Nefarious

C168 - Keep Xavier alive

-Valerie's point of view-

I felt ridiculous standing before Jace with pitiful tears running down my face from the pools referred to as my eyes. "Am I this tragic to be around?" he snickered as he handed me a tissue. "No, I'm the tragic one here. I mean, look at me, it looks like I'm recreating some sad movie," I chuckled through sniffles, which sounded remarkably awkward. "You're a vampire now. Remember that each time you cry, you use a certain amount of tissues and because you're now immortal, that's going to result in a lot of mental breakdowns, so you're going to need a lot of those. Don't damage the environment too badly," he said jokingly. "I didn't even think of that," I laughed, almost too loudly. "Yeah, yeah, but honestly though, the election will be fine. I won't tell you that worrying is a waste of time, that would mean that I have double standards. However, I will remind you that you should spend your time supporting Alex. Don't go silent on each other, seriously," he said. "Aha, I guess I ought to thank you for the one-sided couple therapy. I think that advice was needed, frankly." "I should follow my advice and talk to Xavier as well. We'll talk tomorrow," he said lastly.

When heading back to Alex's room, I caught myself staring at the golden roses on the walls. I couldn't quite grasp the meaning behind them, yet I was deeply fascinated by their displays. I recall that, for some reason, Xylan was offended after Alex pointed out that his rose had fallen in England. It seemed too irrelevant to ask about the roses' true meaning back then, but later I realized, would such a question ever be relevant with constant chaos in the castle?

"It's just a stupid rumour," Jace said. To my surprise, he was smiling, and I could tell it was genuine by the way he looked at me and the roses. "Sorry I didn't expect you here. Where's Xavier?" I stammered. "He's with Alex, actually. Kai needed someone to speak on my behalf, someone with privileged information about me, you could say. Xylan knows how to make the right moves, and it's getting on my nerves," he scoffed, though still smiling slightly. "Xylan's really trying it, isn't he? I mean, he keeps targeting Xavier and you. It makes me believe he's using you to distract us all," I sighed. "If a rose falls, it's said to be because the person associated with the rose has done something horrendous. Let's say we're naive enough to believe the purpose behind the golden roses, Valerie. That would mean that Xylan has done something bad enough to have him disqualified. I've failed to figure out what that could be, but it bugs me," Jace said. "Yeah, it would, but-" I started. "But we're not naive, and we've reached this point because we're losing hope. Yes, I'm aware."

Although it did indeed sound absurd to believe that there's a meaning behind Xylan's fallen rose, it was tempting to give it a try. I became curious about the roses and further questioned Jace about his silver one. "They straight-up ranked me," he snickered, "I'm not worthy of the rich and valuable golden colour. Silver's a cool tone which apparently resembles me better," he explained. "Then why's Xylan's rose made of gold?" I frowned. "Golden question, Valerie." I tried keeping my laugh back, but I failed and inevitably gave Jace the satisfaction of a successful bad pun.

Knowing Jace, he wasn't going to let a question be left unanswered in a situation like ours. Thankfully, he further explained himself, opening for me to gain a better perspective overall. "On a serious note, Xylan's a Caizar by blood, and he meets the requirements to be a leader. In other words, he's qualified to have his name carved in gold rather than silver. However, if you look further down, you'll find Vera's rose," he informed.

My gaze ascended down the wall, deliberately looking for Vera's silver rose. I quickly figured that my search was in vain once Jace pointed to a golden rose right beside him. "Wait, doesn't that mean that she's fit for a leading role?" I stuttered. "Formally, yes, it does. She's not hungry for power, though, and she wishes for Alex to be the leader like many have through the years. You should believe me when I say that it takes a lot to be the leader of vampires with a notorious reputation. We're not all evil nor all good, and so we require a strong-willed person to make the right decisions. Relying on the common good and evil to discuss how to resolve issues properly hasn't worked out too well in the past. There has to be a balance regarding morals when making important decisions. Too much goodness can blind people and make them naive as we won't be able to rid ourselves of the so-called villains entirely. Also, with pure evil comes a whole list of other consequences. I'm sure you have the brain cells to understand this. Anyhow, we really should see this as a motivator to help Alex win." "You're right; we should talk to him," I answered. With a refreshed sensation of hope, I began walking confidently. "And now you've turned this into a cliche. You're walking the wrong way, Val," Jace said, clearing his throat.