Chapter 4 ~ Stuttering

{Ava’s POV}

“What do you… What do you mean?”

“Y-You can’t be serious. What?”

“Lima?”

“But… he.. he— Edna say something!”

I’ve been stuttering and spitting out words for the past minute— words of distress as I couldn’t comprehend what Edna had just said and didn’t want to, but then Edna’s silence was saying a scary lot in affirmation.

It was proving a point. 

“But how?! It can’t be.” I said and gripped her, making her look at me.

“He is the Prince, Ava. We didn’t know what the Prince looked like before we got to the Academy and after you fought him yesterday, we didn’t wait around to find out!” She said in her panic and my heart started to race.

Shit.

This is why everyone has been looking at me. It all makes sense now. 

“But why did nobody address him as Prince. Why hasn’t anybody been bowing to him?”

“That’s because his father, the King, who put him here, made it a rule that he shouldn’t be treated too specially.” Edna added and my breath became shaky. 

Oh my…

“So the visitation of the King and Queen is also a means of them coming to see their Son...” I said now as I grew understanding.

“Yes, Ava. Yes!” Edna affirmed, driving her fingers through her hair in her worry. 

This was why he had been talking to me like he owned the place— it was because he actually does. His father was the fucking King of the Reigns!

God, I’m stupid. Why did I see challenging a total stranger on my first day here as something sensible?

I’m fucked. 

The air remained quiet but tense now and Edna and I settled in it, panicking together. She looked more disconcerted than I was and it was because she had realized something I hadn’t.

— something I was about to realize in 3..2…1.

I gasped.

And then I gripped Edna’s arm. “Edna, that means it was the Prince I humiliated before the entire school yesterday!” 

“That.. that means it was the Prince I had walked out on just minutes ago!” I added as realization hit me, and just then, our attention was called by someone.

“Excuse me. Is your name Ava?” A random bloke stopped before us and asked. I turned to look at him.

“Y-Yeah?” I responded and the dude turned away and yelled. 

“I’ve found her!” He called loudly before turning back to me and meeting my questioning gaze. “We’ve been looking for you.” He said in response.

“Prince Liam wants to see you— he’s with the Alpha King at the Private Quarters. I’ll take you to them…”

I gulped.

**

Turns out his name wasn’t Lima but Liam.

And it turns out that the bloke who had been praising him yesterday had been his best friend, one who had the grace of rearranging the Prince’s name from Liam to Lima. 

Sigh…

I could have figured these things out if I hadn’t been too forward. But now, it was too late for caution as I was already before the Calvary. 

“You challenged me in front of everybody and managed to win. But were you satisfied? No! It wasn’t enough so you decided to come up to me and insult me!”

“How dare you?!”

I was on my knees now, kneeling before the male I had humiliated— the one who was never Lima from the start but Prince Liam. 

I was before him in my plea and I was trembling.

“You know I watched you walk out on me today just like you had done yesterday. And I stood there thinking you would turn back and tell me that all you had done was a troll of some sort or that you were even working with my best friend, Levi, in his plan to embarrass me— this was how crazy my thoughts were because I was confused, but then I was wrong. Everything that had happened was real and solely your intention, and now you come begging me?”

I bowed my head even lower now. “I’m sorry, my Prince. I.. I.. I—”

“You what?!” He roared, cutting me off brutally for which I remained silent as I really didn’t know what to say.

It didn’t make the slightest sense to tell him that I didn’t know he was the Prince. I was a Reignile citizen. I was expected to know the Prince’s name or at least know what he looked like but then I didn’t grow up under the usual conditions every normal kid experiences— Edna and me both. Hence, I was without excuse now. 

“I don’t know who you think you fucking are but you will be punished— I’ll make sure of it. And to kick things off, I am expelling you from Moonspire Academy. You will never be able to set foot on these grounds!” He said now and I poured out a shaky breath in my anguish. 

“Come on, Lima. That’s tough. I think you should calm down and handle this later.” The Prince’s best friend said now. 

He was the nicknaming culprit who indirectly misled me, but then he was interceding on my behalf now. Nonetheless, it made no difference as the Prince gave no heed to him.

“No, Levi. This female needs to learn respect since she wasn’t taught at home, and fortunately, my father can help with that.” Prince Liam said now and I trembled in fear upon the mention of the King. I wanted to keep pleading but words couldn’t even come out of my mouth due to how labored I was breathing. 

I heard footsteps.

The Alpha King was in the room— my heart skipped a beat.

I could feel the weight of his supremacy and it scared me to my bones.

I left my gaze fixed to the ground now as he paced towards us and I knew Edna, who was standing behind me, did the same. She hadn’t spoken since because she wasn’t permitted to. Plus, I could only imagine how shaken she was. 

I gulped when I felt the King stop beside me… and then came his voice.

“What’s happening here?” He asked, his volume calm by his tone commanding. I gulped again.

“This is the girl I told you about, Dad.” Prince Liam responded to him now while I continued to tremble. I could literally see my hands shake and it got worse when the King spoke again.

“Is that so?” He muttered and I could now feel the weight of his gaze upon me. I thought this was as tense as it could get but just then, the Alpha Queen also walked into the room.

Kill me.

“Reveal your face.” The Alpha King said now and I felt my heart skip more beats. This was definitely not how I planned to meet the Royal family.

I poured out a heavy breath now and I slowly raised my gaze. And then, after a moment, I made eye contact with the King and there was a lot of majesty to take in— and a lot of reasons to be scared.

I had never faced utter doom before but then I knew this was what it looked like.

Luna Reeca and Revna’s hopes and dreams had finally come true as this was worse than the doom they could have ever hoped for me. 

The King motioned to speak now and I closed my eyes with a deep breath, preparing myself for the hit.

“You have done well.” I heard him say and I threw my eyes open at once, wondering if I had finally lost my sanity. 

Wait—Pause… Rewind.

What?

“What?” I vocalized, and Prince Liam after me.

“What?!” He took a step forward, wearing as much confusion on his face as me. I was really confused. 

The King folded his arms behind his back and calmly continued to speak.

“You did well, defeating my son, girl.” He repeated himself and I still didn’t believe what I was hearing. He turned his gaze from me to the Prince.

“Liam needs a unique challenge. He’s good at what he does but I need him to be the best, that’s why I sent him here. Now, I sent him here to be the best but certainly not by challenging the topmost general.” The King said and started to pace about the scene before us.

“Nonetheless, when I learnt about it, I was somewhat pleased.” He suddenly turned to me now. “But when I learnt that a female had defeated and humiliated my son, I was completely elated." He said.

“What are you saying?! What’s going on?!” Prince Liam voiced now, his anger visible, but then the King ignored him and continued to speak while his mother, the Queen, went up to him to calm him down.

“Now, my son needs to learn humility for him to be a good King. This is so that he doesn’t skip the basics because he thinks they are pointless. So for you to humiliate him like that, I’m guessing you are one who struggled and mastered the basics before moving to the advanced— one who had to put in the work to make herself better.” He said, apparently describing me. I wasn’t sure about what he was saying, but I didn’t deny it— I was speechless. 

I turned to the Prince briefly now and for a moment, I could swear that I didn’t see steaming rage in his eyes anymore. In that split second, it looked like a mixture of admiration and disappointment both tangled in one stare but then it all disappeared with the King’s next word. 

— words that made air break out of my mouth.

“This is why I want you to train Liam.” The King said and at once, my gaze stretched as I turned back to him. Once again, I had heard him but didn’t want to believe I did. 

It had to be my ears. 

…right?