Pure Blue Blood

Chapter eleven

When they headed back to Julie's room, she noticed that Stephan was particularly quiet, but said nothing about it. He wasn't her friend anymore, or maybe he still was, she didn't know. What she did know was that she couldn't trust him anymore. Deep in Julie's heart there was doubt. She wondered if Stephan played a role in her family's murder, if she knew and said nothing, if he had all owed it to happen. It was the same with her grandmother. She had came to the conclusion she couldn't trust the two most important people from her old life.

She remembered how her grandmother woke her up in the middle of the night after a particularly difficult day in court and took her to the castle's library, and how the next morning she found the key to it with a note attached that read "Keys hold the secret of their locks, it's your duty to discover them all." Julie thought of the day Stephan backed up her decision to start horse ridding, and how he took care of her every-time she fell and ended up all bruised up.

Now, those were mere memories, happy ones, but memories nonetheless. They didn't mean she could trust them. They didn't mean she's safe with them.

"Julie, I think we need to talk." Stephan graved her by the elbow and took her aside from the group.

"I can't think of what we need to talk about." Her answer was a little colder that she pretended, but it was to hard to manage the burning anger inside of her that screamed 'traitor'.

"That." She raised a dark brow, but her face remained neutral. "You are cold, I can't reach you, not if you don't let me in. I don't know how to gain your trust anymore." She could see the concern in his eyes, so she let him go on. "I need you to trust me, and don't say you do and that you're trusting me with your life since we both know you can protect yourself better than any of us can."

"Stephan, I really, really want to trust you, and to let you in. But things can't be as they were, not anymore. Right now, I can't trust you, way too many things had happened." Julie saw her ways sinking in him, and how his face changed into that impenetrable mask that startled so many.

"Your wishes are my commands, Your Royal Highness." He said mockingly vowing, clearly hurt by her words.

Julie sighed and went back to the awaiting group on the other side of the hall-way. She locked her arm with Zoe's and the two of them walked away, closely followed by Damian, until Julie locked her other arm with his.

"Do you want me to punch him in the face?" Zoe asked once she knew Stephan was close enough to hear them.

"I assume you heard our conversation then." Julie moved her head to the side, half smiling to her.

"You know we did."

"I don't think he deserves a punch today." Damien moved his head from side to side, but said nothing of his princess decision.

"Well, if you change your mind the offer still stands." Zoe smiled at her, not a childish smile, but a feline one that made Stephan question if she was the little girl she had posed as or if she was the trained thief that surprised them all before entering Julie's room for the first time.