AMETHYST: The rise of Tetra

Chapter 29

    Stories that involved Princes and Princesses tended mostly to include a couple common features that summed up the entire story of the characters. This particular story of the God and Goddess of fire and water had followed all the norms of being a fairytale like story, the evil, opposing family, jealousy, secrecy, hate, love, passion. It did, however, differ by the fact that the initial story ended with a blast that created a whole other story of it’s own. Somehow this new story had links and connections to the original that was uncanny, for instance the vividness with which the mating rituals of both the original and reincarnated couple experienced, or the intense fights that followed the next morning that had almost led to the end of the couples in parallel. 

    Daylight could not have come sooner on the planet of Boraq, and as quickly as Leopold had led Cassandra to his bed, it took him half the amount of time to get her out. His acts, however innocent, had certainly not sat well with the woman he was indeed deeply in love with. 

    ‘Cassandra, you know that I want you here more than anything in the world, though right now our circumstances are as such that I cannot possibly keep you here. The royal guards will be here anytime to escort me to my training, and my boys are expecting me to show up to the pub tonight. If I don’t, they will know something is wrong. They already suspect something because I dumped… whatever her name was, and now the last thing I need to add to my list of worries is someone finding out I’m having a secret affair with the daughter of my enemy!’ He exclaimed, purely out of panic. The dear Princess of water, who had had perhaps the best night of her life had been woke up with kisses, and soon after been indirectly asked to leave, until the subtle hints turned into Leopold’s blatant words of fear, knowing that if anyone found out he was indeed sleeping with the water Princess both of their lives would be in danger. To Cassandra, however, the image had contained a tint of a blur that was not yet evident to her, and that was her darling lover’s fear which he wished not to demonstrate out in the open. 

    ‘How dare you! I gave myself to you last night, I gave you every bit of me, and when all of that is over now you want to kick me out? You want me to be gone because you don’t want me anymore? You’re ashamed of me? This was all just a big trick wasn’t it? You just wanted to sleep with me!’ She accused, quite wrongly. Her words had struck Leopold as a shock, who had thought his love for her had been proved the night before, though the miscommunicating couple had no way of digesting the fact that they were simply the children of opposing families, and maintaining that relationship would certainly be no fairy tale.

    ‘Is that really what you think after the night we’ve had? You really think after everything that happened last night that I’m kicking you out because that’s all I wanted from you? I have a line of girls throwing themselves at me in my kingdom, if all I wanted was a good f**k, why would I bother risking it all to sleep with the daughter of my enemy?’ He spat back, doing little to help their situation. Somehow their tiny little argument, which in reality was just a matter of their secret being a secret, had somehow gone down a spiral of a miscommunicating mess that neither were smart enough to solve. The truth was that no one was hurting the other, the only thing getting in the way were the harsh and bitter words that were being used in a futile attempt to figure out what was actually going through their heads. 

    ‘Is that so eh? You have every woman out here just dying to be with you eh? So why don’t you just go and accept them! What was the point of sleeping with the daughter of your enemy for that reason? You know, I thought that you were different, but I guess I was wrong, you’re just like your evil parents, vile, low and vindictive’ snapped the woman, dashing her clothes back on as she felt a sudden urgency to leave the vicinity. Her words had added fuel to the God of fire that was by now fuming at the level of disrespect they had arrived. 

    ‘Is that how low you’re willing to stoop water Princess? Go ahead, insult my parents some more now, I dare you’ he threatened, moving forward till he was mere inches away from her. The fire within him had decided to surface as he clenched his fists in anger, and soon she moved forward, matching his level, holding in her own powers within. 

    ‘Your parents have done nothing good for this planet, you’re all elitist, and pretend like your lives matter more than the lives of your people’ she began, with the only intention of pushing him well over the line, which she had seemingly done with success as she watched the fire within come through, and surround him whole. A smirk danced across her face as she watched, and before any harm could come to her, water surrounded her completely, and the opposing pair stood head to head, pretending to want to harm each other, when in reality they dared not to move from where they stood. ‘Water can battle fire, fire cannot battle water. Your loss’ she whispered well close to his lips. The sound of the knock on his door had been enough to break the couple apart, and distract them momentarily from their heated moment of loathe. 

    ‘My Prince, your father awaits you on the training grounds’ came a voice from outside, and a riled up Cassandra found herself darting out of the room the way she had come in, finally feeling the pain of leaving the man she loved behind, not knowing if that was certainly the end of their story. She pondered on her way back if her first time was worth it with a man who was clearly an enemy; had she really made a mistake thinking that he was better than his parents? Or was she misreading things? The latter had barely grazed her mind through the pain that latched onto her as she made it back to her chambers in her castle, and waited patiently for her maids to scurry in and distract her from the events that had transpired. 

    In his own head Leopold considered the occurred events, and couldn’t help but focus on the harsh words of his woman, wondering how a night of passionate mating had suddenly been converted into the worst day of his life. Should he have approached the situation the way he did? Or should he have tried another approach? Once again the latter had been blurred between the lines of detestation and hurt that he concealed as he marched towards the training grounds, ready to release the pain and anger in the form of fighting and defeating his opponents with ease. 

