The lucky 13th chapter! I guess not so lucky because i had to shrink it down again. Sorry guys, I just can't write short. I wrote this quite fast because I'm on school holidays and I had plenty of time. Although I was supposed to do some things for school, but I didn't do most because writing is so much BETTER. Okay, so thank you for the new reviews. Richelle Mead, the author of VA and Bloodlines, owns everything, not me. There are spoilers. I'm sorry for mistakes, typos and stuff. And guys, please kep on reviewing. I love you all. Writing this chapter made me kind of sad, because, well, it's really sad. I still hope you like it.
There were two things I needed to do before running away to Detroit. No, I wasn't really running away. I just needed a break. Which I was already supposed to get in Pentisuala. I guess wherever Eddie was included in my life, there was no break for me.
It was funny, when the law changed I came back to the Court. Now I kept coming and leaving all the time. But that was the beauty of the throne not relying on me. I was free.
The first thing I needed to do was report Lissa my decision of how I'd continue my schooling. Except that I still haven't dealed with it completely myself. Nothing made sense without Eddie. But I didn't really have a choice. I had to get over him in order to ever be in a relationship again.
I guess I'd have to deal with it.
The second thing was talking to Angeline. She couldn't be okay after the whole mess with Trey. I really didn't want to get in the middle of them again, but she deserved to know the truth.
Except that it was far more complicated than just the 'Trey the traitor' fight.. Trey correctly pointed out that she hadn't trusted him. Not that he gave her good reasons to do that. A leather bracelet wasn't that good of a proof he was telling the truth. But still, Trey had reasons to be upset. He deserved more trust. And speaking of that, Angeline wasn't exactly trustworthy either.
But she had told me herself she's decided to change. That she was willing to change for Trey and be with him for all or nothing. And Trey already gave everything up for her.
Although... After everything that's happened between them, I didn't know just how true that still was. And that's why I needed to talk to Angeline.
There was also a third thing I needed to do, namely calling my mother and letting her know I'll be coming home, if she's okay with it of course. I didn't even know if she had the time. It wouldn't be very pleasant if I got there and found the house empty.
Of course, I didn't do any of that the day we arrived back to the Court. We landed early in the morning and all I had the strenght to do was stumble to bed and fall asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, it wasn't exactly morning anymore. It was lunch time and every bone in my body felt like it's been torn apart into hundreds of pieces and then constructed back together, but pressed so close together it hurt even more. I assumed it came from running through the rainforest of Hawaii and fighting a bunch of maniacs who were trying to kill me and my friends. None of those two things were my normal way to spend time.
I decided I'll first do the calls I can from my bed before getting up and tourturing my poor bones even more. No matter sleeping, I still felt exhausted. It was probably less physical and more mental. That's why I was getting my break.
I called Lissa first. I didn't know if she was still asleep or already on a meeting. The Queen, always busy. But it still felt weird, having to schedule a meeting with my own sister.
I still called to her personal number, though. Her official phone was always busy and, well, too official.
After a minute or two of ringing blankly, when I was already about to cancel, Christian answered, about as sleepy as I felt.
"So I suppose you survived your close encounter with the devil?" I teased. That was how scared he was yesterday when he was on the phone with Lissa.
"You have no idea what she turns into when she's mad," he whispered with a tone that didn't even sound fake-scared.
"Okay... May I speak to the devil myself?" I asked, trying not to scoff.
"Just let me wake her up," Christian replied. I held laughter back. I said it twice, but he didn't even try to deny the devil part or that he's afraid of her.
A second later Lissa's sleepy voice greeted me. She didn't have meetings today yet. She was only human, like the rest of us (if you ignore the biology part and other stuff you could endlessly argue about with Sydney). We agreed to meet after lunch, just the two of us. I already hinted what we'd be talking about, and she sounded pleased that I've decided.
Then I called my mom. She couldn't be happier about me coming home, telling me I could come anytime I want, as long as I call her and let her know before I leave. She even told me I can bring a friend if I want. "How about Eddie?" she asked.
I quickly turned that idea down, but was really excited about bringing someone with me. Although none of my friends really had the time right now. It was a wonder I did.
