Royale (Book #1 Royale Series) {Under Revision}

Chapter 30: A Drop In the Ocean

Lilac's POV

Eight years ago

Okay, Lilac. You can do this. It's just school. No big deal.

As it turns out, my grand makeup artist idea was completely out of the question if I hadn't finished high school. Well, no one would hire me at least. I wouldn't necessarily have to do the whole Greater Studies crap. I would just need to take the Test, get the results saying I'm meant to be a makeup artist, and that was it. Greater Studies was usually after that, but it's not like it took a lot of brains to do makeup. If the Test said I could, then that's obviously what I can do.

The problem was, going back to school was so undeniably unappealing that it was hard to function correctly. Especially having to go to a new school. Samuel lived by the palace now, which was hours away from where I used to live. His house was massive. When he left, his job at the palace was just to be the gardener. Nothing extravagant. But somehow, when King David's previous adviser, Jacobson, retired, Samuel signed up for the job. And by some miracle, he got it. Well, I mean, I wouldn't say miracle. Samuel has always had amazing ideas for how our country should be run. Obviously I wasn't the only one who thought they were amazing since he won over the royal family.

Now, he had more money than he could spend. I was not necessarily jealous as I was regretful. I regretted that I spent so much time hating and trying to punish my mother that I paid no attention to my future. It had to big the single greatest mistake of my life. I still wanted nothing to do with my mother, but I could've gotten back at her some other way. I'm starting to think getting sent to a Juvenile Detention Center wasn't the way to go.

But I can't change it now. I can only move forward and try to fix my life. And I suppose that started with going back to school.

"Don't be nervous. It's just school." Samuel said from the driver's seat of his car.

The car in which I hated. I missed his old, rusty, pickup truck. Lying in the back seat with our feet propped up, listening crappy music. His arms around my waist and my head on his chest. He'd tell me about his plans for the future and I'd smile because they always included me. I hated this fancy, new car with it's perfect leather seats and a thousand different dials on the radio and the smooth perfection of the black paint. It didn't match him at all. It didn't match us. But I guess there was no "us" anymore considering the circumstances.

"I'm not nervous," I lied.

"Your lip is beginning to bleed."

"What?" I touched my mouth and sure enough, a drop of blood trickled down my finger. I must have been biting on it pretty hard.

He took one hand off the wheel and reached down to open the glove compartment and pulled out a tissue.

I took it from him and began to dab my lip.

"It's okay, Lilac. This isn't anything you haven't done before. You'll be just fine." He said reassuringly.

"You don't know that, Samuel. You don't really know me anymore."

He furrowed his brow, but kept his eyes on the road ahead of us. "Of course I know you, Lilac."

"No you don't. You know the girl that you left two years ago and I'm not that girl anymore, okay?"

He didn't get a chance to reply before we reached the school and I practically jumped out of the car. He rolled down the window and called my name.

I huffed and threw my bag over my shoulder and turned around, making sure a plaster an annoyed expression on my face, though I didn't have to try too hard.