    How were the pair meant to solve a problem when they could barely see each other without getting caught? How would their next conversation go down? All the unanswered questions remained a mystery as they went about their day with the angriest of expressions, plotting and planning their plans of revenge. 

    The water Princess had never been one for revenge or vengeful acts, though as the scene played out in her head as a vivid memory triggering pain and anger, a plan had somehow already formulated in her head, knowing that in that moment nothing else mattered to her besides feeling better to rid herself of the awful agony of heartbreak. It was an act that no doubt would ensure that she regretted her actions, though she found herself admiring the evil within her for once in her life, and so she put on a new frock, and descended for breakfast, facing her parents with an attitude that surprised them the most. 

    ‘Mother, I have been thinking, I need to find myself a man worthy of marriage, and so I will be going out today to look for suitors’ The mere words had shocked the King and Queen to the core, and for the first few minutes they were left absolutely speechless. 

    ‘Darling, that’s great. What changed your mind?’ Questioned Emilda, unsure of how her daughter arrived at that conclusion in the first place. The last conversation she had had with her daughter had been completely different, and an absolute wreck no doubt, and the bipolar shift of events could not have seen stranger to her. Suspicions had arisen whether her daughter was interested in a man, though the Queen put her speculations to the side, knowing that surely Cassandra would tell her mother if she was ever interested in someone. 

    ‘I have decided to take your words under consideration, although I would much rather do the task by myself. I am, after all, the one that needs to marry this person, therefore I should be the one to control the moves and the flow of things’ she mentioned with nonchalance, keeping her calm and suppressing the excitement that flourished within. The Queen had a glint in her eyes that had been the sign of approval Cassandra had been looking for, and with a smile the Queen nodded. The King, however, had been unsure, wanting to keep his daughter to himself rather than handing her over to any male at all. Nevertheless, he remained silent, knowing his words could get him in trouble with his wife and beloved. 

    The water Princess accepted her newfound freedom and used the opportunity to run to the hills to meet her best friend who had also been in love with her. Blinded by hate, she readied herself to use the one person that was a true close friend of the woman. 

    Jerome had wasted no time in meeting her at her desired location after receiving her note that a maid had delivered, and watching her emerge in her beautiful frock had only whipped him more than he already was. 

    ‘Cassandra, you look...lovely’ he began, clearing his throat to cut down on the awkwardness. ‘I got your note, what’s going on? Where are we going?’ He asked, fixing his best clothes. With an unfamiliar smirk she proceeded with her plans. 

    ‘We my friend, are going to the land of fire’ she revealed, grabbing onto his hand and pulling him in the direction of the enemy. 

    ‘What? Why? Cassandra, that’s dangerous, if someone found out who we were, they’d have our heads!’ The Princess ignored his statement, and kept going, knowing he would follow either way. 

    ‘No one is going to find out, Jerome. We look just like them, we just need to blend in and act normal’ she responded casually, making no sense to her friend who had never seen this side of the Princess before. Although he complied with her wishes, he had been reluctant, knowing the risks of doing such an act. If his own mother found out, that would be bad enough, though if they got caught he knew he would never be seeing his mother again. Nonetheless the man followed the Princess, and they sneaked into the land of the enemy successfully. Jerome had no idea what the woman had in mind, though she seemed to know her way around their lands, and that in itself had confused the man even more. 

    ‘Where are we going? What exactly was your plan after we got here?’ He questioned, getting more worried by the minute. Despite noticing the discomfort her friend was going through, the woman kept digging a hole, dragging herself and her best friend further into it and lowering her standards by the second.

    ‘We, my friend, are going to a pub, and we’re going to enjoy being someone we’re not. Loosen up Jerome, have some fun’ she encouraged, though in his mind things were certainly not adding up. 

    ‘Since when you do like to rebel to this extent? The Princess I know would normally never do such a thing! You barely agree to climb hills with Aida and I, and today you want to go to enemy territory and go to a pub when we’re clearly not allowed to’ he mentioned, unsure of how he felt about the entire situation overall. It had surprised him the most that Cassandra would be forcing him into doing something he was visibly uncomfortable doing, and in that moment his best friend was simply unrecognisable.

    A slightly guilty Cassandra pushed her feelings away, wanting in that moment to solely focus on her revenge, knowing that her beloved would be at the pub as he had mentioned.

    ‘I just wanted to try something different’ she responded, sneaking her way out of the conversation as the pub came into view. 

    The woman rushed forward, opening the doors and walking in boldly, forgetting that she was the Princess of fire, and suddenly realising that she would have to act her best to hide that fact and blend in. Though upon the sight ahead of her she had the utmost confidence to do so, and smirking at a shocked Leopold, she walked forward, taking a seat on an empty table with Jerome by her side. 

    As expected the pub had consisted of several pairs drunkenly making out in public and other men laughing around, slapping the bottoms of the waitresses that walked by, completely used to the rowdiness of the atmosphere they worked in. 

    Leopold had certainly not expected the woman he loved to show up in front of him so soon, that too in a public space with another man, and soon he caught onto her intentions, as she leaned into the same man he had seen in the forest when they had first come across each other. 

