The Decision- A sequel to 'The Heir' by Keira Cass

Chapter Nineteen

I spent a short while snooping around for Calvin. He wasn't in the Cigar Room so I ended up just asking one of the guards to fetch him for me. My shoes were murdering what was left of any bones in my toes so I sat down on one of the benches in the palace gardens and soaked up the October sunshine. Halloween would be in a few days, and as part of the newly-celebrated tradition, I had decided to throw a party to celebrate whilst the Selected were at the palace. I had no idea as to who was wearing what, but all of the newspapers and gossip magazines had polls and paparazzi trying to guess what everyone was going to dress up as. Not surprisingly, there was a large percentage of the public hoping that I was going to dress up as the butterfly like my Mom had done about 20 years ago during her Selection. Some people had even thought I was going to dress up like an asparagus. Yeah, right.
I laughed when I saw that in the magazines, leave it to the public to make laughter from a situation where I was put in danger. 
    I had taken a wrap with me to keep the exposed parts of my slender arms warm when the cool breeze hit. Just as I was about to ask one of the guards what was taking so long, I heard Calvin smooth voice from behind me. "Good afternoon, Princess," Calvin said, greeting me with a warm smile.
    "Where have you been? When the future queen of Illea calls for you, you'd think that you would be here quicker" I said jokingly. 

    Calvin knelt down and mockingly begged for forgiveness. 
    "Rise, loyal subject, for we have a date!" I made my posture as straight as possible and my voice booming, pretending to be as serious as possible without laughing. 
    "Of course my queen," Calvin said as he uneasily rose from the dry grass. We both laughed for a bit before we started to walk through the gardens. "You look lovely," he continued as I offered my arm for him to take. 
    "Thank you, Calvin. That's sweet."
    "You're most welcome." As he linked my arm, I could feel the strong muscles beneath his suit jacket. For someone so slender I didn't think  he was that strong.
    "I assume that you're coming to the Halloween party?"
    "Of course! I have a costume and everything."
    "What are you dressing up as?" I asked, hoping to get a hint out of him.
    He let out a chuckle, "if I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise!"
    We talked as we walked around the gardens, but after about 30 minutes, I wasn't getting much out of him. It was a little frustrating, because I (of all people) was 'opening up', but he wasn't doing the same. Talk about irony. 
    Eventually I got sick of useless banter. "Calvin?"
    "Yes?"

    "If we have a chance of forming a relationship here, I need you to work with me."
    "What do you mean?"
    "I feel like you're holding back on me. I'm trying to open up a little but I'm not exactly getting the same vibe from you." I looked up at the sky to avoid eye contact, and noticed that the once warm sky had turned a watery grey. I hoped it would rain. I needed an excuse to stay in bed and read for a day.
    "Well, I'm trying but it is hard."

    "What are you talking about? It's easy for me," well, that was a lie but Calvin didn't have to know. I could tell he was getting a little uncomfortable. 
    "Well, I'm not particularly good with trust."
    I placed my hands on my hips, remaining firm. If I had to be honest, so did he. "So," I began. "Don't you trust me? I'm the future queen for gods sake. Do you think I'm evil or something?" 
    "No, no! Of course not. I just haven't had much luck involving relationships in the past." His face started to flush a beetroot red.
    "Do you mean break ups or something?"
    "Well, I guess."
    "Would you care to elaborate? You are here in competition to be my husband and all. There's no point in keeping stuff in if we have a chance of, you know. . ."
    "Marriage? Yeah."
    "Well, go on. I'm not leaving until you share."
    Calvin inhaled and exhaled deeply, fixed his posture and began to speak. "I used to see this girl, Lily. We were friends with each other since we were little. We went to school together. She would sit with me in most of our classes in school, so when we graduated we didn't spend as much time together. We decided to go out with each other and spend more time together instead of just drifting over time. It was working out really well for a while, eight months, actually. Then, I went to surprise her for her birthday and I caught her with the bakers son. It really stung."
    "I'm not surprised," Calvin looked at me,  seemingly confused.
    "What do you mean? About her cheating?"
    "No, I meant about it being hurtful."

    "I see."
    The air around us seemed to stiffen, the wind blowing the trees around us so it looked as though they were dancing to the breeze. I pulled my wrap tighter around my shoulders, and poked Calvin in the arm to get his attention again. "We should head inside. Dinner will be in a few hours and I have some duties to take care of."
    "Ok, Princess Eadlyn. Thank you, for today."
    "Thank you for talking to me about stuff. I appreciate it." I kissed him on the cheek and made my way back inside the Palace, leaving Calvin to his thoughts.