The Aldean Chronicles: Spotlight (Part 2)

"Most of what we're doing this break is online. Video calls, prepared speeches, things like this."

Keri's voice comes loud and clear from my laptop.

The other people on the call are Kat and Grey, and they look more disinterested than me.

"You scheduled an 8am meeting to say this?" Grey looks tired. "I've barely slept off the term."

Kat scowls. "We got home yesterday. Couldn't you have at least given us the weekend?"

Keri's smile is insincere. "The Queen felt the night was adequate time to refresh."

"Course she did," Kat whispers. "Just get on with this."

"As I was saying, your public appearances will be limited. Kat and Grey, you have a joint video call with a national hospital in Bliten." Keri reads off her phone. "It is at 1 pm. Please, dress accordingly."

"Are you joking?" Grey complains.

"No," Keri clears her throat. "Princess Cassandra, your appointment is at 10 am."

"10? That's in less than 2 hours." I complain.

"Yours is also a live call. You will be making a guest appearance at a veteran's gathering in the Capitol. There are a hundred people attending, mainly mid-range officers. You'll appear for about ten minutes, thank them for their service, say the family appreciates them, all that stuff." She's scrolling through her phone while she says this. "Dent will send over a short speech, you can draw inspiration from that."

"You might as well send one over for us." Kat sighs.

Keri briefly looks up. "What was that?" She groans softly. "You know what, I have another meeting. Please text me your questions. Let me know if you need anything." She leaves the call.

"Did she just?" Grey asks.

Kat leaves the call. Grey rolls his eyes and does the same.

I'm the only one left. I know I should leave, but I can't.

I should leave my desk, take a shower, do my hair and make up, get ready, and walk to the designated crook for my meeting.

I can't bring myself to do any of that.

Soon, it's 9 am and I'm still staring at my screen. It went dark long ago. I don't wake it up, I just stare at the blackness.

It's soon twenty past and I start worrying. Why can't I stand up and move on with my day? Why does it feel ike I'm frozen in time and place?

When it's half 9, Keri sends me a text saying I should take shots by the nook so she can determine which angle is best. I ignore her.

At twenty minutes to 10, she calls me on my laptop.

"I haven't gotten the pict..." She stops when she sees me. "You're not dressed." I don't respond. She struggles to keep her voice down when she asks, "why aren't you dressed yet?"

"I can't stand up." I say in a clear voice.

"Is your leg hurt?"

I shake my head. "I just can't stand up."

She looks concerned for a second. "Okay, Cassandra, this is what's gonna happen. Did you have a shower before bed?"

"What?"

"Did you?" She clasps her hands together.

"I did."

"Good. Now I need you to place your hands on the table, push your chair back, and stand up."

I do as she says, slowly.

"Good, now go the bathroom, brush your teeth and wash your face."

I do that as well.

"Now, put on some light and quick make up, and a white cardigan."

I put on mascara and lipgloss. Then I select a white cardigan with tan pants. I run a brush through my hair and it falls in slight waves down my shoulders.

"We have three minutes left, please walk quickly to the library on the secod floor.

I don't put on socks or shoes, I just walk barefoot to the library.

I set the laptop down and put on the desk lamp.

"Okay, I will end this call now. Can I trust you to accept the next one?" She talks to me carefully, like I'm a toddler.

I nod.

"Great, and if you're having trouble remembering what to say, look at the speech we sent you." She still looks concerned. I don't know if it's for me or the event.

I don't respond this time, I just end her call.

Ten seconds after I end it, I get the call for the event.

I grip the marble table and squeeze as hard as I can.

When I open my eyes, I smile warmly and accept the call.

"Good morning, your highness, we're happy you can join us." A man in uniform says. "You're being introduced now, you'll be live in fifteen seconds."

"Thank you so much..." I check his name tag. "Major Reuben."

My display soon changes and I can see a hundred veterans sitting in rows in the auditorium.

"Good morning, everyone." The warm smile is still plastered on my face. "I honestly, cannot even begin to thank you for your service to this country." I sit up straighter. "Especially during this uncertain times. You go out everyday, and you face Ryppers. I've only ever done that once and it drained me." I'm saying things that aren't in the brief. "You all are heroes, your very presence makes the world a better place. And I want you to know that you are appreciated and you are valued, by not just me or my family, but every member of this country."

