Tess's POV

"Maria, what do you mean you're not coming?!" I ask, flinging my hands over my head.

She sighs, seemingly exhausted. "Xander and I broke up."

"What do you mean you broke up?!"

"Tess, will you calm down?" She closes her suitcase, her closets and room entirely empty of any personal belongings. Maria points to the bed. "Take a seat, and I'll explain."

I take a seat, but sitting doesn't mean I'll stop moving altogether. My knee bounces up and down as I wait for her explanation. "Tell me," I say impatiently.

"It's September," she says. "I have to start school."

"So? You could go to school here, in Angeles. In the meanwhile, you could come—"

"Tess, I don't want to be a princess, okay?" Maria sits on the floor, picking at her frayed jean shorts. "I don't...I don't want to deal with what you're dealing with. I don't want an entire country to rely on me. I want a normal life, and Xander can't give me that."

I bite my lip, thinking about her words. "But you said you liked him a lot."

"Not all first relationships last, Tess. Maybe you and Matthew are lucky, and maybe you want this kind of Life, but I don't."

It's funny how she knows exactly what she wants. She lives in black and white, whereas I think black and white. "How'd you tell Xander?"

She shrugs nonchalantly. "I told him that this was too hard for me. He took it fairly well, actually. He didn't scream or yell or anything. He was actually really sweet about everything." A blush creeps up Maria's cheeks, and I smirk.

"It sounds like you still really like him, Maria."

She rubs her eyes. "He kissed me goodbye, one last time."

"Oh."

Feelings can be so strange. It provokes us to act so strangely, to think weird thoughts, like someone completely rewires our brains.

"If Xander wasn't a prince," I start, "would you still like him?"

She nods quickly. "Absolutely."

I smile. "Then that's all that matters."

Maria stands, pulling her suitcase with her. "I'm leaving when you guys are, but we have different flights. So, I guess this is goodbye."

I rush to her and encase her in my arms. She's so much thinner than I, and she feels so frail, but she embraces me back. "I'll miss you, big sis," she mumbles.

I pull back to look at her big brown eyes, tearing up when I see her start to cry. "Aw, Maria," I say. "You'll be here for my wedding anyway. Do well in school, okay? Don't do anything you'll regret. Don't give Mom and Dad a hard time."

She laughs. "I get it. Besides, it's kinda hard to tell which one is Mom and Dad now. You call the king and queen 'Mom and Dad.'"

I look at her, trying to come up with something clever to say, but words leave me like a popped balloon.

A maid knocks on the door and announces that we have to leave now. After grabbing my suitcase, Maria and I meet everyone else at the foyer. I almost laugh at Rilane's giant pink suitcase, almost tearing at the seams by how stuffed it is. Then there's Matthew, whose dark blue duffel bag looks almost empty. Mom and Dad already look ready, and that's our little entourage.

We're driven to the airport, and I've never felt so...valued. Multiple cars filled with guards surround ours as we zoom down the highway. The last time I was in a plane is not a time I want to remember. Yet, it creeps in my brain, like a poisonous spider waiting to inject its venom. I stare at the streetlights outside, at the other cars needing to go somewhere. I just want to forget.

Matt bumps my shoulder with his, and he takes my hand. I don't really have any other words to say, so I lay my head on his shoulder.

~An hour and fifty-seven minutes later~

I'm hyperventilating. I seem to do that a lot, and it must be a talent. The smell of stale coffee in the aisles lingers in my mind, and I remember how it was mixed with the smell of sulfur. My shoulders shake, and I put my head in between my legs while a comforting hand rubs circles on my back.

"Love, it's okay. It's okay."

The sight of the empty cockpit. The attendants' horrified faces. The terrifying jump. The smell of sulfur. An explosion. Heat. Fire.

Fire.

"Tess, Tess, listen to me." It's hard to hear when he's underwater. Water.

"Water," I croak.

"Get her water!"

Water puts out fires. Maybe, just maybe...

Jumping out. The pain in my legs. The sickening crack of a nearby attendant. The explosion. The sensation of flying midair, only to hit my head on a tree. That spot on my head suddenly starts throbbing, and the pain is so intense I can't hear anything anymore.

