There was something about holding Tobias in her arms that sent Beatrice's emotions spiraling.
As a servant in the castle staff, the prince was on his knees in front of her, apologizing. She reached out her hand and rubbed his back, comforting him.
Although he had yet to calm down and tell her what was wrong, she knew deep down exactly what had happened. She was certain his father had arranged an engagement between the prince and that princess - nothing else would send him in such a state.
Beatrice looked down and watched at how pained he was at the thought of her being unforgiving. She sighed and reached for his face, lifting it.
Tobias sat on the floor in front of her. Slowly, Beatrice joined him on the floor, waiting for him to speak. He lifted his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes as he told her everything about the arranged marriage.
When he had finally finished and there was nothing more to say, the two stared at the floor, unsure of what to say next.
"We must have known this was always the finale," Beatrice had finally spoken, looking at him. "A continued relationship just doesn't make sense in this world."
Tobias rubbed his chin, remembering his best friend's similar words. "We could run away."
She furrowed her brows and looked at him. "Run away? I can't. My family and Christina are here and ... and-"
"We could be together and run away," he said again, taking her hands in his. "We could live a life of peace and start our own lives filled with our own choices. Just the two of us."
Her breath shook. "It is far too unrealistic. How could you leave your duty as the prince? How could I explain to my family that I abandoned them?"
The way he talked assured Beatrice that Tobias had thought much more of their future than she had. Not that she did not desire a future with him, but she looked at things more realistically than he did. A part of her hoped they could continue their relationship, but real life disruptions made it increasingly clearer that they could not last.
Tobias' engagement to the princess only confirmed it all.
"I really do believe in duty, Tobias," she told him. "I promised my parents I would work and help them. I promised Tori that I would help the organization and protect my peers. I won't abandon my promises."
Tobias sighed. "A quality I admire in you," he whispered, looking back at her.
As the night dragged on in painful silence, Tobias and Beatrice closed their eyes in a tight embrace, knowing what the morning would bring.
The end to their barely blossomed beginning.
Tobias held her in his arms as desperately as he could, wanting to cherish every moment with her. Although he had no care in the world for continuing a relationship with Beatrice while married to Lauren, he knew this was nothing short of degradation. Beatrice did not deserve to be a mistress; she deserved to be his choice in a wife.
He glanced over at the clock and noticed that morning had risen. Beatrice grunted awake, her hands finding Tobias' as she gripped him. She sighed in his hold, resting against his arms.
"Give me time," he whispered to her. "Let me fix this. Please, do not give up on what we have, Beatrice."
Perhaps it was the fated fate every person falls into while falling in love that brought Beatrice to agree. She nodded, accepting his terms, believing somewhat that he could possibly repair the situation at hand.
Beatrice lifted her head at the sound of a knock at her door. She left Tobias and headed to the door, watching him roll under the covers. The sight amused her slightly as she turned back and opened the door.
Tori turned around to face her, stressed. "Mattew has called for an emergency meeting. Be there as soon as possible," she walked away quickly, disappearing around the corner.
As she closed the door, Beatrice sighed against it, leaning her forehead against it. "This can't be good news."
Tobias left the bed and approached her, standing beside her. "Everything will turn out alright. I know it."
She nodded, turning away from him to get dressed. She grabbed her uniform and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her without a second glance.
Tobias slowly approached the bathroom, raising his hand against the door. He faltered at the touch, leaning his back against it instead. He slid down to the floor, burying his head into his hand.
Beatrice, on the other side, held the handle in her hand. She longed to open the door and be with Tobias, but she knew it was wrong. She had too much hope in things that were impossible. She rested the back of her head against the door and slid down to the floor, pressing her palm to her eyes.
The training arena was filled with soldiers. They stood and conversed loudly, some even joking around. Beatrice cringed at how light-hearted some seemed to be; don't they realize we'll be receiving instructions today? How could they be joking around?
As she stood waiting, Beatrice spotted Albert in the crowd. He waved her over, a bright smile on his face.
"You seem cheery this morning," she noted.
He faltered at her state. "And you don't."
She shrugged. "I had a rough night."
Albert squeezed her shoulder, comforting her. He glanced behind her and noticed another friend he made while training, waving them over. Beatrice turned and paused at the sight of Will coming their way.
Will slowed his steps, equally as confused.
"Beatrice?!" he whispered while she whispered back, "Will?!"
Will shook his head. "What are you doing here?"
"The same thing as you, perhaps?" She snapped, sighing. "Is Christina with you?"
"No," he said quickly. "I won't let her join the organization. She knows nothing of it," he glanced at her. "Have you told her anything?"
"No," she answered slowly, feeling slightly guilty at the realization of how little she was sharing with her best friend.
"It's better to keep it that way," he explained. "I don't want her to panic."
Beatrice watched as Tori walked past, the crowd silencing. She stood up on a platform, her hands on her hips, as she looked around the room.
"The Royal Protection Program thanks you for being gathered her on such short notice," she walks to a blackboard and picks up chalk. "In the past months, you have all been training for the imminent attack we had warned you of. We thank you for your dedication."
As Tori thanked the recruits, Beatrice looked behind her and noticed one of the offices was occupied. The blinds were open, allowing her to see inside. She recognized Matthew talking to Tobias inside, informing him of the details Tori would be sharing with the rest of the group. Her heart pained at the sight of Tobias sitting down, seemingly uneasy with the news he was being told.
