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“Good,” she replied and reached out to pull me from my seat, her hands on my hips pulling me flush with her. “I can’t stand the thought of someone else having you, taking you from me,” she whispered as she leaned down to my neck.
“That’s not something you have to worry about. Not really. Who could ever truly take me from you? You have the power to keep me,” I told her as her lips pressed against my neck and her nose brushed up to my ear. “I’m the one that needs to worry about losing you. I barely have you as it is, if I have you at all. And I have no power or status to attract or keep you. I won’t ever leave you, but you might leave me,” I told her my fears. I was upset. I wanted an invitation, one I could accept, from her. But I’d never get it.
She nibbled on my earlobe, and I couldn’t help the warmth that heated my neck and cheeks in response.
“You have status in my sight,” she growled out lowly, hot air against my ear creating a pleasant shiver. Her lips moved to my jaw, kissing softly before her teeth nipped at my skin. “You have me more than any other,” she continued as she moved closer to my lips before kissing me.
Her tongue pushed inside my mouth, owning me, and controlling our kiss. Her hands held my hips tightly, painfully so, and I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling myself tighter to her. When she released me from her kiss, her eyes searched mine for a long moment.
“We should leave for class,” she told me, leaning down to kiss my forehead. I felt like maybe she wanted to say something else, something more, but I saw in her eyes when she chose not to, when she distanced herself from me.
I arrived at my Political Structure class before my friends and took the same table we had sat at previously to wait.
“Hey.” I looked up at the girl from Maria whose name had escaped me.
“Uh, hi, sorry I can’t remember your name,” I replied.
“It’s Mhari,” she told me smiling.
“What can I do for you, Mhari?” I asked her. She rubbed her palms on her thighs nervously.
“I wanted to say hello. We’re both from the same region,” she said shyly.
“Okay, hi, I guess. You know I’m not from House Maria, right?” I asked her. She nodded quickly.
“Yeah, I know. Honestly, Percy, I wanted to make sure you were doing alright. Last class was so awkward. Jenson had no right to ask so many questions. I know your community tends to keep to themselves and you’re new around here…” she trailed off.
“I’m fine, thanks. I told Mr. Jenson I wasn’t happy with his questioning. It shouldn’t happen again.”
“Great, I just wanted you to know that as far as House Maria is concerned, we have nothing against you.”
“That’s good,” I replied slowly. I wasn’t aware that any Houses were against communities like my home. I knew that in the past, before even my father’s birth, there was unrest. Sometimes we were forced to move, but I hadn’t experienced any such thing. We got on well with House Maria, they were never violent of forceful when collecting taxes, and otherwise we never interacted with them outside of trading.
“Well, anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. If you’re ever looking for someone to sit with, or want to hangout, come say hi,” she finished.
“I will do, thanks,” I replied. She gave a little wave as she went back over to where her brother was sitting.
“Ana!” I called as she entered the room. She smiled and came to sit next to me.
“Percy, what happened the other day? Where did you go at lunch?” she asked as she sat down.
“I had to go home. I wasn’t feeling well,” I told her, grimacing as the image of the Princess kissing Lord Halvorsen reappeared in my mind.
Ana reached out, taking hold of my hand in hers. “Percy, I know there must be things you cannot tell me,” she whispered, leaning towards me. “But I am your friend. You might not be able to trust me with everything, but I promise I will never betray you.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I know what happened. Seeing her accept that invitation must have been extremely difficult. I’m sorry.”
I was crying. It was only a few tears, but I could not stop them from rolling down my cheeks. I brought my free hand up to rub my eyes roughly.
“It was difficult,” I told her. It had hurt—a lot.
She released my hand and threw herself at me in a hug.
“Oh, Percy, don’t cry,” she whispered incredibly low to my ear. “Things often don’t go smoothly when it comes to love. People are complicated, and we can’t ever know for certain how someone else feels.”
“I know how she feels,” I told her, allowing Ana’s warm arms to help me feel better. She pulled away, holding my shoulders and meeting my eyes.
“People lie, even to themselves,” she said, and I was going to ask her what she meant, why she thought she was an expert on the subject, but Harris arrived, bending to kiss Ana’s cheek.
She let go of my shoulders to greet him, and I wiped away any remaining tear marks on my face making myself presentable. Luckily it seemed no one had been paying Ana and me much attention. Even if they had, I decided I didn’t care. I refused to be embarrassed, and it was only a few tears.
