(Copyright) © 2011 Candle_Ice
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Chapter 20
"Are you awake?" a voice whispered from her bedroom door.
Turning Elise saw Tatiana peeking in from the opened crack in the door.
"Hey you, come on in," she said to her friend.
Tatiana fully opened the door, and closed it back quietly. Elise had drawn down in the bed to make room for her, and she crawled in next to her friend.
"You can't sleep also?" Tatiana asked her, as they lay facing the ceiling.
"Nope, not a wink since we got home. What about you?"
"I fell asleep, but I couldn't stay asleep. I thought I'd check out if you were awake, and see if maybe you wanna talk about whatever it was you were thinking about on the ride over here that had you so preoccupied," She pried.
Trust Tatiana to know exactly what she was feeling.
“Nothing really, I was just thinking about how my life has changed so much, in such a short time,” Elise said.
“Hmm, I see,” Tatiana commented.
And the two lay in silence for a while.
“How would a person know if they’re in love,” Elise asked her finally.
Laughing a little, her friend responded, “When I’m in love, I’ll let you know.”
But the impact of the question finally hit home to Tatiana and she got up and turned to face Elise, sitting crossed legged on the bed.
“Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me you’re in love?”
Getting up and mimicking Tatiana’s move, Elise face her friend.
“I didn’t say that. I asked how a person would know if they were,” she side stepped.
“And this is just a casual thought that just casually popped into your head?” Tatiana replied with a knowing smile.
The two have known each other two long for them to hide thoughts from each other.
Sighing, Elise realised it was no use to hide the facts. It was better she tell someone, and then maybe she could figure it out better.
“It’s too soon right? I can’t be in love… It’s probably the whole atmosphere of the evening, the romantic feel, and all. The feeling will pass, right?” She asked her friend.
Tatiana thought about what she said, before she made a response:
“That’s probably it and it probably will,” she supplied, and then added, “Or it could be that you’re actually in love with Leonidas.”
“So fast? I barely know the guy!”
“You know enough about him,” she reminded her, “and I don’t think there’s a time frame for love. It happens. It could take a month, a year, a day, a second, or a century. But it doesn’t change the fact that it is love.
“And before you give me a whole bunch of crap about being too young, to know what love is, blah, blah, blah, let me just point out that love has no age limit! Just because someone’s young doesn’t erase the fact that they can love.
“You may be confused right now, but give it time, and it’ll sink in. You don’t have to dissect every single detail. Just accept it. You’re in love, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Tatiana finished.
Elise could see where her friend was coming from, and it didn’t make it any easier to accept, but she’ll have to live with it. She was in love, and it scared the living day lights out of her.
“So I moved from almost like, to like, to ‘serious’ like, to maybe love, and finally to love in a matter of a week?” Elise queried.
“Yup,” Tatiana agreed, “It may sound messed up, but that’s love for ya! It doesn’t exactly follow a timetable. Besides, this new development is cool. Every single aspect of your life has always been so planned out, I’m glad this whole relationship came and knocked a little chaos into your world, you seriously needed it.”
“Gee, thanks. I’m glad my ‘chaos’ amuses you,” Elise thanked, sarcastically.
“You’re welcome, love,” she smiled at Elise and winked, and Elise smiled back.
But she’d had enough of talking about her life, so she decided it was time for a topic change.
“Enough about my troubles, let’s hear yours. What was up with you and Stefanos at the ball? Are you ever going to tell me?”
Tatiana’s smile moved to a frown so fast, Elise was surprised she didn’t hurt her jaw muscles.
“He’s a jerk, a royal jerk,” was the answer.
“Yes, we’ve established that. But can you at least tell me why he’s a jerk? As your best friend it is my job to dislike the same jerks you do, but seeing as he’s Leonidas’ brother, can you at least tell me why I dislike him?” She probed.
“Can’t you just not like him because I don’t and just take my word for it,” she countered in a hopeful tone.
Tilting her head to one side and raising her eyebrows, Elise shot her a ‘Really?’ look.
Huffing Tatiana turned and dropped back onto the bed like a dead weight, leaving Elise staring at her.
