Sain Clare Academy (gxg, 18+)

Chapter Twelve

I left Thruman's office slowly, wringing my lip between my teeth. When I finally glanced up, I stopped short.

"Grace," I said, surprised. I straightened myself, smiling cordially, before I realized that I still looked like Olivia and didn't need to be proper. She studied me, her eyes tracing my figure. I adjusted myself under her stare, a bit self-conscious though I knew she couldn't see through the glamor.

"Do you want to... take a walk with me?" I offered, approaching her. I still needed to make up for the other day, when I had upset her. She nodded, pivoting away. I followed after her obediently.

Our walk was silent, and as she led me through the winding academy hallways I found myself staring at her back and her shimmering hair, the color I had promised myself to detest. Somehow, on her, it was... hauntingly pretty.

That didn't break my resolve, however. I would be a poor excuse for a daughter if I let her seduce me once again.

When we reached our destination, an empty classroom that presumably wouldn't hold another class for a while, I reached out and touched her silver locks.

"...So beautiful," I murmured. Grace laughed, though her smile didn't touch her eyes, and swept into the room.

"That's the first time anyone's told me that with such deep-rooted hatred in their eyes," she said. I followed after her calmly.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day," I started, referring to when I accused her of plotting. When she faced me, her expression was more controlled.

"I wonder what it is about this hair that obsesses you so much," she cut in, twirling a strand in her finger. We were standing less than two feet apart, and the light filtering in through the window lit her back and gave her an ethereal glow. She looked like a goddess descended from the heavens.

That is, a goddess of death.

"...It's nothing," I said, sighing, "I just think that it's a pretty color." She hopped up on a desk, tipping her head back, and again I was caught in her beauty.

She crossed her legs over one another, the movement fluid and practiced, and I wondered for a moment how many hours she must have put into refining herself so she could be the perfect heir everyone expected. How lonely an existence that must have been.

"Don't apologize for that," she said, her lips twisting, "it was my fault, after all. I had been plotting something, after all." I didn't know what to say about that. I had been giving her the easy way out; I knew she had planned our encounter, there was no way she hadn't. Grace Belloway was someone who did things only if they benefited her and her goals. But still, to admit it so readily showed a side of her I hadn't been expecting.

"I know," I admitted, stepping towards her and resting my palms on the adjacent desk. She cocked her head at me, eyes dark.

"If you knew, why did you come with me today? Involving yourself with me is just going to make things harder for you," she mused, laughing mockingly, though it sounded sad. She was right: by getting close to her, I had become the target of half the school, and probably half of the kingdom. But how could I tell her the truth about why I had gotten close to her in the first place?

I wondered how long I could keep up this facade. Surely, after I reported my decision at the end of the month there would be no need for me to continue living as Olivia. The thought made my throat clench up. I would need to end this... whatever this was, now.

Moments with Elizabeth and May, and... Grace, admittedly, ran through my mind as I reminisced, staring out the window that lit Grace's hair so stirringly. Grace never so much as looked at me anymore as Professor Eclaire, and her reason for noticing me in the first place was probably because of my power over the inheritance. It would be naive of me to assume she had joined my healing class for any other reason. After I chose her as the heir, there would be no more reason for her to involve herself with me. The only time I could be with her was as Olivia.

Don't be immature, Morgan, I scolded myself. I had known her for hardly a month as Olivia, and she was techincally among my sworn enemy; part of a bloodline I had made an oath to despise until the day I died. My infatuation with her would fade as fast as it developed.

"Thank you for saving me, that day." I changed the subject, not ready to talk about my intentions. Grace glanced away, and I felt a pang of guilt for ignoring her question.

"I just happened upon the scene. It's the duty of a noble to enforce the rules," she assessed, her voice strikingly indifferent. It cut deeper than I expected it would.

"I see," I laughed, though there was no real conviction behind it. "Thank you anyway. I appreciate it."

It felt like the air was slowly getting harder to breathe. I would give my decision to the principal, and then Olivia would disappear.

Whatever there had been between us would disappear too, eventually.

"I'll see you in class, Grace; I wish you luck in the annual competition," I said, leaving the room as quickly as I could. I had accomplished my objective: to apologize. There was no reason my heart should have felt as dull as it did.

This was for the best.

Father, please guide me.