THE MOON WILL SING ✮ J. HUTCHERSON

023. crowned king

"how did you get rid of the ropes?" maeve questioned, waving their wand before pointing it towards her wrists.

"i found a sharp rock near by, it took awhile, but it was... worth it." andie replied, her voice sounding strained.

"does the king know you came back in?" evan questioned. the sound of evan's tone made it clear that he was furious about the situation.

"he saw me, but he didn't say a word. i'm too scared to attend the coronation." she admitted, resting her cheek on her hand as she made eye contact with herself in the vanity mirror.

maeve lifted andie's chin with their finger, giving her a warm smile, "look, you're going to attend that coronation. i'll handle everything, you don't even have to take me out of the locket to — never mind, just trust me."

"i do trust you, maeve."

"i'll get ready for the coronation. i'll be back." evan spoke, grabbing a couple of essentials before exiting the room.

that just left maeve and andie alone in the bedroom.

"can i do your make up? i think you'll look stunning." maeve squealed, grabbing a lipstick from the vanity.

"knock yourself out." she joked, earning a look from maeve, "not literally.."

a few hours have passed, evan came back with a simple black and white tuxedo. he was still as handsome as always.

andie had simple makeup, the only thing that wasn't simple were her black cherry lips.

"woah, andie. you look great!" evan complimented, giving andie a smile.

"thank you, evan. you don't look too bad yourself." andie replied, her voice sounding weak.

"go on vocal rest, andie. it's not good to talk while your voice is lost."

she replied with a simple nod.

the two exited the room as andie inserted the stone into her locket. she looked towards evan's direction as he faced forward, keeping a straight face.

a look of concern was shown on her face, she thought he'd be excited for the coronation.

she was wrong, however. evan was upset over the story andie told him. i mean, who wouldn't? his best friend was kidnapped by the king, who would be happy about that..?

entering the main hall was the same way they entered the ball; they walked through the large doors with many eyes on them. the only difference this time was andie and evan entered together. they learned the first time, and that was to never leave each other's side before special occasions.

andie tugged on evan's arm, signaling him towards the few chairs by the wall in the main hall.

the two sat down, andie avoiding the lingering gazes. evan put a hand over hers as a sign of comfort, patting her hand lightly and removing it.

a few people stared at andie, no doubt shocked by her beauty — or they were staring because of her confusing relationship with the upcoming king.

they were soon in the sight of the man himself; prince josh.

andie's eyebrows raised in surprise — obviously he would be here. she didn't know why she was shocked to see him. however, seeing him walk towards her caused her to sit up, looking towards evan.

evan sensed what she was trying to put off, and when josh arrived at their table he was quick to shut him down.

"josh, it really isn't a good time," evan started. andie avoided eye contact still, staring at the red clothed table spread thingy idk man.

"meda? mind dancing with me?" josh ignored the look evan gave him, popping the question and holding his hand down, waiting for andie to take his hand.

she looked up at him, but not before glancing quickly towards evan who only gave her a shrugged, though he gave her a look that said, 'don't overdo it'.

andie placed her hand in josh's, standing and smoothing out the skirt part of the dress with her free hand, following him to the floor.

andie heard the hand playing some tune, a smile finding its way onto her face. her throat still hurt. the lack of voice sucked. but for a while, she forgot about any issue she had before then — she forgot about her mother-universe, josh's father and she forgot about the negative feelings she had been having.

josh put his hands on andie's waist, hesitantly though. he only relaxed when she slid her arms around the back of his neck, scooting her feet closer to his body.

slowly but surely, they began finding some sort of rhythm together. andie was thankful there were other couples dancing and it wasn't like they weren't being stared at.

pulling andie from her thoughts, josh turned swiftly and andie felt herself fall for a moment, only for josh to catch her dramatically. andie laughed, covering her mouth with a hand.

andie felt truly at peace, and genuinely happy, in this moment and she wanted nothing more than for it to last forever.