“Don’t look at me like that!” she chided, and patted the space beside to indicate that Elise should lie down also.
When she complied, her friend began to talk in a rushed voice.
“He was a really nice person at first, then we started dancing, and we were talking some more, and he just said something I took the wrong way, and when he cleared it up, he made it sound like I was being overly sensitive. Which, I admit, I was, but he didn’t have to point it out that way, and we started arguing and then you saved me,” She rushed out in a single breath, then added, “Thank you for that by the way.”
“Okay,” Elise said, drawing out the two syllables in the way Tatiana would usually do, “Care to share with the club what he said?”
“Not really,” was the answer to which Elise responded with a hit to her side.
“Ouch, that hurt!”
“Sshh, you’ll wake the whole house,” Elise chided.
“Well you hit me,” she countered, “really hard.”
“Because you’re being stubborn… tell me! Or I’ll tickle it out of you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
When Elise made to do just that, Tatiana held up her hands in defeat, “Okay, okay. Jeez. But let me warn you, it’s really petty, and you might think I’m nuts,” she explained, “He was talking about something, I can’t really remember what, but then said something along the lines of when there’s two friends and one friend lands the ‘prince charming’, the other would get jealous, and make her life a living hell. I took it as if he was implying that I was jealous of you, and that I’d turn against you, when I told him I wasn’t and that I wouldn’t, he said that he was just talking in general, and wasn’t implying that I was like that. I was fine with that, until he said that I was being too defensive, and that maybe I was going to become the best friend from hell. He was teasing before, but I don’t know. It just rubbed me the wrong way, so I went all ‘psycho’ on him, and that’s how the argument entailed, and you showed up.”
Her confession hung in the air, and Elise didn’t know what to say. She knows that her friend is not like that, but she also knows that Stefanos probably just spoke without thinking and didn’t mean to imply anything about anyone.
“See, I told you it was petty. I know he was joking. But somehow, I couldn’t let it go,” Tatiana revealed after a while.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you were being overly sensitive. If the shoe was on the other foot, I’d be offended too,” Elise confessed, “But what I can tell from the few times I’ve met with Stefanos is that he doesn’t really mean offence by anything he says. He’s just a little loose on the tongue.”
“I figured as much,” she said.
But Tatiana didn’t get to elaborate on that thought, because she was hearing an annoying buzzing sound.
“Do you hear that?” she asked her friend.
“Hear what?” Elise asked.
“That buzzing sound. It sounds like,…” She got up and turned to Elise’s bed side table, and saw a magazine shaking. Lifting up the magazine, she located Elise’s phone, “…your cell phone.”
She handed Elise the phone and Elise saw that it was an incoming call from Leonidas.
“Why would he be calling me at,” glancing at the clock, she continued, “5:30 something in the morning?”
“Maybe it’s about the interview. Answer and find out,” Tatiana insisted.
“Hello?”
“Elise? Did I wake you?” Leonidas greeted her.
“No, I was awake and talking to Tatiana. What’s the matter?” she didn’t really like the tone of his voice, and knew that something was wrong.
She gave Tatiana a shrugged look, indicating that something was wrong.
“There’s no easy way to say this, trust me, I’ve been trying to think of one, and in the end I decided it was best just to say it,” Leonidas related.
“Okay, you’re kind of scaring me,” Elise confessed.
Tatiana indicated that she was leaving to give her some privacy, but Elise waved her back, and indicated that she remained.
“I don’t mean to scare you. It’s just that this morning’s newspaper has an interesting front page story,” he paused, almost as if he were looking for the right words.
Elise decided to help him out, “Is it about our relationship? Is there a story form last night? A little story or speculation or feature about the new royal couple, perhaps?”
“You could say that,” he admitted.
“Leonidas, just tell me!” Elise beseeched.
“The betrothal got out. Erland had met with a newspaper reporter before, and gave them the story. They waited until today to print it, knowing it’d have more impact the day after the ball. It’s all over the ‘The Elyrian Prospects’ and I believe it is only a matter of time before the other media houses pick it up also,” he told her.
“Oh. Wow,” she was completely speechless.
