Chapter 30 | Victor 

It's been a little over a week since the Thanksgiving dinner at Elijah's father's house. That also makes it a little over a week since I overheard Elijah and his father arguing over what life Elijah gets to live; and who he gets to love.

Love.

It's such a powerful word tied to an even more powerful emotion and feeling.

Since that night their conversation has not stopped replaying in my head. Victor's words echo in my mind, hinting at something just slightly out of my reach. What did he mean by 'not one of us' and 'duty to the country'?

I lay down sprawled on my bed as these thoughts race through my head. Shifting higher up my bed I grab my laptop, opening up safari.

As if my fingers were controlled by some phantom I start to type in "Elijah Peral" without a second thought.

What's the possible worst that I could find by looking up his name? I know Elijah, there's nothing that would make me change what I think about him and his kind heart and soul. Even if he is connected with some Mafia or wanted by the FBI or secretly a celebrity, or an alien or —

What am I doing? Am I so scared of what could be that I cant click one simple button? I know Elijah, he's my Elijah.

My finger lingers over the enter button, hesitant for a tenth of a second before I do it. The results load after what feels like a lifetime.

A couple of Facebook page links, wiki pages on actors with a similar name, and random photos. Huh.

I click on the search bar and refine my search. Elijah and Victor Peral.

This time the results load a bit quicker as my heart starts to race faster.

Air that was once so freely flowing through my lungs suddenly gets caught in my chest, my lips slightly parted, my body frozen as the headlines stare back at me.

Prince Elijah. The Next King of Perland and What You Need To Know.

Who Is Next In Line For King Victor Peral's Throne?

King Victor Peral of Perland announces Son Prince Victor the Third as Next In Line for Throne.

My fingers move without a second thought to scroll down the page. This time the main focus being gossip sites.

Player-boy Prince Elijah Next In Line For Throne.

Where Is Prince Elijah Now? Track The Next Kings Trail of Kicked Out Schools.

Prince Elijah Rejects "Victor" Family Name at Ball.

Who Is the Mysterious Prince Elijah? What You Should Know About The Young Prince.

I decide to click on the last article, what should I know about him? I'm nervous about what I might read. What if he's not the same Elijah I know. Can I even trust these gossip sights? I can't help but feel as though I'm betraying him by reading these but my curiosity gets the best of me as I read the bold text throughout the article.

1. He's next in line for the Throne of Perland.

2. He hasn't lived in his home country since the death of his mother.

3. He's been kicked out of 8 different boarding schools since the age of 10.

4. Most of what the public knows about him comes from his numerous female companions.

5. He's rejected his family name "Victor" for the name Elijah

6. He's been in trouble multiple times for fighting.

7. It's rumored he's to marry Princess Sienna before officially taking over.

I stop reading then and there.

Princess Sienna. Marriage?

I close my laptop deciding that I've seen enough but my thoughts haven't caught up to the rest of me. I need a shower.

The beads of slightly cool water hit my skin and make me feel refreshed and new. It's cold outside so I usually enjoy my showers hot but right now I needed to clear my head and wash everything off me.

I wash my scalp with my favorite Moroccan Oil scented conditioner feeling the tension finally leave my body and fresh air fills my lungs for the first time since I had sat down to search.

Am I surprised by what I had found? It didn't seems too far off or unbelievable now that I knew. The details had been there all along just waiting for me to pick them up.

He's still the Elijah I know. Regardless of his past... or his future; he's still the same man I've gotten to know these past couple of months. Still the same guy who has listened to me complain about heartbreaking plotlines in my favorite shows and sat through the bickering of my best friends. The same guy who listened to me when I yelled, kept up his side of our playful arguments, and held me when I wanted to cry. That's the Elijah I know. Kind, gentle, thoughtful, and caring about all of those close to him. Intimidating at first but as soft as a teddy bear once he let you into his heart. He's Elijah. My Elijah. He's the guy I-

My phone starts to buzz, text messages sounding through my phone in my room.

Washing off the last of the soap on my body I wrap myself in my towel and dry off before comping through my hair and heading back to my room. Just as I reach my phone a call comes in.

Hey! Did you get my texts?

Hi. I just got out of the shower so I didn't get the chance.

Well, I have a surprise for you since you said you're weren't feeling well and weren't at school today. And your homework but that's not much of a present. Come downstairs.

I smile as I hear the doorbell ring downstairs.

I'll be right down.

I put on my favorite fuzzy holiday pants and my softest cropped sweater before heading down the stairs.

I open the door to find a smiling Elijah in a leather jacket and black jeans, his slightly damp hair sprinkled with snowflakes; ice cream and cookies in hand.

I can't help but giggle at the sight of him. "It's below freezing outside and you're wearing nothing but a thin jacket and holding ice cream. Come inside."

He shrugs, "Contrary to popular opinion, this jacket is pretty warm." He steps inside and puts the food down on the little bench on the door before slugging off his jacket. Wrapping his arms around my waist he says, "You're pretty hot though."

Pressing his soft lips to mine he gives me a sweet kiss. "You smell really good." He hugs me closer and nuzzles his head in the space between my shoulder and neck.

