|| A Threat

'What's this royal galle?'

I replied, 'I'll tell you when we meet'

'Sure thing'

my phone vibrated again, 'Some say it's like prom?'

'Yup, kind of like that'

'Cool'

I was about to keep it back inside when it vibrated again

'Btw, you were right. This school actually sucks lol'

I chuckled softly and looked up to find Vivi watching me with a smug on her face.

“Did i just find my i-dont-talk-to-guys-because-they-are-disappointing-and-disgusting babe smile while talking to a guy?”

The bell rang, I scowled at her, “He’s new, and we’re just friends.”

“Sureeee.” Vivi stretched the last letter as we walked out of the class, she nudged me, "Look" she said, "That jerk".

In a distance I saw Eugene casually flirting with a group of girls that surrounded him. They looked up dreamily at him and giggled as he cracked lame jokes– trust me I know.

I glanced at Vivian and saw her eyes burn red- Eugene, for sure is dead.

"Do you know when's the Galle? So that I can know when I can choke him to death?" she asked while slowly regaining her composure.

"Next week I guess?" I asked unsure, "I'm really excited! I heard it's like the Balls you read in books!"

"Yeap," she replied, "After all it's a goddamn Kingdom."

"Empire," I corrected her.

"Well it's the same thing."

"Empires and Kingdoms are not the same!" I exclaimed, Oh my god why do people think empire and kingdoms are the same!

"Then what's the difference, huh?" she inquired lazily, while taking a few things from her locker.

"Well," I was about to start off when her gaze shifted behind me. I turned to see who or what was she looking at but collided with a muscle wall. Strong hands steadied me and it was Zen, his strong mint scent surrounding me. He looked down at me with his dark blue-green eyes.

"Uh.. hey." I said to his chest

"Hi." he grinned.

Pink tinted my cheeks at our closeness, I quickly straighten up "Oh um.. this is Vivi, my best friend," I gestured towards a smirking Vivi, "Viv this is Zen th–"

"-The new transfer student" she nodded with a smile.

"Woah I didn't know I was so famous here." he grinned, adjusting his backpack strap.

"I didn't say that you're famous here," she replied sarcastically, "What type of weirdo joins the school in the middle of the year?" she asked.

Yes, this is how we scare others who try to befriend us.

"It's not like that," Zen said, "I was really looking forward to this place."

"Where are you from?"

"Lochmead," he replied with pride, "One of peaceful places in the world"

"Oh, right where you get to live like Wild people," she rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me you used to stay near the Lake houses."

His eyes widened, "One of the nineteen houses?"

"Seriously?" she was amazed, "I used to stay there too many years ago."

“Hello ladies,” a lean guy popped by Vivi's side, Eugene. He nodded towards Zen, his sandy hair falling a little over his coffee-like eyes, “and the new boy.”

Zen eyed him, “Hey, mate.”

“Fancy meeting ya.'' I frowned, giving him a punch to bring him back to his senses, “Ouch. Right, i'm here to pick my date-”

Vivi nudged him in his ribs, “-hey!” I hid a chuckle behind my hand.

“I will flipping pull your eyes out if you utter that word again.” Vivi threatened him.

“But who’s gonna be your date then?”

“I will bloody ask Wade Smith.”

“Up my a-”

-And just like that, they both started arguing.

Yeah that happens a lot of times, nothing new. Zen shifted his weight, “Well i should be going now,” he said, glancing at me, “See you tomorrow Adria.” I smiled with a wave.

“Enjoy.” I chirped at the two before heading out of the school. They take hours to end one argument before starting another.

I started walking down the path towards my home, watching the bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds swift by. Cold winds started to blow, making me smile at myself. Here in Wayford, you get tons of snow every year. Even though this town is pretty small to be called one, everyone here is really nice. There were some people around, puppies were being walked by old people and neighbors were talking to each other. Just another friendly neighborhood.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called me. I turned and saw Zen sprinting towards me with a smile growing on his face.

"Hi.." I answered, I really wanted to be alone and enjoy the calmness here.

He stopped beside me and asked, "Where are you heading?"

"Just a few blocks from here," I replied.

