The Rebel (#Wattys2016)

13. Second Prince of Illea

Sitting in the banquet room, Adeen found her eyes drifting to Prince Skander. But not in the way they used to, trying to find weaknesses. No, her eyes were thirsty, trying to take all of him in.

Adeen knew bits of what had happened that night in the bunker. She remembered Skander's blue eyes close to her face. She remembered June's worried looks. Arms around her, whispers in the dark. She remembered the way Skander risked his life for hers.

And she hated him for it.

Adeen hated that Skander, the only sane person in the Palace, had risked his life for her. She hated the girl's looks of admiration. Their grateful faces when she had taken those men down.

I didn't kill them, she had said, the blood loss will, I simply made it easier. But she had killed them. Effortlessly, without so much of a second thought. In seconds, the three men were lying on the floor. Dead. And then the Prince had risked his life for her, for a murderer.

June, having noticing Adeen's stiffness, looked at her.

"You alright?" She asked, quietly, as if she was afraid the others would hear Adeen's answer.

"I'm fine." Adeen forced herself to eat a bite. As delicious as it was, Adeen's stomach felt full.

"If this is about that night, you shouldn't worry about it. You were the heroine of that day."

"I killed three men."

Adeen snapped back. Having realized of the silence around them, she looked down at her hands. After they had treated her, Adeen had bathed three times until the blood was gone from under her nails. Her hands still felt wet.

"I'm sorry." Adeen shook her head. "They would have killed us otherwise, I know that, but I can't stop thinking about them."

"You look tired. You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Again, June seemed to be the only one that could look into Adeen. Too bad she couldn't look deep enough to realize she had a monster for a friend, Adeen thought. "They can help you. If you are having nightmares, they can give you something. You can talk about it."

"I've always had nightmares. It's just that now they have them."

"Still, talking about it will help."

Adeen shook her head as a servant entered the room. The man bowed to the royal family, and whispered something on the King's ear. The King nodded, and soon the servant was gone again. Adeen stared at him, wondering how had Skander convinced him of letting her stay. Whatever he had agreed to, Adeen knew it wasn't good.

The doors opened and soon a boy, a year older than Adeen, entered. Even with his soldier uniform, light brown hair and brown eyes, the boy carried himself with a grace that gave him away.

As the girls looked at Prince Jasper, the oxygen disappeared from the room. A fork was dropped somewhere, conversations stopped, and twenty six girls blushed.

Graciously gorgeous, Prince Jasper made his way to his family. He greeted his father with a nod and a handshake, his mother with a hug that made her gasp and giggle, and his brother with a hug. The two brothers looked like shadows and light. Prince Skander's grim face made Prince Jasper's smile brighter. And where Skander seemed serious, Jasper radiated playful smiles. When he smiled at the girls and bowed down, the Selected blushed and tried to curtsy without falling down.

"Ladies." A perfect smile hit them right in the face. Not one girl could take her eyes off Prince Jasper. "You all seem lovely." He turned to his brother, who was now sitting besides an empty chair. "Good job, brother."