Page 33 of Glass Hearts
“I will be back soon!”
I unravel Lo’s note:
Ella!
All I want to do is scold you for getting caught by the princes! But I won’t; I am just too worried about you, my friend. I am going to see if I can try to get into the castle somehow. I already miss you desperately. Not sure if Petra will even be able to get this to you, especially if you are in a dreary dungeon. After all that you have been through with your stepfamily… you do not belong in a dang dungeon! I will try to find a way to break you out!
Be safe. Love you.
-E
Tears run down my face at my best friend’s statement. My girl Lo isn’t the bravest; she likes to err on the side of caution and rules. Yet here she is, already trying to figure out how to rescue me. Who needs a man when you have a best friend like Lo?
Maybe I can ally with Margie, the head cook. If she has a spare key, maybe she will let me out. Even if I can’t exactly escape the castle, I could help her with the kitchen. Especially if I could bake. It’s a castle, so they must have a wide variety of baking supplies and ingredients. A girl can dream.
Many hours pass. I read, I go through the room again, clean what I can, and nap occasionally. But a familiar restlessness is starting to creep in. When I sit outside once more, I notice an increase in different feminine voices filling the garden.
“The other ladies must be arriving. That means the princes are probably busy all day greeting them.” Jealousy rears its ugly head. They are not mine.
“We can go scope the competition, Arabelly?”
I snort.“Oh, boys, there is no competition for the princes and their uptight hearts. I am not even on the roster.”
“We aren’t so sure, Arabelly. We see the way they look at you. It may differ from us mice, but they look at you like that young accountant looked at you.”
Derek. We had a few quick hookups, and he wanted to court me with proper intentions, aiming to make me his wife. But I felt nothing for him. I will not be a wife and subject myself to unsatisfactory sex and confusing male emotions for life. They can be so…emotional. He was quite a nice man, though, last I heard, he had a fiancée. Good for him.
It’s late at night before I hear any footsteps in the hallway. No dinner came by for me earlier, so I imagine they are coming from a late night of dinners and courting conversations.
A part of me hopes they come to visit.
But they don’t.
Koi
Something shifted the moment I saw the sadness in her eyes that day we went to retrieve our little thief. The kind of sadness that doesn’t cry out, but drowns you if you look too long. Beneath the fire of her alter ego, Arabella carried a quiet despair, hidden in the cracks of her smile. And gods help me, I wanted to dive straight into it.
She’s layered, raw, and real, and every part of me aches to understand her. To unravel the mystery of her and maybe, in the process, find the parts of myself. I don’t think I realized how much I wanted to be needed until I saw the way she tried so hardnotto be.
It reminds me of when I first met Grayer. I was just a boy then, bright-eyed and proud to discover a brother I never knew I had; only to find him hidden behind walls thick with pain. It took time, patience, and a thousand small acts to earn his trust. But once I did, he became my truest anchor. I’ve always been drawn to the ones who don’t ask for help but need it most.
Maybe that’s why Arabella pulls at me like a tide I couldn’t resist if I tried.
A long while passes as I stand outside Arabella’s room. I feel at peace when she is around, and I miss seeing her face. I could really use a bit of sunshine.
Today was a lot. We had to greet each lady and her chaperone. Which was then followed by a light cocktail hour. Normally, I would have loved to be fawned over, maybe flirt alittle. But my mind was on a curvy, petite blonde with ocean blue eyes.
After the cocktail hour, we had to sit down to a large four-course meal that ended with more drinks and talking. My cheeks hurt from all the false smiling. It was getting impossible to restrain Grayer from leaving. So Sylas, against his better judgment, encouraged a lot of alcoholic beverages. By the end of the evening, we had to corral him to bed. Even though he kept mumbling for us to ‘bring him to his duchess.’
I had thought Archer and Sylas were just as smitten with Arabella, but hid it better than Grayer and I. Yet they both talked warmly to the other ladies. Flirting and exchanging pleasantries. Before we left the dining hall, Adrianna came out to kiss Archer and whispered her exact room number for a visit.
He didn’t even push her away like he normally would have.
Sylas went straight to his room, massaging his temples. After changing into loungewear, Archer left the tower. To probably see Adrianna. Though I am not sure why, she wasalrightin bed when we shared her, but her personality is all about her dad being a councilor and parties. They have nothing in common.
So now I stand here, desperate to open her door and… just be around her. I don’t even know what she likes. Does she enjoy stealing? Maybe I can get her a new bandana? Though I suppose a bandana as a gift may encourage her thievery. Maybe she just needs an outlet? Maybe I can teach her poker or something. Swindle people out of their money in a sort of ethical way.
With one more look at her door, I accept defeat and head to my bedroom for another lonely, sleepless night.
