Asher Sharpe~
Estella. She was the girl at the mall. Of course. She was more beautiful than anyone could describe. Her hair fell in curly brown tendrils around her face, her eyes a unique green gold, her body a slim, perfect hourglass. Her smile lit up the room, slightly blinding me. Words cannot express how perfect she looked. I only hoped her personality was the same, if not better. She has good manners, I notice as I shake her perfectly small, soft hand. After I let go of her hand, her phone rang, and she walked out of earshot and answered it. She looked upset, and when she came back over to us, she wiped her eyes and pretended she was fine. The king and queen did not notice a change in her demeanor, so they told us to go through the portal back to Estella's school to get to know each other, then they left. We walked through the portal and landed in the headmistress's office.
The lady behind her desk was looking at papers when Estella tapped her shoulder and said, "Mrs. Jade? Could you tell us the room Asher will be in for the remainder of his stay?"
The headmistress's head flopped over, and her skin was extra pale. Estella screamed and ran out of the room to get help. After Mrs. Jade was taken care of, Estella took us to her room. Her bedroom was how I imagined any teenage girl's room would look, but with more blue and red. Her room was kind of messy. There was a couch, a queen-sized bed, and a desk with a comfy chair. Bean bag chairs covered the room, paintings, pictures, and big wall stickers covered the purple walls.
Estella sat hard on her bed and sighed. "You guys can sit anywhere you like. I really hope someone can help Jade; she'd be like my favorite aunt if she were family." Everest put a hand on her shoulder in what I knew was a fake gesture.
I rolled my eyes and sat on the couch. "So… where are we sleeping?" She looked over at me and bit her cheek. "Um, the Queen said that I have to share a room with Everest, but she didn't say I had to sleep next to him, so for now, one of you will sleep on the couch and the other can sleep on the floor."I nodded and closed my eyes. I was feeling unusually drained, and I don't know why.
~Estella Cole~
'Ugh! Why is this happening to me? I just want to be normal.' Stupid, interesting Asher was sleeping on my couch. Mrs. Jade is desecrated right now, and I'm drowning out Everest's voice with my music. I was writing in my journal, trying to sort through my thoughts. 'I don't really like Everest, there's something off about him, but I can't quite seem to figure out what it is yet. Either way, I can't get out of this arrangement even if I did like someone else. I really hope Mrs. Jade will be alright. And the biggest thing on my mind was the phone call I got when I was at the castle from Cassidy.
The first thing she said to me when I answered was, "Estella! Someone died. Do you remember that Sarah Bloomington girl in the grade below us? Someone found her face down on her bedroom floor with blood pooling around her. She was shot from behind, and they can't find the weapon or the bullet shells."
The news was absolutely horrible, and I was surprised that I was able to keep myself from crying. I know it won't last long, though. Asher was a whole different story, though. He is very confusing; he looks kind of interested in something, but other times he looks bored and annoyed.'
All my confusion and frustration, and grief burst out of me in a magical force, hitting both of the boys. I looked around my room, shocked by what just happened. Apparently, the Queen was right; I've got more power than I thought. I helped the boys up and apologized.
Everest freaked out, "What the hell was that?" I looked at him, confused, "Didn't the Queen tell you that I have magic? Well, I didn't know what she meant until now. I just thought my looks changed." Both boys gawked at me. Everest said, "Can you change your looks to defile men?" I shook my head, surprised by the mere thought of it. "My appearance changes to what other people want to see; I don't get a choice of what I look like." Asher frowned.
"That sounds miserable, Estella."
I nodded slightly, "Yeah, a little bit." I sat on my bed quietly for a while. Asher told Everest to go get me some snacks. When he left after basically throwing a tantrum, Asher came to sit next to me on my bed. The closeness made my heart stutter, 'I gotta stop feeling like this. One, I just met him, and two, I have an arrangement with the Queen I cannot break or she won't want me anymore.' Asher put his hand on mine to try and calm my nerves, but what he doesn't know is that he is the cause of my nerves at the moment. I smiled weakly and took a deep breath.
"Thanks, Ash."
He nodded and backed off. "So… ready to be the next Queen?" My eyes widened, "I didn't even think of it like that. I know I can't really say this because I barely know him, but I don't think Everest would be a good king."
Asher chuckled, and said, "Good, you're catching on, but I know you're kinda stuck in this now, and just because he is younger than me doesn't mean he is a goodie goodie little brother, so watch your back with him." Asher put earbuds in his ears, and Everest walked through the door with a few snacks and my best friend, Cassidy. I smiled and ran into her arms. I breathed in her scent and relaxed into her embrace.
She smiled a little watery at me, she whispered, "I can't believe she's dead." I sighed and wiped her face.
"I know, it's horrible, but they are probably gonna have a funeral for her, and we can go to that. Everything will be ok, Cass. I've got stuff to tell you."
"So you're going to be the next Queen?"
I nodded slightly, "Yeah, and I have to marry Everest at the end of the school year." She looked incredulous.
"And you agreed to it?"
"It's not like I had a choice, you know how I need to feel connected and loved to a person, I need the Queen to like me, so I need to do exactly what she says, even if I'm starting to like someone else." I said as I covered my face. Cassidy smiled sadly.
"Who do you like?"
"I think I'm starting to like Asher." I sighed and laid down on my bed.
Just then, Asher walked back in from the bathroom, and Cass giggled. I glared at her, hoping she knew to keep her mouth shut.
"So Asher, do you have a girlfriend?" she immediately asked. He sat down on the couch and ignored the question. I knit my eyebrows together in thought. 'One, why did Cass have to ask that? And two, why didn't he answer?' Cassidy frowned for a second, then perked up.
"Did you know there's going to be a party in Malachi's room on Friday! I think it'll be just what we need after the horrible events that have gone on recently." I rolled my eyes at her.
"That's not gonna make me wanna go, Cass. I've got enough going on, and I don't want Everest to think I might be cheating because he seems like the kind of guy who gets jealous over nothing." Cass looked concerned.
"That's toxic, Estella, you know that, right?"
I sighed and looked out the window over my bed. "Of course I know that, but what choice do I have?"