Bow To The King, Celie

Back To Black

Chapter six

Gelid left and so did we. Two months had passed since our paths last crossed, yet his absence still bothered me.

Nate and Gabriel had become brothers just like Baris had predicted on my first day here. While they shared their deepest darkest secrets and vulnerabilities with me, I kept mine guarded like a precious gem, knowing that unveiling my past would only bring forth almost forgotten pain and nothing else.

Annie, too, had become more like a sister to me during those months. Her gentle demeanor filled the void left by my mother's absence. Surprisingly, I was excelling in training too, outperforming even Johnathan. This might've been the reason why he seemed determined to make my life harder than it already was.

At first, Johnathan was all about pushing me around and making fun of me. But ever since I made friends, he's kind of backed off on his own. Nate did once warn him saying he'd chop off Johnathan's head if he bothered me again. I mean, he was just kidding... right?

Anyway, Johnathan stopped bugging me after that and mostly just kept to himself. Baris would swing by every now and then to check up on me, which was nice. But as for Gelid, he's been MIA. I haven't seen him around at all.

It was right after our intense training session when that cursed note from hell itself landed in my lap.

We were all wiped out and flopped on the couch. Well, when I say "we," I mean Nate and me. The others seemed to be holding up just fine. Annie had gone to her room, leaving Nate, Jonathan, and a few other comrades lounging around with me.

Jonathan was also there, trying to look like he wasn't about to pass out. The way he struggled to sit up straight gave it away – he was exhausted.

"Guys, I'm telling you, pineapple on pizza is yummy!" Nate insisted, his voice tinged with excitement.

No, it's not.

It was our cheat day of the week, the one day we could order food from outside. And whose turn was it to decide? Nate's, of course. And what did he do? Ordered pineapple pizza for everyone. EVERYONE!

"Either way, Nate, you shouldn't have ordered so many pineapple pizzas for literally everyone when no one in this room wants it. It's ridiculous," Gabriel said firmly, his arms folded across his chest and his gaze piercing Nate's already sweaty forehead.

A faint smile tugged at my lips. Gabriel is British. I noted to myself. His accent really did come out when he said 'ridiculous.' I've watched enough Harry Potter to know how they say it.

Suddenly, Nate sprang up from the couch, closing the gap between himself and Gabriel until their faces were mere inches apart. It sounds romantic but it wasn't. A more appropriate word to use? Well, they were glaring at each other.

Despite being a couple of inches shorter than Gabriel, Nate somehow managed to meet his eye level.

To uncover this mystery of how Nate had miraculously grown two inches tall, I looked down, and that's when I noticed. Nate stood on his tiptoes to match Gabriel's height. Ridiculous.

"Celie," Nate's gaze locked with mine, pulling my attention away from his silly tiptoe stance. "What do you think? Isn't pineapple pizza the king of all pizzas?"

No, it's not.

Of course, I didn't say that out loud. Instead, I met Nate's puppy-dog eyes with a sympathetic gaze. Then, I turned my attention to Gabriel and felt a shiver run down my spine. His piercing stare seemed like – anything other than a firm "no" would lead me straight to hell, and Gabriel would be the gatekeeper.