What could be done from bed was done, and I had to get up. I decided to go get some lunch, since that's what you normally do at 12 am. I technically still had the time to go talk to Angeline, but I somehow didn't. I was kind of avoiding it, I guess. The last time didn't end so well, and considering the mess they got themselves into, I might as well have to talk to both of them. Which didn't sound very appealing. I didn't even know how they felt about each other and if they even still wanted to be together.
I quickly put on some of the clothes from the suitcases that I didn't wear on the vacation. Maybe, just maybe I really did pack too much. Then, walking into the living room, I found Angeline asleep on the couch. It felt like a huge deja vu to the morning after returning from Palm Springs, except that on that time, it was Eddie who was asleep on the couch.
I missed him.
Angeline streched her arms and yawned. She blinked her eyes at me. "Morning," she muttered.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, more confused than accusive. Angeline grimaed and bit her lip, as pain crossed her features. She looked sad and I was sorry I asked anything. I already realized what happened.
"Trey and I got a room together. Now, when everything's so complicated... Well, he doesn't know any of you as well, and we roomed together for almost a year. I couldn't get a new room in the middle of the night. I thought it'd be okay if I'm here until I do," she said. I saw the way she tried to sound cheerful, but her eyes were too red to make it look believable. She was playing so tough. I knew she always was like that and thought everyone expected her to be like that, but this was probably the first breakup that hasn't left her cold. She couldn't be okay.
I was no psyhiactrist, so instead of getting in between again, I offered something else.
"Listen, I know you're not okay. You can't be. But the thing is, I'm going to Detroit for a week in a few days. To my mom's house. You can come with me if you want, you know, to get away from everything for a while."
Angeline nodded eagerly. "I'd love that," she said.
So maybe I didn't mention Trey yet, but if she was coming with me for a week, there'd be plenty of time to talk. And I was excited that we'd spend some time together. I loved her. She had her flaws, but she's alwas been a good friend to me. Now, when she was having a tough time, I wanted to do the same.
I took Angeline to lunch with me. Before time could fly away from me, I tried to gently bring up the thing with Trey. Only resulting in something I couldn't agree more with: "You know what, who needs guys anyway?"
"You are so right," I said stunned. Who needs Eddie or anyone else? Girl power! It was time to have fun and forget all about him. To erase him out of my life. And Angeline could do the same with Trey.
Maybe like that... Life at St. Vladimir's wouldn't be so empty.
"Hey, since this is how it turned, I'm going to St. Vladimir's Academy again. I don't know what you want to do with your life, but if you really want to get rid of the Keepers once and for all and be a guardian, you can come with me," I said. Angeline opened her mouth, looking kind of surprised. "If you want to, of course," I quickly added. Back at Amberwood, we never talked about the future. What we want to become. We just... Lived in the moment, kind of waiting for the future to come. Now it was here.
I didn't even know what I wanted to be. Before I became a princess, I supposed I'd just go to college and lived a normal life in a human city, like my mom. Then I became a princess, and it looked like that's what I'd be for the rest of my life.
But a princess had to do something too. I didn't want to just wander through life, being a spoiled royal. Eddie told me I was different. I wanted to be.
"I should do that," Angeline admitted. "I never really knew what would happen to me. All I know is that I don't want to go back."
It looked like we'd be spending quite some time together in the future. Which was good. I always knew I'd need a guardian now that I was a princess. If that was Angeline... Well, I guess it couldn't be better.
Actually, it could be better. If it was Eddie.
NO! I was done with him.
Now, why would I really want to be done with him? If he'd want me, I'd be with him in a second, I knew that. But now I knew he didn't. I had to get over him, even if it felt wrong.
The meeting with Lissa was supposed to be just for the two of us, but I decided to take Angeline with me. If she was going to the academy with me, why not? I quickly explained the whole thing to her on the way to Lissa's private rooms. I wasn't going to her office this time. As I said, this meeting was way more private that the others.
"Hey, Jill," Lissa said when we arrived. "Angeline."
