QUEEN OF THE DEAD

Chapter 4

i see through your appearance

I dreamed of love and first sight with my betrothed Prince, fate weaving our paths together and it turns out to be a perfect love story. We'd all live happily ever after. Instead, I woke up to a questionable love-hate relationship with Carvalle's most precious Heidi Levough.

"Heidi, let go of me! This is kidnapping! We're not supposed to skip class just because you hate the teacher!" I kept slapping his hand but it kept a firm grip on my arm. "And if you skip class, leave me out of it! Heidi!"

"I asked for permission," Heidi replied nonchalantly. "And Tori will get me out of trouble."

Unbelievable!

"You grabbed me out of there and said we both have simultaneous headaches because we're soulmates! That was unnecessary!"

"Seriously, I did that because that one guy was eyeing you, and it wasn't one guy, it was three!" He screamed the second part in another language yet again.

"Rant in English! I can't understand Korean!"

He gave me a look. "That was Japanese."

"You may speak 15 languages, but I speak only 2." He finally stopped, so I finally can catch my breath. "Barely. I got C- in Spanish. But the point!"

"Can we please get Belgian Ice cream?" This guy.

Heidi did not seem to mind the many fans of his making a ruckus. Those two girls were holding their phones up and it's annoying me. Other than his fans, he does not seem to care about my frustration.

We did get Belgian Ice cream, now sitting in a bench at the gorgeous plaza with fake grass. There he is waving appreciatively at the few girls that said hi to him excitedly, while I stared at nothingness thinking about the grade I lost for escaping PE.

Heidi's not going to get in trouble because he's, well, Heidi. But I'm Percy and I don't have a father who owns Carvalle to back my mischief up. Heidi somehow noticed my mood.

"You don't like that flavor? Try this one," Heidi offered his ice cream to me.

"No thanks."

"Come on, try it. It's strawberry!" He pushed it further.

"Heidi, no--" I can feel something cold and soft on the corner of my lips and I gave Heidi a death glare.

"Ooh," he looked away, looking apologetic with his exaggerated pouty lips. Not cute, only annoying. He went back to licking his ice cream innocently.

"I honestly don't know how people would like you for being the neighborhood i***t," I blurted out, to which he only laughed at as usual.

"I don't know either. And I don't care, too. What I do want to know is what it takes for you to fall for me."

I was taken back for wherever the heck he got that from. Where does he learn how to be cheesy and sneakily doing it? 

But I have to be honest. Heidi has given me two years of Carvalle. With full meals, my own dorm room, and allowance. I didn't spend anything; and despite my attempts to get a job, he says 'tutoring him' is my job and payment for Carvalle.

As if this perfect prince needs a tutor after his consistent top rank even before he met me.

"Heidi, let's go to class." I stood up to leave, but halted when he yelled something out.

"Percy. I don't even know what's perfect to you, but I try. I really want to be... perfect for you..." He's saying this now at the plaza?

Why do I feel so bad hearing this voice from him? It's not the normal Heidi voice and it actually hurt me. I'm a terrible person for rejecting him after all he's done. Still, I took a deep breath before speaking.

"Heidi, these people like you because you're perfect. The thing is, I'm just like the other girls that would also love a Prince Charming. That's you. But if I don't feel it, I don't." I gave him a shrug, before walking away not waiting for him. "Besides, I'm not a Princess."

I can't face Heidi right now. My heart's going crazy. From guilt, from anxiety... why am I so terrible. I call him spoiled but I'm the one that's actually being spoiled here. But I can't help it; I don't think it will work. There will be a lot of prejudice... a lot of judgement, not to mention Heidi is the heir of Levough Empires. Everyone is expecting so much from him; and I'm not worth their expectations.

While entering the hallways, I met up with Student Council President, Tori De Valle.

"Heidi?" He inquired.

"By the plaza, second bench," I replied, immediately passing by the well-known admired person that I don't want to talk with further because people are judgy like that.

"Percy," he called out, making me pause and curse slightly because I really don't want anything to do with Tori De Valle. Honestly, he scares me.

"Yes?" I turned around. He looks so gentle and tame, but Heidi hangs out with him and I've known him to be scary. He's the only one that can get Heidi under control... and one can only imagine what he actually is if Heidi is afraid of him.