"Lieutenant Peter and his subordinates, Molly and Drew, have devised a plan to attack this kingdom at dawn at the end of the week," Tori explained, pointing to a map of the castle. "We do not know yet where they will breach, so today you will be rehearsing scenarios in which you are confronted head-on with the intruders. Advise yourself to the list to seek your partner."
Albert uneasily looked over at Beatrice. "This is feeling all too real."
"It was always real," she reminded him.
Will walked over to the two of them once more. "Albert, you and I are partners," he turned to me. "Seems like you've been paired with Tori."
Like on queue, Tori smiled over at Beatrice. She nodded for her to follow, to which Beatrice complied willingly. I'm actually quite content we've been paired up; I could learn a lot from Tori, she told herself.
As they walked, a hand clasped around Beatrice's wrist and pulled her to the side. She gasped at the sudden movement, looking up to see Tobias had snatched her.
"This is getting dangerous," he stuttered out. "Matthew went over the details with me; they have artillery we have never seen before."
"What do you want me to do about that?" she asked. "I'm training for the purpose of being able to defend myself against their army."
He sighed. "Do not push yourself to participate. Please."
Beatrice shook her head and turned away from him, catching up to Tori. Tori glanced at her and noticed the prince's face behind them, looking to her.
As they walked into a private room, Tori handed Beatrice a gun and a padded vest. Beatrice wearily took it into her hands, feeling uneasy at how the gun felt.
"It's not real," Tori reminded her, grabbing one for herself. "Only generated with a laser to mimic where you shoot. It's for practice."
Beatrice nodded slowly, holding the weapon firmer in her hands. She raised it and prepared her stance, watching Tori walk over press a button on the wall.
"There's another pair of partners behind this screen," Tori explained quickly. "Our goal is to defeat them first. Whenever you press the trigger, the laser will mark the enemy on their vest. No one can get hurt, but we'll lose our place if we get shot."
Beatrice took a deep breath as she nodded in understanding, preparing her mind to defend herself.
"Remember to use your surroundings," Tori told her as a countdown began.
The screen lifted as Beatrice and Tori were met with two other partners on the other side. Instantly, the others shot at them, forcing them to dive to the side and take cover.
Beatrice huddled behind a box, poking her head out just enough to target and hit one of the other recruits. They groaned at the sight of a red dot now on their vest, walking out of the room. The other, unsure of what to do, continued to fire blindly. Tori stood on her feet and raised her weapon, firing a clean shot. The screen fell down as the countdown repeated.
The exercise had Beatrice ducking, running, and dodging incoming bullets from her peers. Her adrenaline rised with each shot as she felt increasingly at ease after each successful round.
Even Tori was impressed with her; she was proud she was able to recruit her to the organization.
Beatrice quickly stepped to the side to hit an opposing team member, smiling as her shot appeared on the vest. Tori laughed as she looked at Beatrice, throwing her a thumbs up. Having let her guard down, the opposing member took the opportunity to fire their weapon at Tori. In a panic, Beatrice rushed and pushed her senior out of the way, firing her peer successfully.
The screen fell once more as Tori breathed heavily, getting up from the ground.
"Thank you," Tori said.
"I won't leave my partner hanging," Beatrice replied, smiling.
They positioned themselves to meet their new opponents once more, growing slightly tired. When the screen lifted, Beatrice watched one of the other team members lifting one of the boxes in the room. In an unprecedented move, the team member lunged the object at them, causing them to separate and duck on the floor.
Before she could understand what had happened, Beatrice looked up and saw a weapon drawn on her. She heard the trigger being pulled and looked down to confirm she had been shot in the chest. She looked over at Tori and saw her groan, upset at the fact that she too had been shot.
The two team members from the opposite team laughed as they high fived, waving at the pair they had bested as the screen fell down.
The door opened to the room they were in as two new partners walked in, ready to take over. Tori stood and walked past them, muttering angrily. Beatrice placed her gun on the table, removing the vest. She watched Matthew approach Tori, attempting to calm her down. More ashamed she had let herself be affected by a distraction, Tori preferred to be in solitude for the time being.
Beatrice sighed as she walked away from the partnered training session, wandering around. She looked up and noticed Tobias was leaning on the wall of an office, looking at her.
"Hi," she said slowly, approaching him.
"Hi," he repeated, a small smile on his face. He was glad she had chosen to talk to him. "I heard you and Tori were doing really well in there."
Beatrice nodded. "I like to think so. Although..." she chuckled, "...it seems Tori is a bit of a sore loser."
Tobias chuckled with her, glancing down at her vest. His smile dissipated at the sight of the red dot marked on her chest. He looked up at her worried. She met his eyes on her chest and sighed, unzipping the vest and removing it.
"Beatrice," he said softly, his brows dipped in worry.
She shook her head and smiled. "There's no reason to fret," she forced a laugh, trying to ease the tension. "You should have seen what those teammates did; they threw a box at us!"
Seeing her laugh made him calm his nerves slightly, but not enough.
"I do not know what will happen during the attack," he began. "Matthew has gone through so many scenarios with me, it makes my head spin. However, I do know this; whatever is to happen that day, you and I will make it out alive."
Beatrice nodded, reaching for his hand. She squeezed it, closing her eyes and resting against his shoulder. Tobias sighed and rested his head against hers, closing his eyes as well.