A Cursed Gift

Chapter Six

I left Aaron behind in his office a while ago, and now I wandered the palace halls in a daze. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me.

   And I love him.

I skip a little, happily, already imagining wedding dresses and elaborate twelve-tiered cakes and Aaron's beautiful eyes when they crinkle at the corners while he stands by the altar, clothed in a crisp dress suit, when he sees—

—Annette practically dancing down the aisle toward him.

My mood is ruined instantaneously. I scowl darkly. At that very moment, a mass of makeup and bouncing blonde hair careens around the corner, almost slamming into me.

"Speak of the devil," I mutter under my breath darkly.

She smirks at me a little too smugly, even for her. "Excuse me?"

"Just wishing you'd move your fat butt out of my way," I snap, annoyed at just the sight of her. She gasps as I push past her.

"Yeah, well, you're just an ungrateful brat," she retorts, patting down her already irritatingly-perfect hair. "You've been taken from your good-for-nothing family of peasants to stay here in the castle, on first-name basis with the royals of our country, all because of some chance encounter with Aaron. All you ever do is mope around the palace, proclaiming all the undeserved little bumps in your life and 'woe is me' and all that crap. Cut it out. Do you know how lucky you are to be here?" Tears shine in her eyes now. "There are people right now, at this very moment, starving because they didn't happen to be lost in the same alley as a prince. You own dresses worth more than their entire existence, and you have so many people who love you, that you don't understand how many people out there are all alone. You are surrounded by so much love—" She broke off suddenly, tears leaving dark mascara trails down her cheeks. I watch with surprise; I've never seen Annette cry before.

   "Annette," I say hesitantly, moving to rest a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. She bats it away.

   "Oh, just leave me alone!" she sobs, stumbling away. I watch her disappear down the hall, wondering what this ache was in my chest. Certainly not pity.

   For Annette.

We're sorry that the update is so short, and that it's been so long since we've put up a new chapter, but hang in there with me. Queen_Sparklez been working hard on GOG&T lately and elfwrites has been busy with cheer (4-hour long practices five days a week, ugh). We'll try to update more often, but this is the best we can do for now.

Love y'all,
TheGoatTwins