by Nora Cobb
“Yes, I did,” I laughed, pressing a hand to my stomach. “What can I say? I’ve been working out a lot.”
“Burning off your energy with your extracurricular activities again?” she said dryly. “You’ve been gone every day this week. How can you even walk?”
I smirked, though inside my stomach fluttered wildly. She was right of course. Arthur and I had been going at it like rabbits, but I had yet to tell her what I had learned from him about my birthright.
Which wasn’t much. Still, though, she didn’t know that there was something else about me, something that everyone was hiding. “Arthur and I are just enjoying each other.”
Johanna stopped abruptly and pulled me into an empty classroom, taking my hands in hers. I was surprised to see tears in her eyes, worried that something was wrong. “What is it?” I asked urgently, gripping her hands. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said softly. “But you need to be careful. The kings are wicked and cruel, Anna, and whatever Arthur is telling you is likely a lie.”
“He’s not telling me anything,” I shot back, releasing her hands as hot, white anger swept through me. “I know what I am doing, Johanna. I mean, I’m not a kid.”
“No, you’re not a kid.” She chewed her lips and wrapped her arms about her waist. “But I worry about you, Anna. You weren’t raised the same way that I and the kings were. You haven’t seen the ugly side of things when it comes to royalty.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Having them spread that vicious rumor about me isn’t ugly enough?”
“Not by a long shot,” Johanna stated. “That was just a minor drop in the bucket really. I’m not trying to upset your happiness.”
“It sure sounds like it,” I interrupted. “Is it because I’m some sad orphan, Johanna? Is that what it is? Am I not good enough for one of the kings?”
“Anna, please.” Johanna gasped, her eyes darkening. “You have such a complex about where you came from! Don’t you realize that is what’s so amazing about you? That you don’t have this dark cloud of your family expectations and reputation hanging over you constantly? Don’t you realize how lucky you are?”
I was tired of hearing about it. “I’m not hungry any longer,” I said, striding out of the classroom before she could retort. Tears crowded my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall until I was outside in the garden, the sun just setting behind the mountains.
Finding an empty bench, I sat upon it, my arms wrapped around my midsection. I was just tired of everyone trying to tell me what to do. Arthur was doing it because he said I had to learn how to be a royal, even if he wouldn’t share any other information to make me believe I needed to.
Johanna claimed that she was only trying to keep me safe, yet she was telling me that I was lucky in my own little dark world not being one of them.
I just didn’t understand what was going on, why I was here, and truly, why anyone was even paying attention to me. I had gone from a poor little orphaned American to something of an enigma.
Mainly because I was sleeping with Arthur. Now people wanted to talk to me, wanted to sit with me at lunch. Johanna would bare her teeth at them and chase them away with her loud comments and frankly, I was glad she did. Up until now I thought she was on my side, wanting to keep me safe.
Now she was just making me question her intentions as well.
“Ugh!” I groaned, placing my head in my hands. My life wasn’t supposed to be this complicated in the least.
“You mean he let you be alone?”
My head flew up and I spied Max leaning against the wall of the castle, his arms crossed over his chest and that permanent smirk on his face. “What do you want?” I asked warily.
“Nothing,” he said, his husky German accent carrying in the still evening air. “Despite what you might think, gutter rat, not everyone is trying to win their way to your side.”
Finally, someone who wasn’t faking their feelings for me. “Thanks. Still makes me believe that there is hope.”
To my surprise, Max laughed, a deep throaty laugh that I wouldn’t have anticipated would come from him. “You are always a surprise, gutter rat. Maybe that’s why Arthur has you closeted to himself.” He then shrugged. “Or maybe not.”
“What are you trying to say?” I asked, wondering if maybe I could get the truth out of him, an unlikely source.
He pushed away from the wall, tucking his hands in his pockets instead. “Nothing, gutter rat, nothing. Good luck with the rest of the semester. You are going to fucking need it.”
I watched him go, half wanting to chase him down and demand that he tell me what everyone else knew about me and refused to say.
Slumping back on the bench, I watched as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, the last rays giving off a brilliant sunset.
No one was going to help me. What did they expect me to do? Just move around this academy in the dark until someone deemed me worthy of knowing the entire truth?
It sucked to be the one person who needed to know the answers in a castle full of people who already knew all the answers, and no one was sharing.
I was starting to hate this place.
***
The next day, Arthur arranged for an afternoon picnic by the lake, even sending me a small note inviting me as a way of apology for his abrupt behavior the last time we were together. I won’t lie; a small girly piece of me was giddy with excitement as I got ready, glad that Johanna wasn’t in the room as I did so.
