Chapter Four

"Griffin, I need you," I murmur in a half-awake, half-asleep state before shooting out of bed and looking at the time. 6:51 PM. Three hours since I got home, and so far, the most uneasy three-hour nap of my life. I have to talk to Griffin about this, I don't want to go on further without his genius yet idiotic words of advice, especially knowing that he's upset for some reason.

I grab my cell off the nightstand and I begin typing in a message to my boyfriend.

Griffin can we talk?

No that's lame. Delete.

We didn't have a chance to talk after the ceremony... I wanna see you

Am I that desperate, though? Delete.

Hey

I press send. Wow, I am a certified idiot. I wait around while staring at my screen waiting for him to open the text, and just as I'm about to turn off my phone, the text bubble finally turns blue, signaling that he read it. Is he going to reply? No? Fuck. Well, he's still online so I guess I'll carry on myself.

Can you come over?

This time the bubble turns blue right away. Apparently, he's been waiting for me to continue, but I just hope he actually answers.

Busy. Just call.

It took him three whole minutes to type in these three words... he truly is mad, especially judging by the fact that he's using punctuation while typing. Looks like I don't have a choice since I don't even know if he's at his house for me to just go and waltz in. I dial in his number and wait for him to pick up. A couple of seconds later, he does, he just doesn't say anything.

"Hello?"

"What do you want, Freya?" His otherwise-silvery voice mumbles gravelly on the other end of the line.

I gulp, not knowing how to respond to the way he sounds so distant and harsh. "Why were you avoiding me today?"

"Why was I avoiding you?" He scoffs, "why did you betray me?" I what?

"Griffin, you know this wasn't my choice—"

"But it could've been your choice to tell me the truth, Freya! You know I would've stood by you through thick and thin if you just told me the truth instead of telling me you were a noncaster this whole time! And what did you even get out of it? Did you seriously think I wasn't going to be proud and happy for you if you got appointed?" The volume of his rant making me slightly wince.

"I have been telling you the truth this whole time, Griffin! Even the His Royal Stubbornness came to believe me but my own boyfriend doesn't?" I retort.

"Well can you find me a more logical explanation for you, a supposed noncaster, getting Appointed? Because I sure can't find one!" He pauses to sigh and I can't find the right words to say. "You know what Freya, congratulations on the role, I mean it. I'm not mad whatsoever that it wasn't me, but I just want you to know that I really hate liars," his voice gets lower and lower until I hear a sniffle and that's how I know that he probably has been crying, a sound that breaks my heart.

"Griffin you're supposed to be on my side here," I start tearing up myself, "I don't know what I can do to make you believe me. You've known me since we were kids, baby. Do you seriously think I spent my entire life telling people I'm a noncaster for a reason that neither of us can find? Whatever shock you felt today, I promise I felt triple of it." When I notice how quiet he got on his line I check my phone to see if he's even still listening, and he is so he might be coming around.

"And now I have to go live in the damn palace to train for something I don't understand a lick of and I just," I start full-on sobbing at this point, "I'm scared. I didn't want to show it in the ceremony, I didn't even want to show it to my family, but I'm so scared Griffin, and I'm telling you this because I trust you with my life."

"When are you supposed to leave?" He asks after an obnoxiously long period of uncomfortable silence.

"Within two days."

"Listen Freya, I'll try to see you before then but I just... I need time to wrap my head around this." My fear and dejection merge into pure anger and I hang up the phone on him, tossing my phone onto the floor.

He needs time? I'm the one that'll have to put up with all this yet he needs to comprehend what's going on? Huh. I never realized that the guy I thought I was falling in love with is this fucking selfish. Let him take his trust issues elsewhere, I don't even care right now.

Now, I guess I have to see if my parents have anything to say, so I build up the courage to get out of my bedroom. If Helena Moon decides to yell at me like that again, though, I might just personally walk to the palace.

"I just— I didn't expect a loophole like this, especially after they died down," I hear my mom muttering to my dad in the living room where they're sitting with the lights turned off. Who or what died down? What she said sounds interesting enough for me to stand behind the archway to check if what they're talking about has anything to do with me.

"Destiny works in funny ways," my dad replies.

"And we really thought we'd be able to control it," mom humorlessly scoffs.

I wait a couple of seconds for a follow-up, but once I realize that I'm not getting one, I finally step out into the living room, "What were you guys talking about?"

"Freya, we..." my mom trails off in a taut voice.

"We were just talking about how we were so prepared to help you with your university applications, but then the Crystal of Esterden had to make you the loophole to a 500-year tradition," my dad sighs, finishing her sentence, then glancing at my mom for a split-second and blinking at her, as if he's telling her something in a language I don't understand. I'm still confused but if it means that my mom has finally calmed down then I really don't care.

I sit down next to them on the sofa, but I get up soon after realizing they have nothing to say, especially with my being there. Looks like awkward silences are going to be a trend in my life from now on. "I guess I have to go start packing," I direct to my mom specifically, but seeing as to how she doesn't retort, I go back to my room to do just that.

***

Surely enough, my two days pass with the blink of an eye.

