The Prince of Nothing

Chapter 10 - [Always Right]

"We have to go back soon," I sighed. "My grandmother is going to freak." I was quite disappointed. I wanted to spend a little more time here... especially if it meant getting see the Prince's bedroom while he and Saphryn talked.

"I can take you home," he said. "It'll give me an excuse to leave."

I frowned at him. But then I wondered what the problem was. "Why is my grandma being such a jerk?" I asked. "She's changed so much since you and your friends came into our life."

"Well, sorry," he said. "But maybe she was just always a jerk... she's been hiding other stuff from you already, remember?"

My frown deepened. "I love my grandma," I said. But I did feel like I barely knew her now.

"You can love someone and not know anything about them."

"But that sucks."

He shrugged.

After a moment of thinking, I sighed. "We'll stay," I said. "I mean, I'm already going to get in trouble, what's a little while longer, right?"

Saphryn chuckled. "If you say so."

The party seemed never ending. There was dancing and singing and drinking and eating and talking and through all of it, Saphryn and I sat outside and watched. We talked too, he pointed out some more people he was sure hated him and he even pointed at a few people who he thought didn't really mind him. But that just made me wonder more why people didn't like Saphryn.

He was a nice guy.

But then his words from earlier replayed in my head. You can love someone and not know anything about them.

I mean, I didn't love him. Of course not.

But maybe there was a lot about him I didn't know. Maybe there was something he was hiding from me... specifically the reason why people didn't like him.

I looked at him as he looked into the hall. It was dark out, but the light from inside was shining on the two of us, making our skin glow in an odd, golden way. I tried to find something... a hint or a clue about something I was missing.

But instead, I saw something else.

Saphryn eyes were narrowed, possibly because the light was so bright... but the look on his face showed a hint of sadness.

I followed his gaze and looked inside.

Well... of course he'd be sad.

His entire family... treated him like an outsider. Not a single person came out of their way to make conversation with him. They all seemed to be having a great time and here he was... alone.

When he noticed my eyes, he turned to face me and smiled. "What?" He asked.

"You like shrimp a lot, don't you?" I asked with a smile. Part of me wanted to help him. I mean, I barely knew him but I wanted to help him.

He's helped me so much... after all the craziness and the fact that my entire belief system had been completely derailed... I had to say that part of the reason I had managed to stay sane was thanks to Saphryn.

"Yeah," Saphryn said. "Shrimp is by far the best seafood. Especially if it's fried."

I chuckled.

"And no one makes it better than the royal chef... hence why I stuff myself while I'm here."

I laughed more. "You are such a dork."

He grinned.

"Saph, Nyla," we both heard.