the surface, beneath a polite and hopeful smile, perhaps, though I’m not sure. It makes me worry as if she’s a patient even if I tell myself not too. I make a lot of people my semi-patients. It’s a terrible thing to do. I’ve not yet been able to stop myself from it. “Are you okay?” I ask eventually, a diagnosis still being put together in my head. Eye twitch, slight dark circles under her eyes, fracture in Ulna/Radius(?) most likely not related. “Fitz, a pleasure,” she answers, ignoring my question so far, though I’m sure she’ll get to it eventually, “I’m Gal, though I guess you already know that.” She shortens her name, making it sound almost as if she’s not Royalty at all, almost like a common name. Placing a strand of hair behind her ear, she continues. “And I’m fine really. It’s a good cast.” She underlines her statement with a smile, knocking on the cast with her knuckles as to prove how strong it is as it can even survive her knocking. I ignore her excuse, continuing my fake research, furrowing my brows like the doctor I feel at the moment. Stress. A tiny spasm at the eyelid is most of the times caused by stress. Related to a lack of sleep, and as known, stress and lack of sleep are related like a close family, one causing the other. You, Princess Galice Schreave, are hereby diagnosed with stress. The cause is unknown, since I have been given not enough information to define a proper cause. But with some more information, I could. “Are you sure? Your right eyelid is showing tiny spasms…That’s a sign of stress…Are you experiencing any other problems?” I tilt my head to the left, as if that should make it easier for me to find a cause to solve my puzzle. Or actually, her puzzle. Or maybe she’s the puzzle? She blinks faster, most likely in surprise, and it seems almost as if that would make the spasm dissapear. “Oh…uh…That’s…” She shakes her head after the stutter. Stutter is a sign of nerves, whereas it is possible to say the patient is hiding the through cause of their illness…which in this case isn’t an illness. Come on, back to reality Doctor Fitz. “How do you know that?” she asks,  “and I’m not experiencing any other problems…” “Okay good,” I answer with an awkward smile. My nerves are not to hide a true cause of any illness, my nerves are just emberassement. I’m still human, and she’s Royalty, I can’t blame myself. “Sorry, that may have sounded freaky…I uh, I like studying those kind of things,” I say as to explain my somewhat weird behaviour. “Tiny spasms?” She smirks at her own joke, as Ben laughs at all of his own jokes, way louder. I chuckle again all the same. “No, no, medical stuff, the human body and all that.” “Oh, that’s great, smart guy right there,” she says with a small smile on her lips. “Well, not really…Only self taught so far,” I elaborate, before nodding in the direction of the camera she’s still holding tight, “You are a photographer?” No, she’s a Princess, you moron. So far for looking smart. “That’s what I try yes.” Instantly, she raises her camera and snaps a random picture of me. I restrain myself from taking a step back, but still blink my eyes repeatedly as the act surprised me and leaves me flustered. “And by the way,” she continues, pulling my focus back to the conversation, “I’m pretty sure being self taught only further proves how smart you are.” I shrug as to wave her compliment away. “Won’t get far without my degree,” I counter, “So what do you do with the pictures? Except for burning the one you just took,” I joke back with a smirk. “No burning pictures! I keep them. They can have various uses…” she responds mysterious, making me chuckle once more, “Why wouldn’t you be able to get a degree though?” My smile fails a little at the question. “Oh…uh…not yet, I’m getting there though.” “I’m sure you’ll end up being a great doctor…Unless you end up being a king consort of course,” she says, and with good reason, but somehow it didn’t cross my mind. I’m here for Princess Raena, or actually more the experience, the food…the money. I’m here for the cousin of this girl in front of me, I remind myself, since it doesn’t feel like I’m talking to a Royal. A normal reaction would require more nerves, more politeness, more a formal interaction than this. “Oh that,” I say, shaking my head slightly, “I don’t think that will be the case, but sure, who knows,” I blurt out. Just two seconds ago I reminded myself she is a royal, the Princess her cousin, and now I say this? “Oh shit, I probably shouldn’t be telling you that…” I pull my face into an awkward expression, while I wonder what is wrong with my short-term memory at the moment. Watch your mouth Fitz. She narrows her eyes at me, and I try to ignore how it makes me feel embarrassed. I realise her spasm stopped. I rub the back of my neck, the body’s natural reaction to feeling uncomfortable, I know, but do it anyway. “Eh, since you’re her friend? So I shouldn’t tell you that I don’t like her.” I throw the words out again, making one mistake after another, which is unusual. Correct this. Say the right words. Formal. Polite. Stop implying stupid things, even if you don’t feel anything for the Princess yet. “I mean, it could still happen but…” “Wait, what do you mean you don’t like her? What are you here for then?” she asks questioning my intentions, making me assume she cares for her cousin. I pause, folding my hands behind my back, formulating the best possible sentence to correct this wrong. I could, in theory, still fall in love with the Princess, and I could, in the meantime, gladly enjoy the books this library has to offer and explore the knowledge I can’t afford. “Well,” I start, “I don’t think any of these guys liked her from the start, I think it’s