Princess (Ziam)

Traces

   "They're here," My mum explained, and I froze at what they were informing me of.

   "Y-you mean...." I trailed off, needing a moment to process everything as my brain was barely waking up and becoming active.

    "The letters from Rosewood are here. We just checked the post on our way in from the market. They're here," Colette explained, and I nodded, looking back over at a sleeping Zayn and feeling excitement seep through me.

    "We'll be in the living room in a bit to open them. I have to wake Zayn," I said, and they both nodded in agreement.

    "Are you two feeling any better?" My mum asked, her hand immediately reaching out to touch my forehead with the back of her hand. "Still feeling warm, dear."

    "I'll make you two some nice warm tea. We'll be in the living room," Colette explained before they both turned away to leave back down the hall.

     Every inch of me was trembling in a mix of fear, excitement, and because of how cold it felt outside of the pile of blankets on Zayn's bed. I was feeling rather anxious about opening the letters because it meant everything. It was our futures, and getting into a good music school in high school meant a higher possibility of getting accepted into a great music school in college.

     I turned back to Zayn and climbed onto the bed, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek before whispering, "Zayn, wake up." I watched him stir a bit, but his eyes remained closed.

     I smiled at his antics, knowing that he hated being woken up. Still, I knew he wouldn't mind as soon as he found out why his sleep was being disturbed. He's been as nervous as I have about receiving these letters. We both really wanted this.

    "Zayn, c'mon, baby," I repeated, shaking him slightly this time, and he mumbled under his breath.

    "No. Come back and lay with me."

    As tempting as the offer was, I couldn't just lay down when I knew those letters were waiting for us along with my mum and his aunt. Sure, I still kind of felt like crap from the fever, but it wasn't as noticeable at the moment.

    "As much as I would love to lay with you, you have to get up because those letters are here," I said, watching as his eyes opened suddenly. He turned to look at me with questioning eyes.

    "Are you serious?"

    "Yeah. They're in the living room," I informed, and he gave me a small smile.

    "So, this is it? This is the moment we see if we made it or not," He said, and I heard the underlying fear in his voice. It was reasonable because I felt the exact same way.

     "It is. Well, as soon as you get out of bed so we can go get those letters," I said, poking at his arm to encourage him to move. He only gave me a smile and pulled me down for an unexpected kiss before climbing out of bed.

    He held out his hand to me, and I took it in mine. We made our way out of Zayn's room and strolled along down the hallway. As excited as we were to get these letters, we were also pretty anxious. Neither of us would admit it, but we were taking our time to walk down the hall in hopes that it would prolong the truth from being revealed about our admittance. Because what if we didn't make it?

     Finally-- inevitably-- we arrived into the living room where my mum and Zayn's aunt were waiting excitedly on the couch. They both had encouraging smiles on their faces as Zayn and I moved to stand in front of the coffee table that had the two letters resting on top of it, two cups of hot tea alongside them that would go ignored for now. One had my name in fancy, golden cursive writing while the other had Zayn's name written.