The Destined Queen

Chapter 28

Neil broke me. That soul is ruthless. He made me do everything I have never done in my whole life. I was crouched and walking to the fridge, when I heard him laughing. " I told you. You shouldn't have involved in this fighting. It's not a band to join in. You need train hard. " I turned to look at him and glared. " You can quit any second, You know. " Emerson chuckled. Oh, he is having the time of his life. I will get you, you... You.. " Are you thinking to curse me? " He smiled sweetly. I huffed and took out a water bottle. Gulping the water down, I saw in the corner of my eye that he was still trying to control his laugh. " Yes. Yes. I get it. I am not very athletic. But that doesn't mean, I am going to quit. " I snapped. " What? You are going to quit? You should do that. I endorse you. " Emerson said, smiling innocently. That worse of a friend. " You know, Rose is better than you. If she would have been here, she would have supported me. " I said, placing my hands over my hips. " Really? Then, call her. " He said, crossing his hands. " What? " I asked, baffled by his reply. "Call her and ask her. Simple. " He shrugged, like it's not a big deal. " I cannot tell her about the war, Emerson. Have you gone mad? " I shouted. " Stop shouting, Granny. You don't have to tell her about the war. You can just ask if you should be an athlete. Or runner. Or some kind of profession which involves Physical strength. " "Ahhhh. I can do that. " I said, taking out my cell but my shoulders were aching, too. So, I winced and looked at Emerson for help. He rolled his eyes and with magic, he pulled out my phone from my front pocket. I dialed her number but Aunt Annie picked it. " Hello, Winter. How are you? " She gushed. " I am doing good, Aunt Annie. How are you? " I asked. " I am doing fine. How is Ashten? " She asked. " He is doing great, too. " " Yeah. The news is saying the same thing. You called to talk to Rose, Right? Let me call her downstairs. She is cooped up in her room the whole day. " Aunt Annie said. " She is grounded. She is supposed to do that. " I said. " But we didn't deny her from going outside or sitting with us and talk. She just sits in her room. And she hasn't utter a word since yesterday. I think something is wrong with her. Could you please ask her? " " Yes. Absolutely. I will. I didn't know she is going through something. " I said. " Hmm. Let me go to her room. I don't think she hasn't woken up yet. " I heard chair scraping, and the sounds of her footstep. " I am sorry for calling this early. " I apologized. It is only seven in the morning. Though, I know they wake up before six. " It's okay, Honey. You know we have to wake up early. We have a bakery to manage. I will go after you finish talking with her. I told Dianna to take care of the bakery. " She said. The sound of her footsteps stopped. " How is Dianna? " Dianna is the manager and the one who helps with the bakery. And she is also Aunt Annie's school friend. " She is doing great. But she is suffering from tooth ache. She has been eating a lot of candies. " Ain't Annie said and knocked twice on the door. Then I heard her calling Rose's name. " Rose dear, Winter has called. " Silence. The sound of knocking again floated to my ears. And then the creaking of the door as it opened. " We're you sleeping? " I heard Aunt Annie ask Rose. I heard a "yes", too. Then I heard shuffling, she was probably taking the phone from her mother and adjusting her robe. " Hello. " She mumbled into the phone. " Good morning, Sleepyhead. " I sang. "Good morning. " " I heard you have been not getting out of your room? " " I am grounded. I am supposed to do that. " Rose said, yawning. Her voice seemed a little rasp and tired. " Hey, Did something happen? " I asked. " No. What will happen to me? I'm fine. " She said, more enthusiastically. " Uhuh. Rose, Did you forget I am your best friend? " I asked. She groaned. " Nothing happened. Stop. " She whimpered. " Okay. I am going to your house in the evening. Probably a little bit earlier. Around four, maybe. " I said. " I am fine, Winter. You don't have to worry your little head which is always full of worries just because of me. " She said. "Hey! My little head will always worry for you. Because I am your best friend. " I said. " Then stop being my best friend. " Rose snapped and hung the phone. I slowly turned to Emerson, my brows creased. " I heard. " He said. " Something is wrong. " I said. Emerson nodded. " Inform Ashten before going. " Emerson said. " I will. Don't worry about that. I am thinking about Rose. Will you go with me? " I asked. I don't know why. I just asked. " Why? She is your friend. And you two have went through so many stuffs. You will be fine. Why do you need me there? " He asked. Honestly, I don't know. " Maybe this time, it is something big. Something that I.. I couldn't do anything about. " I said. Emerson nodded. I feel something is really bad. She sounded very very upset. And Rose is never. Never upset. I am the one who upset all the time. She is the cheery one. The fact that Rose is upset, makes me feel a bad vibe. I may need help. Yeah. Yes. I do need help.

