The Aldean Chronicles: Hidden

After dinner, the adults go to Seb's office to further discuss his project, the rest of us are left at the dinner table.

"If they come back, tell them I had a headache and went to bed," Grey gets up. "I'm not staying here." He exits the room.

"Know what, me neither," I say. "I'm leaving too."

"Don't you know it's bad for a host to abandon their guest." Tristan says playfully.

"I don't actually, you see I'm a child and it's probably past my bedtime anyway." Maybe this is why I've never had a boyfriend.

He rolls his eyes. "You can't say things like this and expect me to not think you're childish."

"Goodnight, see you in school Tristan." I head for the door.

"You look really pretty in your dress." That makes me stop walking. I turn back and he has a smirk on his face. "Does saying that make you forgive me?"

I feel my cheeks heating up, I hope it's not obvious. "If you're so bored, you can explore the house or whatever. There are tons of stuff to do."

He nods. "You're aware I grew up a few houses from here. I know this place more than you do. It won't be hard finding ways to entertain myself."

"Then have fun." I'm ready to leave again.

"I was serious earlier. I did want to just talk to you."

I don't smile. "Can you please be serious?"

"I am being serious, I wanted to talk to you. You can tell me about your week and I'll tell you about mine." He offers. "If you aren't still going up to your room, maybe we can a nice conversation."

I look between him and the door. I should leave, but I sometimes do this thing where I make bad decisions. This feels like one of those times. "It will be rude to leave you by yourself, so why not." My heels click as I retake my seat. "So tell me, how was your week?"

"Boring actually, I hid at home playing video games with Jamie. Your turn."

I huff. "I hung out with my parents, worse than yours." Of course yours was worse than his, do you want anyone to know about that terrible night?

"So nothing interesting happened." He presses. "Nothing at all."

I bite. "I went to this party, wish I didn't. It didn't have a happy ending."

His smile drops and he looks genuinely concerned. "What happened?"

"Nothing, just that teenage girls are mean and terrible."

"Yeah they're the worst, aren't they? They're manipulative and snarky."

"And gossips and liars."

"And childish and immature."

"Really," I ask and he laughs. "That was cruel, Tristan."

"I'm sorry, I don't even know why you're so angry with me, it's a joke."

"But it's not." I almost scream. "Is that all you see me as, a child?"

"I still don't know why..." He stops abruptly, a smile forms on his face. "I think I know what's going on here."

"What?"

"You have a little crush on me, don't you?" He asks.

I scoff. "Nobody fancies you here." My heart threatens to burst out of my chest. "It's a little bold to just assume that."

"Oh really, so you don't care that I only see you as a kid." I don't react to that. "You know what I just remembered, this girl in my class, Raina, she told me to call her over the break. Maybe I will."

"Maybe you should, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you." I insist even though the image of him with someone else makes me want to melt his phone.

"I'll call her and see if she's available now. She lives in this neighborhood I think, so I'll be over as soon as possible." He types something on his screen. "And it's dialing."

"I hope she picks up." I'm not giving in.

"Just answered." He mouths to me before saying out loud. "Hey, where are you...are you busy right now... okay. Can I come over...okay, great, see you soon, bye." He cuts the call. "Glad she picked up, she's really nice."

"You actually called her?" I say slowly. "And you're actually going to meet her right now?"

"Yeah, said I would. Why do you care, you don't like me. And also, can you cover for me when my parents ask where I am?"

"No. It's bad enough you're going to meet her, now you want me to cover for you." I say. "Screw you."

"Bad enough you're going to meet her." He repeats my words. "And tell me, why is it bad I'm going to meet a girl who's very interested in me?"

I sigh. "Can you please not make me say it?"

He tsks. "I kind of want to hear you say it." He presses.

"Fine. It's stupid and will probably go away soon but... I have a crush on you." I admit begrudgingly.

"And that is what I wanted to hear." He sighs. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I think it shows how twisted you are."

"I know." He stands up, crosses over to my side and takes the seat beside me. "Now, on to the actual disturbing part, let's talk about it."

I groan. "We don't have to, it's a crush. It will go away."

"Still want to talk about it."

"Why, you've been very clear. You hate that I have a crush on you and you're disturbed. Can we let it go already, is it the worst thing in the world if I like you?" I rant.