After the greets and formalities I explained my decision to Lissa. She accepted my wish without any real entusiasm. I didn't know what that was supposed to mean. Was she sad that I was leaving? Felt better with me at Court? Or was she just hiding her good mood that well?
"Without Eddie?" she finally asked. Oh, that was her problem. Yeah, as hard as that was to admit, it was my problem too. I decided to ignore her point.
"So? I know he's a good guardian, but so is Angeline. I'll be just fine with her." I avoided Lissa's gaze, smiling at Angeline instead, but even she tillted her head and gave me an are-you-being-serious look.
"I know that. But... Look, maybe things between you and Eddie are looking bad, but that always changes. You can't just cut him out of your life, you'll only hurt him," Lissa said gently. She was trying to sound reasonable, but I was getting too sick of this story to believe in its happy ending anymore.
"You think he hasn't hurt me yet with being this way? I've given him enough chances. I want him out of my life for good," I said grimly. "At least until I get over him."
"Okay... So you're firing him?" Lissa asked slowly. That thought sobered me up. To fire him? He did hurt me, but should he lose his job for it? Not really.
"Um... Not firing. Maybe you should just... Get him another job. Or put him on wait or on fence duty or whatever it is that you do with guardians. He won't be sitting around," I said promptly. Lissa chuckled.
"Of course. We'll find him something to do. I suppose you want me to break the news to him?" she asked with a small sigh. This conversation was going as if Lissa was my employee, not the Queen. Or maybe our relationship really became more sisterlike. Which I loved.
I also let Lissa know I'm leaving for a week. She only told me that I shoukd relax, because I'll probably have a lot of royal things to do when I get back. Just like she promised me before going to vacation. I guess she didn't expect me to be out of Court so soon after we get back.
The next two days just sonehow passed by. That was how much time it took me to pack different clothes and get ready to go to Detroit. A few people came to say goodbye to us before we left. Eddie and Trey weren't among them. Lissa was, however, and as curious as I was, I had to ask her about Eddie's whereabouts.
Of course, to keep some dignity, I didn't exactly shoot that question out.
"So, did you tell Eddie yet?" Lissa nodded and gave me a soft smile. I stared at her for a few seconds, and when it seemed like she won't elaborate, I asked on: "How did he take it?" She shrugged.
"Pretty well. Considering that the girl he loves fired him just because he wants to protect her, which is impossible now that he's been fired," she replied. I rolled my eyes.
"Why are you all on his side? He's the one being unreasonable! And he's not fired! Now please tell me how did he really react," I said wearily. Lissa tilted her head in some kind of a failed apology.
"As I said, he was okay. Very understanding, as he always is."
Well, that was better. Although I'd lie if I said I'd like it better if he cared just a little bit.
"And where is he now?" I ignored Lissa's sympathetic smile that was probably telling me I'm not really over him. Well, I said I want to be, not that I am.
"I'm not sure. I sent him to Hans, and I think he's doing some... gardening," she said. Gardening? Yikes, what did I do to my poor guardian?
I convinced Neil to take me and Angeline to the Philadelphia airport our flight went from. We'd go from the Court, but we'd catch too much attention to ourselves, two ordinary girls in Detroit coming out of a private jet alone. No one was really after me anymore.
My mom accepted us the moment we left our plane. She swept me into a big hug, which I gladly returned. I was surprised to see tears in her eyes when she let go. It wasn't even that long since the last time I saw her.
"I remember every summer I picked you up at St. Vladimir's when you didn't even let me hug you because you didn't want to be embarrased," she told me. I blushed, recalling that as well.
"Well, a lot's changed since then. My whole life, better said," I replied. Then, weirdest thing, my mom hugged Angeline as well. The dhampir's reaction was hilarious. Apparently, it was easier for her to take the school guinea pig to her bed as a thermophor (she did it once... said that's the only way to stay warm at the Keepers if your bed is away from the fireplace) than to hug a basically unknown middle-aged woman.