"Heidi's been sniffy lately."

That made me scoff. Since when was he never? Yet Tori was completely serious.

"Do him a favor and... maybe make him a sandwich. Any gesture that'll stop him from sulking and putting red food coloring in the pool."

He did what? "Wait, when did he do that?!" But Tori was already out searching for the missing Heidi.

I didn't need confirmation, Heidi gets away with being mischievous. He once replaced the teacher's PowerPoint presentation with a bad porn intro all because that teacher woke him up when he slept in class.

Oh, I didn't mention that Heidi is a little devil. I debated on revealing that because I honestly don't want to ruin his perfect image. But he's somewhat evil and is one of the reasons I'm being harsh during the tutors because... I can't handle him, he's an evil Prince Charming. 

a few days pass

I am now in a situation that calls for me always biting my lips in both frustration and anxiety. I am now in the Student's Council office, in front of Tori De Valle himself.

He looks so handsome but he's still scary, I know it. The way he twirls his pen is villainous and the way he blankly stares at me is nerve wracking.

"Percy--"

"I had nothing to do with it, why are you calling me in--h-he's the one that did it. Call him in." I honestly panicked and even did exaggerated hand gestures because this is frustrating me. It's the sixth time I'm being called in for what Heidi did.

"Percy, calm down... yes, we know that it wasn't you poked a hole in the soccer balls. I'm talking to you because of a whole other thing."

I released a breath I was clearly reserving for scolding Heidi, but it hitched again seeing how serious Tori is.

"Do you know who the President of our Campus Fraternity is?" He asked, very seriously.

"Campus Fraternity... Kappa Aegis?" I pointed out. "No, I don't. Nobody knows who he is. Wait, don't tell me you're sending me to investigate who, as punishment for what Heidi has done..."

Kappa Aegis is the legendary campus fraternity that houses more than a hundred Carvalle students. It has the best reputation for helping the Student Council maintain order and doing community service, as well as hosting the best parties. They even hosted Senior Proms and produced Musicals. Given that it's directly funded by the Levough Empires who runs Carvalle, there's no question to what they can't do.

Yet, it's shrouded in mystery because no one knows who runs it.

They suspected it to be Heidi; because the Fraternity's Presidential position can only be taken by a Levough. It's like monarchy but for a Fraternity. It can only be passed through the Levough blood line. Although, there was one time in the past where a non-Levough ran the Fraternity. It was because there was no eligible male Levough yet.

So the leader has to be Heidi, right? Heidi never talks to me about the fraternity in the whole 2 years of my service to him. This is actually the first time I'm personally talking about Kappa Aegis.

"And I believe you think Heidi is the President?"

An i***t like him, no. "I've heard rumors, yes. And he's the only eligible male Levough... I can't imagine him, though."

"Well, do you think he'd be a good leader?"

Why are you asking me this?

"Uhh... yeah sure, he has really good grades," I answered. I wasn't sure what point I was making.

"Being leader is more than good grades. Do you personally think he'd be a good President of Kappa Aegis?"

I'm getting suspicious. "Did he get you to ask me this? Make me say good things about him, record it, then shove it to my face about how great I think he is?"

Tori raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like something he'd do, but I'm being very serious."

"I think he may be the leader," I finally answered. "But if he was, he'd tell me. He shares everything with me, and I don't think there'd be any damage if he was the mysterious leader of that well known Frat. Since he hasn't told me... and I actually trust him, surprisingly... I don't think he is the leader. He can be, and I'll always be here for that."

Tori inhaled sharply and I can lose my marbles about how intimidating his stare is, but suddenly he smiles warmly and I got whiplashed.

"Good. We won't have any trouble introducing the real President, then." I gave him a confused look as Tori leaned back into his chair.

Wait, real President?! Why?! Why now---?!

Before I could panic, the double doors burst open and it revealed to be a very beautiful woman, wearing a standard Carvalle uniform only with a fur coat hanging off her arms. She had big sunglasses on, silky short black hair and bold red lipstick.

"You are late," Tori blurted out, now back to his serious face. "And why are you wearing a Carvalle uniform, you outsider."

"I am wearing this to honor my Alma Mater, f**k off you dried piece of dung." She confidently insulted the great Tori De Valle.

