*Kindle's PoV*

The two of us sat at the breakfast table in complete silence, Blondie frowning into her cereal. She was thinking, obviously, and I could pretty much guess what about. Tonight was the ball, when she'd be meeting prince Casimir. He was going to love her, that much was clear, and although it was stupid I found myself worrying that she would love him as well. Goodness knows I was never meant to be a prince, so how could I compete with the Casimir? He had a cereal named after him for crying out loud! And what did I have to offer, apart from an oh-so-tragic backstory? Absolutely nothing.

Still, Blondie was clearly upset, so I asked, "Is something wrong?" I'd been asking her that a lot lately, and I hoped it wasn't bothering her, but what did she expect from me after I found her crying like that the night of Faye's party? She'd told me it was nerves about the ball, but I doubted that. I let the subject go, not wanting to upset her any more, but it still bothered me. Especially since Carlyle refused to tell me anything about it.

"Nothing's wrong," Blondie said, looking up from her cereal. Her sleepy hazel eyes met my firestone ones and I relaxed a bit, though I hadn't even realized I'd been tense.

"I was just thinking," she explained, a soft smile spreading across her face. I found myself smiling back automatically.

"Fascinating! Do elaborate," I said jokingly, leaning forward in my chair with sarcastic enthusiasm.

She hesitated for a moment, seeming torn, before she said "I was just thinking that, when I first met you, I thought you were a shallow, arrogant jerk."

And I thought you were an annoying little girl with a really strong bite, but thankfully there's a lot more to you than that, I thought to myself, fighting back a laugh as I nodded. "Is there a but?" I asked, curious as to how she would finish that statement.

"I'm getting there," She laughed, seeming to have relaxed as well. "But now that I've really gotten to know you, I've realized that I must be more messed up than I thought..." She trailed off, snapping her lips closed instantly.

I raised my eyebrows at her, remaining silent in anticipation. Where are you going with this, Blondie? I knew where I wanted her to go with it, and I sincerely hoped it wasn't just wishful thinking. The month I'd spent with her seemed like forever and yet only moments at the same time, as cliché as that sounds. Sure, it was going to end tomorrow, and she knew that just as well as I did. Maybe, after realizing how little time we really had left with each other, she'd decided to tell me how she feels about me. And if Carlyle was telling the truth, she felt the same as I did. I hoped so.

"I'm more messed up than I thought..." Blondie repeated, pausing once again.

She needed to hurry up and spit it out quick, before I died of a heart attack or blurted my feelings first. Neither seemed like the greatest of options at the moment. C'mon, say it. Please just say it.

"Because you're one of the best friends I've ever had," she blurted, casting her eyes back down to her cereal. 

Friend. Who knew such a normally kind word could hurt that much? I found myself wishing for the heart attack, at that point it would have hurt less. I guess I was wrong about her then. I guess Carlyle and Faye and Serpina, who all told me that she felt the same towards me as I did toward her were wrong. I opened up to her, I allowed myself to be myself around her. I really thought we had something, but I guess it was just wishful thinking after all. Fine. If she wanted to be friends, we'd be friends. I nodded stiffly, running a hand through my hair and looking away from the girl I'd only moment earlier been ready to confess my love to. "Yeah," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I meant it. "You're a um, good friend too."

The silence returned, each second that ticked by with the beat of my heart was more painful than the last. Once when we were younger, Faye had called me a baby. I'd yelled at her and insisted that I wasn't, all while balling my eyes out. Now, realizing that Blondie only ever thought of me as a friend, I could see that Faye was right. However, I was older now. I'd learned to harden myself and hold back my tears. Anger was superior to sadness.

"So, tonight's the ball." She blurted suddenly, "Any last minute advice, oh great instructor?"

She was trying to make the situation less awkward, but it would take a lot more than general conversation to do that. I took a silent deep breath before responding. "You're only job is to get and hold the prince's attention. Say whatever you need to in order to make him like and trust you. Basically, you have to lead him on," I said with a shrug, just like you've been doing with me. "It should be easy enough for you."

As soon as I saw the hurt in Blondie's expression I regretted the words.

She opened her mouth to say something, "Kindle I-"

But luckily Faye busted into the kitchen and cut her off before she could shoot me down again. "Are you ready to be beautiful?" She asked Blondie, her smile bright, but then the discomfort in the room registered with her, and she frowned. "Did I interrupt something?" She whispered, shuffling back toward the door, "I can come back later...?"

"No, we're done here," I responded quickly. Done with all of this, apparently. "You can take her."

"Okay," Faye shifted uncomfortably, then turned her attention back to Blondie and her cheerful smile returned. "I can't wait for you to see your gown, the color is going to look great on you." She held her hand out to Blondie, who took it eagerly. The two 
girls went out into the hall, leaving me on my own.

With a sigh, I rose from the table and brought both Blondie's and my bowl to the sink. I wasn't sure what I would do to keep myself busy until four o'clock when I was supposed to escort Blondie to Casimir's ball. Carlyle was nowhere to be seen, so a conversation with him was out, and all of Faye's leftover cake was long gone, so eating my feelings was regrettably not an option. I decided I'd take a walk to the market. The bakery should have fresh goods today, and it was a win/win situation. A walk could help me clear my mind, and I could get a slice of cake.

