The King's Queen

Chapter 20

Trey Stephens
Age: 22

Melissa Evans
Age: 22

Daniel Barclay
Age: 22

Callie Hemswood
Age: 22

*°*

"Why is the signal in this city so bad?" Melissa complained on her end of the line.

The angle of the call changed and I could tell she was now holding her phone up to the sky to get the signal back. She squinted at the intrusive glare from the sun before pulling her sunglasses down.

Melissa donned a white, sleeveless top and denim shorts. If it wasn't for the snow falling outside the palace walls, I would think it was sunny out. Well, it was very sunny where she was. The warm Caribbean island didn't experience the chill of winter, although Melissa did say it had been raining a lot more.

"Hi Liz." Trey's face popped into view as he snuck up behind Melissa and surprised her with a hug.

She turned around to glare at him but he planted a quick kiss on her lips and all her irritation faded away in a heartbeat. He was sporting a short sleeve shirt with patterns of palm trees printed on it.

"Hey Trey." I waved. "Are you enjoying the weather over there?"

"Am I!" He laughed. "Coming here with Em was the best decision ever. I'm wearing shorts in the middle of winter. How cool is that? Or should I say, how warm is that?"

The camera tilted as Melissa turned around to shoot him her trademark 'What-the-hell-just-came-out-of-your-mouth?' look.

"Please stop it with the puns already." She laughed. "We went to one stand-up comedy show and now he thinks he's the next Dave Chappelle."

"What do you say, Elizabeth? Do I have talent for it?" Trey grinned. "I've got lots more jokes where that came from."

"Oh you do, but I'd say you should stick to your military career," I teased.

"I figured as much." He pretended to heave a forlorn sigh. "How's your gummy bear addiction coming on?"

I pouted at the reminder that I still couldn't eat any gummy bears. Sweets just didn't taste the same to me anymore. Even the berry compote yesterday had tasted off- like bitter water. It was weird, but no-one else seemed to find anything wrong with it and I forced it down to be polite. The royals had the best Michelin chefs working for them. If anything, this was definitely a me problem.

My headaches had subsided considerably and as long as I didn't try to use the mind-link, I'd only get one or two a day. But now my shoulders felt sore. In just two more days, I'd have a royal medical exam and they were always very thorough. If anything was wrong with me, they'd definitely find out what it was.

"No gummy bears yet, huh," Melissa sighed. "Don't worry, Lizzy. When we visit this summer, you'll have gotten better and I'll bring a suitcase filled with gummy bears just for you."

My expression brightened at that and they both chuckled. A 'Connection Lost' warning flashed across the screen and Melissa groaned as she waved the phone about, trying to get a stronger signal.

"Liz, I'll call you when I get home," she sighed. "The connection in this city is not cooperating with my phone and my arm is about to fall off."

"Give it to me," Trey offered immediately. "My arms are longer anyways."

The phone traded hands but if anything the signal only got worse and they soon became blurry and black lines flashed across the screen.

"Liz... call... you back... home... bye..." The call crackled and came out in intervals before it got disconnected. I sighed placing the phone on the table in front of me.