On her walk to school, the previous night's evens kept repeating themselves in Will's mind like a broken record; she almost did not want to believe what had happened. If she hadn't woken up with him beside her, she would have thought everything was just a dream. Furthermore, she wondered if he meant what he told her. Would he really give up his throne for her or was the poison talking? She could ask him this evening when they met at the park since he had a decent night's sleep. She wondered if she should accept his proposal, but how would her friends react to it? Thinking about it over and over again, it began to make her head hurt; her life had turned from slightly abnormal to completely bonkers in less than a week. As if nature sensed her discomfort, the clear-blue sky began to darken with clouds and a fidget wind picked up
As the school came into view, her mood sank further when she saw Matt waiting at the entrance to the school. At least he looked slightly dejected. Planning to walk past him, she was caught off guard when he grabbed her arm to catch her attention.
"Hey, Will can we talk?"
"What do you want to talk about?" Will stopped and raised an eyebrow at her ex.
"Listen, I am really sorry for breaking up. I know I haven't shown it, but I felt like crap ever since we broke up and I wanted to see if we could start over." At this, Will saw red. First, he broke her heart over nothing, then he ignored her, and now, with another guy gunning for her affection, he wanted her back! Who the hell did he think he was? Will's heart raced with anger and her cheeks flushed a bright red that put her hair to shame.
"You broke my heart and now you want me back? What the hell do you think you are doing? My heart is not a fucking yo-yo!" she yanked her arm free and made to walk into the school. However, Matt raced past her and blocked her access to the doors.
"Will, it was never my intentions to hurt you. I am serious, I miss you and feel awful for the way I treated you."
"Well then you should have come with that sooner, 'cause now it is too late!" she tried to move him out of the way, but Matt stayed stubborn.
"What do you mean too late?"
"I found a better guy!" with an aggressive push, she moved past him; Matt was too stunned to keep blocking the door. As a final punch at Matt's hopes to get back together with her, Will looked over her shoulder at her ex, "He is man enough to honestly tell me how he feels and would do anything to make me happy, unlike you."
Will knew she had gone a little too far, but she felt vindicated at the same time. Even if she never found another guy, she could officially put Matt in the past. However, the feeling of victory was briefly lived until she met her friends by the lockers. Now, the sensation of victory was replaced by the sharp pain of anxiety. Holding her own arms and head hung low, she joined the circle of conversation; she could tell by the snippets she caught that it was about the prince in her bed.
"What if he is being honest?" asked Irma only to get shot down by Cornelia
"He is a manipulative prick who would sell you the Brooklyn Bridge before there was a Brooklyn if it meant he could become more powerful. He is probably trying to win Will's heart with charm so she would give him the heart- "Cornelia stopped when she noticed Will had joined the group. She noted Will's glum expression; like a child wanting to confess breaking something priceless. "Will, what is the matter, why do you look so down?"
"Guys, I have some more bad news." Of course, all the attention was on her now. At first, she wondered if she should tell them everything, but she knew better. If she did not tell her friends the whole truth, one would find out something and Will did not need a misunderstanding in this hurricane of a mess. "Prince Phobos found my house- "
"WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS?" screeched Taranee and grabbed her friend's shoulders, "Are you alright, is your mother safe? Did he threaten violence?"
"Did he try to take the heart from you?" Hay-Lyn chimed in.
"My family and I are alright, and he did not threaten me with violence or try to take the heart. He did something else though- "
"He professed his love to you!" Irma stated, clapping her hands and bouncing in place like an excited child. Will was beginning to get annoyed with the constant interruptions. Furthermore, Matt had snuck up behind Will and listened in on the group. When he heard Irma's cries of joy, he pulled Will from the group and spun her to face him.
"Are you serious Will. Prince Phobos- "before he could finish his sentence Will pusher his hands off of her and shot him an angry glare.
"You are the one who broke up with me, so you have no say in this conversation."
"Yeah, Will is right. The ship has sailed, and you better win some land under your feet!" Called Irma over Will's shoulder and, as if that did the trick, Matt stormed off in a cloud of anger. Taking a deep breath to settle her emotions, Will returned to face her friends.
"Irma is right you guys, but he did more than that. He proposed to me- "as if on cue, Irma hugged her with glee. Almost crushing the air out of Will's lungs
"I knew it! I knew it!" Irma then let go and stared at her friend with stars in her eyes. "So, what did you say? Where is the ring? When it the wedding? Was it a romantic proposal with roses and everything? Does your mother know or are you planning to elope in secret?" thankfully, before Will could say a word, Cornelia pulled Irma off her and violently tried to shake some sense into her.
"Irma has gone completely insane? There is no way Will can marry that guy. This is the worst thing that could have happened! He knows where Will lives now, we have to inform the council so they can help us kick his ass- "now, it was Will's turn to interrupt her friends.
"GUYS STOP IT!" again, all attention was on Will, "There is no need to get the council involved just yet. He hasn't tried to take the heart from me, nor has he threatened me or my family. He did propose and made all sorts of promises, but I told him I would have to think about it. I told him I would give my answer this evening at the gazebo in the park at 4:30 - "
"That does sound romantic." Interjected Hay-Lyn, which earned her a displeased look from Cornelia as if Irma's thinking was a virus that has spread.
"I wasn't going for that, but I don't know what to do. I can't say 'yes' I don't feel that way towards him and I can't live with a man I don't love. At the same time, I can't reject him."
"Why not?" asked Taranee while Irma and Hay-Lyn whispered to each other and Cornelia glared at them.
"He hurts so easily while under the effects of the poison. I slapped him when he kissed me, and it turned into a large, purple bruise. What if rejecting him causes a heart attack? I could never live with myself if he died because of that."
