Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Every Truth

Julie woke up at five in the morning without an alarm. It was one of those mornings where her body just wanted to rise with the sun, and she didn't fight against it. She sat up and grabbed her phone, staring at the picture of her mom that she had as her lock screen until the screen went black. She took a deep breath before getting out of bed, wondering when the ache was going to stop being so vast.

She slid on a hoodie and walked to her door, wondering if Luke was going to be out there or if it was going to be her Sunday guard. He didn't mention not taking the day off and although he deserved it, she didn't feel so secure without him.

She peaked her head out the door and found Reggie standing in place, leaning against the wall and listening to music. He took out an earbud when he saw her, and he seemed surprised. "Princess, what's wrong?" he asked her. She realized it was too late to go back to the warmth of her bed, and she walked out into the hall.

"Nothing," she told him. "Just woke up early."

"That's a first," Reggie said, making her smile. He wrapped his earbuds around his phone and put it away.

"Do you guys think I'm lazy?" she asked him. She hadn't talked to Reggie one on one many times, but he seemed to be the more relaxed one out of the two knights. The three with Alex. As much as Luke and her had gotten closer, there was still thousands of miles of ocean between her and the knight.

"I don't," Reggie said. "Neither does Luke if that worries you." Julie wondered what that meant, but Reggie's face was blank, just a twitch in corner of his lips that he tugged back down.

"Not really worried. I just wonder what people think of the Princess who hasn't done anything in so long."

"Nothing bad, trust me," Reggie said. "I'm always out in town and the people love you and Carlos." Julie smiled again. She hadn't gone out or been to a huge event in such a long time, she almost forgot she had constant royal duties before. She had a schedule that all went to shit when her mom was really gone. "They know everything seems to be crumbling around you guys. They don't expect you to go out and save the world."

"I still feel like I have to."

"Well, you shouldn't. That's my job," Reggie said, posing like a superhero. Julie laughed at him and leaned against the wall across from him. He went back to doing the same and asked, "You're going to hang with me for the rest of my shift?"

"I'm definitely not going back to sleep," she said. "When are the Sunday guards going to come?"

"No Sunday guards," Reggie said. "Luke and I have a meeting at seven with Bobby, but we'll be with you guys for forever. Or until the war is over." Julie raised an eyebrow and Reggie seemed to sense her confusion. "They just told us at like, one in the morning. King Caleb is talking about making a visit himself, and he's not exactly going to be a guest of honor." Julie was taken aback from the dump of information. People seemed to hide things from her so much, she forgot what it was like to have someone in her life who told her things so easily.

All she could ask was, "Here?"

"Shit," Reggie whispered, scratching the back of his head. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

"No, thank you for telling me," she assured him. "My dad would have told me eventually, either way. I hope."

"Don't you and Luke sit in their meetings?" he asked her. "He catches me up, but I sometimes wish I was in there. It's weird not knowing right away what's going to happen to your friends."

"We are in most of them, but there's conversations they don't want me to hear for some reason," Julie said. "I think Luke knows what type of conversations they are, but he's always dodged the questions."