A few days pass without any incident. Things are a bit awkward between me and Callista for a day or two, but eventually we go back to our normal. On the day of the party Vesper told me about, I am practically buzzing with excitement. I get to go out and have fun again. I get to live as I would if I was just a normal girl.

I have noticed that there has been more chaos around the palace. Mother has been pacing around her office everyday, and I can only hope that it is because of what I have done. I can tell that today is different, though. From what I have seen, she seems angrier. I can only pray to Thalian that she won’t want to see me. Of course, as always, my prayers aren’t answered. A couple of hours after I wake up, Coral comes into my room to tell me that Mother is expecting my presence as soon as possible. I sigh, and as Coral gets me ready, I pray to Thalian again that nothing I do will upset her further.

Once Coral is done getting me ready, I take a deep breath and leave my room for Mother’s study. I don’t know how much time passes, but suddenly I blink and I am there. I lightly knock on her door, so as to not upset her. When she opens the door, I can tell she is already fuming, so I don’t say anything and simply curtsy slightly. I look back up at her. “Mother.” She looks down at me with the anger of a thousand men, and it takes all of my courage not to cower under her intense gaze. “Daughter. Please, enter.” She steps out of the door frame to let me in, and I immediately walk inside and sit at the chair in front of her desk. As she closes the door, she looks back at me. “Did I tell you that you could sit, Elara? Stand, now.” I instantly scramble to my feet. She stares deeply into my eyes, as if she is searching through my mind, and for all I know, she could be. After what feels like an eternity, she finally looks away and walks over to her desk. She looks back at me with no visible emotion. “Do you know anything?” Her tone of voice is cold and calculated. It is almost scary. “About what, Mother?” She sighs deeply, sounding almost disappointed. “I knew you would say that.” She pulls a folder out of her desk, Then, she opens it and hands me a picture. It is of the words I wrote on the side of that building. There are people all around it staring in shock. I put on my best poker face before looking up at her with confusion and fear in my eyes. “What is this, Mother? Who would do such a thing? You are the greatest ruler Revalia has ever had!” I make my voice sound shocked. Her face stays unreadable. “Do you know who did this, Elara?” I force a look of confusion onto my face. “What? No, Mother. I haven’t left the palace in weeks.” She looks closer at me, inspecting my face for any proof that I am lying. When she finds none, she looks back down at the picture. Her eyes fill with fury. Suddenly, I come to the realization that her anger will be directed towards me, and I begin to mentally brace myself. “Come here, Elara.” I immediately walk up to her, and when I am within her space, she grabs my arm and yanks me towards her. She is holding my arm with such force that I am sure it will bruise. She stares at me with pure hatred in her eyes. “Promise me you don’t know who did this, Elara.” My mind is now filled with fear. “Yes, I promise. I have no idea, I swear.”

She lets my arm go, and for a second, I think she will let me leave. I can’t even comprehend what is happening before the back of her hand is meeting my cheek with such force that I am knocked towards her desk. Instinctually, my hand raises up to touch my face where she has hit me, only to find a small cut barely a centimeter under my eye. Presumably, it was made by the silver ring on her pointer finger of her right hand. The family crest. As my finger grazes it, it begins to sting and then bleed profusely. Tears well up in my eyes. “Begone from me at once, Elara. I need to think.” I rush towards the door, only to hear her voice signaling me to stop. For the smallest sliver of a second, I stupidly believe that she will apologize. She doesn’t. “If I find out that you are lying, and that you do know who did this, you will be swiftly punished. Is that understood, Elara?” I look back at her, though I can only see her silhouette through the tears I don’t dare to let fall. “Yes, mother.” She then waves her hand at me and I rush out the door, closing it behind me before the tears start to fall. I run to an alcove in the corridor before collapsing against the wall and beginning to sob uncontrollably.

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I am there for a minute or two before someone finds me. Through my tears, I cannot tell who they are, but once I feel her hand on my arm, I can tell that it is Callista. Without thinking twice, I instantly turn to face her and begin to cry into her shoulder. For a second, I regret doing this, because I might get blood and tears on her shirt, but she immediately grabs me and pulls me closer to her. She then proceeds to hold me while I cry. The entire time, she whispers reassurances into my ear, though I can barely focus long enough to hear them. After what feels like forever, I pull away from her shoulder and wipe my eyes.

When I open them, I see that her shirt is covered in my blood and tears. “Oh my Thalian, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I promise.” There is an urgency in my voice. Panic floods my mind at the thought that she might not forgive. She looks down at her shirt and looks back at me with pity in her eyes. “Don’t worry about this. I’ll be fine. Are you okay?” She brings her hand up to my face and without meaning to, I flinch. She pauses. “I’m sorry, I should have asked first. Can I touch you?” I nod my head hesitantly. She slowly moves her hand to me until her hand is cradling my face, her thumb lightly brushing against my cheek. I lean into the touch while she closely examines the cut on my face. She smiles slightly before looking back up into my eyes. “You should be okay. It might leave a scar though.” I can hear my breathing pick up as worry floods Callista’s eyes. “What’s wrong?” Through my shallow breaths, I manage to get out, “Mother doesn’t like imperfections.” She looks confused for a second, before actually processing what I’ve said. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure Coral can cover it up. She’s amazing at that kind of thing.” When I hear her words fully, my breathing begins slowing down to its usual pace. “You really think so?” She smiles comfortingly at me. “Of course, Elara. You’ll be okay. Now, let’s get you back to your room.” I sigh with relief, both at her words and the thought of my room. “Okay.”

As we walk back to my room, a question enters my mind. When we finally reach the room and head inside, I can’t help but ask. “Hey, Callista?” She looks over at me. “Yeah? What’s up, Elara?” I feel my brows furrow in thought. “How did you find me?” She thinks for a second before saying, “I don’t know, honestly. I just had this gut feeling that you weren’t okay. Then, I just blinked and I was at your side.” I tilt my head in confusion. “That’s weird. Well, thank you regardless. Thank you for being there. I hope you know just how much you mean to me, Cal. You are the only person who could’ve made me feel better back there. You’re the person I care about the most in the world. So, thank you. For everything. Truly.” She smiles at me, so sincere that I feel my heart melt a little bit. “Of course. I’m always here for you, El. Whenever you need anything at all. You’re the person I care most about, too.” She moves over to me and hugs me, and I practically melt into her arms. Her arms are my safe place. Her arms are my home. The palace may be my house, but she truly is my home. All too quickly, our bodies are separated as she goes to stand guard at my door and as she walks away, I get the sudden urge to pull her close to me and never let her go. I don’t voice this urge, though. I simply let her walk out the door, as I feel an inexplicable ache in my bones that settles into my ribs without her near me.

As I lay down on my bed to take a nap before tonight, my final thought is of one person. Somehow, I already miss Callista.