The Fallen Princess

The Sixth Fall

In the bustling hallway, the graceful strides of a captivating young woman quickened as she followed the steady, purposeful pace of the young man beside her. To any onlooker, the pair might have seemed like a flirtatious couple—her animated gestures, his exasperated glances—but the truth ran deeper. Her charming persistence masked an unrelenting stream of questions that had echoed through the boy's mind since morning. She had asked the same thing again and again, each repetition chipping away at his patience, a subtle dark aura gathering around him.

But Eve remained oblivious, pushing and pleading as though his tolerance were infinite.

"You know, I never thought I'd say this," Evan muttered, jaw tight as she pouted beside him, "but you're becoming seriously annoying."

Eve gasped dramatically. "You said I was fun! Your opinion seems contradictory!"

Evan rolled his eyes so hard they nearly left orbit. "I said you were fun until today. Before you started asking the same question for the hundredth time."

Unbothered, Eve clasped her hands and begged, "Just help me once! I'll repay you in whatever way you want. I can help you get that special someone, or—I don't know—do anything within my ability."

Evan stopped walking long enough to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Impress him in chemistry. Take the lead, act smart, wow him. If you do a perfect job, maybe he'll finally notice you."

The moment the words left his mouth, Eve froze, hit by a cold realization. Impressing him? In chemistry?

"And how am I supposed to impress him when I always get E or F?" she demanded helplessly. Evan groaned. Loudly. "You're hopeless."

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious," she said dryly. "Please, help the utterly useless me. I beg you."

He sighed again, defeated. "Fine. Forget today. Start studying hard until next week and prove you're not as clueless as your grades. Today, just be normal." Eve accepted that far more happily. "Fine, that's doable. Oh—bell's ringing. I'm off. Bye!"

Evan lifted a hand in lazy farewell.

As Eve walked toward chemistry, a knot tightened in her stomach. Edmund was already seated in the same spot as yesterday—shoulders stiff, expression clouded. Even from a distance, she sensed his discomfort. The memory of the kiss snapped sharply in her mind.

So he hadn't brushed it off.

For a kind-hearted prince, he looked surprisingly... offended.
Or maybe... unreachable. He rarely let anyone join his tight-knit circle of childhood friends.

Still, being his partner yesterday gave her the tiniest spark of hope.

"Hey, Ed," Eve greeted softly as she approached his seat.

Edmund looked up, and the hesitation in his expression was impossible to miss. His smile was polite, but faint—uneasy, almost forced. It wasn't the warm reaction she had hoped for, and the disappointment pricked sharper than she wanted to admit. He replied quietly, "Hey," 

Eve inhaled, steadying herself. "Ed, I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I talked to my flir—my close friend Evan, and he made me realize I messed up." She caught herself just in time, her fingers drifting instinctively to her neck as she did whenever she bent the truth. The gesture was small, but Edmund's eyes briefly flicked to the movement.

She pressed on, trying to sound natural. "It's just how my parents raised me. They taught me it's okay to give a guy a goodbye kiss on the cheek."

Her fingertips curled against her neck again, a clear sign she was lying, though she didn't notice how obvious it was.

Edmund studied her quietly—not with judgment, but with a thoughtful, almost searching expression. He wasn't reacting to the excuse itself, but to the nervous fidgeting and the subtle tremble in her voice.

"Is that so?" He finally said. In response,  she confirmed quickly, "Yes,"

He exhaled slowly, his shoulders loosening as if he'd made a decision. "Then... I forgive you. Just don't do it again. Save something like that for someone you actually like."

The words weren't harsh. They were earnest—almost gentle—and the sincerity in them caught her off guard. She had prepared herself for the worst, but instead he gave her a kindness she didn't quite expect. Relief washed through her in a slow, warm wave that made her chest feel lighter.

"So... we're good for today's class?" she asked cautiously.

He nodded, and Eve's lips curved into a genuine, grateful smile—small but sincere. It stayed with her through the rest of the lesson.

***

Class moved quickly. Edmund worked with a calm, focused confidence that made everything look easy. He grasped each concept instantly, his notes neat, his formulas correct on the first try. Eve couldn't help admiring him in quiet glances. They had been in the same school for years, passing each other in hallways, exchanging polite smiles, yet they had never shared a class before last semester. Now, sitting beside him felt surreal—like stepping into a world she wasn't supposed to touch.

When the bell rang, they parted ways with a soft farewell. Nothing dramatic. Just a moment that lingered in her mind longer than it should have.

Eve walked to her locker, still buoyed by the relief of their conversation. But the second she opened the door, a wave of trash, torn papers, and crumpled wrappers spilled onto the floor. She froze, breath catching in her throat as the mess scattered around her feet.

Carla.

The name alone made bitterness rise like a slow-burning flame. Eve had showered Carla with branded clothes, perfumes, accessories—gifts she now realized had been accepted out of convenience rather than gratitude. And now Carla wanted the spotlight Eve had lost. Wanted to be the new queen bee.

Typical. And pathetic.

A soft pat on her head snapped her out of her thoughts. Evan stood beside her, leaning down to inspect the mess with exaggerated curiosity. "So this is what they call bullying?"

Eve didn't even look at him. "Wow. You've never seen bullying before?" Evan replied honestly,"Nope,"

"Me neither," she muttered. "Not like this."

He nudged a wrapper with his shoe, unimpressed. Then, as if sensing she needed distraction, he shifted the conversation to chemistry. Eve's mood dipped again—no matter how much time she spent beside Edmund, he still felt distant, unreachable.

But her spirits lifted when Evan casually mentioned Edmund's upcoming birthday party. She remembered last year—the lavish venue, the handsome cousins, the way the entire school seemed to revolve around the Kingsley name. Evan joked that if Edmund didn't work out, she should aim for one of them.

"Last resort," she muttered, though the idea eased the sting of her insecurities.

Evan offered to help with her dress, but Eve declined immediately, mentioning that she might try a part-time job instead. Evan stopped short, surprised she would even consider that. After a moment of hesitation, she admitted she might accept his offer a day before if she had no choice.

When they parted, he asked, "Need a ride home?"

Eve shook her head. "No. I'll be fine."

She wanted someone else to offer.

So she headed toward the station, her heart fluttering with anxious hope. Maybe she had missed him. Maybe his car had left already. Maybe she was expecting too much—

Then a sleek, familiar luxury car slowed beside her, the tinted window gliding down.

Blue eyes. Cool, clear, unmistakably familiar.

Lucky again.

***