John back at home accepted us in a similar way. The house, however, almost brought tears to my eyes. It was still small and not so new. The parking lot was barely big enough for my mom's car. But I spent the happiest moments of my life here. I remembered the first - actually only - time Rose came to visit. Even not wanting to admit it, she was used to better luxury. My friends were surprised to see how normal, downright poor was the enviroment I grew up in. Pretty weird for a princess. My reaction was similar at Luke's place a few days ago. But now, I was so happy to see this house, as old and poor as it was. I couldn't take it if anything changed.
Mom and John made us an early dinner, almost competing which one of them would show more hospitality. Their cooking's gotten more delicious than I remembered. Maybe because they teamed up. Angeline looked impressed. But I thought they'd die when they realized we're out of ice-cream. John hurried to the nearest supermarket and my mom tried to distract us from the lack of desert by chatting. It kind of stung me, because it gave me the feeling we'd distanced away.
"So, how are your other friends doing? You and Eddie? It seemed like there was something between the two of you when I met him, am I right?" she asked after working through all the lighter subjects. Okay, maybe she still knew md well. There was something else that stung me now.
"Oh, don't mention him," Angeline said promptly, leaving her surprised. Then John showed up with ice-cream, closing the subject Eddie for a while.
My mom had to leave in the evening. She was still working as a ballet dancer and most shows were rather late than early. That left me and Angeline to spend some time with John, which was surprisingly fun. I hadn't realized until then just how much I'd missed it. I'd missed my old life more than I liked to admit.
The week passed completely ordinary. I showed Angeline all the places I could remember and kept on being shocked every time I realized how much our part of town had changed in a year. I refreshed some of my old friendships and mostly became even better friends with Angeline.
One of the evenings we were switching through the TV and found Pride and Prejudice, the part where Elisabeth rejects Mr. Darcy's proposal. I've seen the movie before and that part always broke my heart, because it was just so wrong, but with Angeline by my side and in this girl power state, we both reacted differently than we would have otherwise.
"Yeah, that's how you do it! You go Lizzie!" Angeline exclaimed. "Who needs guys!" I added just as eagerly. John, who was just passing by, gave us a look from the side. We both laughed.
He probably told my mom about what he'd seen, because the next day she came to talk to me, asking if I was okay amd stuff. I soon knew which way the wind blows. She'd always been the kind of mother you can easily talk to, and soon I ended spilling my heart out over the mess with Eddie. I've kind of gotten my mind off of him these last few days, but it felt good to talk about it again, to hear different opinions. Although Mom mostly agreed with the who-needs-guys policy, even being a married woman. I guess she realized I've already made up my mind.
Or, better said, Eddie made it up for me.
Anyway, my mom didn't mention Eddie again that week and the next evening she joined Angeline and me when we found another romantic movie the next evening. She even made us popcorn, but we threw it into the TV when the cliche happy ending happened, ranting something about how no one needs a guy. It probably wasn't healthy. And my mom made us vacuum clean later. But it made us feel better.
One afternoon Adrian called me. I found out there was nothing new at Court, but he reminded me of the mess between Trey and Angeline that was theoretically still solvable. I quickly told him I'd do it and we didn't elaborate on that.
But he got me thinking. I was about to mention it a few times, and somehow never did. I kept on putting it off. I supposed I subconsiously knew just how solvable their mess really was and was afraid to lose the only thing holding me up right now. Angeline, my also heartbroken friend, kept me busy and with her wild spirit kept on drawing smiles on my face. I'd crack without her. That's how we already were at Amberwood, and she barely ever had the time for me again after her and Trey got together. I was afraid to lose it again.
Except that it wasn't fair. She deserved to be with him - if she wanted to, of course. She deserved to know the truth.
I still didn't find the opportunity to talk to her until we were on our flight home. It was hard to find the words to begin the conversation.
"Are you still angry with Trey?" I finally asked. Angeline shot me with a surprised glance.
"You mean the traitor?" she replied fiercly, making it pretty clear how she feels about him. I can't say I didn't understand her. Of I knew what she knew, I'd be angry too. But I knew more. She basically didn't let him explain. It was weird no one told her it wasn't really his fault.
That's because it's your job, a voice inside my head told me. Tell her now. Better late than never. I exhaled.