She removed her sunglasses, "Was this a good entrance? Tch, Tori you didn't tell me there was an electrical socket right there, I would've gotten myself a fog machine."

"I won't let you turn my office into one of your swamps, woman." Is this playful banter or is there going to be a fight?

"Hmph, no need. With your presence here, this place already smells like a swamp---oh hi, there." This woman went from a salty plastic to the nicest woman in the block after noticing me.

I awkwardly waved. "Hi?" Wait, don't tell me this is...

"This is her? Pretty," she asks Tori, referring to me. "Heidi is such a little shít, he didn't bring you home once to meet the family. And all this time I've thought he's a pathetic virgin. It's been what, two years? Hmm, too late to run away now, is it? Poor you."

Why is there a deep pit in my stomach. I am both awestruck and shocked. The woman held her perfectly manicured nails at me.

"Hi. Vivian Levough, President of Kappa Aegis Fraternity. Heidi's only cousin. Nice to meet you, Pringles."

It's Percy, and I'm about to melt in the presence of this legendary lady.

"She's pretty average for someone like Heidi to be infatuated with," Vivian commented, intended for Tori. I didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult.

"He's not infatuated with me," I released a forced laugh.

Tori was unimpressed with my statement. "Is it a coincidence that every time you rejected him, the school suffers because of his pranks?"

"That's just him being bored," I reasoned out.

Both of them didn't answer, but both pursed their lips at me doubtedly.

"Look, I don't even know why Heidi acts like that. He says he likes me but... I don't even know why he likes me. Like Miss Vivian said, I'm pretty average."

Despite my rather down tone, Vivian retorted, "Yeah not to mention your small breast size, that's all too surprising given Heidi has standards."

Pervert Heidi. Also; even though it's natural for someone like Vivian Levough to look down on me, why does her behavior shock me so much? Is it the bluntness?

"Listen Pringle," Vivian leaned into her chair, giving me a very serious look.

"It's Percy."

"Sure, Jessy." She disregarded my name and continued, "So... Heidi is supposed to be married in the future when he inherits the Levough Empire. But every time we mention the marriage, he does something to tell us that he doesn't like it. Tori, please read the book of records."

Tori pulled up a random paper from his desk. He read;

04/21 Replaced the sugar container with salt therefore all pastries were inedible.

05/13 Put toothpaste in the shampoo bottles. The spicy kind.

05/27 Unscrewed the chandelier. "That almost killed Vivian."

07/21---

"That's enough." Vivian commanded to Tori. "At least she knows how terrible Heidi gets when he doesn't get his way."

My mouth has opened wider at every item mentioned. I know Heidi is just an innocent prankster but he just attempted to murder Vivian!

"I can't bring myself to believe that," I say.

"You don't need to bring anyone to believe that because it's Heidi. This all lines up with every marriage interview we set him up with. And last time I checked, he was gushing about marrying a different girl not of his social status."

Why do I want to slap Heidi across the face? "What do you want from me, then?"

"What can you do?" Vivian raised an eyebrow expectantly. "If Heidi wants to be with you... what are you gonna do?"

Why do I feel a deep pit in my stomach? Do I feel down because of this harsh slap of reality? I've known this all the time; yet why do I feel something?

"I-I can't. I can't marry him... can I?"

No one gave me an answer.

"Ahh," I glanced downward. "I get it. You want me to stay away from him... so he can go through with the engagement..."

"But you can't do that, right?" Vivian says. "Since he's pretty attached to you. Other than that, he's the one that got you here."

"Y-yeah... he gave me everything... I can't avoid him..." I feel so down hearing all this stuff. But why? Do I even have plans of returning Heidi's feelings? A world where we are fine together is as superficial as a fairy tale.

We're not meant to be. And it hurts. I'm not supposed to be hurt. I've known this ever since I first saw him in a Carvalle uniform.

Suddenly, Vivian stood up, and her tall stature intimidated me so much that I felt my knees vibrate. This woman radiated so much power; and this is just Heidi's cousin. What will be the rest of his family like. The Levough's power are not to be questioned.

"Keep everything we talked about in mind. I'm not telling you what to do; I'm just here to tell you what is happening."

