Universe of Soulmates

"Tugging on My End"

"Remember why you're going to Saint Mary's: to lift the spirits of the kids there and show how good you are to the people." As the advisor to the price, Andrei's life centered around ensuring the prince looked good in the public's eyes. Between coordinating events, fittings, and having to fit in time for Prince Louis to see his parent's, he never got a single break between as early as six in the morning and as late as ten at night—sometimes even midnight on especially busy days.

"You know, you don't have to come; stay here and relax for once. It'll be good for you." Andrei wished he could do that, but knowing that there was a large chance Prince Louis would cause a ruckus or accidentally say the wrong thing.

"I'll relax if you promise not to be on the news within the hour." Andrei presented a decent argument, which was the only reason Prince Louis was reluctant to bring along his advisor.

Prince Louis, unlike Andrei, never once worried about how he looked in the public eye. He always cared about kids and understood the finances from the moment he hit puberty. Even with twenty pimples or a tear in his suit, he's always handled every camera in front of him with ease. But, even with that ease, there were plenty of missteps along the way and that was what Andrei's job was for. They've been best friends for six years and Andrei turned into his advisor when the prince turned sixteen and Andrei was only fifteen at the time.

"I promise, Andrei. I'll even bring my mother's secondary assistant if it means you get some sleep." With a grunt, Andrei walked to his bedroom—only a couple doors over from his employer and best friend of six years. "And don't forget, that high school is coming for their visit this weekend."

"Right. I will start talking with your parent's advisors to set up a good schedule for a meet and greet and having tea with them while they're here." Andrei, already thinking about the future, doesn't notice the face of disappointment on Prince Louis. He did expect the reaction he got from Andrei, but still decided to berate him nonetheless.

"No. First, some sleep. At least an hour. Then, when I am back from my engagement, we can all talk about a schedule for this Saturday." Prince Louis gave him a no-nonsense look that intimidated Andrei into doing as the prince demanded.

"Understood. I'll be in here when you get back, sir." Prince Andrei left him to get much-needed rest and relaxation, heading for Saint Mary's. The prince's red tie—something he'd learned to live with since birth—still shot high in the air, reminding him there was someone out there who was meant for him. He promised himself that, no matter who they were, he would love them and want to be by his side and rule with them. What he didn't know was the identity of the person on the other end. Or anything about them. It wasn't like a can on a string; he couldn't send any kind of messages to the other side of his tie, and they couldn't send any back, but that didn't cause him to lose hope that he would find them when the time was perfect. After all, fate was always good at figuring out when the timing was perfect.

Andrei, on the other hand, had given up on the other half of his red tie. He didn't know who it was and didn't care to. Even went so far as to ignore its presence altogether. It might've been tied to his ring finger for a reason, but he didn't want to know why. Andrei didn't hate its presence because it was a stupid thing to believe in (an idea plenty of people believed and rallied for on the internet), but rather because of his parents' awful relationship. He knew they were each other's red ties, and, yet, they were two of the most incompatible people in the world. The wars he had to put up with were more than his young five-year-old self could handle and, once child services were involved, he bounced from foster home to foster home until the palace took him under their wings at thirteen.

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"Miss Dubois, would you care to answer within a reasonable time?" Charlotte Dubois, a semi-scatterbrained high schooler with a passion for learning and taking as many advanced classes as she can, was called on by her World Politics and History teacher a few minutes ago but was only met with silence. She was convinced it was the only way to get out of her small town and into the big city. She was excited to head to the White Palace the coming weekend, to see something other than the place she's lived for eighteen years.