The Bet

Still, as I look back, I cannot for the life of me know if I should have thanked His Majesty or killed him. That day will always be etched in my memory; the day I, Jade Curtiss, was wrong. Now I'm not talking about fomicry, or any of my other serious shortcomings, I'm talking about the one thing that His Majesty was so proud of knowing all along that I did not. Of course, at the time, I was arrogant enough to believe him wrong.

It was fall, twenty years ago...

ND1998

Have I really become that predictable? Trying to escape for a little peace, I head to the roof to eat my lunch and read. I open the door and there they are, my so called troop of friends. I sigh, as Peony, Jasper, and even Saphir break out laughing at my failure to be alone.

"Ja~ade! I knew you'd be here!" Curse Saphir for getting to know me so well, and curse Peony and Jasper for making friends with him.

"Shouldn't you be with you private tutor, Your Majesty?" I don't even know why I ask these pointless questions. He's just going to give me the same response.

"Snuck out." And there it is, with a mouthful of sandwich to boot.

Defeated, I take my seat on the ground with the group. Saphir hands me a sandwich, commenting that an apple does not make a full lunch. I take it; he does make good sandwiches. Upon noticing a sudden silence, I notice that, to Peony, Jasper, and Saphir, the food has become rather interesting. I've seen this before. It is clear that before my arrival they were talking about either myself or a topic I would find irritating. I look up, give them one of my annoyed stares, and ask, "What?"

Peony tries to speak, but Jasper interrupts, "Nothing!" Jasper still hasn't learned how to deal with me. Knowing me for nearly a decade, Peony and Saphir just sigh. Jasper's attempt to get me to drop it is quite futile.

I turn to Saphir, I can always get information out of him. Saphir swallows nervously, and points an accusing finger at Peony, "He started it! I told him you would never go for it!"

Okay, now I'm annoyed. I rub my temples and sigh. Calm, Jade, it's only something stupid. "What would I not go for, Your Majesty?"

"We can't just drop this, can we?" Jasper tries one more time. He probably believes I will set our dear crown prince on fire.

"Too late." Peony sighs, "I was just wondering why you never had a girlfriend."

What? I choke on my sandwich, and Saphir hands me a water. Now this is really stupid. This is dumber than his fears of me sneaking into his room at night and stealing his rapigs for science! I mean, even I can't get past all those guards. I compose myself by pushing up my glasses, so they cannot see my absolute shock over Peony's dumb statement. "That, Peony, is the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say." Everyone knows I only use Peony's name when I'm irritated by him. I think of it as a way of denying who is the future of my country.

"It's not dumb! Every guy starts to think a little about girls when he hits puberty! Dear Yulia, if you haven't gone through it yet, puberty's gonna hit you like a brick!" As Peony defends his point, I realize this is not exactly what I asked in the first place.

"Wait, what does this have to do with 'what I would never go for'?" Jasper puts his head into his hands and Peony grins. That grin always ends with trouble. What worries me is that grin is usually used when he teases Saphir, not me.

Familiar with Peony's expression, Saphir whimpers under his breath. Peony stands and points to me. "A wager! I bet that even you can have feelings for someone."

"I don't have time for this."

Saphir stands and wags his finger at Peony, "See? You are clearly wasting your time, and Jade's! We are working on very important-"

Peony cuts Saphir off, "If I'm wrong, I let you two replicate one of my rapigs! You need a live subject, right?"

Oh my, now things have gotten interesting. Clearly, Peony was very confident in his claim. "And if I were to lose?"

"Jade!" That was actually Jasper. Saphir has also become excited over the prize.

Peony waves a dismissive hand at Jasper. "Aw, don't worry 'Good J.C.'! I got this!" He turns to me and crosses his arms. "When you lose, you will be tending to my rapigs for a week, and you will admit you were wrong to the entire Malkuth military; that includes students."

I will admit, taking care of rapigs and publicly claiming I'm incorrect about something are right at the top of my hate list. However, being able to use a live subject before I graduate would speed up our research significantly. Well, I do believe feelings like love and adoration are quite vapid. All feelings associated with love are severely over exaggerated to the point of being pure nonsense. Logically, I would be a fool to not accept this challenge. "Very well, Peony. I accept."

Jasper groans as Peony and I shake hands. The specifics of the bet include a thirty day time limit, agreeing to let Peony set me up with different women, and my attendance at various palace parties that I usually try to avoid. Peony takes off soon after to prepare for tomorrow, or day one of thirty.

Jasper sighs upon Peony's exit, "This is insane. You're really going to put a life in danger? I cannot let you win this."

"It's just a stupid rapig, Jasper!" Saphir exclaims. I decide to head to class. I notice Jasper holding Saphir back as I leave. I guess he's not done with his lecture. I'm glad he's at least smart enough not include me.

DAY 1

It was sometime between brushing my teeth and dressing for school, that I realize something was amiss. Never mind Peony's note about my first date being taped to my door, which spurred quiet laughter from my peers. I expected that much; I burned the note and gave off a look that shut them all up. I gathered up my books, and that's when it hit me. Saphir has not put in an appearance yet. I put down my things and knock on his door. I certainly can't afford him being punished for tardiness; it will take away from our research time. When no response came after three knocks, I turn the knob. Locked. Odd, Saphir only locks the door when he is not in the room, but I would have seen him leave. I stare at the door pondering when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I whirl around and shout, "Where the hell have you- Oh, Jasper, it's just you."

Jasper stepped back when I faced him; I must have scared him. "If you're looking for Saphir, he left for class about an hour ago."

