Homesick

Chapter 37| Homesick

The ride back to the palace was a quiet one clouded with stiff uncomfortability but it was not because of the frightening movement of their body, Kimberly has still not gotten used to but after her words.

Words she could have avoided exchanging but had stuck to being obstinate there was this change of energy between her and Saif. He wasn't happy with her, she knew why.

Because she had watched Tristan recoil like he has been striked, she had watched the look of both pain and anger he had not directed at her, but Saif like he was the one who had taken a hold of her body and uttered the words she did.

She had been there watching as Saif looked away, his eyes expressing guilt she couldn't place her hands on what they were doing there.

She was the one who had spewed the words out of her mouth. Words she didn't even know where they have come from and didn't have the slightest idea they could invoke such strong change in the air between her and Saif dampening the friendly connection and bond, she thought they have managed to create.

He escorted her wordlessly to her door, his hands clasped behind him and his eyes frighteningly familiar to that of his father's and Tristan's, which made her want to bawl her eyes out.

She should have stopped him from taking her to the most famous place in the kingdom if she had known it had anything to do with Prince Tristan. She should have figured out that too much fun always backfires and then you are reminded at the end of the day how pathetic your reality truly is.

And hers was worst. She was in a palace with people who have magical powers that could end her and they all resented her somehow, for reasons she couldn't quite place her hands on.

He turned to move, his lips rising in some sort of half-smile, but she frowned, holding his hand.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, "I should have not paid heed to him as you had asked."

He glanced at her for a while and then he was removing his hand from her grasp, his face was still blank but she could still tell that somewhere somehow, She was still with Saif at that moment. He was in there, listening to her, and perhaps with a bit of luck, if he pondered harder on what had transpired some minutes ago, he could agree with him that it was almost impossible not to feel livid anger at his older brother.

The man could make even a rock, cry and scream out obscenity with his cruel insensitive poking polite insults. But, still, she cared that Saif cared and hence, was truly sorry that she had gone overboard and said something that seemed to have been a sensitive topic.

"It is okay, Kimberly." His lips barely moved and the ghost of a smile that didn't even reach his eyes made her want to try harder, explain even more. Perhaps beg.

But she just stared even as he turned his back to her and walked out of the room, leaving her feeling so isolated and empty.

She entered her room barely holding her tears back and then she was falling on her bed, her hand fisting on her pillow. She cried hard and it felt so good.

At a point, she forgot why she was even crying, why she seemed so frustrated. Why even though the underworld people were not monsters like she had imagined, it was even harder living amongst them.

She wanted to go back home. Go back to familiar walls. Sniff Nonna's potato casserole and talk to Bryan on Skype after a very long tiring day of work, telling him each and everything that had gone wrong.

Prince Tristan as usual was right, she could dress the part, act the part heck look the part but at the end of the day, she could never be the one.

Earth was her home. Not here, in between two sparring Princes who were also the best of friends most times. She didn't belong here with a supposedly human that gave her the chills and a snake that is called a pet, and is seemingly not tagged poisonous enough to be kept away from Humans.

Queen Faye, Tristan's mother just hated her with everything she had and could Stab her multiple times while maintaining eye contact if given a knife, Abba could barely notice his son, Saif who had lived with him since he was an infant so his outright indifference to her and his insensitivity to just how much she would be going through didn't come as a surprise to her.

Tristan, an absolute stranger treated her just like he should. With distrust, spite, and anger. He had initially been a charmer for some time and like every goodnight sleep as a kid, you wake up to the horror of realizing you have bedwetted. And that was what had happened with the elder son and Crown Prince.

And Saif... He probably hated her right now, because if she was truly honest to herself, She was just a stranger, and maybe he had tendencies of Pitying people like herself who were utterly pathetic and had decided to free her from her misery by being kind to her, she knew he'd never even imagined ruining his relationship with his brother because of her sharp tongue and excessive need to be snarky when poked.

At the end of the day, it was her against the world. Alone, terribly tired, and somehow she knew that Saif, Tristan none of them will matter if she sleeps now and wake up in her bed in New York. Her alarm blaring in her ear, reminding her she had just another day to be extremely resourceful.

She heard a knock on the door. She couldn't help the hopeful thrill that glided down her body at the thought of Saif wanting to talk things through with her, maybe forgive her and then give her a cheeky grin, asking her if she thought she could get rid of him so easily by being extra cheeky.

The person who she saw on the other side of the door, didn't look anything like Saif rather was the reason why everything had fallen apart with him in the first place. Someone she was beginning to realize was her nemesis. Prince Tristan.

She didn't know what she was thinking but she certainly was aware she couldn't stand him. His aloofness and tall gait felt like a cold taunt.

She made to close the door but he sensed that, placing his leg in-between the crack of the door and raising his brow at her.

It was a challenge.