    The woman who had never before touched alcohol in her life suddenly found herself consuming it without the faintest clue of what she was really doing. From a distance Leopold watched curiously, not understanding how she aimed to get back at him. Soon the effects of the beverages had begun taking effect, and she bravely crawled up into the lap of a stunned away Jerome, who despite enjoying their closeness had no idea how to react. The poor clueless man put his arms around his friend who was drunk out of her mind, and as she looked around and smirked at Leopold, a plan hatched in his own mind. 

    Grabbing on to the closest waitress, he brought her down to his own lap, placing forward his own smirk of revenge. Somehow the pair had masked it successfully that they still loved and cared for each other, though Cassandra was desperate to be with him, more than anything, and so she took things to the next level when she brought her mouth down to meet Jerome’s and Leopold found himself unable to remain seated and patient on his end. 

    Elevating from his seat, the man rushed forward to the scene where his woman had decided to rebel against him, and he pulled her right out of his arms, landing a punch right at Jerome’s jaw. 

    The man fell back, holding his face as blood dripped down, and before he could continue Cassandra placed a hand on his chest, stopping him from doing so. The scene had now turned into a public spectacle, and Leopold only wondered how he would get him and the Princess out of this situation without spilling the truth. 

    ‘Stop, what do you think you’re doing?’ She snapped, upset, though extremely content on the inside. 

    As Jerome picked himself up, the truth had suddenly become evident to the man, who looked upon his friend with disappointment, letting her know that he knew the whole truth. He wasted no time in making his way out of the pub, and putting a halt to her evil, she followed him out, the guilt finally catching up to her. 

    ‘Jerome, wait!’ though he had no intention of stopping. 

    ‘You know, I thought we were friends’ he spat, turning around to meet her with a glare. 

    ‘We are-’

    ‘No we are not, friends do not use each other like that. You knew I liked you and you used me to get back at your boyfriend. I can’t believe it. Mother was right, it’s not worth messing with Royals, you’re all f****d up. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your little secret, but don’t you dare ever come near me or Aida again’ he warned, storming off the scene as Cassandra was left petrified at her actions. Her eyes watered up as she turned around to face Leopold. With all the hate that remained in her, she advanced forward, slapping his chest angrily. ‘This is all your fault! Why? Why did you hit him?’ She yelled, tears now streaming down her face. 

    Despite how messy the scene was, Leopold grabbed her hands and pulled her forward, his face mere inches away from hers.

    ‘Because I love you, and you are mine. No other man can have you’ he whispered, and it was all the Princess had wanted to hear, before all amendments had been made, and just like their first night they ended up right where they started, in Leopold’s chambers, mating like there was no tomorrow. 

    Somehow once that ended, Cassandra did her best to avoid thinking the worst, and readied herself for whatever was to come from her beloved. Though this time the Prince of fire had decided to take the other approach and kissed his woman awake, taking her aback and bringing forward the automatic smile that would play on his face in her presence. 

    ‘I love you, Cassandra, and I apologise about the way we started off yesterday. I didn’t kick you out because I wanted to, only because I was worried that my royal guards would find out who you are and then reveal the truth to my parents. No matter how much I love you I can’t change the fact that our parents hate each other, and no matter what we do that is never going to change. I wish I could take you out publicly, introduce you to my parents and marry you, though given the circumstances I’ll settle with whatever I can get as long as I’m with you’ his words had been the most comforting thing to Cassandra, and suddenly she felt terrible about all the nasty things she had said to him the previous morning. 

    ‘I’m sorry Leopold, for all the terrible things I said to you about you and your family. I didn’t mean any of them, I just felt heartbroken. I misunderstood you and for that I apologise, I should have trusted you and I should know better than to expect a proper relationship when we can barely be seen together in public. I put you and myself in danger last night and I hurt a friend, I can’t believe how low I’ve stooped’ she commented, feeling worse by the second. Perhaps her greatest guilt had been misleading and mistreating her best friend, and she knew that when she returned she would need to make amends, for she would not be able to live with herself if she didn’t. Noticing her discomfort, Leopold wrapped his arms around her, keeping her securely to him. 

    ‘Don’t worry about it. As for your friend, he will come along. He does truly care about you, and he won’t stay upset with you for too long. Just give it some time. For now, let’s just enjoy the time we have together’ he responded, listening to her take a deep breath and settle comfortably in his arms until the time arrived for the pair to bid each other farewell and return to their facade of a life.

    It had been the beginning of a very long facade, one that would not end well in the slightest, though one the couple found worth living just to be with each other. 

    As Cassandra trekked back to her lands, she had thought of several things, the main thing being how she was supposed to maintain a secret affair from getting out in the open, especially when she kept sneaking in and out of castles and disappearing for hours upon edge. She would need to arrange for him to pay her the equal amount of visits she did him, and they both would have to get their excuses ready, for there would be a lot more hidden moments to come. 

    In the meantime the Princess focused on her lost friend, and as his house came to sight, knew that the following conversation would be hard, but necessary. Jerome had been a good friend, and Cassandra would certainly not lose him over her own stupid mistakes.