The Kingdom of Broken Glass

Aftermath

(Liza's Point of View)

"Woohoo!" Julian screamed with the others as they celebrated in the castle grounds. The massive field was lit up with fancy lights when they returned home from their mission. Raysa apparently had a massive amount of faith in her, as she had already set up the castle for their party.

Liza was sitting by herself on a bench near the edge of the field. She was perfectly content to just watch the party from afar, instead of joining in. Even though the celebration was entirely because of her. If she hadn't received that music box for Raysa, their entire mission would have been considered a failure.

As much as she was happy that Raysa's faith in her hadn't been misplaced, she was still left reeling from the events of the night. Everything that happened, from the woman who's speech she had ripped away, to the man that had been brutally beaten by the rest of them... It was just a lot to take in.

Julian made eye contact with her from where he was with the rest of them. He was talking to Emeline and Micah, which caused Liza to feel a spark of jealousy. Emeline was laughing at every word that came out of Julian's mouth. She would lightly brush his arm when she laughed, making Liza want to strangle her.

He said something to them before grabbing another drink and walking over to Liza. She scooted over so that he could sit on the small bench with her.

"Here," Julian said as he held out the glass to Liza. The liquid inside was a bright pink, it was also sparkling under the lights with what looked like glitter. "You haven't tried one yet, have you?"

"You drank that?" Liza laughed at him as she held up her hand, "Pass."

Julian nudged her arm slightly, "Hey. I am secure enough in my masculinity to drink a glitter drink. And besides, it's actually really good." He laughed, "Just try it."

Liza held the glass up to her nose and sniffed the odd looking substance. It had a sweet smell, almost like what she could imagine the taste of peaches smelled like. She downed the glass quickly and gagged, holding the cup away from her. "Oh my gosh," she said while coughing. "What was that?"

Julian leaned forward in laughter. "I knew you wouldn't drink it if I gave you a warning," he said through his laughs. It took him a minute to catch his breath, "That stuff is awful."

"Why would you tell me to drink it?" Liza tried to push him off the bench but it only resulted in him swaying near the edge. She pointed a finger at him, "I am never trusting you again, Maxwell."

"Yes, yes. You say that now," Julian smirked at her. "We both know that won't last long."

"Oh, I am serious this time." Liza laughed at him, "You just wait."

"What are we waiting for?" Raysa had come up behind them and neither of them had even noticed. She put a hand on each of their shoulders and leaned down, "I see neither of you are participating in the celebration."

Liza felt herself flush, "I tried the pink drink." This sounded lame even to her. It wasn't her fault that she didn't feel like partying.

Julian cleared his throat, "I'm going to go get another drink. I'll find us something different to try." He then stood, giving up his spot for Raysa to sit.

Raysa slid in beside Liza, smoothing down her skirt as she sat. "Thank you for the safe return of my music box," Raysa whispered to her. She smiled, "I knew I could trust you to do it."

Liza nodded, "Thank you."

"Was it hard?" Raysa lifted an eyebrow, "I know the castle is normally heavily surrounded. Nobody walked in on you?"