"If he dies, it isn't your fault. If anything, it would do everyone a favor if he died now." Hissed Cornelia when she overhead Irma and Hay-Lyn discussing potential children and how they might become aunts in the near future. Will only shook her head at Cornelia.
"Corny, that is not my view on anything. Can't we just find a way, so everyone is happy?" at this Cornelia's jaw dropped and she looked at Taranee in hopes to find an ally.
"Taranee, say something. We have already lost those two to a fantasy." Gesturing to Irma and Hay-Lyn. Taranee sheepishly smiles at Cornelia and shrugs.
"I am Sweden in this conversation."
In an angry huff, Cornelia storms off. The group did not try to stop her; they knew better than to run after her when she was this angry. Taranee gave her friend a half-hearted hug, unable to imagine the inner turmoil Will was suffering from. Irma and Hay-Lyn kept discussing the matter of weddings, and future children. Though Hay-Lyn was on the offense, Irma easily won her over when imagining a future nephew or niece with Will's dark eyes and Phobos's long blond hair. Still unsure of what to do, Will walked to class and tried her best to pay attention.
Cornelia did more than just storm off in a fit of rage. Deciding to skip class, she went to find her boyfriend in Meridian, which wasn't difficult for her. Once she sees him in the rebel base, her eyes burst up with tears and she rushed to him, flinging her arms around him.
"C-Cornelia, what is the matter?" gently, he pulls her to a quiet corner of the cave system and tries to console her.
"Things have gotten worse," she starts, tears falling uncontrollably from her pretty blue eyes. "Phobos has found Will's home and he has proposed marriage to her."
"WHAT?" Caleb couldn't believe his ears and his heart sank to his stomach. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Will just told me this."
"What else, she can't possibly intend to marry that monster?"
"She doesn't know what to do and Irma has got Hay-Lyn convinced it is a great idea that Will marries him. She plans to meet him after school at the gazebo in Heatherfield Park." With a trembling hand, she wipes the tears from her eyes. "What should we do? We can't let her marry that guy!"
Staring at Cornelia in disbelief, a desperate idea came to his mind. Clearly, the poison had backfired and there was no way he would return to Sophia for more. Whatever she had given him, it did more harm than good. Part of him wanted to chop Sophia's head off; yes, it had caused suffering onto the evil prince, Cornelia had told him that much on their last visit, but it has also put Will in danger. The thought of the women he loved marrying that monster made his blood boil, but there was no way he could confront the prince on his own.
"How weak is he?"
"Weak enough that the slap Will have him bruised his face, why?"
"I am forming an idea. Does anyone else know of this situation?"
"Matt overheard our conversation. Why do you want to know all this?" With a plan fully formed in his head, he confidently put his hands-on Cornelia's shoulders and smiled at her, which helped ease her tears.
"Cornelia, I can't tell you now, but I have an idea that could fix everything. I don't want you to get into trouble and it is better to keep Will out of this as well. Please don't question this, the less you know the safer you are. However, I need you to keep Will occupied as long as possible. When is she supposed to meet him exactly?"
"I think she said 4:30 after school. - "Caleb's smile grew even more.
"Cornelia, I need you to keep Will occupied as long as possible. I promise you that everything will be fixed." He then gave her a reassuring hug and a light kiss on the forehead. "Now, you better get back to school. Again, make sure Will is occupied until after 4:30." Cornelia shakily agreed, gave him a light kiss and returned through a temporary portal to school. However, before the portal closed, Caleb jumped through it quietly so Cornelia wouldn't notice. Thankfully, she never looked over the shoulder when going through portals.
Caleb knew the way to school and had a vague idea of the class schedules of the girls and their friends. Remaining hidden in the shrubs near the school, he scanned the student's in the courtyard, he needed an accomplice. Sure enough, he found Matt; he was skipping class to sit outside, he sat on the ground beside the entry stares with his head buried in his arms and shoulders trembling. To catch the crying teen's attention, Caleb chucked a small pebbled at him; it hits Matt's foot. Matt, wiping tears from his eyes, looked around to find who had thrown a stone at him; he quickly spotted Caleb in the shrubs. Looking to make sure no teacher would spot him, Matt hurried over to the shrubs and ducked out of sight.
"Caleb, thank god you are here. Will- "
"I know." Caleb interrupted, "Cornelia told me, and I have a plan." He cleared his throat and held Matt's shoulders so the young teen would look him in the eyes. "However, I need your help."
"I would do anything for Will." Replied Matt in a shaky voice.
"Great! Now, Cornelia told me when and where Will is going to meet Phobos, so we have to be there before he does. Once he shows up, we ambush him."
"Ambush him, are you crazy?" Matt shook his head in fear. "He is a powerful alien prince; how can we ambush him and with what?"
"Cornelia told me he is weak from a poisoning. It was an attempt on his life that backfired. Apparently, he bruises easily, which means he bleeds easily." Caleb's grip on Matt's shoulders tightens. "He is going to meet Will at the gazebo in Heatherfield Park at 4:30 after school. Now, I know that place; there are juniper bushes all around the gazebo. When he shows up, I will come out of hiding and distract him. When his back is turned towards you, I need you to stab him in the back with this." He pulls a sparing dagger from his belt and presented it to Matt. Matt shrank back a bit at the sight of the weapon.
"You want me to stab him, are you crazy?" his voice shook at the thought of killing someone.
"I will do the rest, but I can't do this on my own. If you stab him in the back, it will give me an opening to go for his heart and end this for everyone involved. It will be quick, and no one would ever know. If we don't act now, Will would be forced to marry him." This caught Matt's attention. "Please Matt, think of Will. We can't let her marry him." With a shaky and racing heart, Matt took the small blade from Caleb's hand; he could see his scared reflection in the weapon's polished metal.
"Alright, I'm in."