"Listen, I know it's hard to believe, but he was telling the truth," I said slowly, avoiding her look. I expected the reaction that followed my words.
"You were on his side this whole time? And pretended to agree with me? How could you?" she exclaimed. She turned away in rage, but I caught the glitter of tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but please just hear me out," I pleaded. "I'm not telling you this because I'd want to hurt you, it's the opposite. You don't know the truth, but you deserve to. I was there through the bond and Trey really had nothing to do with the ambush."
"So let's never wear bracelets again. They might have GPS in them." I ignored the scoff in her voice and continued: "I saw Trey throw that bracelet into the sea the day we left Pentisuala."
Angeline glanced at me with a downright despizeful look. "You could've just made that one up," she remarked.
"Why would I do that?" I wondered desperately.
"I just don't believe it," she insisted. I sighed. This wasn't my battle. My own has exhausted me enough.
"Do as you like. But I really believe he deserves you to at least talk to him."
I doubted she's do that, because she didn't even talk to me for the rest of the flight.
Or so I though until the flight attendant announced we'd be landing soon. That's when Angeline turned towards me.
"You were right. He at least deserves a chance to explain," she said. I nodded with a smile, a bit surprised over her sudden change. What shocked me even more was that she apologized next. I was really proud over how mature she'd gotten. I just hoped Trey would still be willing to explain.
Lissa kept her promise and involved me into more royal events, including council meetings, luxurious dinners, things like that. It included getting dressed and fixed up until I was unrecognisable for each one of them, because it was a must to look your best or such opportunities. It was a relief for me that it didn't require a guardian. I'd always had one - Eddie - around last year, because of how important my life had been. I can't say I missed the attention. And I clearly didn't need a reminder of what happened between me and Eddie when someone'd be replacing him.
The problem about these royal things was that it was the most boring thing ever. I couldn't work through how Lissa could stand it every day. The council meetings weren't even that bad, because I actually cared about some of the changes Lissa was trying to achieve. Dinners were way worse. Some royals were downright disgusting, spreading rumors that I caught weren't even true. Sometimes they even did that with people they laughed with and claimed how much they love them just the night before.
I was starting to understand why Eddie was so afraid of their judging. I could hear how rude they were, even to people I knew. From time to time, Adrian and Sydney faced some judging from people their own age because of their marriage, but it was so much more pathetic when they didn't even want to do it face to face.
Lissa was mostly by my side during these things, but the moment she left every once in a while, the others started to talk about how she's too good for Christian. He couldn't shake his past off. He'd given up on these events long ago. Who could blame him?
I got Adrian to come with me every once in a while. At least that helped me get through. Most of my other friends weren't eben on the elite list of people that could attend this hollow self-worshiping. But that didn't matter. Adrian and I could basically have the best time ever anywhere. It was one of the rare moments when he got me to cheer up.
But other than that, I felt Adrian blocking himself from me again. Not permanently, just every now and then. Like he was hiding something from me. That's where it showed how much I'd grown. I was kind of proud of myself. If this happened a few moths ago, I'd go crazy stalker on him to find out what's going on. Now... Well, whatever was coming up, let it. As long as he didn't use too much spirit, I was more or less okay with it.
Whatever it was that he was hiding, it probably wasn't a disaster, because in my life, disasters didn't show any signs of coming, they just happened, forcing us to deal with it.
Honestly, I assumed Adrian was talking to Eddie to convince him into changing his mind about me. I wouldn't mind if he succeded.
By now, I kind of knew I won't get over Eddie while I was here. He was too close, even though I barely ever saw him. I needed a fresh start, which was the reason I was returning to the Academy. Until then, I needed to stay away.
But I hated how out of my life he was. I missed him with every part of my soul. I didn't use to understand lovestruck girls longing for their boyfriends. Well, Eddie and I weren't anything to each other. Not anymore. Ouch. He was missing in my life so much it hurt me. It felt empty.
I mostly missed him at night. I couldn't even sleep anymore. I guess I wasn't stressed anymore, but I was miserable.
Well, during the day, I didn't leave myself the space to feel lonely. Other than royal events, I found a few ways to keep myself busy.