The most uneventful, yet stressful two days I've ever experienced. The quietest two days even though I'm sure we all had a million thoughts racing through our minds.

I really do have to leave today. Prince Zeo didn't actually tell me what time he's coming to pick me up, but I've been lying in bed awake since 4:14 AM. Partly because I want to be able to say goodbye to everyone, and partly because I couldn't get a good night's sleep to begin with thanks to my pounding heart and the fireworks going off in my stomach. It really is a big deal when the heaviest sleeper can't sleep.

I get up once the clock strikes 6:00 AM to freshen up, then going to the kitchen to have whatever breakfast won't make me more nauseous than I already am. Looks like that means a cup of milk and half an apple.

"Good morning," Kaia comes up to me with a sympathetic smile, "I heard you moving around and I really wanted to spend your last day with you."

"Kaia please, you're making it sound like I'm gonna be gone for good," I snort even though I'm not too convinced with what I'm saying, and judging by the way she doesn't respond, I'm sure that neither is she.

"What time is Prince Zeo coming?" I simply shrug without even being able to look at her since hearing of the royal reignites the nausea that momentarily died down. "Alright, well, are you gonna go see Griffin today?" She tries to make conversation, and I do appreciate her trying to lighten the mood even though Griffin isn't exactly a jolly topic for me right now.

"If he cares enough about me leaving, he should be the one to come to me," a response she accepts with a nod since I told her yesterday about what he said to me over the phone.

Soon enough, the rest of my family members join us in the kitchen, my parents throwing forced smiles my way, but I turn away, making no point of returning them since I've seen nothing but fake smiles these past few days. Smiles that are basically saying 'both of us know you can't handle this, but let me smile at you so you don't feel any more shitty than you already do.' The hardest part is that they're not even wrong, it's just disheartening.

Honestly, the more people expect me to fuck this up, the more I want to prove them wrong, I just highly doubt that I'm physically capable of doing so.

I grab my phone from my pocket to check if I have any messages or missed calls from Griffin, and much to my dismay I find none, even though I kind of expected that. I know it's only 6:31 right now but Griffin is an early-riser anyways, and it's a Sunday so it's not like he's at school and he should be able to use his phone.

My parents butter their toasts before sitting down to eat, then start chewing so quietly as though they'll be breaking an unspoken rule if they make any sort of noise. "You gonna finish that?" Oliver tries to break the silence and points at the uneaten half of my apple, but I simply shake my head.

But the unwanted, sudden sound of the doorbell paralyzes us. Even though I'm still not too keen on seeing the Prince and leaving already, I stand up myself to open it just to escape the awkward energy my family is radiating, whilst mentally preparing myself to get dragged out right then and there.

I open the door, and I'm not quite sure how I should feel upon seeing this face, but it isn't the Prince.

"Freya," Griffin nods towards me once he realizes that I won't be the one to greet him first.

"Griffin," I respond in the same way.

"I missed you, baby," he gives me a small smile.

"On Ester?" I decide to joke around with him. Holding a grudge over a misunderstanding won't benefit me in any way, especially since I don't know when I'll be able to see him again.

His grin grows by tenfold, and he lifts me, wrapping me in a warm, all-encompassing hug full of familiarity and comfort.

"I'm so sorry about what I said, Freya, I was just confused." I lightly nod, not wanting to break out of the safe embrace. "I'm so glad you forgive me, I couldn't let my love leave angry."

However, the four-letter word is what makes me let go. Such a simple word, but one that holds so much meaning, especially when said for the first time. Hearing it brings light to my eyes that melts away the betrayal I felt over him talking to me accusingly yesterday, and it almost makes me almost forget about all the shit I'm going to have to face soon enough.

"Love?"

"Love."

Heat rises to my faces, but the petty side of me is telling me that this isn't the right time to say it back, that I need to rethink who he is and what I feel, even though I know that everyone says things they don't mean, but the word just can't exit my mouth. I lean up to kiss him on the cheek instead, and relief since that he isn't disappointed floods through me once he flashes his goofy smile at me.

"Hi, Griffin!" A hyper Oliver ruins the mood, followed by a smiley Kaia.

"Hey kids," Griffin jokes with a wink since he knows how badly Oliver hates being called that, and he ruffles Kaia's hair once she stands next to him.

"Please tell me you're here to check whether or not she packed everything she needs because I do not trust her to do it herself," Kaia laughs, probably happy to see that Griffin and I are on speaking and hugging terms again.

"Of course I did!" I fake insult.

"I just can't believe you're actually going," Griffin sighs as he pulls me into another hug, but a much more platonic one since it's joined by my siblings, as well.

"Are you sure you can't just hide me in your suitcase? I'm small, I can fit!" Kaia pouts and that kind of breaks my heart. I'll miss so many people, but the thought of leaving my little sister, my best friend, my future maid of honor hurts the most.

"Sorry Kaia, but I'm sure the royal family hates me enough as it is without even knowing me," I try to let out whilst being sandwiched by three teenagers.

"Make way! His Royal Highness Crown Prince Zeo!"