Jedian did not go back to his room as he had a lot on his mind. After pacing up and down the hall, he came to a stop and stared blankly out of the window. Moonlight shone through the clouds and over the garden.
He paused, watching the gentle breeze blowing the blades of grass, and decided to head outside for a walk. His head was about to ache because of all the crazy thoughts
He already knew that Roman hated him, as evidenced by the way he looked at him. Yet he couldn’t help but wonder if it was his fault Roman hated him so.
Roman clearly had a reason to hate him. First, he loathed ‘the ungifted’. However, Jedian had lived his whole life below others, and didn’t his belated revelation lead to him being among the ‘gifted’? He got lucky
considering the revelation of his skills and the fact that he had caught Merill’s eyes at the right moment.. There was no other way to explain that.
However, what he considered lucky to himself had become a threat to others. Such as Deon Hill.
Roman, who was close with him, couldn’t believe Jedian had taken Deon’s seat after he had lost it. Jedian never mentioned a word about Deon since he too knew that fact.
But despite that, Roman continued to despise Jedian. He seemed to want to plant guilt inside him.
Jedian felt a wave of nausea hit him, and he dropped onto his hands and knees and started dry heaving.
It was his fault, and at the same time, not his fault. One thing was certain: It was that he couldn’t change anything.
The ball had not been in his court from the beginning. Even Roman wouldn’t be oblivious of that fact. But he couldn’t test the one holding the ball, so there was nothing he could do.
The same went for Levisia’s situation.
Jedian knew that Levisia’s skills were insufficient, but the Kraidens were so eager to look good in front of her.
He swore he had never seen such a scene in his life before. He had never thought that those who were too high to reach would do that to anyone.
And it seemed that a few of the others had similar thoughts. But not Roman. He had even brought up Deon’s situation, laying it out for everyone to hear.
Roman had put on a good front, but there was a real intention. He just did not like Levisia, the same way he disliked Jedian. And there was the thirteenth princess, Kori Sure. Whilst she was alike to Roman in so many ways, it was clear which one held the most hostility.
Jedian was so lost in his thoughts that when someone spoke to him, he was jolted back to reality. He looked up to see a pair of eyes, green as fresh summer’s grass, looking down at him.
“Princess Levisia…” He said as he scrambled to his feet. “Apologies. I did not see you there.”
When his eyes met hers, the hazy fog that had clouded his head cleared up, for reasons unknown even to him.
“No need to worry. I was just passing through, and I will be on my way now..” Levisia said with a smile, and she walked past Jedian. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed her arm. When she stopped and looked at him, all he could offer was a sheepish smile.
“Can, I, uh, join…” He said, struggling to find his words. Fortunately, Levisia seems to pick up on what he was trying to say.
“Join me? Why, are you lost?” Levisia said, fiddling with her hair. “Well, truth be told it is also my first time here. We can’t wander off too far off, but I think it’ll be all right for the time being. I can’t go to my room anyway.”
Jedian frowned. The sun had set hours ago, and the full moon was high in the sky. Why on Earth could she not go back to get room?
“Why aren’t you…?” He began to speak, but Levisia cut him off.
“Because some of the Kraidens will be moving about the place, and others will be lurking.” Levisia quickly glanced around her. “We should get moving. If I stay in one place for a long time, they’ll come looking for me like bloodhounds.”
She hurried past him, and then stopped and looked behind her.
“You’re not coming? I thought you said you wanted to join me?
“Oh. I’m coming….”
He knew that he sounded like an idiot when he stuttered, but there was no way of fixing it. It had been nothing short of embarrassment ever since they met.