War of Hearts

07 - By Your Heart

She woke up as if the war had been declared or sleeping had become a dangerous activity. Her heart was beating erratically and her brain was buzzing uncontrollably. She felt like a live wire, unusually energized.

"Ever!" She heard Julian's voice to a side and felt his hand holding hers. "Queen Angel Ever's awake." 

Her mother was here?

She slightly turned her head to find her mother. There she was, bustling towards her with a frantic expression. The woman whom she respected the most, the woman she loved the most, the woman who always made her keep going when all she wanted was to run away from all the heavy responsibilities. Queen Angel took her face in her palms and tilted her side to side as if she was trying to find any injury.

She heaved a sigh of relief, "My darling child, do you feel well?" She asked, her voice hoarse and cracked. Ever realized that her infallible mother had been crying.

Though her now dry eyes hid the tears that blinded them some hours ago, her face registered the same worry and sadness. Ever's heart sank into her stomach in realization, and she tried to give her a smile.

Ever nodded, taking a deep breath. There was still some pain inside her but she hid it so the Queen won't be troubled anymore. "I feel better, mother," She replied in a quiet sort of voice, "Not entirely, but better than before."

"I was so scared. Don't ever leave the palace without any guards. You're the heir as well as my daughter. I cannot have anything like this happening to you again." She held both of Evers's hands tightly as she spoke.

Ever nodded at her words, knowing the fault was hers, "Are you well enough to join us for the luncheon?" Queen Angel asked with hope in her eyes. She wanted her eldest daughter to sit by her at the first meal together with the royal angels.

Ever nodded again, although leaving this bed seemed like a battle on its own.

"Ever-" Queen Angel began to say something serious but Julian interrupted her. 

"Your majesty, if I may," Graciously, he began, "What if we leave her to rest for today? It won't be wise to have her face them after such an incident. At least until the heat dies down." Julian suggested, standing up from the chair he'd been previously sitting on. 

"Hm, very well." The Queen said after some silent minutes of thinking but finally decided to give her eldest daughter some space to recover. She bent over and kissed Ever's forehead, "Let's talk after lunch, my dear. I love you. Rest all you need." 

Ever too whispered, "I love you" to the Queen.

Both Julian and Queen Angel exited the room, leaving Ever alone to think about what had happened. She was in absolute shock as she recalled the series of events. Angelic hasn't experienced any conflicting events ever since its origin. This was so new and bizarre. A river trying to harm a royal? Something did not smell right. 

She wished for Julian to come back so she could talk to him and hopefully ease her confused self. Without crumbling her expectations Julian reappeared, returning at the exact time Ever had anticipated. 

He closed the door and came to Ever hiding something inside his bluish-black coat. 

"What do you have there?" Ever smiled coyly.

"Something that will make your mother slap me."

He sat on the bed and uncovered the object he was hiding. It was a bowl of grilled chicken. Although the members of the royal family were prohibited to eat meat, Ever ate it secretly, especially when she felt weak and lonely. It was her comfort food, and eating just grains and vegetables every day was daunting. Ever was the perfect royal daughter in everyone's eyes, they believed she was perfect; ordinary mundanes put her on a pedestal for their children to look up to. Fortunately, nobody knew that she was breaking the law. The only person who had knowledge of her secrets was Julian, he was the only person she trusted. 

Julian placed the bowl on the wooden table near the bed, supporting Ever as she hoisted herself in an upright position on the bed as he offered the bowl to her. After Ever consumed the first piece, Julian took a piece for himself. It was a habit he had never escaped, he always waited for Ever to go first before proceeding with anything himself. 

"Thank you." She whispered while eating. 

Both of them enjoyed several bites from the well-grilled chicken made by Julian's mother, the head cook of the royal kitchen. Then Julian asked, "What happened at the river?" 

Ever placed the bowl on Julian's lap and took a deep breath to narrate the story to her best friend. 

"The voices called me to the river." She began. 

"What voices?" 

"I don't know. It was a revolting female voice." 

"Then?" Julian urged her.

"She said that I did something to her and wanted me to help her." 

"And what did you do?" Julian asked, raising his thick brown eyebrows. 

"I have no idea. Then it persuaded me to jump into the water. I don't know what the hell happened to me. I was about to jump into the river but luckily a Fire child caught me. Then the river flooded."
 
"So that's what I saw." Julian laughed bitterly. 

"Why are you laughing and what did you see?" Ever asked, taking a chicken leg out of the bowl. 

"You both were acting like lovers." He smiled again, jealousy filling him. 

"What?" Ever exploded with laughter. "Me, a lover? No way."

"He was holding you in his arms, you were wrapped around his body and when he placed you on the bed you were like 'Don't leave me Cael'." Julian told her, trying to control the green eyed monster.

"What? I said that?" 

"No, you didn't say that but you were acting like that. You were holding him so tightly." 

"I think that's just an ordinary response to being saved by him." Ever laughed, nudging Julian, "don't tell me you're jealous." 

"What, jealous, me?! Why would I be jealous? No way." He said, his face redder than an Angelic apple. 

"Maybe because you're my best friend?" She suggested, placing her head on Julian's shoulder which was her favorite resting place. 

"Best friends don't get jealous." He protested. 

"Oh, they do. If not, what is it then?" She asked with a huge smile on her face, "Are you in love with me?" 

There was silence. Ever expected Julian to respond to her joke with a joke as well, but Julian did not, "Julian?" She urged him, clearly curious as to why he was behaving oddly. The joviality in the room vanished.

"Hmm." 

"Answer me." She ordered, lifting her head off his shoulder and looking into his eyes. 

"What do you think?" He asked, his head bowed low. 

She smiled confidently, "You don't love me like that. I already know that Julian. We're friends." 

"And how do you know that?" He asked, avoiding her eyes. 

"Because." She paused to find an answer to his question but she was unable to. That was strange. This whole conversation was strange. 

"Ever." Julian put his hand around Ever's shoulder and yanked her closer to him. He then continued, "You can't just look into my eyes and conclude that I don't love you. For that, you need to look into my heart and I know you will never do that." 

"Julian." She placed her right hand on his cheek, "What are you talking about?" 

"Nothing." He said as he stood up from the bed. "I'm just startled still. From the incident."

Ever watched him with startled eyes, unable to comprehend Julian's behavior.
 
"I need to go. Got work to do. Rest well." He said as he walked out of the room. 

"No, Julian, stop! What do you mean by your heart?!" She yelled after him, "Julian!" She tried again but he was already gone.