I went back to my apartment and saw Ashten munching on his cereals and watching TV. He looked at me and smiled, mouth full of cereal. When I didn't smile, His smile slowly faded. His brows scrunched and he asked, " What's wrong? " " Rose is upset. " He choled on his cereal and I ran to him, to give him water. He gulped it down and shouted, " What? " I nodded my head. Sighing, I sat on the chair beside him. " That doesn't sound like Rose. " He said. " Yes. That's what is making me more worry. " I bit my lip and thought of several possibilities. But Rose isn't like me. She doesn't think like me. She will not get upset about all the things that came to my mind. " We should go to her, then. Rose is upset. Lord, I never thought I would ever witness this day until it is end of the world. Did you ask her why? " " I did. She only said that she is fine. But I am sure nothing is fine. Something has happened. " I said. " Don't worry. I will go there and confront her about this. " He said. " I am going there after my work. And you have training. You can't go. " I said, and tried to take the glass of water that was far away from me but groaned from the ache that is cause by the training. Ashten jumped from his chair and took my hand to look for wounds. " What happened? Did you get hurt? " He asked. " No, Ash. I am not hurt. " I said. " Then why did you groan? I saw your face. You are in pain. Don't hide it. " He said, looking deep into my eyes. " It's because of the training. I am not used to do physical stuffs. " I mumbled, looking down. When I heard him sigh, I shouted. " You are making fun of me, too. Aren't you? " I asked. "Too? Who made fun of you? " He asked. " Emerson. He laughed at me. " I pouted. Something flashed in his eyes but it disappeared within seconds. " What was he doing there? " He asked. " He made me breakfast. And maybe he wanted to protect me. Maybe he doesn't trust Neil with me alone. " I said. Ashten shook his head. " I should have thought about that. " He said. And then looked at me. " I am sorry, I left you alone there. " He said. " It's okay. Emerson was there. " I smiled. But he nodded silently. " You should hurry up. The damned souls will start the training soon. " I said, looping my hands on his shoulder as he was still kneeled down in front of me. " But what will we do about Rose? " He asked. " I will go to her. In the evening. "" I will go with you, too. " He said. " Don't you have meeting or work? " I asked, narrowing my eyes. He sighed. " I will send Gustin with you, then. Because I do have work. " He said. " It's okay. Emerson is going. I thought if he would be there then we can deal with the matter faster. " I said. Ashten nodded, exhaling from his nose. " Okay, Then. But take my car. And Albert will take you there. I shouldn't send Gustin with you, anyways. He will get all riled up when he knows that Rose is upset about something. " " He cares about her that much? " I asked, my brows touched my hairline. Ashten nodded and chuckled. " He is crazy about her." " No way. " " Yes way. " Ashten nodded, smiling. " I am going to tell you a secret. Don't tell anyone. " He said. I nodded. " He was the one who used to find everything about the boys who asked Rose out back when we were in school. " My jaw dropped. I knew Gustin liked her. But I did not know that he liked her this much. " Wow. " I whispered. Ashten chuckled. "I did not know that he is capable to care about some girl that deeply. " I said. " But He does. And He always did. " " How can Rose be so blind? " I asked, my brows furrowed. " Girls are blind. " He said, shrugging a shoulder. I narrowed my eyes and placed my hands on hips. " What did you say, Ashten Simpton? " I asked. "That I want to kiss you. " He said and smashed his lips on mine.

" I have to go. Or else you will be late and I will get scold by the damned souls. " Ashten said in a husky voice, after breaking the kiss. I hummed and nodded. He touched my forehead with his. " I love you. " He breathed. My eyes snapped to his, which looked deep into me. " I love you, Winter. " He said. " I.. I love you, too, Ash. " I said. He grinned and kissed me in excitement. " I.. I didn't think you would say it back. " He gushed. " Why? " I asked. " Nothing. It doesn't matter now. I am so happy, Winter. " He said and pecked my lips so many times that I lost count. I chuckled and let him.

Ashten went to train with the souls and I went to my work.

Everyone smiled at me as I walked to my office. My Juniors still didn't arrive. My assistant smiled at me and fetched me all the details. Everything was so normal. So normal that I felt out of place. I didn't feel like making any new candles or perfumes. I didn't feel like to do work, too. But I have to. This was my dream all along. Was. Past tense. I said it in the past tense. Looking out the window of my office, I saw people walking, cars honking, birds flapping their wings up in the sky. No one has a clue about what is to happen to them. I sighed. I couldn't pin point the moment I changed. My dreams changed. Now, I only dream about the world free of evil souls and peace. No war. No evil soul planning to destroy humanity. I mean, What do they get? What will the Kingmas get from destroying humanity? He is dead, for Goodness sake. Has been for centuries, maybe. Like Emerson. I can't wait to burn all the evil souls, and put an end to all of the nonsense that The Kingmas is about to do. I should put more effort into my training. Rather than just sitting on a chair or instructing others. Because if the evil souls win, there will be no humans to sell perfumes or candles to. So, this is just wasting my time. I started writing a letter. To Ashten.