Odessa

It's been awhile since I've moved from my sprawled out position in bed. After what felt like hours of crying and leaning against the door, I could only drag myself to bed to only cry more but in a more comfortable position.

With my injured leg I decide not to venture outside but only stay in the spacious room. Breathing in stale oxygen, my body becomes adjusted to the stale heat as I lounge on the bed.

As I stare up at the cream coloured ceiling, I am lost in a trance trying to not to think.

I have managed to not think about James, Nicolai or Gerard in my hours of wonderless despair but now it is catching up to me.

I realise I'm hungry, no not hungry, but thirsty.
It is a thirst like I've never known before. Even my saliva is thick like wallpaper paste. My throat feels parched as if the skin has been extracted and laid out in the scorching sun to dry. It gnaws at me, torments me and I can think of nothing other than finding something cool to quench it. My head bangs and throbs and as the dehydration advanced I became more desperate, searching for something, anything, that contained liquid.

I need something that might actually help my taste buds and also make me forget all of my problems.

I stretch out my legs and let out a sigh, rubbing my tired eyes. Hobbling with my injured leg, I make it to the door, only to be pushed wide open. I stand back surprised to see Alexander holding a basket with folded towels. His smile is weary but once he realises I am up, he grins and remarks "So what got you in the mood to get up in such a rush?"

I push past him, not in the mood for his fun remarks. "I need to get something" I march on, trying to disguise my awkward walking by clutching tightly to my night dress.

"Actually what time is it Alexander?"

"It's nearly quarter to three miss"

"Perfect! Thank you" and I hobble away closing the door behind me.

Thankfully I only have the walk down the flight of stairs to get down to the kitchen, that's where they usually leave the fine brewery.

Taking my time, I venture down each step, my good leg first as I drag the other behind. Outside the window the day looks cold and grey. So far I see no maid bustling around to prepare for dinner.

By the time I have my leg dragged to the kitchen, I t is throbbing with pain. Damn that foolish girl for causing so much agony, as If I needed more.

The large kitchen, fitted with wooden cupboards left right and centre with multiple sinks and utensil holders all glistening always fascinates me.

In the corner tucked away beside the two fridges is a small chest of fine liquor, always on hand when guests come or when father has had a rough day.

A silent sombre fills the dusk room as I creep over, grabbing two bottles. It's odd to see no one here, usually It is so busy that you can't even step inside the dam room. But maybe it's a perk, I can just go away with my remedy and no one will judge the princess for turning into an alcoholic.

I limp away, leaving no evidence behind for my little burglary.

As I walk away, trying to hide the two bottles under my dressing gown, I see a large crowd has gathered in the parlour, all eagerly watching the television. Perplexed, I venture forward, leaning against the door frame as maids, chefs and butlers all eagerly stare. I wonder what is going on.

"Tune it up! I can't hear a thing!"

"Will you be quiet, it's about to start!"

Soon the television starts to blare the Erivale national anthem and a news report comes onto screen. Her blonde hair is cut short into a bob and she is plastered in excessive make up. "Good afternoon, we interrupt the following proceedings to bring live coverage from the Southern Isles"

My heart stops.

I want to leave but I am also interested to see what is going on.

Soon the news report shows live coverage of Nicolai standing in front of a podium, the Southern Isles flag blowing behind.
My mind becomes a blur as he stand before me, shuffling paper in front of him. Underneath all the makeup you can still see a lapis coloured bruise healing quite slowly along with a scar above his right eyebrow and his lip is slowly healing coming back to normal. If only I could see more damage on his beautiful face.

Now he turns to his adoring crowd beginning his statement.

"As of today, I hereby declare I accept the terms to Prince James Blackthorn of Erivale's apology. The last month has been a struggle but my recovery of the trauma has been miraculous, especially after hearing such a long awaited apology"

Recovering from trauma? He didn't see me, he was nothing compared to me. He was recovering from what seems like a small fall while I was recovering from a forceful collision. How dare he appear on screen insulting me even further, I want to strangle his neck so hard that his head will explode.

Back to the live coverage, cameras start to flash as reports start throwing questions at him.

"Sir what is your opinion of the relationship between Erivale and the Southern Isles?"

"What about the banquet, describe the motion that occurred between you and Odessa?"

But only one question stands out amongst the crowd.

"What about Odessa Blackthorn? Do you accept her apology?"

There is a brief silence as Nicolai straightens his tie.

"I do accept her apology and by all means, I want to express my side of the story"

My heart races as I wait eagerly to see if he will confess the truth. Will he dare ruin his reputation and actually admit what he did to me?

"I believe that night with Odessa was magical, she is truly a breathtaking girl. She has truly suffered a lot in the past few months. I believe as we came so close during the night, she found closure in me and so went forth to persuade me into something I wasn't entirely sure of. I do want to believe I led her on, so please, do not make her out to be a vicious monster, she just needed comfort, that's all"

Soon photographers flash their cameras as reporters ask for more but we are cut off by the news reporter coming back to the screen. " I am joined with professor Keating to analyses today's events" but I hear no more as everyone starts talking.

"Poor thing, I do hope Odessa doesn't see this"

"What can you expect we don't know what actually happened that night, they could all be lying"

"Honestly with everything that happened the past few months this family has already suffered enough"

Suddenly my head is spinning. I hold on to the doorframe as his words spiral through my mind.

"I believe that night with Odessa was magical, she is truly a breathtaking girl......"

"She has truly suffered a lot in the past few months....."

"I believe as we came so close during the night, she found closure in me and so went forth to persuade me into something I wasn't entirely sure of....."

" I do want to believe I led her on, so please, do not make her out to be a vicious monster..."

"A vicious monster...."

"A vicious monster..."

"A vicious monster..."

Before the maids and chefs even notice my presence, I stagger backwards, my mind swirling, my breaths shallow until I fall in a heap to the floor as his last few words haunt my mind.

All I remember is the two bottles slipping out of my hands, creating a heart pounding shatter as I fall to the ground.

Okay so this is Chapter Twenty Five, I hope you all like it! It's short and sweet!