The Prince And I

Chapter 15: World Away

I am just about to doze off after a long, hectic day when my phone begins to vibrate. I groan, rubbing the fog from my eyes as I reach over to my nightstand and tilt the screen towards me. To my mild surprise, it's a call from Isaac. It's about 08:30 at night here so I guess it's 09:30 AM back home. I clear my throat and put my phone to my ear while pressing accept, "Hey, Isaac." I greet, trying to get rid of my grogginess as I sit up. On his end I hear a lot of background noise. 

"Hey, Zipporah... how are ya?" I frown at his tone of voice. 

"I'm fine. What about you? Is something up?" I ask. He sighs on the other end. 

"When will you be coming back? I'm getting really lonely without you around." 

"I'm not sure, Isaac. Airfare isn't very cheap and I'm trying to preserve funds just to get groceries. Trust me, Icy, I would be on the next flight if I could but I can't." 

"Be-Because you're still funding everyone else, huh? Zipper, you said this would be short-term." 

"Isaac, be honest. What's up?" I probe, "Are you calling from school?" 

"I ran into some trouble at school and-and I'm waiting to leave." 

"What happened?!" 

"The school bully... he-he's been following me around for a while and today I asked him to buzz off. After telling administration, like you've always told me to, he cornered me with his buddies and um... he started attacking and threatening me. Making fun of what's been going on and stuff.  Luckily another student got admin. I'm in the clinic right now." 

"He physically assaulted you!?!" 

"... Yeah, he bruised me pretty bad."

"Did you hit back, Icy?" 

"No, since I figured you'd flip and I'd get a royal edict if I did." 

"You're right, I would have. Icy, what's the bully's name?" I grab a pen and my journal, tearing out a page. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Isaac, what's his name?" I demand. 

"Devon Smith." I scribble the name down. 

"Have you told Mom and Dad yet?" 

"No. All they know is that I had an accident during school." 

"Well, Devon is lucky I'm a world away because nobody messes with my little brother and gets away with it," On the other end I hear muffled sniffling, "Oh, Isaac, are you okay? What all did he do and say to you?" Once Isaac is finished, I've got two full front and back pages of what happened and what has been going on between him and Devon. 

"Zipper, I'm sorry to have called this late." 

"You're fine, Icy, believe me. You know you can call me whenever you need to." 

"You sound really tired though. How was work?" My mind replays lunch and my cheeks heat up. 

"Well, um, it was good. I went out to lunch again." 

"With that guy you've told us about? Basil?" 

"Yup, that's the one. Well he took me to this really nice restaurant and... we're dating." 

"Zipper, Dad will have a coronary!" 

"I know but it just felt right when he asked me out. He even kissed me earlier." I hear light growling from him and start to chuckle to myself. If I can't tell anyone else, I can tell Isaac. 

"Nobody's ever gonna be good enough for you, Zipporah. He'd better treat ya right or else! Tell him-"

"I know, Icy! We don't need to go into specifics again." 

"You know why I'm saying this."

"Isaac, I know you, Mom and Dad are worried about me after what happened with Ty. But it's been three years." 

"But who's going to defend you? You're in Eldstein halfway around the world and-and-and we can't be there if something happens, which I'm sure something will!" 

"Shhh, shh, Isaac, you're hurting my ear," I sigh, "I know that we could break up sooner or later and that I'll have to repair my heart again, but Basil is... he's something else, ya know?" 

"I don't care if he's the richest emperor in the world, I'm not gonna let him make a fool outta you, Zipper." Luckily no one in my family knows that Basil is a Prince. Then I'd really be in for a lecture. 

"Who says he could make a fool out of me?" 

The next day...

"Are you okay, Zipporah?" Cirila asks, noticing the shiners under my eyes and how tired I am. I stayed up way past my bedtime talking with my family and then contacting the school to address what happened with Isaac and Devon. Since I attended the same high school I know many of the administration and counseling staff. I just wish I'd gotten more than six hours of sleep. Remembering yesterday didn't help my cause either.

"I didn't have the best night." 

"Then why did you come in early to do overtime?"

"This needed to be finished." I also needed to distract myself, but I won't tell her why. I hold up the speech, written in German, which I've been working on translating into American English. Cirila tsks. 

"Not for two weeks." 

"Early is always best." I refocus on my task. 

"I'm heading up to a meeting, then. Good luck." 

"Danke," She leaves and shuts the door behind her, slamming it slightly to wake me up. In about 30 minutes I hear knocking, "Come in." 

"Guten Morgen, Zipporah." I look over my shoulder at Basil as he shuts the door behind him. He's carrying a wax-paper bag in one hand. 

"Wilkommen, Basil." I reply, my brain numb. He raises one eyebrow at me. 

"Are you feeling well?" 

"Yes, I'm fine. I had a rough night so I didn't get a lot of shut-eye." 

"I brought these. Perhaps they'll wake you up." He smiles cheekily and opens the bag. Inside are warm pastries from Georg's Bakery. I inhale the sweet scent. 

"You don't always have to spend money, Basil." 

"Maybe, maybe not." He chortles. I smile while shaking my head at him. Maybe today won't be that bad, after all.

Thanks to HerImperialMajesty99! I hope y'all enjoyed it! Please comment and vote! Also, this may be the last chapter for a week or so. 

~Uilosris