The New Apprentice

Five

The rains lasted for one whole week. Storms had popped up every so often, but Asra had stayed in my room every night. He was kind and caring one moment, teasing and flirting with me the next. This man could give my heart whiplash in mere seconds. The Countess informed us that her sisters were here on private matters, so we were asked to wait until they had left to visit the palace. Thankfully, the rain and storms had moved away from Prakra so the princesses could travel safely home. We still weren't able to visit the Countess due to her being ill, and we were okay with waiting more. Unfortunately, it was another week until we were summoned by her. During that whole week, Asra had been acting like he was before he asked me to call him by his name. He was keeping his distance, acting more professional instead of friendly, and he stayed far away from my room. I don't know what I did or said to him to make him act so differently towards me, but it hurt my heart.

We're now sitting in the parlor of the palace, drinking tea while we wait for the Countess to join us. Asra is sitting on the opposite couch from me, reading one of his parent's spell books to pass the time. We have been here for maybe an hour before I can't take the silence anymore.

"I'm going to go to the gardens for a bit. It seems the Countess is still busy, so," I mumble, not waiting for a reply as I rushed out of the room.

Once I closed the door behind me, I let out a long sigh before pressing towards the gardens. I do my best to keep a straight face, but once I'm in the palace gardens, I run under a willow tree and slump against the trunk, sliding down. I rub my eyes to keep the tears from falling, but that just made them slip out. Everything was going fine. At least, I thought they were. Asra was finally letting me in, even if it was inch by inch. I didn't mind mainly because it felt like he could trust me. However, once the princesses were gone and we finally got word to come to the palace, he completely changed. I tried asking him if I had done something wrong, but he just shrugged it off and continued on.

I don't know how long I've been sitting under the willow, silently crying, before I hear someone call my name.

"Rae? Is that you?"

Julian slowly makes his way under the willow tree and approaches me.

"Are you crying? What happened? I went to the parlor to let you and Asra know it would still be a bit longer before Nadia could see you, but he looked upset and said you came here. What's wrong?" he asks me, kneeling in front of me. I sigh and wipe the tears from my face and take a few shaky breaths.

"Asra... He was finally letting me in, I think," I start, hating how my voice wobbled. "He was acting like he cared for me as more than an apprentice, when the rain was here. But, as soon as it left, he went back to how he was before. I don't know why, I don't know what happened. You telling me he looked upset is very unbelievable to me."

I notice Julian's eyes widen a little before he moves to sit completely next to me. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side. I lay my head on his arm and sigh, hoping I don't have another wave of tears coming.

"I don't know what I did wrong, Ilya. And he won't tell me. And that hurts. I thought he could finally trust me, at least as a friend," I mutter softly.

"I don't think you did anything wrong, my dear. That's just how Asra is. He starts showing his feelings, gets scared of them, and draws his walls back up. It was nothing you did, I promise you," Julian said in a comforting tone. "However, that's no excuse to treat you that way. Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know. This just makes me feel like I shouldn't hope things will change between us," I answered honestly. "I don't want it to keep happening. I don't want my feelings being toyed with."