37.

37.

The air was tense, as we all waited, sitting around the table, for the queen of all our problems, I mean, the queen of blah blah blah. Okay, okay, I should stop.
I glanced at Mia, and my lips instantly turned down in a frown. Her face was blank, but, I could detect the solemnity in her eyes. Slowly, my hand slithered towards her under the table, and I squeezed her fingers.
“Everything will be fine, Mia,” I whispered under my breath, assuring her. “It was just a crush-”
“I didn’t have any kind of crush on him,” Mia instantly cut in. I could feel her hands shaking. “He-” she closed her eyes, “he was just someone, I used to stare at. And, like, when he was not around, it used to ruin my day…and-” she then, cleared her throat. “Yup, that’s it.”
I had no idea how far Mia’s feelings for Liam went, but, I certainly hadn’t expected circumstances to play out like this.
Soph, who was seated on the other side of Mia, caught my eye and shook her head dejectedly.
Before I could open my mouth again, my attention was diverted by a loud clinking of cutlery. I looked up to see Noah, who was across me, holding up a fork in front of his face.
“Meet Chloe awesome Scott,” he mouthed, then, wiggled his eyebrows at me.
I flipped him the finger. He had the audacity of grinning amusedly, then, bringing the fork up to his lips and…kissing it.
Seriously?!
Suddenly, the table started shaking, and I nearly had a heart attack. I looked up at Noah, naturally. But, my thoughts of him being the culprit vanished when I caught the confused expression on his face too. Caleb seemed to be too busy in eating to do something like this. Liam was on his phone and Mia was well…in her own thoughts. Alice was busy pestering Anna and Quinn, annoying the heck out of them.
That left…Soph and Will.
I glanced at them, to find them locked in a heated glaring contest. I frowned and lifted the table cloth to get a better view of what was happening down there.
The most incredulous gasp left my lips. “Are you two seriously playing footsy right now?”
This didn’t faze them in the slightest. Instead, Soph, never removing her gaze from Will, replied, “Chloe, do not disturb me. Willy asked for this when he knocked his knees into mine.”
Will raised a finger, “First of all, what is footsy? Second, I didn’t ask for anything, I was just sitting. This peasant is getting wrong ideas.” Then, he let out an ‘ouch’, and grumbled at Soph, “you are ruining my very expensive shoes, peasant.”
I tuned out of this argument when Noah’s phone suddenly pinged, and he got up, frowning. “I will be back,” was his cryptic message, before he left the table
After about half of an hour, in which I was bored to death, Noah reentered the room. He took a seat, beside me, shooting Alice a withering glare. Then, he turned to face me.
“Listen to me very carefully,” he began seriously, “I had a little talk with the queen…I don’t know her intentions yet, but, keep this in mind, whatever she says, try to steer the conversation towards getting away from here. If she is convinced that you guys will leave, I don’t think she will take any drastic measures.”
I gaped at him, totally dumbfounded. “You want me to leave? How are we-”
“I don’t know, Chloe,” he ran a hand through his hair. “Right now, I want you safe above everything else. So, leave, if that’s what’s going to keep you safe.”
His words stung. Even though, he was looking out for me and for my friends, it still stung…
I gulped, to get rid of the lump that was lodged in my throat. All I could so was nod slowly, sinking further into my chair. Noah’s face contorted in pain and guilt, but, he clenched his jaw on time, to stop himself from saying anything.
I flinched, when my phone vibrated against my pocket. I fished it out to see that I had a message from an unknown contact.
Do not leave the palace at any cost. I have proof. I know who killed the king.
My blood turned cold in my veins.
What the- was someone trying to mess with me?
My eyes automatically went to Alice, but, I shook the thought as soon as it came. That beach wanted me gone for good. And, she was the one who told me that Noah’s dad had committed suicide…
My fingers shook as I typed my reply. Who are you?
There was no reply. I waited for ten minutes, and still no reply.
What the hell was going on? Who was this person and why were they telling me this? Shouldn’t the recipient of this message have been Noah or Will or someone else? Why me?
I was debating whether I should tell Noah about this, when the queen entered the room. Alice, Will, Anna and some others stood up in a show of respect. Noah didn’t and neither did I or any of my friends.
The queen could grill me alive, for all I cared at this point. Respect was earned, not something she could demand of us. And, I for one didn’t have even an ounce of respect for her.
She took her seat, narrowing her eyes at all of us, trying to belittle us from her gaze alone. Then, her eyes landed on me, and she didn’t hesitate to show her distaste for me, by giving me a disapproving once over.
God, what did I ever do to her?
“Chloe?” she asked in a monotone.
I sat up straighter and nodded.
“May I ask, what were your intentions behind kidnapping my son?”
Noah sighed exasperatedly, as if he had already gone over this a million times. “She didn’t-” he started, but was cut off by Alice.
“Translation: Chloe, what are your intentions in befriending Noah, in trying to delude him into believing that he likes a commoner like you?”
I wanted to throttle her then and there, but, stopped when I felt Noah’s hand on mine.
He shook his head at me discreetly, whispering, “Let me handle this.”
“I don’t know what your concept of commoner or royal is all about.” He finally said. “I was the one who befriended Chloe. I invited her here. I am not deluded and my intentions are something that I would rather not tell you.”
Then, he took a deep breath, and smiled. “Translation: I lo-like Chloe.”
My chest filled with warmth, but, at the same time the lump in my throat refused to dissolve. Why was he doing this when he was so adamant about my leaving?
“Noah, I would appreciate it if you let her talk and take responsibility for her actions.” The queen finally declared.
Before Noah could open his mouth, and take any more of the blame on himself, I beat him to it.
“I take full responsibility of my actions.” I blurted. “What’s your verdict?”
“No,” Noah cut in. “there’s no need to pass a verdict of any kind. They are leaving tomorrow. Right?”
The thing was, I might have agreed with Noah if I hadn’t received that message. It would eat me up alive if I left without investigating further into it.
“I am staying,” I said, tipping my chin up. “I am not going anywhere.”
Noah was taken aback, while the queen pursed her lips.
“Why do you want me to leave my own boyfriend?” I continued, meeting her eyes.
“You are not worthy of being with him,” was her clipped response.
“Stop-” Noah started, but I held up a hand silencing him. I had made my decision, and there was no going back now.
“One week. Give me one week, to prove my worth,” I said.
Alice threw back her head and laughed. “Translation: give me one week to prove what kind of trash I am.”
“Speak for yourself, beach,” Soph told her. “Correct translation: she is going to walk all over you in one week and make you eat dirt.”
“Chloe,” Noah whispered gravely. “You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. Don’t do this.”
“I have my reasons,” was all I told him, because he was right. But, I wasn’t doing this to prove anything. I was stalling. I needed time. My bones were still chilled as an aftereffect of that message. What if that message really meant something and was not just a prank?
The silence that was lingering in the air was broken by the scraping of a chair. This time all of us stood after the queen.
“One week.” She said, before turning around and leaving. But, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the spark in her eyes when she said this, had any kind of underlying meaning.