Maddie's eyes flew wide open. Not because she was scared, not because she had a nightmare, but simply because her body was annoying like that.
Her eyes adjusted to the dark. She could make out Annie's silhouette in the dark, apart from that she could hear her sleeping peacefully as her breathing was slow and steady.
She sighed, she did not want to be a bad friend and wake up Annie. That would be very annoying. She would be very annoyed if Annie had woken her up if she could not sleep.
Maddie groaned, she raised her left hand and her phone appeared in her hand. She switched it on and checked the time. It was fifteen minutes to four.
She looked towards the window. She could barely make out any sort of light. She did not know why, but she just felt so uncomfortable, she felt restless and was unable to sleep. It was too early to be up at this time.
She groaned again. This was so annoying. Of all the days for her to be unable to sleep, why did it have to be today? She suddenly felt sort of choked in the room, like she was unable to breath.
She got out of bed and opened the window. She stuck her head out the window but it did not give her any sort of relief.
She sighed. She threw her phone on her bed, wore her slippers and opened the door of the room. She closed it softly behind her found herself alone in the empty halls.
She did noy know where she was going, all she knew was that she needed to go outside. The castle was so quiet, it was kind of eerie, but fear was the last thing she was feeling. She walked down the grand stairs and opened the front doors of the castle.
Someway, somehow, she found herself in the courtyard. Suddenly, she felt better. She sat on the grass and crossed her legs. She looked up into the sky and sighed. She just felt so sad at the moment.
"Maddie...?"
Maddie turned around and frowned, she knew who was calling her name and she hated that it was him.
"*Ugh* Blondie, what are you doing here?!" she groaned.
"I always wake up at this time to get in some morning training," he said. He stood in front of her. To say that he was shocked to see her here at this time would be un understatement.
"Of course you do, since you're perfect in everything," she scoffed.
Ollie frowned, not because of what she said, but the tone she said it in.
"Are you okay? What are you doing awake at this time?".
"I am fine, I just needed some fresh air," she said.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"You see, this is why you annoy me so much. I already gave you an answer, yet you continue to insist," she scoffed.
Ollie frowned and sat down beside her, "I continue to ask because I know you, and you don't look so good right now. Are you sure you didn't have a bad dream or something?".
"That is not what happened. Even if I had a bad dream, why would I tell you?!".
"Because we are friends, and I care about you, and I want you to feel better," he replied.
She scoffed and continued looking at the sky.
"Alright, it's fine. I won't force you to say anything you don't want to say, but I do know for a fact that you don't feel well, and you certainly do not want to be left alone. So, I am going to just sit here in silence until you feel better," he said. He crossed his legs as well.
She turned to him and frowned, she could not believe he was actually staying here.
She scoffed, "Just go and do whatever it is you were going to do, blondie. I don't need you here.".
Ollie simply smiled and said nothing. Instead he looked up at the sky and just remained there staring at it.
With the few months he had spent trying to get to know Maddie better, he had come up with one very important rule, and that was— You never force her to open up to you.
Maddie was a very strong character, she was bold and fiery in a good way, and in the same vein, she hated to be vulnerable, she rarely showed such sides of hers, but the few times Ollie had witnessed it, he had realized that above all, she was simply a girl, a girl who wanted a normal life, who wanted friends and who wanted to be loved.
She rarely liked being seen as weak, and so even though she felt so terrible, she would never utter a word. He was here to wait, even if she did not end up saying anything to him, he would just be here, letting her know that he cared.
He truly did care. He did not know how or when, but she suddenly became someone important to him, and all he wanted was her happiness.
Maddie wanted to hit him, but it was too early in the morning for violence. If he wanted to sit there jobless for the next hour or so, then that would be his problem, not hers. She just wanted to be alone, but now that she thought about it, having someone here was not too bad.
Ollie and Maddie sat there in silence. About thirty minutes passed, the sun still showed no sign of rising room.
Ollie was busy counting the stars when he suddenly heard Maddie said something.
"Life can be very annoying sometimes...".
"I know," he said.
"You do?" she frowned.
"Yes, of course I do, what makes you think that I don't?" he asked.
"Well you know, blondie. You are the crown prince, you have always had everything you ever wanted, so I am sure you never felt that life can be very annoying sometimes," she shrugged.
"I don't blame you for thinking that way. Most people do, but don't forget that I've always wanted true friends, and it's only now that I have them. So I know a thing or two about life being unfair. Believe me, I know it well," he said.
"Well, I hate that happiness can be fleeting. One moment all is well, the next, you feel so sad, so terrible and you might not even know why," she continued.
"I get it... but I think that's one of the feelings of being alive. Only people that have life can feel all these things," he replied.
"Especially when a huge change is about to happen, and you just feel so overwhelmed," she said.
"Do you know what I do when I start to feel the slightest bit overwhelmed?" he asked.
"You feel overwhelmed blondie?" she asked.
Ollie frowned, "Of course I do. I am still a person, I have feelings and emotions just like anyone else.".
"Alright, whatever, so what do you do when you feel overwhelmed?".
"I take a deep breath, I count to five, and then I smile," he said.
"Really? That's it?" Maddie asked unimpressed.
"Yes, that's it, what did you expect?" he asked.
"I don't know, something more intense, like maybe a spell or something," she said.
"Well, no, sorry to disappoint you, it's no spell. What I do is something simple," he said.
"And it works?" she asked sceptical.
"It works," he smiled.
Maddie sighed, she did not know why she was even trying this, but she was. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, counted to five in her mind and then she smiled.
"Do you feel better?" Ollie smiled.
"No, of course not, blondie, that is such a stupid thing to do," she lied. She would rather be thrown into a dungeon than admit that she felt a tad better.
"Oh, well alright then. There was no harm in trying," he shrugged with a smile.
Maddie hated how positive he always was, it was like his very annoying superpower.
"So, tell me, what do you do to make yourself feel better?".
"Dwell on the failures of my enemies," she said.
Ollie knew that she was not joking. He chuckled, of course he had expected such a response.
"Alright, and which enemies do you have now?" he asked.
"Well not any at the moment, but I am sure that won't be the case soon," she replied.
"Oh, so you are going to make more enemies for yourself?".
"I don't make enemies, they make themselves my enemies," she scoffed. "It's not my fault they cannot handle how awesome I am.".
"You are right, they cannot handle it," he smiled.
"I am glad that you agree, blondie," she smiled.
"It is always so quiet at this time," he said looking at the sky. It was peaceful. All was calm and soft.
"I know right? It's very tranquil," Maddie said.