"You, what?" I don't understand her intentions. Before she can clarify, she strutted out of the room leaving me and Tori alone.  I decided to speak up after 5 seconds of silence.

"I-is Heidi's family that scary?" I asked Tori.

He was busy arranging his stuff as he gave me a simple answer. "Just the women."

♬♬

"Hey new girl, I heard you have a crush on Heidi Levough." I hear someone say behind me. It was Fey Montgomery; her father is the head of National Security and her Mom is a famous celebrity.

She and her girls were talking to the recent transferee. I hear her parents are big in the sports industry. Fey and her friends never talked to me at all, mainly because I'm a nobody. Aside from snarky comments made because of my affiliation with Heidi; they never did anything else that hindered my experience her.

"Heidi...?" The transferee timidly says. Why am I eavesdropping, is this a habit? Terrible. But we have to wait for the teacher and my earphones are broken, so I have nothing else to do but let my ears work. Besides, it's not like I mind if she likes Heidi.

I looked back to see Fey flipping her thick, ironed straight black hair. "You know, the blonde hair with green eyes earlier? I heard you saying 'wow' earlier when he passed by."

Another one giggled, "Can't blame you, green eyes makes his skin glow."

"So do you like him?" Fey persistently asked. Poor girl, she seemed to be a very timid person.

"Uhh... if I do...?"

"So you do like him!" Fey exclaimed, before I hear a smack of a bubble gum. "I dated him in freshman year, so did Angela here and Kylie."

"Okay..." I can hear the 'please,  I don't care' tone in Rose's voice and by God, I feel bad for her. These girls wear Heidi as their badge of honor, as if him dating and breaking up with them makes them better than all these girls.

"So you're really pretty, and I think he'll definitely go after you..." What is Fey saying?

"He... will?" Now Rose is sounding curious and I'm sounding really annoyed. But I can't stop listening; this is Heidi they're talking about.

"There's something you need to know about him if you plan on getting with him. It's just a rumor, but technically everyone knows it."

Oh, no. It's that rumor.

"You should be careful of Heidi," Fey says, "He is the heir of the Levough Empires, and that company is very shady. Owning and funding Carvalle schools around the world is just a front; they say the Levoughs are actually rich because they control the black market. Shady underground stuff and all. And they have the power to kill you. I mean... there were a lot of missing students here in Carvalle before. A lot."

"You trying to scare me?" I can't help but snort at what Rose replied. She sounded so disinterested and somewhat so bored and it made me look back to see the look on Fey's face.

"Uhh... no, I'm trying to warn you. The Levough family is the richest in the world, but Carvalle being their business is just a third of their net worth; where does the rest come from? Heidi Levough is shady, and his family is too rich to be real. There has to be some Illuminati crap going on. It's just a warning, Sis."

What Rose said next honestly made me impressed. "I don't believe rumors. Especially the ones you tell the brand new people at the earliest time. I also don't like Heidi Levough. I said Wow because I thought boys' earrings were forbidden, now I know better since he is wearing one. He's not shady, as far as I've known, he's not bad. He gave someone a scholarship here, right?"

By breath hitched as I look away. Fey scoffed, "Oh yeah. Charity case over there. She cleans Heidi's toilet to get him to keep her here. Waste of scented air."

The other girl said, "We're just trying to warn you, Rose. So you can watch your back around Heidi and that Charity case. But it's easy to ignore her; she's just a little suck up pulled out from the orphanage."

Not taking it any longer, I stood up just as the teacher arrived. I excused myself to go to the bathroom to avoid snapping back at the girls who are clearly above me.

Untrue, untrue, untrue. None of those are true. Fey and the others are just trying to drive the new girl away from Heidi to get rid of the competition.

Rose is actually a very beautiful girl, I can see why they badmouthed Heidi to her. She is amazingly pretty, period. That's why Fey must have felt threatened.

I have so much to do. Heidi's lesson plans, Physics atom model, that thing about tangents... how many more coffee do I need to ingest?

After taking a deep breath and assuring myself that I will never, ever snap back at the royalties, I turned to exit the bathroom.

Upon getting it with the air of the hallways, the lockers around me spun into an unknown destination, and I was brought along with it. I couldn't feel my knees, and I couldn't feel my consciousness. Unbeknownst to myself, I had passed out in the hallways.