The Prince and the Punk [EDITING]

Chapter 16

Xavier

My day has been shit and it's not barely 8:00.

Walking back to the palace without Janice just feels wrong. Her absence is glaringly obvious, and it's all I can think about. She's not here, and I don't know if she ever will be again.

This day was always going to come. It was always the dreaded, inevitable conclusion, but now that it's come, I just feel empty. The whole thing has seemed almost anticlimactic, which depresses me even more.

Just when I think things can't possibly get any worse, I round a corner and see my father standing angrily in front of my door.

"Xavier Cullen!" he calls angrily when I try to turn away.

I wince and shuffle towards towards him.

"What is it?" I ask as innocently as I can.

"You know damn well what," he growls.

"I'm nineteen. I should be allowed to leave my own damn house for an hour," I say indignantly.

"Not this house, and not through some secret passage."

"How do you know about that?" I demand.

"Cameras." He gestures to the small black spheres on the walls above us, an almost gleeful smirk on his face.

I exhale, thanking my past self for disabling the cameras in my room. Sometimes it pays to be tech-savvy. At least I can still use the passage that leads to Janice.

"I know about the girl, too," he adds, bursting my bubble immediately.

My stomach drops and panic rises in my chest. "I..." I trail off, unable to think of anything to say back. It never occurred to me that taking Janice through the hallway passage would expose her to the cameras. Stupid, stupid Xavier.

"Trespassing in the palace is illegal. I could throw her in jail," he threatens.

"No!" I clear my throat. "No," I repeat, trying to sound authoritative. Isn't it enough that he's sending her off to war?

I'm almost exactly my father's height, so he's able to meet my eyes as he says, "Then you'll forget about her. You'll eliminate her from the competition, and then you'll shut up and play along. Is that clear? You're not to contact her, and if she somehow lives, you're not to go near her. Or I promise you, I can make her life far worse."

This can't be happening.

"Do you understand?" my father barks when I don't reply.

"Yeah," I say flatly.

"Good. And you'd better play well. This girl's fate is in my hands, so set a toe out of line and she'll be the one to pay."

He turns and walks away, leaving me fuming and struggling to breathe. I retreat into my room, leaning against my door and staring at my shaking hands.

I can't tell whether my father's threat is empty. There has to be some law against him targeting a civilian, but even if there is, I doubt it would stop him.

I can't believe I'm related to this man.

I try to come up with some sort of solution, but I'm still too furious to think straight. Giving up, I flop down onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling. I'm tempted to punch or throw or break something, but I can't bring myself to move.

Guilt and fear weigh me down like stones on my chest. If I'd cut ties with Janice when I had the chance, none of this would have happened. She'd be home right now, hanging out with her friends and living a normal life. If anything happens to her on the battlefield, it'll be because my selfishness got her there in the first place. If my father targets her, it'll be because I fail to play along in his political theatre. Either way, it'll be my fault.

I don't leave my room for the rest of the day, nor do I eat, sleep, or even get out of bed. I don't remember what I did before Janice, and I can't think of anything except her.

It's not until hours later that I realize the leather jacket hanging on the back of my chair doesn't belong there.

I sit up and hoist myself out of bed to pick up the jacket. I remember that day in the diner, when Janice gave it to me as part of her makeover. The memory evokes a broken chuckle, and it's then that I come to a decision.

I love Janice. It's not worth denying, and if anything happened to her, I don't think I could live with myself. All day, I've been trying to string together a plan to see her again or keep her in the competition—anything that would allow her to remain in my life. But now, I realize that the only way I can truly protect her is to do what my father says.

Janice and I were doomed from the start. There was never a place for her in my future, as much as I wanted there to be. I can already tell my life is about to become miserable, but it'll all be worth it if I can keep Janice safe.

The saying about loving someone and having to let them go never made much sense to me, but I guess it does now. I love Janice more than anyone, so as painful as it'll be, I have to let her go.

++++

Is the song a little on the nose? Eh, whatever.

Good news (not really): I've reached the "i can't believe I wrote this" stage of editing. That was fast.

Anyway, love y'all. Thanks for reading <3