"That's great!" Zen chimed, "Maybe I can walk with you?"

I tossed the idea around in my head for sometime and eventually agreed. We started walking. I was walking beside the busy street and he was on my left.

"So," I tried to lighten up the silence which grew, "How was your first day?"

"It was good," he replied, "Few girls whom I don't even know asked me to be their date for the Royal Galle! It's crazy."

I agreed, "It's not everyday that you get to see the Prince or Princess of the Empire for the first time."

Zen looked at me in surprise, "Tell me more."

"Alright," I chuckled, "the Royal Galle is held by the King and the Queen when their child has turned nineteen years old. The Prince or the Princess finally gets to meet the people until then, they are not allowed to meet the outside world nor do we get to see them."

He looked into the topic so I continued, "The most exciting part is that the King and Queen had twins and in a few days, we are going to see them!"

"It's like Elsa and Anna from frozen." Zen chuckled, I nodded with a smile "Do you think it's going to be two princes or two princesses?"

"Uh.." I actually never thought of it, "Maybe a girl and a boy?"

Zen wiggled his eyebrows, "Want to know about Lochmead?"

He suddenly switched sides, so he was now walking beside the street and I was on his left, as if shielding me from the speeding cars.

"Sure," I answered, trying to ignore what just happened, "Vivi rarely talks about it."

"No problem I'll tell you." he grinned, "So the house which I lived in was one of the Nineteen houses, people barely used to get a chance to stay there. Full all time of the year."

"It was a dream of a person who loves nature, earthly and green." He smiled, as if recalling his memory "At sunrise many different types of birds used to sit on your balcony and chirp sweetly."

I smiled, "I'd love to be there." He really did miss that place.

"Tell me about yourself," he asked. Uh, Mission Abort. Abort.

"Well, I have a dad and no siblings. My mother died many years ago" wow, I kicked myself mentally. I sounded like a completely depressed person, I felt sorry for Zen, I glanced at his face which was filled with pity, I let out a forced laugh "You don't have to be sorry about it, I'm used to it." Well, that wasn't the case when you woke up today morning was it?

"She sure did raise a strong girl." he smiled at me.

"Yeah," I said, "Anyways this is my stop."

He nodded. "See you tomorrow, Zen" I smiled.

"Bye Adria"

I reached the front door and knocked. No answer, dad might have left early, anyways I took the spare key and opened the door. Yay! No one's home. I rushed to the kitchen and got food from the fridge that he left for me.

After eating I headed upstairs, towards my room while humming to myself. I opened the door and jumped on the bed, opening my laptop. I played my favorite song in my headset when a thought crossed my mind and I quickly searched on google,

The Aldridge empire's latest royal Galle|

I pressed search. My eyes widened at the Victorian styled ballrooms with women wearing incredible gowns that flowed to the ground and men in tuxedos.

It was amazing I scrolled down and saw a beautiful woman smiling at the camera. She wore a bright purple gown, which looked dazzling as it was embedded in pearls and diamonds, she wore a stunning tiara as well. I glanced at the bottom of the picture and read her name, Princess Morgana.

Everything was like from medieval times, i was about to check the date of the picture and that's when it happened.

At first it was just a slight throb, starting from the back of my head before the pain exploded in my head.

I cried out, squeezing my head, trying to at least dim the pain somehow. It was like my brain was getting crushed at the same time being pounded at. Every fibre of my being began screaming in pain. I dropped on the floor, clutching my head tightly, tears streaming endlessly. What is wrong with me?!

My body was shaking in pain, I tried to crawl towards my phone, I needed to call dad.

Another wave of pain made me scream in agony, it felt like my brain was bursting in my head. My shaky fingers tried to reach my phone. Please, I don't want to die like this.

I clutched it, whimpering as I dropped to my side on the bed. I cried out. I can’t handle this, I can't.

I took in a shaky breath, my vision blurry as I navigated my way to dad's contact. My breathing started to become shallow, I accidentally clicked the camera app, it opened the front camera and what I saw scared the daylights out of me.

With my blurry vision, i could find a pair of full dark black eyes staring back at me instead of my normal grey ones. My eyelids felt heavy and before i could do anything, my world turned black.