“Yeah, wow. Trust Erland to ruin everything,” Leonidas replied wirily, “I must ask that you stay low for a while. I’m in hiding also, banished to my chambers. Father is planning on holding a press conference or something to handle the public scrutiny and Catie has been convened to the palace also. The three of us are to keep below the media’s radar. Of course, the interview has been postponed, but I’m afraid that there will be hoards of reporters flocking about outside your home. I doubt even the palace will be able to be rid of them. But none the less, Father has ordered royal guards to be stationed by your house.”
“Thanks for the heads up, Leonidas,” Elise replied, “And how are you handling all of this? Are you okay?”
The thought of him suffering and she not being able to do anything about it was irritating her, but there was no way she could help with the whole Erland situation because she didn’t know the story behind the hatred.
“As okay as anyone would be when trying to deal with an annoying old man who wouldn’t back down,” he laughed.
“Right, sorry, that was a stupid question to ask,” Elise winced.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her, “I’m really sorry about all of this though.”
“It’s not your fault. And I guess it comes with the territory,” she responded.
“I have to go. I’ll call you later,”
“Bye,” she said.
“Bye,” he said before disconnecting the call.
Elise looked at her phone, and then at Tatiana’s confused expression.
Sighing, Elise lay back on the bed, before answering the question she saw in her friend’s eyes.
“There’s something you should know,” she began, and proceeded to tell Tatiana about the betrothal, Catie, and Erland’s feud with his grandson, but left out Ariel’s revelation of how Erland could be linked with Princess Leah’s death, because she didn’t have the facts on that.
“And you don’t know why His Royal Elder is so vindictive towards his kin?” Tatiana asked her when she finished explaining.
“No. I had asked Ari, but she didn’t know also, and I confessed to Leonidas that I had enquired from her, and he said that he would’ve explained, but then I met Catie and learnt of the betrothal, and all thought of his explanation of Erland flew out the window until a moment ago.”
“Whoa, I guess even the Royals have family drama,” Tatiana sighed.
Elise made a sound of agreement, and since sleep was no way nearby, the two decided to abandon her bedroom and make way towards breakfast.
No one was up as yet, only she and Tatiana. The two peered out of the living room, and saw nothing out of order; there was no strange van, or any camera guys there, but they knew it was only a matter of time. They drew the drapes in the room and for the other windows on floor, and Tatiana volunteered to go collect the morning papers.
She made a quick run to the front gate, collected the papers from the slot and sneaked a quick scan of the street outside before going back to the house.
After checking all the papers, the two stared at the picture on the front page of the ‘Prospect’ before reading the story. There was no mention of the feud between the Royal Elder and his family, but there was a promise for a subsequent interview with him, and Elise wondered if the King was going to have him confined to the palace grounds in order to prevent such a thing from occurring.
They were finished with the article and enjoying a bowl of cereal when her mom walked in.
“You two are up early. Too excited about the interview to sleep?” She questioned.
The two girls shared a look.
“About that…” Elise started
“What about that?” Karin remarked, as she hunted for her coffee cup.
“It’s been postponed due to new arising circumstances,” Tatiana quipped up.
“Postponed? Why? And what new arising circumstances?” Elise’s mother turned and asked, holding her cup in her hand.
“These new arising circumstances,” Elise informed and handed her the papers.
Abandoning the idea of coffee, Karin van Hastening sat at the breakfast table and read the article. When she was finished, she looked at her daughter, who quickly explained about Catie and Erland, and how her father and Uncle Edgar were working on a way to break the decree.
She took in all this without uttering a single word. Tatiana poured her coffee and brought it to her, and even though she began sipping it, she still didn’t say anything.
“She took the news better than I expected,” Tatiana commented.
Elise looked at her incredulously, “Are you kidding me? She hasn’t said a word since she learnt of the betrothal.”
“Yeah, but she was without any caffeine hype,” Tatiana remarked, “I’m sure once the coffee reaches her blood stream, she’ll be able to respond.”
Hopefully she was right, but the girls waited and waited and there was still no response from Karin.
“Why are you two staring at her like that?” Elise’s father asked, joining them in the kitchen.