I was pathetic.

I took my cloak from the back of my chair and threw it around my shoulders, then exited out into the hall. I had just started down the path when I caught sight of another hooded figure walking through the forest in the direction if the Door. Curious, I followed after them. Just as the man turned the handle, I called out to them. "Are you authorized to pass through that portal?"

The man chuckled, dropping his hood so that I could recognize him. "Currently I'm the only person authorized to travel between the realms, Kindle. You botched your privileges when you brought back the wrong girl." Marcellus said, a haughty smirk on his face. I'd never liked him, even when we were younger. He was far too arrogant.

"And what reason do you have for passing through the Door now?" I asked. "Are you still posing as a police officer, Marcus?"

He nodded, "I will continue to do so until the girl is no longer a problem. She is too determined to locate the captive, even when I told her the Door wasn't real she could still see it."

"A human who's immune to your abilities? That's a new one." I raised my eyebrows, honestly surprised. "Perhaps she's not fully human?"

Marcellus frowned and shook his head slightly, "I believe she is. Her parents fell for it as expected-- they allowed her to travel to California with only a day's notice."

I frowned at that. "California?" I said, "What's in California?"

Marcellus shrugged, his usual arrogant smirk back in place. "I had to get her away from the Door for a while, before she figured out a way to get through. Basically, I sent her on a wild goose chase."

"Well, I should be going," I backed away, feeling uncomfortable. The lengths Seraphim was going to in to keep Blondie's friend away were troubling. Once her parents snapped out of the persuasion spell they would be furious with her, and if Marcellus really wanted to he could make it so her parents choose to move away, or worse. I felt bad for this girl I'd never met. She was just trying to find her friend. Blondie told me they were like sisters, and I knew what it felt like to lose a sibling.

Marcellus nodded curtly, then opened the door and walked through. I turned around and made my way back to the village path, walking swiftly toward what I hoped would be cake and a way to boost my spirits.

By the time I made it back to the castle, I was no happier than I was when I left. The bakery had been out of cake. With an unhappy sight, I went inside and back to the spot I was supposed to meet Blondie at. I leaned up against the wall, hoping to at least dose off in the time I had until Blondie would be ready.

I had been standing there for maybe twenty minutes when the door opened and Lydia entered. She was dressed in surprisingly plain clothing, especially for her. She wasn't even wearing her tiara.

"Kindle, what are you doing here?" She chirped, obviously surprised to see me. This door was mostly unused. "Where's your little student?"

My mouth twitched with a small smile, though it wasn't because I was happy to see the queen-- who could be?-- it was simply due to the irony of her statement. Lydia of all people called Blondie little? "She's preparing for the ball, actually."

"Oh right that's tonight," She mused, pulling her tiara from the small pocket on her cloak and positioning it expertly atop her curls. 

"Were you in the village?" I asked. Why hadn't I seen her there? There aren't many people with silver hair, so regardless of her stature she would have been easy to pick out. 

"I had some business to take care of," She responded quickly, almost defensively.

I was silent for a moment as the situation sank in. Inconspicuous clothing, no crown, sneaking in the back door, "Meeting with a lover, hm?" I surmised. 

Lydia smiled coyly at me, "Jealous?" she cooed, "Don't worry darling, you should know you're the only one that means anything to me. After all, that's what loyalty is." She stood on her tiptoes and pecked my cheek affectionately before hanging her cloak on the hook and turning down the hall. I felt sorry for whatever poor fellow she'd roped in this time. He had no idea what he was getting involved with. I wiped my hand hard across my cheek, as if I could scrub her out of my life.

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, but only seconds later I heard Lydia's shrill voice again. "Were you just... talking to yourself?" She asked.

I moved away from the wall and toward whatever was happening down the hall, curious as to who the unfortunate victim was who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

"I was until you interrupted," Blondie replied, her tone full of sarcasm. I smiled, that's my girl, I thought. Then I remembered that we were only "good friends" and frowned again. Well, at least she wasn't taking any of Lydia's crap. 

There was silence after that and I peeked my head around the corner, hoping the two of them hadn't killed each other. Thankfully, they hadn't, but the look on Blondie's face as she stared Lydia down made it seem like she would any second. Blondie. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I took in her appearance. I thought she was beautiful before Faye and Serpina got their hands on her, but now... now such a simple word couldn't even begin to describe the creature that stood at the other end of the hall.

She was a goddess, most likely. Definitely not human. Faye had outdone herself with the gown; an airy cloud of dark blue and black that billowed around Blondie like the night sky. Her pale skin and beautifully curled hair contrasted against it in such a way that she nearly glowed.  

I turned away, walking back to the door and resuming my original waiting position. I took deep breaths and allowed my heart rate to return to normal. I wished that the bakery had been open-- eating my feelings seemed like the most needed thing at that moment. 

Blondie came around the corner with Carlyle at her side. Carlyle winked at me, smiling slyly. He must have seen me.

It took every ounce of willpower to keep my breathing and heart rate steady as I looked at Blondie again. With a calm expression, I straightened up and held my arm out to her. "Ready?" I asked. 

"Let's just get this over with," she replied with a nod. 

She was by far more beautiful than any stuck up little prince deserved, but he would without a doubt love her anyway.

Just as I did.