biologically impossible to be in love with someone you’ve only seen on a screen…So I guess it means I don’t like her yet.” I almost smile at my own response, glad to save myself. I am not done here yet, there’s too many books waiting and too many people living to examine. “Oh,” she says relaxing slightly, “Okay then, that’s fine. I thought you meant something else.” I shift on my feet just a tiny bit, another sign of discomfort. I analyse my reason to feel this, and assume it’s because I don’t want to look like a person who would intentionally hurt the Princess. I wouldn’t. I just don’t know if we’d work, or if we ever will. No one has yet, for me. I’ve always been more focussed on my goal, getting my degree, and giving a girl a yellow rose isn’t part of that. “Yes, well…” I let out, tugging at the book under my arm, putting it under my other arm now. It pulls her attention to it. “Um, can I see that?” she asks, pointing to it. My hands instinctively close around the book. I don’t need to be reminded that I’m a former Six, that I can’t afford a book like this. “I borrowed it, from the library. I didn’t do anything wrong,” I defend. As I say it, it dawns me that my attitude is misplaced. Not at all polite or formal, and not at all doing justice to how interesting our conversation started. I shake my head, rolling my shoulders to soften my stance. “Sorry, I mean…Sure.” She takes it as I hand it over, not taking her eyes off me. She’s analysing me, I realise, because I do that often so myself. “What makes you think I’m accusing you of doing something wrong?” She doesn’t await my answer directly, instead scanning pages as she flips through the book, but eventually raises her raised eyebrows at me, looking through her thick lashes. Analysing me again. I wonder what her diagnosis would be. I shrug as to discard the topic. It’s no big deal, not important. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but it’s still there. “The castes are gone, but they’re not really, so it’s a habit.” “Right…” she answers, perhaps slightly embarrassed to be reminded of the doing of her ancestors. She seems like a person who would feel responsible for their actions even if they’re long dead. She looks at the book to hide it. “I wasn’t aware of your caste though…” “Nothing some fancy clothes and some food can’t fix,” I joke, knowing Ben has a hard time finding me on the report every time so far because of the changed look. She silently nods, pursing her lips. Assumption correct. She feels responsibility for the decisions of others. “I’m sorry it has to be like that for you.” “It’s not that bad really,” I reply with a shrug, “The food here makes up for everything.” A smile shows on my lips before I continue. “Seriously though, how are you all not fat yet?” “Because we have self control? Good metabolism?” “I have one of those, and it’s not the first when it comes to food,” I reply with a smirk. “Seems like it,” she answers, “Aren’t you the guy always making heart eyes at your food during dinner?” She’s joking but I feel caught still. Not only have I been exposed as the food praising person I am, but also I’ve been watched, noticed, while I haven’t been doing anything to try to get attention. I play along nonetheless, pulling an innocent face. “What…no…maybe…It’s just good okay!” She laughs a little at that, and I notice the melody of her laugh is pleasing. My mind thinking it is only caused by air going passed her vocal chords is ruining it though. “Yes, Baguette is a good cook. The best I think.” “He must be! I don’t get why I’m the only one who’s making heart eyes, I mean, the ice cream? I know I should know better, knowing how unhealthy it is and the effects of sugar and fat but, I can’t help it,” I say with a smile. “Ice cream?” she asks before continuing, “Who cares about sugar! Eating some every now and then doesn’t kill anyone!” she argues. I try to pull another innocent face, enjoying this play. “Every now and then…Sure.” “Oh no…” she replies with faked disappointment, gladly taking on the role, “Fitz how much do you take? It is dangerous!” I laugh in response, “That’s exactly why I want to be a doctor! So I can find a cure and eat ice cream for every meal!” She pulls her face into another act, almost as if I’m a hero to all, “Saving millions of people around the world.” In return, I paint a serious expression on my face, showing how terrible this ‘burden’ is to live with. “I know…It’s my calling,” I say. “Clearly,” she responds. With a smile, the same as on my own lips, she hands me the book back. “You know you can take more than one book from the library at the same time, right?” she says as I close my hands on the cover again. I lift up my gaze in surprise. More? “Really?” I answer not hiding the surprise, but quickly realising I should. Normal people wouldn’t be this excited or astonished by this. So, I clear my throat, “I-I knew that.” She raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it, “I highly doubt that.” Somehow I still find this amusing, and above all, our conversation seemed to have relaxed her. Her spasm is gone, even if that doesn’t necessarily mean the stress is as well. Still, it’s the best I could do for my semi-patient. I open the book again on the page where I was, a skeleton with Latin names greeting me. “Well, I guess we’ll never know,” I reply with a mischievous grin, “It was a pleasure, Princess.” I nod in her direction, as she rolls her eyes back at me. “A pleasure as well, Sir Fitz.” 'Doctor Fitz’, it corrects in my mind. I take in her face one last time, my final diagnosis forming. With that opinion in mind, I walk away with my nose in the book again, to begin my silent mumbling of Latin names once more.