Chapter 14 The Seamstress and The Apology Frog #2
I threw some of the bobbles at her. She giggled, scooped some of them up, and threw them at me, too.
We proceeded to chase each other around the shop, throwing bobbles.
When Miss Lovilla returned carrying a small treasure chest in her hands, we settled down, but not before the seamstress reprimanded us and made us pick up every single bobble.
Then she made us leave her shop and closed the door in our faces with a long-suffering sigh.
We walked together in silence, and I thought about Cleopatra and the look on her face after I told her she should be cheering for me. Was it possible that she seriously thought I was that arrogant? Didn't she know me at all, how shy I actually was, how uncertain most of the time?
I thought back to the summoning ceremony and the speech she had given when it had been her turn to summon a mate.
She had clearly been hoping to be chosen as the Trinity herself.
Instead, she had bonded with her archangel Asau.
She had been disappointed but resigned, thinking the Trinity was a legend, after all.
Then, I had bonded with my three mates; I had been the Trinity instead.
The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me that Cleopatra really thought I had reason to believe I was so much better than her.
And that after she had been so nice to Amber and me by introducing us to Lady Lovilla, by offering to ask her mate to cure me the previous night, and now by offering to teach me her relaxation techniques.
I realized I owed the Princess an apology.
I also needed to explain to her that I hadn't been mocking her.
If anything, my joke had been self-deprecating.
It was a misunderstanding, that was all.
Of course, I didn't look where we were going, and when we rounded a corner in the hallway, I almost bumped into someone.
I was startled out of my musings long enough to recognize the voice of the person who was apologizing for bumping into me before I even had a chance to look up. But I looked up and heard the words die on Caleb's lips as he stared down at me in awkward recognition.
"Leah! Oh, hi... What are you?" He began, and I remembered the look he had given me in the dining hall, apologetic and embarrassed by Trina's actions, yet rooted in place beside her. It was the first time we had met outside of class, where we were forced to act professionally.
I felt the smile about to form on my lips die, and it became more of a grimace as I regarded him resentfully. Amber sensed the tension between our instructor and me. "Hi, Caleb. We were just shopping for dresses." Then she turned to me, "I'll see you back at the dormitory."
He nodded and stepped out of the way to let Amber pass as she gave him a little wave goodbye and told her she'll see him in class tomorrow. "Yeah, of course."
When she was gone, he sighed and said, "Leah, I'm sorry for the way Trina's been acting and for what she said about you after the demonstration."
I glanced around us and saw the hallway was empty.
"Really? She's been giving me dirty looks from day one.
I tried to tell myself it was my imagination, but after that, she made it pretty clear she hates me.
I don't know what I ever did to her to warrant it, but I guess she's found the perfect echo chamber in some of the other staff members.
You didn't seem too bothered by what they were saying about me.
I didn't see you standing up for me, anyway. "
Now, he had the grace to look down at his feet, ashamed. He was shaking his head as he said, "You don't understand. I've known Trina my whole life."
"I heard the two of you grew up together and that you were... Uhm, close once."
He nodded. "What you don't know, what the school's gossip mill rarely tells, is that we grew up as orphans raised by the church.
One of the temples in Glenburn, the city where we're from, had an orphanage, and that's where I met Trina.
It's always been the two of us, and I think it felt at times that it was us against the world. "
"What are you saying?" I asked quietly.
"I'm saying it's not that easy to stand up to someone you've known your whole life like that, even if you don't agree with everything they say or do." He shook his head and seemed certain that I didn't understand. I wasn't sure that I did, but I knew it seemed like an excuse.
"You don't realize this, Leah, but out there in the larger world, there's a prophecy about you."
I looked at him, confused. "Yes, I've heard that the Trinity is supposed to end the Void Wars. So? Why would that make Trina call me an abomination?" Even saying it out loud, the word still stung.
"Just like some people, like Cleopatra and the Empress, believe that the Trinity is supposed to end the Void Wars, there are those who believe that the Trinity is meant to destroy the world.
Trina was never a fanatic about our Religious Studies, but she always took them more seriously than I ever did.
Now, the fact that the Trinity turned out to be a real thing, and after what happened the other day, I think it solidified a belief that she was unsure about before. "
I looked at him, unable to believe there were more people like Trina out there. People were actually being taught I was a world-destroyer?
"What about you?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer, but asking anyway, "What do you believe?"
"I always thought the Trinity was a myth.
Then, with your summoning, it turned out to be real.
I didn't know what to think about it after that.
During the demonstration, what you did..
." He shook his head. "It wasn't supposed to happen.
You weren't supposed to have had access to that amount of magic.
Not on the level you're at. It was unusual, to say the least."
I felt my face burn. Though out of anger or shame, it was difficult to tell. Maybe it was both of these things, because I had thought Caleb was my friend.
"If it makes you that uncomfortable, I wouldn't blame you if you can't be my instructor anymore. If you truly think I'm that horrible of a person, then maybe you shouldn't be."
I turned and left him standing alone in the hallway. What hurt the most was that he didn't try to stop me with an apology or further explanation.
He just let me go.
After lunch, when I didn't see Cleopatra in the dining hall, I made my excuses to Amber and Oliver, determined to track her down and apologize. I hated the feeling that I had been inadvertently mean to someone, that I had hurt her feelings in some way.
After traipsing through the entire castle, almost, and asking loads of people whom I've never spoken to before if they've seen her, I finally found Cleopatra sitting alone at a desk in the West Wing Library with books folded open all around her.
She looked very busy as she sat there, poring over all those books.
I walked up to her. "May I sit down?"
She glanced up and shrugged. "Do as you please, I can't stop you."
There wasn't a chair at the same table, so I brought one over. It scraped across the floor with a high-pitched squeal, and when I put it in front of the desk, she was looking at me, rather annoyed.
"Are you quite done making a racket? This is a library, you know."
I sat down, then took something out of my pocket and put it in front of her. Cleopatra stared down at the folded paper frog as if it were going to bite.
"What is it?"
"It's a frog. My mother taught me to make them. When my brothers and I fight, we're supposed to make one for each other. So I made one for you. Because earlier, I was a big jerk to you, and I didn't mean to be. I'm sorry."
She shrugged, "What do you mean?"
I sighed. This was more difficult than I had anticipated.
"When I said you should be cheering for me, it's only because you are so obviously talented and everything that the thought of you cheering me on was supposed to be the joke.
I was just trying to be funny, to lighten the mood.
I'm starting to think I'm not funny at all and should stop making jokes. "
"You're right, you should stop, because you're not." But her mouth pulled into a crooked grin as she regarded me. I grinned back at her, and it was okay between us.
She picked up the frog and studied it before looking at me. "I don't always pick up on subtle social cues, you know. I think it's because I've had so little practice."
I nodded, "That's the thing, though. I suck at it, too, and I've had loads of practice. I'm just awkward and put my foot in my mouth sometimes."
Now, she really did smile. "Well, I accept your apology frog, but I do have some studying left to do."
I understood that she wanted to be left alone again, so I got up.
"Alright. See you later, I suppose. But if you ever feel like practicing your social graces on a few easygoing, unjudgmental people, you can always join our table in the dining hall.
Amber, Oliver, and I are easy to practice on, I promise. "
She nodded. "I'll think about it."
I left the West Wing Library feeling light and happy.