The King's Queen

Chapter 14

Lord Jun Fujihara
Age: 17

*°*

After filling out the applications for some other universities, Micah and I took a break. I had the meeting to attend soon but it was so nice getting to catch up and spend some much needed time with him. We talked about his future and about Esmeralda. She was still vivacious and full of life. I decided to visit their house as soon as I got some free time. I would be meeting up with Callie tomorrow for lunch. I penciled in visiting Esmeralda before that. A smile rose to my face as I thought about surprising her.

Suddenly, Violet was at our table and she seemed to be speaking to Garrett using telepathy because he nodded and moved over to the door. Both of them didn't really see eye to eye, but when they were working they put all their difference aside and made a great team.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Someone is coming. An Origen-a Beta to be exact."

Who could that be? Micah glanced at me worriedly but I gave him a small smile to reassure him that he was safe. Maybe it was Kevin or one of the other guys who were on their way here. In that case, there was nothing to be afraid of. Violet's nails extended slightly. Whoever was coming was putting her on high alert.

A knock sounded on the pavilion door and Garrett glanced at me for permission. I nodded but before he could open it, a voice came from outside.

"Do you want to build a snow golem, or whatever that ice princess said?"

The doors opened and a familiar face appeared in the doorway with a small smile. "Hey."

"Jun!" A large smile spread across my face and I rushed over to him. "You're finally back. Come in!" I pulled him out of the cold and into the pavilion.

"Did you miss me, Eliza-chan?" He grinned, shaking the snow from his hair. "If I knew you'd react like this, I'd have stayed away longer."

His eyes found Micah, who bit his lip, now slightly anxious from Jun's presence. He and Jun had made some progress with each other, but those few days were not enough to erase years of trauma and fear. He would still need some time to get used to the fact that Jun genuinely wanted to be nice to him. Jun nodded at him and kept his distance by the door for the time being as he allowed Micah some time to adjust to being in the same room as him.

"I think Kris will cry tears of joy when he sees you." I laughed, pulling him into a hug. "Everyone's been worried about you."

"Sorry," he murmured, rubbing his neck. "I ended up getting a double mission."

"How was it?" I asked. He didn't look hurt or anything but I couldn't be too sure. Even if he was hurt he'd try to conceal it and deal with it on his own.

"Hmm." He hummed as he contemplated the mission. His already dark eyes darkened even more if that was possible. "I doubt you'd find it interesting." He offered me a smile that was clearly forced..

"Jun? Did something bad happen?" I searched his eyes, but he averted his gaze, instead choosing to look at the floor. He swallowed hard and then cleared his throat.

"What's done is done. I really don't want to talk about it. It's not something you should think about."

Jun couldn't go into details about his missions. That was one of the rules he had to obey and we respected that. But we did wish he would tell us how he was really feeling. Each of his missions always left some emotional scar and I was worried that the emperor wouldn't stop until he was all damaged and broken inside. I decided to drop it and simply nodded. Kristof would manage to scope out how he was feeling later.