Tatiana just removed the papers from in front of Karin and handed it to him. Elise was thankful for her friend, because she had already explained it twice already, and didn’t want to get into details again. Thankfully her father was up to speed about the whole betrothal thing, and Tatiana was able to fill in the rest about the interview and Leonidas’ call.
“This was the case you were hiding from me, wasn’t it?” Karin finally spoke, after Tatiana finished her retelling.
“Yes,” Randolph said carefully.
“Hmm,” was all she said before returning to her silence.
“Is that all you have to say?” He treaded lightly.
“The silent treatment is not so fun now, is it? When the shoe is on the other foot?” she responded, getting up, she took the papers out of his hands, folded it, and swat him on the shoulder.
“Who wants pancakes?” she asked and moved to the cupboard.
Elise and Tatiana were sitting by the island and both raised their hands to that question, and Randolph joined in also, with a ‘me, too’ of his own.
By the time Helena and Jared made their way to the kitchen, there was already a tall stack of pancakes waiting there. They were told the cliff-notes version of the betrothal; nothing about Erland.
When the family had finished breakfast, the royal guards were in place outside their gate and reporters with their camera crew were lining the street.
Elise peeked through the curtain; she saw that the once lonely streets were crammed with vehicles. Neighbours were also looking out of their front doors and windows at the stream of reporters.
Oh boy! Elise was grateful that it was Sunday, and she didn’t have to go anywhere in a hurry. She was even more grateful that she had signed up for online courses, and didn’t have to face persons at school in the morning.
Speaking of which, she didn’t tell anyone that she had done so! Looking back at her family, Elise debated whether or not to break the news now or later.
Seeing that everyone was finally settled in to their own thing, - her mother watching the news break as it was reporting outside the palace and their house, her father in his study to work on the case, Helena on her laptop doing whatever it is she was doing, Jared playing something on his iPod, and Tatiana looking through a magazine- she decided it best to keep the info to herself for the time being.
She didn’t think her siblings would care, and her parents wouldn’t mind, just as long as she continued to do well, but Tatiana would be a whole other story. They went to school together every day, since nursery, so she doubted her best friend would sit well with this new situation.
Not wanting to dwell on that thought, Elise went to sit with her mom and see if there was any news from the palace.
***
King Grisham and Queen Lucilla were in conference with Parliament members. There was an emergency meeting called and every Member of Parliament was to be present. Except Leonidas, he was told to keep out. Everything he would have said though would be termed in a bad light. Hence, he was advised by his parents to remain in his chambers.
He checked the television stations to see if there was any news on what was happening in Parliament, but there was nothing. There was only the press release earlier from the palace saying that the betrothal was an old decree made in the reign of King Erland. It explained that both Leonidas and Catalina wished to be freed from the agreement and pursue their own lives and the press was told to leave the van Hastening family out of it, but Leonidas highly doubted that they’ll listen.
It was almost mid-day and he was tired, and really didn’t want to deal with this mess now. Hopefully his parents had some good news when they returned. He wished he could’ve gone with them, but it was best he kept away from everyone.
So there he was, in his chambers, not doing a thing to help himself. He felt so useless!
He had called Randolph earlier and was told that he and Edgar were working on it, but there was nothing to report on just yet. Not exactly good news, but at least it wasn’t more bad news.
But as the day dragged on he was getting more and more impatient in his confinement.
Just when he was about to lose his mind, his parents walked into his foyer. But by the looks on their faces, he was sure they didn’t have good news.
“Don’t sugar coat it, just let me know what they said,” Leonidas said to them.
“I’m sorry son, but there is no way out of this. Parliament is willing to let the betrothal be broken, seeing as both you and Catalina want out of it, but it’s impossible to break a betrothal that has been decreed by a King,” Queen Lucilla told him.
“So basically, I’m stuck in this decree of Erland’s, is that it?”
“Unless Randolph can find something, then yes, I’m afraid you’re stuck. Both you and Catalina,” King Grisham replied.
Leonidas was angry. His grandfather was a really irritating person.
The King and Queen themselves didn’t know what to do to help him. Hopefully Randolph and Edgar were able to find something, anything that could overrule this betrothal. And hopefully, they find it fast!