[OLD] Shimmer (Counterpart to Tides)

Chapter Eight

SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!!! ENJOY THE NEW CHAPTER!!!

*****

I took a deep breath. "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own, Dad?" I asked my father.

Dad smiled reassuringly at me. "I promise I'll be fine, Alaina. Now go outside, I think you have a job to be at." I hugged my dad tightly, and waved at him before walking out the door.

Stepping outside into the cool, morning air, I took a deep breath. I am doing this, I thought to myself. I have to, for Dad.

With those encouraging thoughts, I headed off towards the castle. Thoughts started whirling around my head. Will Kevin be there? What job will I be doing? Will the others be nice? What--

My thoughts came to a halt as I saw the giant castle looming in front of me. The walls were a beautiful rose-gold that shone in the morning light, making the castle look like a giant cloud you would only see in stories and your imagination. In a daze, I walked up to the giant doors which were heavily guarded.

"State your purpose," a guard dressed in purple velvet barked. He had a sword at his waist, and had a hand on the hilt.

"I'm here for my job," I stated uncomfortably.

The guard looked at me, and apparently decided that I wasn't a threat. "You may enter," he said, and opened the giant door.

I know it may be hard to believe, but the inside of the castle was even more breathtaking than the outside. I have to remember to thank Kevin for getting me this job, I said to myself. Then, I started walking around aimlessly, trying to see all of the wonders that the castle held--

"Ow!" I looked up at the maid standing in front of me. "What was that fo--" she stopped abruptly and looked at me. "Are you the new girl? Alice or something like that?"

"I'm Alaina," I said uncomfortably. The maid's face immediately brightened.

"There you are! I was starting to worry that you had died! You're going to clean the Princess Cecily's room, so hurry along, dear!"

The maid turned around to leave, and I suddenly realized that I had absolutely no idea where to go. "Wait, miss!" I called out. The lady turned around, and looked at me. Her face seemed to say, Why are you still standing there?

"Yes?" she asked.

"I... uh... you see... Idon'tknowwheretheprincess'sroomis," i blurted out.

The maid blinked. "What?"

"I don't know where the princess's is," I muttered, looking down.

"Second floor, turn left, third room on the right. And it's pink," the maid said before turning around and leaving.

"It's pink." Sooooo helpful. I sighed and followed her directions, walking up the giant staircase, turning left at the hallway, and looking at the doors. One closet door, one bathroom, one super-duper pink room, one--WAIT! Pink!!! I whirled around and darted into the super-duper pink room. The lady wasn't kidding when she said it was pink--everything in there from the walls to the carpet were pink. Well, this girl sure likes the color pink...

There really wasn't anything to clean. Everything was in order, so I just looked at the picture on the bedside table. It was a picture of a beautiful family. A handsome, tall, blue eyed, dark haired father. A beautiful willowy, icy eyed, white-blonde mother. And a little girl, who looked about 8 years old, and looked just like her mother. The girl was smiling at the camera, and seemed to be having the time of her life. I remembered when my life used to be like that, when the world was perfect, and I was younger--

Suddenly, there were shouts outside. Is the castle being attacked? I thought. I peered through the giant window on the side of the wall (which, of course, had pink curtains).

Joshua and Kevin were standing about two feet away from each other. Joshua was glaring, and Kevin was smiling, but there was a red mark on his cheek. Oh no... Please, Joshua...

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was sprinting down the stairs, trying to stop the fight that was about to start. I had only knew the boys for a few days, but I knew that they were arguing--and things were about to get messy.

By the time I rushed through the large doors, a crowd was already starting to fight. People were betting on who would win, and were chanting "Fight, fight, fight!" I shoved my way through the crowd, and finally broke through the inner circle.

I looked at Joshua for a moment, then at Kevin. How could I choose? Kevin was the one who saved me, but Joshua had been so kind... My blood chilled at the next thought. Until he betrayed me. I turned and walked over to Kevin. He had a few cuts here and there, but didn't look too bad. Tugging on his elbow, we walked out of the circle, and back inside the castle.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to him.

"Yeah," he replied. "Joshua was insulting you, so I attacked him."

I giggled. "You didn't have to do that for me!"

The beautiful, dark haired boy in front of me held my gaze with his golden eyes. "Yes, I did," he said candidly.

I couldn't speak. "I... I'll get a cloth," I said hurriedly and rushed out of the room. What in the world...

In a daze, I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a clean towel. Holding it under the running water for a few seconds, I walked back to Kevin and silently started cleaning his wounds.

"Thanks," he murmured, moving just a tiny bit closer to me.

"No problem," I replied, trying to hide the butterflies were flying in my stomach.

*****

So... we're gonna try and update every Tuesday, but no promises. XD

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