Royalty

Chapter 39: Redbeard

(A/N:

It has been a wild five months. As always, I don't have a single excuse and my fingers are crossed that you're not angry with me. AP Courses this year, more band, more show choir, all the same stuff as usual kicked up to eleven, anxiety popping up more for some reason, etc, etc, etc, I could go on, but have another honest apology, you've got about twenty of them at this point. 

I've barely written at all, which has been killing me, but I have a few ideas I'm hoping I can use to make this keep working.

Quick Important Note: Originally, I had intended for the reader to be able to use their name in substitute of Astra's true name -- That's what I said at the beginning. However, I've decided that instead, I'll try and keep physical descriptions of her to a minimum so readers can still place themselves in her position, and give her a name that will fit with her family's names, and that way other characters can refer to her by name instead of y/n, and it can feel a little more real in general. Otherwise, you can just insert your own name whenever her name comes up! Sorry if that bothers some people!

Trying to write, and as always, hoping you enjoy!)

Astra's POV:

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"James. James. James, please wake up --"

I sit bolt upright, panting softly. Every night. Every night for a week, it's the same dream, the same thing over and over and over again. He whispers his preferred nickname for me and lies still, his blood staining the porcelain bathtub. I sigh, rubbing my eyes, and swinging my feet off the bed once the trembling subsides.

I circle around to James' side of the bed, watching how soft his features look when he's asleep. It's calming.

Beep!

I wince when my phone gets a notification, but my boyfriend barely stirs. I glance and see Sebastian finally texted. He got sent on a job for a week, and every time I asked for his decision, he just told me not yet, not yet, putting it off over and over and over again. But now, his short text just reads --

Fine. - SM

I smile and bite my lip a bit as the second text comes through.

As long as circumstances permit. - SM

Good enough, tysm - AF

I text back quick, and then I tiptoe over to James' closet and pull out one of his soft, expensive button down shirts. I swap it out with my pajama shirt and go out to the kitchen to make some tea, my nightly attempt to 'calm myself down' and 'get me back to sleep'. It never works, I'm always too rattled to get back to sleep, and I have various sleep problems anyway. But still, I try, mostly because I know how upset James would be if he knew how much sleep I was losing.

I sip my chamomile tea and grab The Phantom of the Opera off the shelf, making my way out to the balcony. It's a bit chilly, so I grab a blanket and wrap myself in it, also burrowing into his shirt and inhaling deeply as I open the book and take a sip of tea.

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Sebastian's POV:

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"Sebastian, I can't find her --!" I hiss when Jim practically rips the blankets off of me and flicks on the lights.

"You what ...?" I mumble, squinting and forcing myself to sit up and swing my legs around. I barely get home and I'm being yanked out of bed.