"Cassie, I'm too old for you." He says.

"What?" Is that why he's been acting like this. "You're not that much older than me."

"I'm turning 18 in a few months Cass, and the age difference isn't necessarily the problem. It's the fact that you're still pretty young, I can't date you." He explains.

"It's not that complicated, just say you don't want to and get it over with." I cover my face with my hands. "I'm so embarrassed right now."

He reaches out and pries my fingers from my face. He gently squeezes my hands and I feel myself explode. "Cassie, I'm serious. You're amazing and powerful and really smart. But you're young and I don't want to take advantage of you. And please don't be embarrassed, I think it's cute."

He thinks my feelings for him are cute? Before I can say anything, his mom enters the room and he lets go of my hand. "Tristan, why did you call me?" She asks. "I had to leave that meeting."

"Sorry mum, must have made a mistake. Please don't let me keep you any longer, go back to your meeting." He says to her. She gives him a very bad eye and walks away.

"I'm going to my room, for real this time. Don't try to stop me." I stand up.

"I won't, goodnight Cassie. See you at school." I groan inwardly. I'm going to have to see this guy almost every day in school.

I go up to my room and take a very big breath. This night was a disaster, I expected it to be, just not in this way. I did not see any of this coming. My plan is to pretend like the conversation ever happened and everything is the same as it was before.

I start the next morning on a high note, I vow to not let anything bring me down. But I'm not that lucky. At breakfast, Seb announces that aunt Freya and Kat are coming over for dinner tonight. She wants us all to be together before the three of us go back to school.

Naturally, everybody is skeptical. Aunt Freya isn't very big on family. It's the first time I've seen her since she visited me two years ago. I know she's been keeping tabs on me, she seems like that kind of person.

Around noon, Grey starts our drive around the city. He shows me some of the landmarks. "There's the Aldean public library, the biggest in Illyria." I nod, I can see it being the biggest in Illyria. It's the size of three stadiums. This country really goes all out with its infrastructure. "And that is our opera house." He says ten minutes later.

"And that is Sandringham Palace." He parks a considerable distance from the building.

Up close and in person, it's so much prettier. The building is made up of three sections and is in the shape of a semicircle but straighter. It's four stories high and the big iron gate that encloses it sparkles under the sun.

"To think that somewhere in there, Aunt Freya is making someone's life miserable." Grey jokes. "The first and second floor are open to the public but the rest are private."

"Sounds fun, maybe one day I'll go in. You know, if aunt Freya doesn't melt me on the spot."

His joke was better.

***

That evening at 5 pm, Kat and her mom arrive at the house. Along with an entourage of two SUV'S.

"Freya, how kind of you to come. Out of the blue, with not up to a day's notice." Sebastian leads us all to the smallest living room in the house.

"You had the Oisin's over, I thought surely you could make time for family." She says. "Cassandra, you've gotten taller. It's been far too long since we last saw each other."

I wonder whose fault that is. "It has been Aunt Freya, how are you? You always look so stunning in the media."

She smiles. "Give the people what they want." She takes a seat on a green sofa and adjusts her hair. Even among her family, she's tense. "Wine." She says happily when she sees the bottle on the coffee table in front of her. She pours herself a glass. "So tell me, how is school?" She directs this at me.

"It's good," I say. "I got all A's."

"How nice." She says dismissingly. "Sebastian said you were struggling with your magic, how did you do in the test?"

"I got a 95," I say proudly. A look I can't decipher flashes on her face before she smiles.

"That's good, nice to know that you're getting better. Well done." She raises the glass to her lips and empties it in one gulp. I look around the room, I'm the only one bothered by that.

"Lena said you went by her shop yesterday," Kat says. "She also said she's going to be styling you."

"Thank goodness," Lilian interjects. "I thought I was going to have to intervene. I can only keep quiet for so long."

Aunt Freya pours herself another glass. "You three are going back to school tomorrow, that's good. And Greyson, congratulations on getting into Blue Rose."

"Thank you, Aunt Freya." Grey is standing behind one of the chairs.

"I heard you've been attending meetings Cassandra, thinking of joining next semester." She sips her wine. Why does everybody keep asking me that?

"Maybe, I don't think so. I'm not sure if it's worth it, the evaluation sounds hard."I reply.