Someone pulls me back up, their crystal blue eyes the only thing I can see. The pair of eyes has a body. The arms connected to that body wrap around me, warm and comforting. A plastic cup of water is brought to my lips, and I drink thirstily. The hands connected to the arms smooth down my hair, wipe the traumatized tears on my face.

"Tess."

I don't know how much time has passed until I realize we're in the air. The sky outside is dark, and it's cold, so, so cold.

"May I have a blanket, please?" a warm voice asks. My shoulders are suddenly enveloped in a fleece cloth, but I'm still shivering. "Do you want water, love?"

I numbly nod, and I have another cup of water. I look at the worried blue eyes looking me up and down, even though I'm curled up in a ball. The armrest between us is lifted, so that he is free to hold me close to him without any obstacle. His chest is hard and strong beneath my hand, but there's a an elevated part, like a platform. I lower the collar of his thin shirt and find a scar over an oblong-shaped object.

"Love, please say something."

"Matthew," I breathe. "Matthew."

"God, you scared the shit out of me," he says.

I shrug. "Just a panic attack." But to be honest, it scared the shit out of me too. "'God' and 'shit' shouldn't be in the same sentence, you know."

He holds me to his chest, and I wrap my arms around him. "Our parents were so shell-shocked that they didn't even know what to do," Matt says. "Rilane just stared at you."

"Nice to know they treated me like a bearded lady."

He takes a while for that to register before he laughs. "Nice to know you're being yourself again."

"You said 'our parents,'" I say, leaving no transition in between.

"Their your parents too, aren't they?"

"Not yet."

"Well, you're about to meet my-slash-our grandmother."

It's daunting to know I'll be meeting a former queen. Even scarier to know that I'll be related to royalty by marriage.

"Love, what in the world are you thinking about?" He exhales just above my hairline, and I curl up closer to him.

I don't respond, because by that time, I'm already asleep.

Well, this was kind of a weird chapter. And, um, the next chapters might be a bit...Well, I'll wait for that moment. I hope you guys will...be affected. I don't know what I'm trying to say here. Well, I know what I'm trying to say, but I can't say it because it would give it away.

Oh, my goodness, thank you to those who listened to my song on soundcloud! I know it was totally lame, but thanks for listening anyway!

QOTD: What is your biggest fear?

Answer to previous QOTD: London. Easily.

Thanks for the reviews!

marial0789- I'll try my best to keep it up! :P Thanks!

ReadLikeYouMeanIt- ...I think the Alps are in Switzerland? Idk, maybe that's just poor geography knowledge on my part. Thanks so much!

LittleMissTori- Wow! That's great! Congrats! Lol boys suck. I really like looking at them, but I think at this point guys are super immature. I'll stick to my fictional boys, thank you very much :) Thanks!

Kiren- Lol Lorien. I'd kinda just want to meet Sam and date him :P Thanks!

lilythemermaid- Haha ya feelin it? :P And awwww thank yoooou! And for the record, I'm not good at everything. I can't dance, and you can, so there. I suck at dancing :P I can't whistle or beatbox (and my sister can). Ummm, I don't do/like sports, and the feeling is mutual. I'm not good at everything :P Name a random thing and I'll guarantee that I'm not good at it. Then there's you who's, like, Miss Honors/AP/animal lover/super nice/super pretty person then there's me who's like :/ Lol thanks so much for keeping me from homework. Totally loved that. Ooh Greece. So cool. Thanks so much! LALALALOL- T (btw you're O and I'm T ;) )

Athenachild101- Lol I just realized you had an account :P Ahhh penguins! Penguins are my third favorite animals. It goes dolphins, then polar bears, then penguins :) I'm a water person. Antarctica sounds pretty desolate, don't you think? Ah, well, whatever makes you happy :) Thanks so much!

bita1614/ilona18- Glad you liked the song :) Thanks so much!

winterprincess- Oh, I won't kill Amberly. Don't worry. I hope you listened to my song (that's totally lame anyway, but whatevs)! The moon. Classic answer :) Thanks so much!

Theoneforever- Glad you loved it! Oh, Amberly. I'm gonna miss her... Thanks so much!

dakotamo- Hahaha oh, that line. It slays me :P Thanks so much!

Please-and-Thankyou's- Ah, classic answer :) Thanks!

Love ya!- AcademicGirl