Destined

Chapter 11

   Hannah hugged me as soon as she opened her door to see me standing there the next morning.

  "Castiel, I'm glad to see you. I'm so sorry I shouted at you, I shouldn't have done that," she said when she let me go.

  "I'm sorry too. What I said was unfair," I said. Hannah beamed and took my hand.

  "Do you have time to go on a walk with me? I've missed talking to you so much over the last few days, especially since... Mother..." Hannah trailed off. I nodded, my heart falling a little at the reminder.

  "Of course I have time. I've missed you too," I told her. Hannah's smile widened and she closed her door behind her as we started down the hall.

  I drank in the sunlight as we stepped outside, a soft smile crossing my face. I hadn't seen much sunlight over the past few days and I'd only just realized how much I missed it.

  "You look like you haven't slept," Hannah said, watching me with concern as we walked through the castle grounds. I glanced at her.

  "I haven't," I said quietly. I hoped she didn't worry about me, I didn't want that. Hannah rested her hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

  "I miss her too. But we can deal with this together," she said. I turned to smile at her and placed my hand over hers.

  "I know. I'm sorry I shut myself off from you," I said. Hannah waved her hand dismissively.

  "You're back now, it's forgotten. I am curious though... what made you decide to reappear?" Hannah asked. I looked over at her again, puzzled. I had assumed Hannah had sent Dean to talk to me the night before, but if she had, surely she would have assumed he was able to talk me out of my room. If Hannah hadn't sent him, why would Dean have come to find me and talk to me? It didn't make sense.

  "It was Dean," I said eventually. "He came to talk to me. He didn't really take no for an answer. We talked for a long time, and... I don't know, it just helped." Hannah looked back around at the ground in front of her and we walked in silence. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. Hannah usually had something to say about whatever it was we were talking about, and her silence troubled me slightly.

  "Does Dean... Did he... Do you like him?" Hannah asked suddenly. I wrinkled my brow.

  "Yes. You know this, we've talked about it," I said. Why on earth was she asking me this? Hannah mystified me sometimes.

  "No, I mean-" Hannah looked over at me, then back in front of her.  "Never mind. Forget I said anything. I'm just glad you're back to normal," she said. We continued walking in silence, and as we walked, I couldn't stop myself from obsessing over Hannah's words. I'm glad you're back to normal. Was I back to normal? If so, was that wrong so soon after Mother's death? I couldn't help but fixate on the fact that I might be disrespecting Mother's memory by moving on so soon, if that really was what I was doing. She'd done so much for me, I couldn't just forget her after one conversation. 

  I sank deeper into my thoughts, slowly becoming oblivious to the world around me until Hannah stopped, bringing me to a halt as well. I heard her speak, and I was dragged back up to reality, which was probably a good thing; I'd felt myself slipping back into my lethargy of the last few days and was a little relieved to be distracted.

  "Lady Meg, hello," Hannah said. As everything around me came back into focus, I saw a woman with dark hair pulled over one shoulder and dark brown eyes that studied me with a hint of amusement. She was very beautiful.

  "Hello, Princess," Lady Meg said, nodding respectfully to Hannah. Her voice was low, rich, and smooth, reminding me of molasses. "Who's your friend?" Meg looked at me, but I got the feeling she knew exactly who I was.

  "This is my brother, Castiel," Hannah said. "Lady Meg arrived two days ago, she's a friend of the royal family." I bowed slightly and Meg smiled.

  "Ah yes, of course. I've heard much about you, Castiel," she said.

  "I'm sorry I wasn't able to greet you before now. I've been... indisposed," I told her. Meg nodded, the amusement leaving her eyes for a moment.

  "I heard. I'm sorry for your loss," she said. I thanked her, made slightly uncomfortable by the topic of conversation.

  "If you'll excuse me, I really must be going. It was very nice to meet you, Castiel," Meg said.

  "And you as well, Lady Meg," I said, watching her as she began to walk away.

  "Please, call me Meg," She said over her shoulder, winking at me before turning back around as she walked back towards the castle. When I looked back around at Hannah, I saw her smiling at me, a knowing sparkle in her eyes.

  "Lady Meg is quite beautiful, is she not?" Hannah said. I shook my head slightly, fighting back a smile of my own.

  "I dare say you agree with me, at least, if the look on your face was anything to go by," Hannah continued.

  "Hannah, please don't assume anything. I know how you like to make matches for people, but I beg you to leave me out of it," I said. I couldn't help but smile as I said it, however. Hannah had always loved marrying people off in her head, however much everyone around her objected. Hannah linked her arm through mine and we began walking again.

  "I will make no promises I can't keep," Hannah said, a mischievous smile ghosting across her lips. I shook my head in amusement, but didn't say anything else on the subject. The more I objected, the more determined Hannah would become. As we moved on in our topic of conversation, I realized how much I'd already come to miss talking with her over the past few days. Hannah and I had always been close, and nothing had changed during our time in Terren. Well, nothing except... Mother's death, of course. I quickly sobered at the thought, but tried not to let Hannah see my distress. She deserved to be happy right now.