Chapter 15 - Time
A loud ringing of the bell waked me up. I look around to find where the sound is coming from. I frown when I notice that my surrounding is very unfamiliar with me. This is not my room.
Am I still in the writer's house? I got up from the bed and looked outside the window. All I see is a big field with many people walking or playing a game. Big field? But this is not the field in front of the writer's home. So, where am I? I look around the room, trying to find something, when I came across a door. The room I woke up in is actually big. It's like a typical condo type in the real world. It has a big bed, a study table, a big dresser. It also has two doors. I open the door that is closer to me. It's the door of the bathroom. I come inside and look around. I am about to leave when I saw the reflection in the mirror.
I am taken aback when I saw the reflection in the mirror. No way! I try to touch my own face to see if it's real. It's real! I pinch my cheeks really hard until my cheeks reddened. I look like I put blush on now. But I didn't stop there. I also wash my face with the cold water from the faucet. And I could also feel the coldness of the water.
It's true! I skip time? I got out of the bathroom and rummage through the stuff I could see. I could see notebooks and books on the study table. I flip the pages, trying to find some clue or something. When I saw a paper inside a book, I took it and read the contents.
"Csille Lauretré. Third year high school student of Vrawyth High School of the Nobles."
I sit on the chair, overwhelmed with what is happening. The last thing I could remember is I got unconscious when I saw blinding lights in the writer's house. And when I woke up, I am already a high school student. But what happened after I got unconscious? What happened to the Crown Prince? To Father and Mother? To Brother Pascal and Rufus? To the Vrawyth Kingdom? I touched my head when I feel unbearable pain. I am busy trying to make the pain stop when I heard someone knocks on the door. And just like that, the pain magically gone away.
I look at the door and walk towards it. Who could it be? I opened it and immediately closed it again when I saw the person standing outside.
Prince Fraser! Prince Fraser in a school uniform and is older. Dayum! He looks so fine. I got shocked to see him early this morning that why I closed the door at him. I heard a loud knock outside and a shout. "CSILLE! OPEN THE DOOR!"
I take a deep breath before opening the door. I smiled awkwardly at the Crown Prince. Trying to look somewhere else. My eyes are still not used to seeing the fourteen years old Prince Fraser.
"Why did you close the door at me?" He snapped.
I laugh awkwardly at him. "I'm sorry. My mind is still in a daze. I didn't know what I am doing." Still avoiding his gaze. "What are you doing here, your majesty?"
Prince Fraser caught my chin and forced me to look at him. "Why aren't you looking at me? Did you do something again?" He frowned.
I immediately shake my head. "Hey! I didn't do anything." I tried to look at him, but I really couldn't take looking at him. My heart is already beating so fast, and looking at him makes it more frantic.
"Also, what do you mean by asking what am I doing here? Are you expecting someone?" He raised his eyebrows at me. Oh, dear! Stop staring at me like that. My weak heart cannot take it.
I struggled from his grip and walked inside the room. "No! No! I am just shocked when I saw you here. Do you need anything, your majesty?" I ask, facing my back at him. I sit on my bed and look back at him. "What are you doing there? Why don't you come in first? Let's talk here."
Prince Fraser looks at me like I just said something unbelievable. I stopped for a moment to think back on what I just said. I didn't say something wrong or mean, right? But why is he looking at me like that?
"Are you sure you want me to come inside?" He asked. He looks around my room but won't even take a step inside.
I frown at him. I don't understand what is happening. Why is he making it a big deal? We will just talk inside and nothing else. I look at him. I noticed that his face is really red right now. Even his ears are colored red already.
I walk towards him and place my hand on his forehead. His temperature seems normal. "Are you okay? Your face looks so red right now. Even you're ears. Are you sick, your majesty?"
Prince Fraser covers his cheeks and steps backward. "Never mind. I will just see you in the library at nine. Remember to meet me there, okay?" After he said his words, he immediately runs towards the hallway. I look at him confusedly. Weird.
I walk inside my room and look for a clock. It's already eight in the morning. The Prince said that I need to see him in the library at nine. And because I still have a lot of time. I took a bath first and pretty myself. I am now wearing a school uniform. It looks like a medieval school uniform. White longs sleeves. A ribbon in the middle. A high neckline with ruffles. A vest that is connected with the skirt. It looks like those typical anime cosplayer wears. Satisfied with how I look, I smiled at my reflection in the mirror.
___________
I walk inside the library. I was in awe when I look around it. It is really an extensive library. Everywhere I look, all I see are books and massively tall bookshelves. I wonder how do they get the books at the top.
"Good morning Miss Lauretré." A girl probably two years younger than me greets me. I just nod and smiles at her.
Many people greet me when they saw me walking in front of them. So, Csille Lauretré is a respected person here, eh? I didn't know that. I thought people hated her.
I walk around trying to figure out where could the Crown Prince be. He just said to meet me here, but where is he? I look at the big clock in the library. It's already nine fifteen am. I am already walking for fifteen minutes in the library, but I haven't even seen his silhouette. Where could he be?