We had been avoiding each other since our blow up in the classroom, though I wanted to apologize to her about my overreaction. I needed friends here. I liked Johanna. She was the one person who had overlooked the fact that I wasn’t royalty or anyone important and still talked to me anyway.
I would have to make up with her.
But right now, this was about Arthur begging my forgiveness. After throwing on a shirt and jeans, I hurried down to the lake, where he was waiting on an already spread blanket. “Hey,” he said, jumping up to greet me. “You came.”
“Of course,” I answered with a smile. “I mean, what girl could ignore that note?”
His smile spread and he reached out, pulling me close. “I’ve missed you, Anna.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I replied, meaning it. It was funny to think how much I had missed his smile, his touch, everything about him. I was falling hard and everything between us was still a mystery.
He brushed his lips over mine before guiding me to the picnic basket, where he pulled out two personal-sized bottles of wine and a prepackaged cheese tray. “For you,” he stated, placing them on the blanket.
I picked up one of the wine and sat down on the blanket. “Thanks. It’s been a hell of a week.”
“Why is that?” he asked, joining me, his long legs stretched before him.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “Johanna and I got into a fight and I haven’t apologized for it.”
“Was it your fault?” he asked before a knowing look crossed his face. “It was about us, wasn’t it?”
“When are things not my fault here?” I took a sip. “Arthur, why are you with me?”
“The truth?” he started and blew out a breath. “Because I like you, Anna.”
That was it. No additional comments, no elaboration.
Trying not to appear frustrated, I leaned over, placing my head on his shoulder. “Do you like me enough to tell me about my parents then?”
He wrapped an arm around my waist, hugging me close. “In due time, Anna. I promise.”
“Is it that much of a secret?” I countered, staring out over the lake. “They are my parents, not yours, and it’s not fair that I am the only one who doesn’t know who they are.”
“I promise you, soon,” he finished, and the tone in his voice telling me that he was done with the conversation.
Another dead end. I was getting tired of dead ends. Oh, I wanted to push back hard, to demand he tell me everything he knew, but I also didn’t want to lo
se my only friend at the moment. After my fight with Johanna, I needed him to be on my side. I didn’t need him to be pissed at me because I wanted answers.
After all, he had told me he would tell me. I had to believe that he would stick to his word. Why he was holding back, well, that was another issue altogether, but I wasn’t in the mood to broach it right now.
Besides, he could be holding back for a reason that was meant to protect me from the ugly truth. I wanted to believe that was the reason, that he didn’t want me hurt. He had to care for me, right?
Yes, that was the reason.
It had to be.
Glancing over, I noticed a white bandage sticking out of his rolled-up shirtsleeve. “Did you get hurt playing polo?”
He glanced down, his expression twisting into something unpleasant. “You don’t want to know about it.”
I sat up. “Of course I do! How deep is it?”
“It’s just a cut, nothing more,” Arthur answered, his mouth set in a grim line.
He was hiding something from me. “Where did you get that cut from, Arthur?” I asked calmly. “Tell me.”
He turned his eyes to me, his jaw tight. “From Royce. He challenged me to a duel to first blood.”
A horrible laugh escaped me. “You’re joking, right?” Who dueled these days? Besides, I had seen Arthur handle a sword. Sure, Royce was better, but they were friends, best friends at that.
Surely they didn’t go around cutting each other for the heck of it.
“No,” he said in a heavy voice. “I’m not kidding. We fought last night. That’s why I didn’t come get you.”
I swallowed hard, staring at the bandage, a suspicious thought creeping up on me. “Why did he challenge you, Arthur?” I asked in a small voice. My thoughts couldn’t be right. They wouldn’t duel because of that.
I was being ridiculous.
“Anna, I—”
“Don’t lie to me!” I interrupted him, gripping his good arm to tell him that I wasn’t going to let it drop. He could brush off a lot of things, including my parents’ true identity, but I wasn’t about to let this go. “Just tell me, okay?”
“Because of you,” he answered after a pregnant pause. “He challenged me because of you.”
Chapter 11
I didn’t have to look hard to find Royce.
Actually, he was the one who found me, waiting by my room the moment I returned from my date with Arthur. “What is wrong with you?” I raved at him, wanting to hit him so badly I could taste it.
Instead of even looking remotely concerned, he arched a perfect brow, almost like he was laughing at me. “Anna, you look like you could murder someone.”
“You!” I spat out, not caring who was around to hear my words. I was tired of keeping my head down, acting like I didn’t matter amongst these animals who thought they could get away with everything. “I could murder you!”