Neil kept his promise and started to train me. At first it reminded me of my lessons with Eddie, but that spark of nostalgia was soon gone. Neil didn't sugarcoat things for me, he wasn't as gentle. It was phisically harder for me, but it was the only way to learn. He actually thought I needed the defense I could offer myself, and I appreciated that greatly. He and I were both excited to see progress in me.
After a few days of that practise passed, Neil started to call me to trainings himself. But they were mostly short. And that mostly happened when Adrian blocked himself from the bond.
Something was definetly going on. I still didn't bother finding out what it was.
But I was still mostly the one who scheduled training. It was fun for me, a good way to pass the time and do something for myself. I mostly wasn't even doing anything in those days, except for being miserable.
I also started to practise magic on my own, with a promise to get with Mia nad Christian and anyone else interested as soon as I get phisically stronger. Which I thought would be soon, if I kept progressing the way I did until now.
Angeline only stayed with me for about three more days after we returned home. I was perisistent about her talking to Trey, and when I came home from what I think was my second fight practise, just about to go see Trey myself to tell him that she'll listen, I found them kissing on the couch Angeline'd been sleeping on.
"So, um... We talked," Angeline told me. I smiled, happy for both of them. I reached my goal - got them back together.
Trey even came to talk to me the same evening, as Angeline moved back in with him. A huge grinn was drawn over his face when I opened the door for him. Neither of them looked like they'd ever stop smiling again. They probably didn't realize what a hard time they had withoutbeach other until they were reunited. Knowing I was kind of responsible for it was one of the small sparks of happiness in my life.
"Jill, I can't tell you how grateful I am that you were willing to do this for us. She wouldn't let me talk to her... Thank you for doing it for me. We had to work a few things out, but she promised to try and change," he said. I think I beamed in that moment. I couldn't explain how happy helping them made me.
"And of course you'll try to trust her," I added, reminding him of our conversation when he first expressed his doubts abiut their relationship. They seemed to be long forgotten by now.
"Yes! Definetly," he said promptly. "You were right... She's perfect the way she is." Angeline was far from perfect, but I didn't want to correct him, seeing how happy he was. "I mean, perfect for me," he added immeadiately. "I think I love her."
"Make sure you tell her that as often as possible," I said, choking on my words. I was about to add it's nice to hear, but my voice failed on me. Trey smiled and left, while I bursted into tears, no matter how happy I'd just felt.
From then on, I mostly cried through the nights.
Two weeks passed in that similar spirit - royal events, training, Adrian blocking from me, missing Eddie wildly, mostly crying at night.
I literally barely ever saw him. During those two weeks, I think it happened twice. I only saw him from afar, once in a garden when I was passing by, and once leaving the gym when I was waiting for Neil. We never talked anymore.
But after those two weeks passed, there was a night I didn't spend in tears. I didn't even think about Eddie. It was the night before my birthday.
I used to get really excited about birthdays. Like, way too excited. But not this time. It's actually been a while since I really got excited about something. Without Eddie, nothing seemed worth it. I still couldn't let my birthday go completely. It kept me awake and thinking about it for a while. I wondered if anyone would even remember. Probably.
"It has to be a good day. First after a while," I thought. "If this isn't going to be my day, what is?" I had to stop being miserable about Eddie. He wasn't worth it. He was never really mine, so what was I even mourning for? For the first time in a while, I felt positive about my life.
Right before I drowned into much-needed sleep, I decided I'll be happy again from now on. And that I'll ignore my birthday unless someone brings it up. Just because. To prove I can do it.
Well, it was hard to ignore it a few hours later, at 4 am, when I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I moaned and stumbled towards it. After only sleeping for, what, three of four hours, the noise made my head ache. "Shut up," I muttered when I finally reached the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jill?" a nervous voice greeted me. Like whoever was calling wasn't sure if they have the right number. The voice was familiar, but right now, all sleepy and blurry, I had no idea where to put it.
"Yes," I said carefully, unsure what to expect.
"Hi, it's me, Micah," the voice said cheerfully and more securly now. A cling sounded in my head. Of course, now I knew the voice!
