Torment ( Book Two )

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Two days had passed since the horrific dinner, and everyone in the house was antsy and uncomfortable. Luna kept herself locked in their bedroom for the majority of the time. She didn't talk to anyone- including Amber. Luna claimed that she wasn't mad at anyone. She had said she was only disappointed, stressed, frightened, and upset. Luna was basically a wreck. 

With Luna's stress and all the tension in the house, Amber wasn't feeling so wonderful, either. She was hoping Luna was considering to change her mind about the entire thing. Maybe all the talk had done some good. Hopefully, Luna would decide to refuse the royal offer. But deep inside, Amber knew there was no way Luna would. 

The mail was constantly being checked by the entire house. The letters were being impatiently waited on, and Luna only had a day to make her decision after they arrived.

Amber knew her girlfriend wouldn't come to her for advice on what she should do. Amber had harshly made her opinion clear.

"I hate to see you all upset."

Amber lazily lifted her head to find Joel in the doorway of the ( one of many ) living room she was in. 

She attempted to smile at him. "I feel just as stressed as Luna."

Joel snickered and took a seat next to her on the couch. "I'm not sure that's possible."

"There are so many possibilities if she accepts," Amber muttered helplessly.

Joel sighed and leaned forward, holding his head in his hands. "I know."

A few moments of silence passed before either of them spoke up again. "What do you think she will do?" Joel asked carefully.

Amber snorted. "She's going to accept."

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, looking away from her.

She could tell Joel was praying Luna was considering not accepting her new status as queen. He was really hoping. Amber must have known Luna better than him.

"Joel, she adores power. She longs for it." Amber flopped to a new and more comfortable position on the couch, resting her head on one of the decorative pillows. "This is the most powerful she can get. You think she's going to turn that opportunity down?"

She watched as Joel dragged his hands down his face. "I'm doing too much wishful thinking."

Amber frowned. Nobody had faith in Luna. But how could they?

"Hey, Joel?" Amber said after some moments of quiet.

"Hm?"

"Don't you think it's odd how the entire royal family died?" She asked, facing up towards the beige ceiling.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Joel peer back at her from the edge of the couch. "I thought I was the only one who caught that."

Amber turned her head to look at him. "Nope. I've been concerned about it all along. That just doesn't happen, ya know?"

Joel nodded, his blonde locks bouncing with him. "Do...do you have a theory as to what happened?"

Amber searched her mind for a minute and explored possibilities she had already considered. "No, I don't," she finally responded.

"Well, did the royal officials say how they died?"

"I didn't talk to them. Luna did." Amber shifted to look up at the ceiling again, the pillow soft against the back of her head. "But Luna didn't mention how they died, so I assume the officials didn't."