5 Princes and I(Preview Only)

Chapter 59 Maze

Chapter 59 

Great. I haven't even fallen asleep, and now I live in my nightmare!

I heard the door creak open, and I did the only thing I could think of - Pretend to fall asleep. I cracked one eye open and saw the light bursting in my room as Fred entered.

I willed myself to breathe steadily and remain calm when he gently closed the door behind him and made his way to me. The moonlight from the window did nothing in helping me see his face. I only saw his shadow coming closer to me as he took a chair, placed it beside my bed, and sat. He leaned against it and let out a sigh.

What is he doing here?

I wanted to get up and scream at him to get out. I don't talk to strangers, and I don't ever want to see him again, but we all know that it is rude and this isn't my house, to begin with. This is his castle, and we are his guests.

Fred started to lean on his chair, stare at his fingers, and play with them. By the looks of it, something was bothering him. I know because I saw him do that once back in Thalia, and when I asked him about it, he only smiled and told me it was nothing.

But this is different. He's different.

He started to straighten up, and when he did, the moonlight caught his face, and I saw his look. Something does bother him. He does that biting-your-lower-lip thing and looking out in the distance. He did that for like a few seconds before he looked at my sleeping face – excuse me, 'pretending-to-sleep' face.

I have to fully shut my eyes in case he finds out that I am still awake.

"Rose, I don't know if you're awake or not, but I just want to say this to you." He started. "What happened back there, the way I acted to you, I am really sorry." He said. I have no clue what he looks like right now, and I badly wanted to crack my eye open just to see if he really meant it. But judging from the softness and the sincerity in his voice, it reminded me of the old Fred.

I heard him take in a deep breath as he continued. "You were right, Rose. About everything. I don't want to leave Thalia. I love it there, and if I were given a choice, I would have stayed. But I can't. I can't. I am the only male heir to our kingdom, and it is a custom that only the male child is to rule and marry a pure-blooded witch from their kingdom to keep the line intact. I have no choice. I am the future king." He paused. "I only came to Thalia because the Queen told my parents that I would become a better leader for this kingdom if I met up with the other prince back in Thalia . My stay in Thalia was never permanent, and even if you choose me, I still won't be the next king of Thalia. I was the second player there. Not much of an importance." I paused. "You know, I was supposed to leave Thalia one week before the ball."

Now that he mentions it, I recall Fred being a little down during our last dance lesson. We were on break at the time, so he took me to the garden pavilion to get some fresh air. I noticed him looking off into the distance, his eyes sad and longing. When I asked him if he was okay, he smiled and said everything was fine before handing me a flower. And that was the day before the ball.

Fred let out a soft chuckle, which I overheard. He acted as if he was afraid of waking me up. "That was the plan, but I couldn't leave right away. After all, you did promise me your last dance, and I want you to honor the agreement. When you think about it, it was our final dance together."

I suddenly felt tears welling up in my eyes as I remembered something, and I had to close them tightly just to keep them from falling out.

"I don't have any other options. I was afraid." He laughed. "I know what you'd say if I tried to explain this to you. Because you never think things through, you would overreact, butt in, and possibly kidnap me and bring me back to Thalia."