His expression darkened and he grabbed my arm, his grip viselike. His fingers dug into my skin and I winced as he pulled me down the hall and into a communal bathroom, throwing me inside before leaning against the door. I glanced around, seeing that he had effectively blocked my only way out, and knew that this was going to be a showdown like no other.
“Now,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest, his handsome profile acutely dangerous. Anger rolled off him in waves and instead of finding it intimidating, I found an odd thrill rising from deep within me. “You will learn your first lesson when dealing with me. Never think I will just stand there and let you speak to me like that. There have been lesser people who have tried and regretted their actions.”
His words were laced with venom but I lifted my chin, refusing to let him see my fear.
Hell, I think I was a bit turned on by his anger, even though that didn’t make any sense whatsoever. “I want you to leave Arthur alone.”
The king chuckled. “What are you, his protector now? Do you have him so whipped that he can’t take fight for himself?”
“This has nothing to do with him,” I shot back. No, I wasn’t going to be attracted to him; not when he chose to open his mouth and say stupid shit like that. “Why did you fight him over me? I thought I was just a pauper to you, not fit to wipe your royal ass?”
“Charming analogy,” Royce replied, his eyes glittering. “I rather think I would love to see you on your fucking knees like that, Anna. Look at you, all high and mighty like you run this place. Like you belong.”
I didn’t belong here. No matter what Arthur was insinuating about my birthright.
I never would, but that wasn’t going to stop me now. “I will tell the headmistress about what you did,” I tried again, hoping that my threat—however empty—would work in my favor.
Royce laughed. “And you think that would change anything? The headmistress hates you, Anna. We all do except your black marked roommate, that is.” He then sighed heavily. “But I guess if your family was a shadow of what it used, then you would befriend anyone that would listen, even if that friend is you.”
I marched over to him, pressing my finger into his solid chest. “Don’t talk about my friends like that.”
He smiled. “Friends? Do you truly think anyone needs friends here? It’s all about wealth and power, not friendships.”
“That’s a lonely existence,” I said wearily, realizing I had never been this close to Royce before without him having a sword pointed at me. It wasn’t beyond me to notice the cleft in his chin, the haughty way he looked at me like I truly was beneath him. The long length of his eyelashes, the hazel flecks in his eyes that would make any girl do whatever he wanted.
Any girl except me.
“What are you staring at, pauper?” he asked softly, the smell of mint drifting over me. “See something you like?”
“I’m looking at a gigantic asshole that can talk,” I countered, crossing my arms over my chest and mimicking his stance, not bothering to step out of his personal space. “I’m just trying to see if he smells like one, too.”
Royce snickered. “You are fun, Anna. That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day.”
“Leave us alone,” I stated, my insides quivering. He had gotten me all off track of why I had originally confronted him.
He laughed harshly. “Do you believe that I’d listen to you? Or are you foolish enough to think that you scare me? I could crush you, Anna, and think nothing of it.”
“Then why don’t you try?” I answered, tired of being bullied. First Max and now Royce. Did they get their kicks from trying to scare people like me? I would have thought that they have better things to do.
Royce pushed away from the door, until there was very little personal space between us. “So is this the lessons that our dear Arthur has been teaching you, pauper? To stand up to the kings, yet throw it in my face that you will run to the headmistress if I don’t play by the rules?” He reached out and touched a strand of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers lightly. “What your lover boy should have been teaching you is that we handle our own affairs. We don’t tattle on others. It’s the first rule of royalty. Never show weakness.”
I found it hard to draw in a deep breath as he dropped his hand, his eyes gleaming now.
As if he could smell my fear. I wasn’t afraid of what Royce would do to me nor did I think he would physically harm me. Yet.
He seemed to have a curiosity about me as I did about him, which put us on the same playing field regardless of our stations.
As much as I would like to know more about the glowering king, I also knew I had be careful.
He was right about one thing. He could crush me.
“Is that what you were taught?” I asked softly, boxing some of my anger away. I didn’t understand their world and I imagined that while my struggles were vastly different than the wealthy, they still had their own share.
Something in his expression shifted before he shuttered it, his face growing impassive. “You think that Arthur cares for you, Anna?”
The sudden change in conversation told me I had touched on a nerve, one that I would desperately like to explore to find some sort of weakness in this king. “He does,” I said defiantly.
Royce shook his head. “You naïve fool. The only thing that Arthur cares about is that birthright of yours.”
His words surprised me. I had thought that Arthur was the only one who knew where I had come from and what sort of royalty I was looking at.
It was clear, however, that Royce knew my secrets as well. Did Max? Did the entire damn school know? Am I the only person ignorant to the truth?