"Oh, hi!" I exclaimed with a huge smile drawn on my face. I certinately didn't expect him to call, but this sudden surprise cheered me up to a point I could never imagine. I was wide awake now. I hadn't heard from my Amberwood friends in so long!
"I, um... I don't know what schedule you're on, so I decided to just call. I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," he said warmly.
"You remembered?" I laughed in disbelief. I was amazed. He called even though it was a month since I moved half of the country away and at least six months since I broke up with him for no reason.
"Of course I remembered! How could I forget?" he chuckled. I seriously wanted to give him a hug.
We talked for quite a while. He told me what's new in Palm Springs and asked if I'd be coming back. There was some longing in his voice and I was a bit sorry to say no. Maybe because the longing in my heart reflected his. I missed the good old simple days.
I kept tossing and turning in bed after canceling the call. The air tasted too much of the day already to keep me sleeping. A bit before 7 am I finally got up, even with a smile on my face. My reflection in the mirror surprised me... These days I was mostly looking like a zombie, but right now, a rare thing for me, I had to admit I look beautiful.
For the first time since the vacation it took me a while to choose what to wear. Lately I'd been just pulling on whatever I found, but with this new energy, I also cared about looking decent. It was my day, after all.
I chose a blue, black and white striped short dress. The summer was still on full strike, so I wasn't afraid I'd be cold. Rather hot.
And really, the heat almost knocked me over as I stepped through the door. The sun was low, but still hot and dangerous. I had to be careful not to stay outside for too long if I didn't want to get sunburns.
I was about to go toward the river I could see through my window to practise magic a little bit. Then, strange thing, I ran into Adrian. Strange because I never ran into him, I always expected him. It was one of the times he was blocking himself.
He was surprised too, I saw it in his face, but he recovered immediately and smiled wide.
"Jailbait, I didn't expect you out so early! Happy birthday!" he exclaimed honestly cheerful and hugged me. I returned the hug and the smile, but couldn't help thinking this was a bit odd. He usually wasn't out this early either. And there was something weird, almost panicked in his expression when he saw me.
I was suddenly dying to know the thing he was hiding from me. Maybe I hadn't really grown, I just became curious again as life began to return into me. I didn't care about anything when all I saw was my misery. I also always slept really late once I managed to actually fall asleep.
Did Adrian start to get up early in that time? And was whatever he was hiding from me really just convincing Eddie? Maybe he was just surprised because I really hadn't gotten up willingly in so long. Maybe Lissa was dragging me to council meetings and Neil was calling me to trainings just to actually get me somewhere. I realized I'd been drowning.
Why would I want to be drowning when breathing felt so good? I hadn't felt it in so long. It was surprising how addictive crying becomes if you do it every day. I had to stop this.
"You look really happy today. I'm glad to see that," Adrian remarked before he was on his way again. My smile widened as I continued my walk towards the river.
The air around the water was invigoratingly fresh and because of the shadow the trees gave even the sun was easier to stand for a Moroi. It was more or less perfect and I just stood there enjoing it before getting to practise.
Wielding water was a joy too. We've learend plenty of times that using too much magic was exhausting and even dangerous for spirit users, but with us, 'normal' Moroi, it was an amazing feeling. I never felt more free than when feeling the power of water in my hands, having complete control over it. I really had to contact Christian and Mia. I had less time than I'd like, because I was meeting my friends for breakfast. We still had most meals together in 'our' cafeteria, except that I'd been frequently missing breakfasts in the near past because, as mentioned, I slept late. And I didn't feel like spending much time with my friends, except when they made me.
Well, now I was more than happy to join them.
I got about a thousand congratulations when I got there, which went on for the rest of the day. Rose called me up a bit after lunch and took me to the Court's spa, telling me she has a small surprise.
"You said you want a fresh start, and I thought you could do that with a fresh hairstyle. There's this guy who basically does anything at the spa, he's got hands of gold, so you should let him do what he does," she told me with a misterious smile. "And he's really cute," she remarked.
"Then I can't wait," I giggled.
A few minutes later one of the most gorgeous creatures I'd ever met greeted me.
