The Princess and the Guard (Book 1)

Sixteen

As soon as breakfast was over, and after Odette moved into the library with the House leaders, Noah walked with Juliette back to her wing. He forgot to tell her he was going out of the capital to take his assessment test, and in light of everything going on with Dr. Violet, and Odette, and their growing plans to run away, he was worried. The timing couldn't have been worse. He knew he'd only be gone for a week, and in all reality, there wasn't much he could do to protect Juliette from Odette while he was here anyway, but he hated the idea of leaving with so much going on.

Noah sighed. He hated it here. Hated it with a passion.

"I think I'll be able to finally start building the ship's new computer," she whispered as they neared her private study.

Noah instinctively cast a discrete glance around. "Great."

"Collecting parts will be a bit of a challenge, but I have a few old tablets I don't use that often. I'll just pull from there, and then tell Odette they started malfunctioning."

"Don't get yourself in trouble. If you need something, write it down and I'll see about going into town and getting it."

Juliette grinned. "Thanks. I also figured something out about Dr. Violet." She closed the door after them, making Noah just the tiniest bit uncomfortable. He shouldn't have been in here, alone with her in a closed room. "We know she was only recently relocated here, within the past year. She'd been studying in Armament for almost ten years, neuroscience and the like. There was a report from Atworth last year, a study done on the effects of subliminal frequencies that were applied to the soldiers in training. There wasn't much of a boost in productivity, but there was some. Dr. Violet took the findings and worked on applying them in heavier frequencies to amply the effects."

Noah nodded along.

"About that time, Odette requested her to come to the palace for some additional research on how the thought processes of our brains impact what we're physically capable of."

Noah almost frowned, not sure he understood.

"I'm not entirely sure what that means," she added, grimacing. "But that's where she originated."

"What would she be doing here? And why is she seeing you?"

Juliette shook her head, slowly. "I don't know. The only thing I can think of is Odette wanted to fund her studies and she wanted an easy test subject. Which, honestly, isn't the worst thing I thought could be happening."

"No, I suppose not. Except you said she's been giving you shots. Drugs. What does that have to do with the brains' power over the body?"

Juliette reluctantly shrugged. "It might have nothing to do with it, they might be two different studies. I just... wanted to share what I learned in case something stood out to you that didn't occur to me."

"Thanks, I'll be thinking about it. Speaking of Armament, I'm going there for a week or so in a few days."

Juliette looked up. "What? Why?"

"For an assessment test, nothing serious," he added quickly. "My last one, thank the seas, which means no more school. Plus, it will give me the chance to do some more looking into Dr. Violet. Maybe there's someone there who knows more than whatever we could find on the Nexus."

Juliette hedged. "When will you get back?"

"In about a week. Probably less, but they estimate high."

She nodded again, and Noah saw her smile. He could tell she was working to keep her face neutral, and he wondered if she was worried about him leaving. He knew why he was, but from her point of view, his presence didn't do anything for her. He couldn't save her from Odette, and he couldn't protect her from Dr. Violet.

"I'll have access to the Nexus, so we'll be able to stay in touch and keep each other up to date with what we find. If you can, keep working on the ship, but please be careful. If Odette, or one of her people, saw you poking around out there, it would bring up questions."

"Of course. By the time you get back, I'll have a working computer system ready to be installed, and then I can do whatever I can to help with the engine.

"Perfect." Noah would also hopefully have the chance to make a few running-away related purchases, like bulk food items. He didn't want to do anything in the capital where there was a greater chance of someone noticing something was amiss.

Noah nudged her. "But don't be a stranger. Send me pictures of whatever it is you're doing throughout the day. I don't want to get homesick."

Juliette almost scoffed. "You won't get homesick."

You can be homesick for a person, Noah thought. He kept it to himself. "We'll celebrate when I get home," he instead voiced aloud. "I may have a stash of cacao truffles hidden."

Juliette's eyes popped open. The only time she was supposed to have anything sweet was one day a year—on her birthday.

"You have truffles?"

"I do. To be enjoyed upon my return and successful assignments for the both of us," he added, holding up a finger.

"Can I have just one? Please? It can be an early birthday present!"

"Sorry. You have to wait."

Juliette sighed, frowning.

"Besides, your birthday's not for another month," Noah said with an eyeroll.

"I know; I said early birthday present."

"No way. It's not even a big birthday either."

Juliette scowled. "Easy for you to say. Philip at least gets you a cupcake."

"I gave you my frosting!"

Juliette laughed, but the smile almost immediately dropped from her face. "What if you do really well in the test, and you qualify for a position higher than a guard? Will you at least get to come back and say goodbye? I'm sure we could still plan to get away—if, you know, you want to still go—but it might take a bit longer."

Noah drew back. "What are you talking about? I'll go, take the test, and be back as a guard. We'll keep planning."

She shook her head. "You're smart. You're going to place high. You're going to be the rarity that gets to move up."

"Even if that were the case, I'd throw the exam. If you think I'd stay in this place one day longer than I have to, you're wrong. We're getting out of here, together."

Juliette visibly relaxed, the grin turning a little less forced. "We still need to decide where we're going," she added, almost wistfully.

Noah shrugged. "Name a few places that pique your interest."

A smile tilted the corner of her mouth. "The beach."

"The beach. That'd be fun. Do you know how to swim?"

Juliette shook her head. "No."

"I hear it's easy to learn."

"Okay, then I want to go to the beach. In California!"

Noah smirked. California. "Sure, why not?"

"Or maybe Australia? We could do some scuba diving in the coral reefs?"

"That'd be fun. Oh, and we could go camping."

Juliette laughed. Her grin was infectious. "Camping? With tents?"

"Why not? I saw a show where they went camping and it looked fun. Out in the middle of nowhere and cooking over a fire, sleeping in tents, going stargazing. I have a lifetime of adventures to live up to."

"Oh seas, I've never even seen stars in real life." She nodded once. "Okay, camping has been added to the list."

Noah smiled, excitement bubbling in his stomach. He glanced at his watch, jerking a thumb behind him. "I should get going. I'll see you later?"

Juliette nodded, gracing him with a smile.