I push up my glasses, "I see." I find this highly unusual. Saphir has made himself my permanent accessory since the day we met. What would suddenly make him go somewhere without me?

Jasper watches me for a moment, then cocks his head to the side. "Gee, I thought you'd be thrilled to be rid of him."

Yes, Saphir is loud, annoying, clingy, and whiny. Yes, he gives me constant headaches. However, besides myself, he is the most intelligent person I have ever met. Also, if I did not want someone hanging around me, believe me, I would let them know it. They don't call me "evil" for nothing. Of course, I'm not about to admit that I'm disappointed. "Whatever, it's just strange is all. Now, excuse me, I don't want to be late." Without an offer to walk with me to school, I head out.

Unfortunately, we have different courses in the morning, so I must wait until lunch to question Saphir. I go to the roof, but the only one there waiting for me is Peony. "Hey! You better be ready for tonight! I've set you up with one of the most beautiful ladies in all Malkuth!"

Lorelei save me; this is going to be the longest thirty days of my life. "Have you seen Saphir today?"

Peony looks around, suddenly confused. "Huh, no. I thought he was with you." At this point, I realize I have not seen Saphir since lunch yesterday. Odd. I sit down, open a random book, and munch on my apple. Peony sits next to me, and pulls down my book. "Did you finally tell him to piss off?"

Honestly, do I treat him that poorly? Maybe. Still, Saphir's sudden avoidance is a bit irritating. "Why would I be looking for him, if I told him to get lost?"

"True. When did you last talk to him?"

"This time yesterday."

"Hmm... What did you say to him after I left?"

"Literally nothing. I left for class while he and Jasper were discussing science ethics."

"Maybe he's mad you left him behind."

"Honestly, when has that stopped him?"

I try to reclaim my book, but Peony pushes it down again. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Mere curiosity." I state plainly as I yank my book out of his grasp. "Now, let me enjoy this peace and quiet while I have it."

"Fine." Peony stands and heads for the door. "Meet her at the cafe at 5 this evening. Don't you dare be late!"

My reply is a disgusted grunt, and he exits.

At five in the evening, I find myself sitting across from a red-head with unbelievably large breasts. It took all my years of learning etiquette to not inquire if they were real. I allow her to dither on about how hard it is to find nice shoes to match her dress and how long it takes to do her hair. I quickly become bored. As I start to get into variables I haven't tried yet on replication, I realized she asked me a question. "I'm sorry; what was that again?"

"I was wondering what it was that made you want to go to military school."

"Oh," I gave my usual half truth, "My adopted family thought it would be best for me."

The girl was not very bright. I was forced to simplify my words at least four times the whole evening. When I brought her home that evening, I made it quite clear, politely, that I was not interested.

The first week of dates were all similar. Finally, I told Peony if he was going to keep this up, he better find a girl who at least made it into decent schooling. Also, Saphir was definitely making a conscious effort to avoid me all week. Every time I try to ask what his problem is, he just runs off.

DAY 8

I'm not sure the cause, maybe meeting all of those stupid women, but I noticed my concentration was starting to slip. Today, before class, I was reading the same line in a book over and over again. When I took a closer look to see why I could not comprehend it, I noticed the book was upside down. Later, I was walking toward the labs, and even with my perfect vision, I slammed right into a door. Of course, witnesses spread this news all over. When I was leaving for my next "suitor", Peony was at the gates laughing his ass off.

"Jade, are you okay?" He managed to giggle out between hysterical laughter. "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't hear it from Jasper!" He continues to laugh.

I feign ignorance. "Whatever could you be talking about, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, please," the laughing was getting annoying, "Even you can't miss how wacky you were acting today! You ran into a door!"

"So I did." He's still laughing. "Damn it Peony! Compose yourself." I take a deep breath as I push up my glasses. I believe I made people stare.

A few deep breaths and he finally stops. "Sorry. Just, what is wrong with you?"

"I haven't really figured it out myself. Perhaps exposure to your taste in women is shorting out my brain cells."

"Or, one of them has effected you."

"Certainly not. I don't even remember any of their names." Giving Peony the benefit of a doubt, I decide to carefully think back. Nothing. Nothing except, "He's still avoiding me, you know."

Peony makes a face as he asks what I'm talking about. "You mean Saphir? Damn, that is weird. Ask 'Good J.C.' to talk with him. There has got to be some kind of reason. Anyway, get going, I'm not gonna make you keep a lady waiting."

I cannot even recall that night's rendezvous as I make my way back to the dormitory. Peony's right; better to ask Jasper instead of trying to corner Saphir. Saphir can run pretty fast when he wants to. Jasper let me in and, after pleasantries, I got straight to the point. "Do you have any ideas as to what's bothering Saphir?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow at my question. He knows something. He's doing that thing where he scratches the back of his head and chuckles nervously. "Uh, hmm... Maybe he has a secret or something he does not want you to know."

Absurd! He's lying, or giving a half truth. Saphir hates secrets, and I would have recognized any mistake in our research or any other blunder he may have made within a week! I begin to pace. This makes Jasper nervous, because I always pace when I'm frustrated.

"Why don't you tell him that his absence this week has hurt your feelings?" I stop and glare at Jasper. Hurt, by Saphir? Ridiculous! It's just so strange, that it's bothering me a little is all! "I mean if you were not hurt by his avoiding you, you would have forgotten all about it by now."

"Forget it." This has gotten me nowhere. I storm back to my room and slam my door for good measure.