Lost Crown

Chapter Four

Once I got used to my new routine, the days sped by faster and faster. It was the same thing every day: breakfast, tutoring, dinner, sleep. Miscellaneous meetings were thrown in there from time to time, mostly about planning my coronation and the wedding. 

We hadn't gone too in depth with the wedding yet, which I was extremely grateful for. I couldn't handle even thinking about that yet. Though, according to Mother and Father, I wasn't spending enough time with Marie. I didn't really see where I could even have a chance to spend time with her in my schedule, but Father made sure to have us spend some "quality" time together.

There wasn't much we could do during winter, so Marie just came to my room for dinner, then we could watch a movie. We sat on my bed, plates in our laps and some random movie she had picked playing in the background. I wasn't too big on movies. 

"Your TV is dusty," she commented as she ate. I had started getting used to the Zolvans' presence, though sometimes, they still shocked me. Marie was a lot more blunt than I had expected; I wasn't very good with blunt people. 

I looked up from picking at my food, looking over to the TV that was mounted on the wall, fit perfectly above my dresser against the back wall. "I don't use it a lot."

"That was obvious, you didn't even know how to get the movie to play." I scowled, nearly rolling my eyes as I looked back down at my plate. 

It was spaghetti for dinner, something I liked, but I wasn't very hungry. Marie on the other hand, had devoured hers. She was already setting her plate off to the side.

"What do you like to do for fun then?" she asked, looking over at me. I met her eyes, staring blankly at her as I came up with an answer.

"Oh, I don't know."

"You don't know?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at me. "Everyone has to have some hobby, at least."

"I guess I read sometimes."

"So you're a nerd?"

"I wouldn't call myself that." Marie just rolled her eyes, leaning back in the bed and going back to watching the TV. I continued to pick at my food, uninterested in this whole endeavor. I would much rather be sleeping.

I eventually ate, even though the spaghetti had turned somewhat cold. Once I was done, I set the plate off to the side, slumping back against the pillows. Marie hadn't said anything in a while, and I wasn't going to say anything unless she did. 

The movie eventually ended, though I barely noticed. I was staring at the TV, but my mind was in a completely different place. Marie seemed to notice, and she waved a hand in front of my face. 

"You good in there?" she asked, snapping me out of my daydream. I shook my head a little, then turned to her, my face blank.

"Yeah."

"Are you always like this?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Dry? You're not very fun to be around."

I couldn't help but flinch a little at her words. They were spoken calmly, but they still hurt. I wasn't usually like this. Ever since Celia was killed, I had been more quiet, more drained. There was so much going on, I still hadn't processed most of it. It was hard for me to wrap my head around.

When I didn't respond, Marie sighed, sliding off of my bed before turning to me. She twirled a lock of her brown hair around her finger, giving me a curious look.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Patrick." With those words, she left the room, leaving me confused. I couldn't tell if she was upset or not. Or maybe she was just bored. Maybe I had bored her that much.