Crystal Kingdoms • Book 1 Of The Crystal Trilogy | ✔️

-| 8 / a pair of grey eyes |-

Crystal hadn't stopped running for hours. It was noon, by the looks of it and she was exhausted. She was hungry and didn't want to eat the food Margaret had packed for her yet, because she thought she should keep it for an emergency, but her stomach kept growling and she didn't know where the nearest village was.

She had decided that traveling through the woods was her best option and that it would help her hide more easily. She didn't want to get caught and returned to the palace. Alastor scared her when he was calm, so she didn't want to think what would happen if he ever got mad.

Crystal was worried about Caroline, Tristan, Margaret, Andy and Faith. What if they had gotten busted? It would be her fault...

She shook her head and tried to snap out of it. Even if they had gotten in trouble, there was nothing she could do but go back and if she did go back, they would have gotten in trouble for nothing. It was a selfish decision, but Crystal chose to set these thoughts aside and keep travelling.

She didn't really know how to return home, but she was determined and that's what mattered, right?

Eventually, she found a small village and booked a room in a small inn for the night. It was still pretty early, but she didn't want to stay out until nighttime. It would be harder to navigate.

As she entered the tavern, though, she noticed something that shouldn't be there. Well, he was person and was allowed to be wherever he wanted to, but it was weird to stumble upon the same person so randomly.

At the bar, she caught a glimpse of the boy with the grey eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows, but shrugged it off as a coincidence and sat down to have some dinner.

She also thought that she wouldn't be talking to him either, until their eyes met, yet again, and they started staring at each other intensely. There was something odd about the way he held her gaze.

Before she knew it, the boy was pulling a chair opposite her on her table.

“You were staring.”, he narrowed his eyes.

“So were you.”, she tilted her head.

“You were at that inn at Berville a few days ago.”, he stared into her eyes. It was as if he could see into her soul, and that scared her.

“I'm surprised you remembered.”, she took a bite off her food.

“A teenager surrounded by guards in a small inn, inside an unimportant village in the middle of the woods is hard to forget about. What are you? Royalty or something?”

“What are you? An interrogator or something?”, she raised an eyebrow.

“Touché. But you must have been important to be so well guarded.”, he furrowed his eyebrows. “I'm assuming you're on the run?”

“How did you--”

“You're new at this, aren't you?”, he chuckled. “Don't look, but there's a guy in the back of the restaurant. Big. Muscular. He's been staring at your table for a while now.”, he interrupted her.

“Have you been following me?”, she glared at him.

“I've got better things to do than follow some random girl around.”, he rolled his eyes. “Now, do you want my help to get out of here alive, or do you want to stay here and get busted back to whatever mansion you ran off from, princess?”

“How--”, she stopped herself, realising it was just a nickname. “Don't call me that!”

“Well, I don't know your real name, do I?”