"Hello, you must be the famous Dragomir princess," he said with a warm, charming voice and gave a slight bow.
"Famous?" I repeated with a wide grinn, feeling a blush coming up. The guy - he was a dhampir - smiled, making his flawless face even more attractive. I felt like I was a year back in the past mentally - I was afraid I might faint.
"Well, there's only two of you, words come around. My name is Ambrose and I'll be taking care of your hair today, or so I heard," he told me. I nodded excited and placed myself into the chair he stroke his hand towards.
My hair was done by different people for every royal dinner I attended, and they all complained about the material, but what they'd done was never permanent. Now, in only half an hour's time, Ambrose created a very casual but pretty hairstyle. My hair still floated free and it was still curly, but the difference was obvious. I don't know how he did it. It looked like I could brush it with no fear of the brush breaking, and it was so shiny and not at all messy and... And it would stay like that. It would be too weak of a word if I said I was impressed.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I squealed, not really knowing if it was meant for him or Rose. They both looked happy they made me so happy. I obviously lost the self-control I thought I'd gained during this year. But I didn't care. I was realizing it's more important to be happy than to look normal.
Rose walked me back to my room. She did it in a bit weird of a way, though, leading me around most of the buildings and through the park. It was supposingly to "get a little excercise". She stayed with me in my room. I was glad she did that, because I hadn't really spoken to her in a while. All of my friends, actually.
It was around 6 pm when Lissa called me.
"Your favorite," came her voice. "A royal dinner." I groaned in dismay. I never hid my opinion about those dinners. "I'm so sorry," Lissa said, sounding sincere. She told me when and where and that I don't need to go to the spa or too fixed up, because it was supposingly in a more 'casual spirit'.
"Well, you get dressed and I'll just go there," Rose told me. Guardians were always on such events. They were even before I died on one last year. The royals were most vunerable at night, when they all gathered together and were possibly a little drunk too.
But that wasn't the part of Rose's words that bothered me.
"Wait, how did you know?" I asked. She stared at me for a while and then smiled innocently, looking like a child caught stealing candy.
"I know eavesdropping isn't nice, but do you have any idea how loud your phone is?" she exclaimed with a high-pitched voice, looking more nervous than I was used in her. She must've felt really bad about listening to my conversations.
I picked out a dress I still had from last year, not too formal but not too casual, and set on my way. The dinner was in one of the halls in the main building, close to where the council meeting were. It was designed like a huge fancy diner with some room for music and what was supposingly a dancefloor, but was barely ever used. There were several halls like that in the building, and this was one of the smaller ones.
I walked through the streets of Court. The sun was about to rise and the air was pleasantly warm. The week light actually made a pretty romantic effect, as did the fact that everything was prety empty for the usually very busy Court. It was a nice walk, and I wished it was the only reason I set outside, instead of having to go to that meeting of devils.
I made good time even with the lingering, I was even a bit early. That was when most people came to these things, to get good seats or something. But it was weird that no one was there yet. Everything looked completely empty. Even the lights in the hallway were off, althought they had motion detectors. Which was a bit weird for chandeliers. But that's just how the Court was made. Old and new everywhere.
The hallway looked a bit scary with all the shadows and in the dark, although I saw well. With the misterious effect and the - I never noticed how much - realistic oil portreits, I felt like in a haunted castle. I was starting to wonder if I'm in the right place. But I was completely sure Lissa told me to come here.
I hesitantly pulled back the heavy wooden door's huge golden door knob, walking into darkness.
Suddenly, all the lights turned on. I squinted as the light blinded me.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" a hall of people who jumped out of nowhere exclaimed.
I am very sorry for the lack of Eddie in this chapter. I miss him just as much as Jill does and I'm sure you do too. He'll pop up eventually. So please don't give up on the story, even though it's in a bit sad direction right now. Jill didn't give up on herself either, and things are lookin quite promising now. Probably. Still no spoilers for the future chapters ;) So please guys, keep reading and reviewing. I can't tell you when the next chapter comes, but I hope soon. May's gonna be a busy month for me, but I'll try.