Alana's perspective
I woke slowly, the heavy fog of sleep still clinging to my eyelashes. Instinctively, I reached across the expanse of the bed, my palm searching for a familiar warmth.
Cold.
My fingers brushed against pristine, untouched sheets, neatly folded as if they had never been disturbed. A quiet, shaky breath escaped my lips.
So… Justin really is gone.
He had said he was leaving, but a stubborn, foolish part of me a part I refused to acknowledge had hoped it was just another one of his reckless jokes. I had hoped that when the sun rose, I'd see his messy black hair and that irritatingly calm smirk.
I stared at the empty space for a heartbeat longer before forcing myself to sit upright.
"I'll just take a bath… then prepare for the journey home," I whispered to the silence.
My movements were sluggish, weighted by a strange lethargy.
I walked toward the bathroom, the ornate marble floor biting at my bare feet with a morning chill. With a tired flick of my fingers, I channeled a spark of mana; the bathwater shimmered in the tub, the temperature rising until thick, white steam began to curl toward the ceiling.
I eased my nightgown over my shoulders, letting the silk fall in a silent heap at my feet. After testing the water, I stepped in, the heat wrapping around me like a liquid embrace, melting the knots of tension in my spine.
I leaned back, letting the water cascade over my shoulders before sinking into the depths, the steam clouding my vision.
As the warmth enveloped me, my mind betrayed me, drifting back to his final words.
"I've stirred up trouble, so I'm leaving. Goodbye… my pretend fiancée."
The words echoed in my head, sharp and careless, yet vibrating with an unspoken weight. What did he mean? What kind of peril forces a student to vanish into the night?
Suddenly
"JUSTIN!!!"
A frantic, thunderous voice shattered the silence from the other side of the bedroom door.
Startled, I shot upright, water sloshing violently over the edge of the tub.
I scrambled out, my heart hammering against my ribs, and grabbed a towel. I wrapped it tightly around my damp skin and rushed toward the door, but my feet lost their grip on the wet tile.
I fell hard, the air driven from my lungs as I hit the floor on my stomach with a painful thud.
The door burst open.
Standing in the doorway was Princess Calamity. Her nightgown was disheveled, barely clinging to her frame, and her face was a volatile mask of shock and accusation as her eyes locked onto me sprawled on the floor.
"Ah!" I gasped, scrambling to find my footing while desperately clutching my towel. My face burned with a vivid, humiliating heat. She stared down at me, her blue eyes filled with an icy disdain.
"Can I help you, Princess?" I managed to ask, forcing a hollow steadiness into my voice.
"Oh?" She covered her mouth with a dramatic, mocking gesture. "I see. So this is what you and Justin were busy doing all night."
"You've got the wrong idea," I snapped, finally standing and readjusting the towel. "Justin isn't here. He left in a hurry last night."
She stepped into the room, her sharp tone softening just a fraction. "Let me help you." She reached out, steadying my arm, but her gaze quickly sharpened again, darting around the room like a hawk. "Did he say anything else before he vanished?"
"No," I replied, my voice tightening. "He just… left."
That was when my eyes caught something on the far side of the room a small, folded piece of parchment resting atop the dark wood of the dresser.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing.
Before I could even draw breath, the Princess darted forward, her fingers snatching the note before I could reach it.
"It's a letter," she said slowly, her voice dropping an octave. "From Justin. Alana, I think we should-"
"I think Justin left that specifically for me," I interrupted firmly, stepping forward despite my state of dress. "So I'll read it later, in private."
"Alana, we should open it now," she insisted, her grip tightening on the paper. "There could be a clue as to where he's gone-"
"He left it for me… his fiancée," I repeated, meeting her gaze with a defiant intensity.
"So please… leave me alone for a moment."
The words escaped my mouth before I could catch them. My fiancée.
The thought made my chest tighten with a strange, suffocating pressure. It was only a game, a tactical lie so why did my heart hammer so painfully when I said it out loud?
The Princess studied me for a long, silent moment, searching my face for a crack in the armor. Finally, she turned away, closing the door behind her only to crack it open again seconds later.
"Breakfast will be served shortly," she said quietly, her voice sounding oddly fragile. "After that… I'd prefer it if you returned home immediately."
She vanished, leaving the room heavy with a lingering sadness.
Silence returned, save for the sound of my own breathing. I unfolded the letter with trembling fingers, the parchment feeling like it was humming with his mana.
> I don't have much time left. I have to leave. Ask the Princess why I need to go— > (A section of the ink was violently scratched out, hurried and desperate)
> Go ask my mother. I'll explain everything when I arrive. She'll explain it all. I had some trouble with the Queen.
>
That was it. Short, cryptic, and infuriating.
Does he trust me… or doesn't he?
And why me? Why involve me in his secrets when I was the one who dragged him into this mess for my own gain?
I clenched the letter in my fist, my mind racing. What kind of trouble involved the Queen? What had he discovered in the shadows of this castle?
I dressed with a sense of frantic urgency, choosing a long, obsidian-black gown with a slit that traveled high along my thigh, paired with the blue-gem necklace my father had given me for protection.
I pulled my hair into a sharp ponytail and fastened my silver earrings. Finally, my gaze landed on the table.
The ring. The violet rose I had forced him to craft.
Maybe that's why he ran… because I pushed him too far into a life he never wanted. After a long, agonizing pause, I slid the ring onto my finger. It felt unexpectedly heavy.
The bedroom door suddenly SLAMMED open, the wood groaning against the stone wall.
"WHERE IS THAT BASTARD JUSTIN?!" Darius roared, his green hair disheveled and his eyes wild with a murderous, draconic fury.
The room froze. My heart felt as though it had turned to lead, plummeting into my stomach.