AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The muscles in my jaw tightened to keep the truth inside, but it was pointless. The drizzle beyond us turned to more of a haze. She’d known me too long to deny anything. But was it obvious to everyone? “How’d you know?”
A slight shrug of her shoulders was all she would give me. “Because you used to look at me that way, and I threw it away. I guess I’m here to warn you not to do the same.” Her small hand covered mine. “Leo, I know it looks hopeless, but don’t give up on love. You may never find it again.”
Michaela
For a brief moment of that entirely confusing and way too circular dance, I actually held out hope that he might have changed his mind, but once my head stopped spinning and I watched him walk away with someone else, I came to my senses.
It was over. Short-lived, exciting while it lasted, but over.
“Well, that went pear-shaped, didn’t it?” Bishop stopped beside me, mouth tight, as he started scheming again. “We can still do the Flitterquake, I know you haven’t practiced, but the time spent with a partner is substantially longer and I think if we could—“
“Stop.” I closed my eyes, and the drizzling rain became sharp against my warm skin. “It’s not going to work.” I opened my eyes to plead with him. “Nothing is going to work.”
“But there was a moment.” He leaned closer, passion increasing with every word. “He felt it. He fought for you and if I could just—“
I set my hand on his arm, wishing I had the words to thank him for all his stupid meddling. “I’m okay with it. I miss home. This will all be…” I glanced around at the open square and the crowd of people who were gathered together in friendship. Strange to think that I’d ever been worried about a revolt. There was no sign of trouble. No doom. Nothing apocalyptic at all. Just citizens coming together to celebrate as one family. “It’ll all be a wonderful dream. Something I can visit when reality gets too hard back in America.”
“Milady,” Bishop started again, more determined than ever, but a tug at my sweater stole my attention away. As I looked, I was surprised to find the two little girls waiting for me.
“Begging your pardon, Lady Michaela, but do you have a moment?”
I sank to their level, incredibly grateful for the distraction they were offering. “Of course, I do. How can I help you ladies?”
Two nurses rushed in behind the small girls. “Leila! Reika! You shouldn’t run off like that. And don’t go bothering Lady Michaela. She has more important things to do than talk with you.”
I shook my head and motioned at the space around me. “On the contrary, I have nothing going on right now and no one needs me, so these two are making me look a lot more popular than I really am.”
“That’s simply not true, milady,” the other nurse piped up. “You’re a favorite around the hospital. We’re all rooting for you to win.” She put her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Even the daughters of many of our hospital staff.”
It was the kind of thing people said when they wanted to be nice. I smiled kindly and nodded. “Yes, an American on the throne. I’m sure I’m incredibly popular.” I rose to my full height and tried to keep my emotions from overwhelming me. “I know I’m the dark horse in this competition.”
The first nurse nodded as if she agreed. “At first, yes, but then,” she exchanged a look with her companion, “to see how the prince looks at you, the way he seeks you out and protects you, it’s the stuff of the storybooks, innit?”
“Positively swoony,” Leila said as she let out a dreamy sigh.
I couldn’t afford to let my heart believe. “I’m not noble. I don’t think—“
“We’ve had an idea about that,” Reika interjected. From behind her back, she removed a tangle of silver wire and began straightening it. “The nurses always tell the children that they must have to have faith to get well, and we got to thinking, maybe you need a little faith too.”
Leila joined in. “I’m not as sick as the other kids, but some nights I have to stay at the hospital overnight while they fix my blood. Sometimes my hope needs help, and Nurse Natalya gives me a magic teddy bear to help me believe.” She nodded to her sister and Reika extended a untangled mess of silver wire toward me. “We made you a tiara to help you believe that you can become noble, just like one day I can be healed.”
My trembling fingers cradled the makeshift tiara in my hands. They’d twisted the wire to create highs and lows, much like the peaks and valleys on a tiara. Plastic jewels were glued into place, along with a fair amount of glitter that rubbed off on my hands. They must have spent hours putting it together.
Tears blurred my vision. I sank down again, overcome with love and gratitude for the sacrifice they’d made in order to help me keep my head up. “Oh, I couldn’t take this from you girls. You should wear it. You’re both closer to royalty than I ever—“
“Please, milady,” Reika insisted. She stole it from my hands and perched it on my head. “Please don’t give up. We need you.”
The drizzle turned to mist. I blinked back my tears and tried my best to smile. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”
“And now,” Leila grinned ear to ear, “you’re a princess fit for your prince!”
For the first time since I’d entered the competition, I felt like I was supposed to be here.
Michaela
Ididn’t have the heart to break their fantasy bubble and tell them that I knew I was going home in a matter of hours. Instead, I offered to teach them to play Hide and Seek on the hill just outside the boundaries of the celebration. They’d never played before but loved the concept. After a few rounds of way too easy hiding, Leila and Reika finally caught onto the game and they became increasingly harder to find. Somewhere beyond me, I knew the competition raged on. Esmerey wanted to prove herself after being basically ignored. Sadie had a grip on Fitz that was almost mystical. And Chantal wasn’t one to give up easily. Despite a rocky start, she’d stayed in the competition and it seemed she would remain even longer than I did.
The rain started coming down harder. I frowned and shielded my eyes, trying to spot the girls.