I am about to turn back to where I came from when a hand suddenly covers both my eyes. I was about to shout when the culprit whispers in my ear. "Don't shout. It's me." He takes his hand that covers my eyes. I look back and see Prince Fraser grinning at me. I glared at him.
Prince Fraser smiles at me. He pulled me into the philosophy area. He took a ladder and pulled something in the gap space in between two bookshelves. The bookshelf in the right split into two, and a room could be seen. There's a hidden room behind this bookshelves? Awesome!
Prince Fraser led me inside. I tried to stop him. What if it's someone's place? Then we are both trespassings. However, Prince Fraser ignored me and twisted a vase on the table at the entrance. The bookshelf that split into two close, and now Prince Fraser and I are standing in the middle of the room.
"Hey! Wouldn't we get into trouble?" I tug his arms and try to pull him back. However, I don't know how to open it.
Prince Fraser looks at me confusingly. Like what I just said doesn't make sense. He grasped my hand and pulled me to sit on the chair. The room had a small table and two chairs. It looks like a tea room. There is also a small bookshelf at the side.
"Why would I get in trouble? If I own this place? Did you forget?"
I look at him and around the place. Everything I am seeing looks expensive. Yeah, who could have a room like this other than the Crown Prince?
I smiled awkwardly. I couldn't tell him that I skipped time. That yesterday I was still the nine years old Csille Lauretré, and when I woke up today, I become the fourteen years old Csille. "I am still in dazed right now. I probably need more time to refresh my memory. I am sorry."
Prince Fraser just waves his hand at me. "Anyways, do you have a decision now?"
I look at Prince Fraser and frown. Decision about what? What does Prince Fraser and Csille talking about? I smiled awkwardly at him. "I'm sorry, I still haven't made up my mind."
He just nods at me. "That's okay. However, you should give me an answer tomorrow, okay?" Prince Fraser offered me a cup of tea. I take it and nods at him.
What am I supposed to do now? I don't know what I should decide on. I need to do something about it.
__________
My philosophy class just finished, and I am currently walking in the hallway. I actually haven't learned anything about it. The whole time my mind is wandering about what Prince Fraser is talking about. Because I literally have no idea what it is.
I tried very hard to recall anything but nothing. I really can't remember anything. Wait! I've skipped five years. It's also the time gap in my novel. Is it the reason why I time skipped? But I don't understand why did I need to stay for a couple of months as nine years old if I could skip time instantly. And why did I skip time? What happened to the past?
I was so busy thinking about things that I didn't see a person running towards my direction. It was already too late when both of us noticed that we would collide with each other. The last time I remembered, I fell down the floor and hit my head on something.
I feel numbness overall in my body. I could hear voices, and blurred memories flashed through my mind. Until everything becomes dark and my consciousness fades away.
___________
I have a very long dream. It's about the moment after I collapsed in the house of the writer. Brother Pascal and Rufus immediately bring me home. They said their apologies first before living.
My mother got worried when she knew that I collapsed. I was unconscious for two days. After that, I woke up like nothing happened.
After that, it fast forward to the time when mother, Brother Pascal, and I are sitting in the courtroom. It's the day of trial for the culprit behind my mother's accident. And it's none other than the Marquis of the Vrawyth Kingdom. The jury convicted him as guilty, and his title was stripped off from him. His family becomes a commoner, and no one from his generation could ever hold a position in monarch. Brother Pascal and I are both happy with the result, but mother was different. She was hurt that the Marquis could backstab our family as if like we never had a close relationship with them.
After that scene, it fast forward again on the scene where the Aeslaerean Kingdom made an announcement that the Royal Competition for the Arts is postponed because of a contagious illness in their Kingdom. Later that month, that illness spread throughout the Kingdom of Vrawyth. Many people of Vrawyth died because of the illness. For this reason, the training of Prince Fraser in the western region was extended. The King sent a letter to the Prince and the Count to stay there until the illness is controlled. The illness lasts for almost a year, and the Kingdom suffered a lot because of it. Poverty becomes an issue.
After the illness was controlled, the Crown Prince comes back home safe and sound. He was sad when he knows how the illness impacted the whole Vrawyth Kingdom. A week after, Count Waltier also went home. Saying that he was completely healed from the fake illness, he said before.
Both the Crown Prince and the Count had no idea what happened in their absence. The Crown Prince volunteered to do charity works since many people are still suffering from the result of the contagious illness. The Count, my father, was enraged when he knows what happened in the Lauretré family. He was also grateful to Brother Pascal for staying with us and taking the head position of the Lauretré family temporarily. Afterward, Brother Pascal asks to go back to the hospital to be a doctor. Father wants to make Brother Pascal stay with us, but Brother refused it. He just visits frequently.
The scene flashed to my mind fast. It's about Rufus. After the illness got controlled, the Duke ordered him to come back to his dormitory to continue his studies. I have also seen Princess Paislee in my memories. The exchange of letters between Csille and her continues. It only stops this year.
And Prince Fraser. After he went back to the Kingdom. He visited me to talk about our last conversation. We both agreed to shrug it off. We become closer after that. We often do group study. We also enrolled in the same high school. And now both of us are currently in our third year here.
The memories stop there. And darkness engulfs the whole place.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)𝒆bnov(𝒆)l