Not My Fairytale

Chapter 9

A Meeting With Destiny

I was called to my first council meeting after training the very next day. It took mere minutes for me to decide that meetings would be the very worst part of my days. In a different circumstance, I might have loved them– loved taking part in the inner workings of the government. I definitely would have gotten more enjoyment out of studying the people who pull all of the strings and keep the kingdom running. But, that was exactly the problem: this wasn't that circumstance. With my mother's advice bouncing through my mind, there was a new kind of pressure. Never in my life had my need to prove myself been more dire. It was enough to keep my mouth sealed tightly shut, even while Franco piped up occasionally from his seat beside me.

Things were different for Franco though, or at least that was what I told myself. He didn't have to prove himself the way that I did. His title wasn't being contested. The opinions and ideas he offered wouldn't be weighed against him the way mine would– wouldn't decide his future the way I was certain mine would. I knew it from the way the dukes studied me when they thought I wouldn't notice. They sized me up the way a vulture circles above a wounded animal.

So, I remained quiet, even when the topic switched to the attacks and the reports came back with 'Blood Fang' tags at every single site. I should have been happy; my discovery the day of my speech led to us at least having a name for our invisible enemy. But, as the men around me floundered for motives, hiding places, anything that could help us to get ahead on this, I kept my lips pressed firmly together. Not that I had any real ground-breaking ideas. I would sell my soul in a minute for a solution that could stop all of this bloodshed, but I was as clueless as the rest of them. And that realization is what truly ate at me. How could I possibly be a good leader if I couldn't solve this mystery? What if noticing their tag is the only contribution I make to fixing this problem?

By the third day, Franco must have seen the defeat in my eyes that I was trying so desperately to hide behind my neutral expression. As I exited the chamber, trudging out slowly behind the rest of the men, his hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist. I allowed him to pull me into the small sitting room two doors down, in the opposite direction from where the rest of the council were headed to mill. As the door closed behind us with a soft click, his green eyes met mine.

The scrutiny in his gaze made my stomach lurch in a strange kind of anxiety I had never felt with him before. As he opened his mouth to speak, I blurted out, "You know, if you wanted to get me alone, you only had to ask." But, my teasing tone fell a bit flat, even to my own ears, and his resulting smile didn't reach his eyes as I'd hoped. The strange butterflies in my belly doubled their fluttering.

He seemed to think better of whatever he was going to say, instead, he cleared his throat and took a step back from me. "Come, take a run with me."

I pursed my lips, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Come on, Giules, we haven't been to the lake in a week." He shot me the small, sweet smile that I loved so much– the one he would give me in secret at the galas and balls we were forced to attend growing up. A loving smile snuck in when nobody was watching; completely oblivious to the fact that the heirs to the two most powerful families in the kingdom were falling helplessly in love right under their noses. But, his words made my gut twist. I had been to the lake a mere four days ago and, he couldn't know that. It was something I hadn't even allowed myself to think about, and I didn't plan to start now. Besides, who better than Franco to have by my side on my first venture back after the veritable nightmare that was my last visit. So, I gave him a reluctant nod, following him as he strode past the hideous mustard colored furniture that adorned this particular sitting room and began looking behind the tapestries on the far wall.