There's a round of applause in the room. I give them a firm nod, one more smile and say, "please enjoy your event. Heaven knows you've earned it." Soft laughter. "Have a good day."

More applause as I exit the call.

As soon as I'm done, I get another video call from Keri.

I ignore it and my laptop, and go up to my room. I take off all my clothes and lock myself in the bathroom.

As soon as I get in the bath, there's a knock on my bathroom door.

"Cass, Keri and Dent want to know if you're still alive. What should I tell them." It's Grey.

"What?"

"Still breathing. Thank you." His retreating footsteps are followed by the sound of my bedroom door closing.

After my long bath, I get out, put on pyjamas and go down for brunch.

I spend the rest of the day listening to music and reading a book.

Seb is home early for dinner. And by early, I mean 7pm.

He texted me earlier asking if we could a have a family dinner.

I wait twenty minutes till he's back then go to the dining room. I'm the only one there.

Five minutes later, he comes in with wet hair and pyjamas.

"Cassandra!" He beams. "I haven't seen you in months. How are you?"

"I'm good, Seb." I don't stand up to hug him.

"That's good. That's good." He sits on my right. "It seems it will just be the two of us."

"I guess so." I remove the plate cover and dig in.

"So how's school? I'm really sorry I couldn't call more. I'm swamped with meetings all day."

"It's fine."

He stops himself from saying something. "Cassandra, do you want to talk about what happened earlier today?"

I'm confused for a second. "What?"

"The event. Keri mentioned you didn't get ready till twenty minutes to it's start time." He bites his lips. "She said you couldn't move?"

I look away.

"Is there something wrong with your leg? Or your knee maybe?"

"There's nothing physically wrong with me." I squeeze my knife and fork. "I just couldn't stand up. It happens."

He doesn't look convinced. "We should still talk about it."

"Really? We should talk about it? What will that help?"

He loses the warmth in his face. "Cassandra, you couldn't get up this morning. Don't you..." He's cut off by his ringtone.

"Just take it." I drop my knife and fork on my plate.

"No. We're having a conversation." He ends the call and puts the phone on the table. "Now, can you tell..."

His phone dings loudly with each text. After a full thirty seconds of non stop dinging, it starts ringing again.

He grabs the phone without looking at the screen. "What? What is it? What could you possible want?" He calms down but doesn't look less angry. "What do you want, Freya?" He grips the edge of the dining table and hums. "Right now?"

I take that as my cue to leave. "I should go to bed."

Seb starts saying something. Then he shakes his head and gets up as well.

"We'll talk later, okay?" He kisses my forehead and walks away from his untouched dinner, and me.

***

For the next two weeks, all my events are with either Lilian, Grey or Kat. And two hours before each of them, Keri calls and makes sure I'm getting ready.

The only thing that keeps me going is the thought that I can leave on the 19th. I can finally go home and see my parents.

The night of the 18th, Tristan comes over. He knocks on my door.

"Come in."

He closes the door behind him. "Hey, Cass."

I sit up in bed. "Tristan, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Before you left." He points at my bed. "Can I?"

I pat the space beside me. He walks towards the bed and takes it.

"I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?" He asks.

A single cough escapes my throat. "Fine. Good. What about you?"

"Good. Been studying for the exams."

"That's good."

The room is silent for a long time.

Suddenly, Tristan starts laughing.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I never thought we'd be one of those couples who stopped having things to say to each other."

I think about his words. "We talk."

"A few texts once a day isn't talking." He counters.

"We can talk more. It's just been wierd these last few months."

He releases a big sigh. "I noticed."

I place my head on his lap and let him detangle my hair with his fingers.

He takes a deep breath and says, "I think we should break up."

I become rigid. He notices this and stops playing with my hair.

"I don't want to break up with you." I tell him.

"I don't want to date you when you're like this."

"What did you just say?"

"I said, I don't want to date you when you're like this." He repeats.

"Wow." I remove my head from his lap. "You really are a piece of shit."

He moves away from me. "I can't keep doing this, Cassie."

"Just get out." I'm not sure why I said that, I don't want him to leave.

"When you hurt yourself, you hurt the people around you. And when you continuously refuse to do something about it, you're telling us that you don't care about us."

"Making my problems about you, so original."

"Look, I just wanted to say it now..."

"Right before I leave? So you won't have to look at me for a week." His silence tells me I'm correct. I feel cold. "Please, go."

He gives me one somber look, gets off my bed, and walks out the door.