She huffs slightly. "Giving up because things are hard, how Earth of you."

Okay. "Why don't we just have dinner," Seb interjects. "In the dining room."

My aunt takes off her shoes. "What's the point, let's just eat here. I'm too tired to move." She takes another sip of wine.

"Let me tell the servers to bring the food." Lilian says. And like that, she's gone. I wish I went with her.

"So Cassandra." My aunt calls. I guess we're focusing on me tonight. "Really, how is school? Did you tell any of your friends Sebastian is your father?"

"No, I haven't told anyone." Except Mika. "I wouldn't do that."

She nods and relaxes her head on the chair. "It's for the best. If people found out, your life will change overnight. And you seem like an underachiever, perhaps royal life isn't for you."

"Seriously, Frey," Seb shakes his head. "That's not fair."

She shrugs. "Well, what do you want me to say, I'm just pointing out facts."

Kat sighs. "Lena mentioned you bought some clothes. Mind if I see them." She gestures for me to go with her. I feel very grateful for an excuse to leave.

Grey comes out from behind his chair and says. "I'm going too." Seb and Aunt Freya give him looks. "I'm going because." He racks his brain for an answer and replies slowly. "I don't want to be here." Subtle. He follows us to my room.

"Thank you for that," I tell Kat. "I feel like your mom was just getting started."

"She was," Kat says. "I cannot wait to go back to school. If I have to smile cheerily and shake one more person's hand, I'll snap." She looks frustrated. "What about you, how was your week back home?"

"It was good. The last night, not so much." I decide to tell them what happened. "I went to a party."

"Good for you." Grey nods in approval.

"I almost lost control and burned down the house," I reveal. "I got really angry and left before I did something I'd regret."

"The important thing is you didn't do anything stupid," Kat says.

I bite my lip. "Well not exactly. I called the police on them and got everyone there in trouble with their parents and maybe the law." Now that I think back on it, I might have been a bit harsh.

"Petty." Is all Kat says. We enter my bedroom and she looks around. "It's plain but has potential. Are you decorating anytime soon?"

"I don't know. Maybe when I have more time." She opens one of the doors, it's the closet.

"Not too big but you don't have many clothes anyway." She comments. I ignore that.

"The clothes are in the bags beside my bed, I haven't packed yet."

She takes a seat on the bed and looks through the bags. "I like this." She holds up a black and white shirt. "And this looks like one of her designs." She lays the dress on the bed. It's black and knee-length with short sleeves and buttons lining the bust. "This will go well with a brooch."

"Unfortunately, I don't own a brooch. Seems like a rich person accessory."

"Well, you should ask Lena to pick out some jewelry pieces for you," Kat advises. "Most of mine are from the vault but now and then, I get a new set. And also, might I say, gorgeous necklace, looks a lot like grandmother's."

"Sebastian gave it to me. On the first day of school."

"How sweet of him." She absently folds the dress and puts it back in the bag. "The Oisin's came over yesterday, did Tristan come?"

I try to act nonchalant. "Yeah, he did. Came with his parents, I didn't know when they left though. Barely even noticed him."

Grey laughs. "Not the way I saw it."

"What are you talking about?" Kat asks, facing him.

He leaves his place at the door frame. "She was practically running after him last night. It was painful to watch."

Kat smiles. "Really, and I'm just now hearing of this?"

"There's nothing to hear about, Kat." Grey looks at me. "He called her a child and said he wasn't interested." It's my fault for confiding in him last night

Kat snickers. "He did what?"

I feel my cheeks heat up. "I hate the two of you so much. Can you just please never bring that up again?"

"I cannot believe he did that," Kat says. "That must have been embarrassing, Cassie."

"It was. Next topic." I urge.

"Fine." She surrenders. "Let's talk about something else."

"Thank you."

"How about that charity event we had on Wednesday." Grey suggests "The kids were so happy when they saw us."

Kat grins. "Yes, they were. And remember those two fighting over who will be in front for the picture, so immature."

"Yes, they were acting so childish."

Kat shakes her head. "It really was a little matter."

"All it took was a small amount of time to solve the issue," Grey adds. I huff.

"How weak." I leave them in the room. I'll take my chances with Aunt Freya.