"So you do." I breathed in his familiar scent and felt my body immediately relax into his, feeling safe and at home.

We stayed silent for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms as Elijah tightened his arms around my waist. I did the same, relaxing my head on his chest and feeling the beat of his heart.

"Are you feeling any better?"

I nodded, "Staying home and sleeping in a bit did the trick."

He smiled and pressed another kiss on my lips, this time lingering a little longer afterward before deciding to kiss me again. This time the kiss was deepened and lasted longer as we made up for lost time.

"You hungry?" My eyes widened, "I'll take that as a yes." He said before picking the ice cream and cookies back up.

I ran my hands through his damp hair, giggling at the remaining snowflakes still in his hair. "We can go eat in my room, c'mon".

It wasn't until we reached my room and I spotted my now closed laptop on my bed that I remembered what I had looked up just moments ago.

"You must be freezing, I'll get you a blanket."

I walk back to Elijah sitting on my bed, my favorite ice cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, in hand along with two spoons.

I sat across from him and wrapped my favorite white fuzzy blanket around him. I did the same to myself with another blanket of mine as he opened the box of cookies and held one up to my lips.

I took a bite and smiled. "They're still warm"

He nodded before taking a bite himself. "School was boring without you. The girls told me to bring you this." He pulled out a clear pink lipgloss and handed it over to me. "They said it would help?"

"This is special lipgloss," I said with an emphasis on special. "Only for special occasions but it's supposed to make you feel like a bad bitch even during your darkest hour." I applied the lipgloss lightly and perked my lips. "I feel better already."

He raised an eyebrow before leaning over and pecking me on the lips. After rubbing his lips together he said "Mmh, me too. I feel like baddie already."

I laughed, "Baddie?!"

He shrugged, "Bella kept using it and I decided it was appropriate to add it into my vocabulary. Came in handy didn't it?"

I nodded and took another bite of the cookie.

"What'd you spend your day doing?"

If I'm going to talk to him about this, better now than ever. And I do want to talk to him.

"I slept well into the day and then had some coffee. I wasn't really hungry since I wasn't feeling well but then I had another nap and a shower."

He shook his head, "We need to get you something more than just cookies and ice cream then. C'mon, I'll cook you a grand meal downstairs."

"A grand meal?"

"Yes indeed. I make an excellent sandwich, pasta, or box mac and cheese. Or my newest specialty, frozen pizza."

I shook my head, "Very grand."

He got up to leave but I held his arm. "I need to talk to you about something first."

"Sounds like I'm in trouble. Did something happen?"

"No no nothing like that. I actually um..."

How do I even say this to him? Hey sorry I eavesdropped on your conversation with your father and googled you and now I know you're a soon-to-be King who the media seems to love to track since you got into trouble quite a bit.

Oh, well maybe something like that.

"The other day at Thanksgiving when I was leaving the bathroom I overheard you and your dad arguing."

His eyes widened. His body tensed but he sat still all the same. 

"Well I heard you guys talking about your mom, and how she called you Elijah and that's why you go by Elijah instead of Victor." I paused to sense any reaction from him but his face remained. "And I heard him talk about doing what was right for the country, your country; and that's it was your... duty."

He lowered his head, but I wasn't finished yet.

I squeezed his hand which laid in mine and continued. "I put off thinking about it really, I guess I was scared or; nervous is really the best word for it. I wasn't sure what to think, only that you had something you were keeping to yourself which I didn't mind at all but I guess it just... I don't know. I got curious and it got the best of me today. So I googled you."

His head hung low and his voice was softer than usual. He sounded... ashamed. "So you know?"

I nodded, "Yes."

We both stayed quiet for a while. I wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm so sorry, Alora."

Sorry? I raised an eyebrow, "Why are you sorry?"

"I should have told you as soon as we got together. Before that even. I had to keep it secret, for security reasons but also because I was..." his voice softened, "scared. Scared it would change my life here, scared it would change how you saw me. That you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore... or my girlfriend."

He raised his head. "I want to tell you everything. I knew I wanted to at some point but I was a coward saying I was waiting for the right time."

"You're not a coward Elijah." I lifted his chin and looked him in the eye. "Nothing you tell me is going to change my opinion of you or how I feel about you." My hand moved to cup his face, "You're always going to be my Elijah."

He closed his eyes, a smile slowly forming on his lips and he cupped my hand with his. 

"You can tell me whenever you're ready, even if that's not now."

He nodded, "I want to tell you now."

Now he held both my hands in his lap as he began to speak. "My full title is Prince Victor Elijah Peral the Third of Perland. It's a small country about the size of Puerto Rico just West of France and South of Iceland. My Father, King Victor Peral the Second named me the official heir to the throne at 16 almost two years ago. My mother died when I was 10, she was very ill for a while. I was closest to her, we used to spend all of our time together. She was my mother but also my teacher, taking care of a large portion of my education and teaching me how to be an honorable man and future King in general. 

My father and I weren't close, I believe he truly did love my mother but his infidelity and duties kept us from being a true family, more out of choice than necessity. He saw me more as a true heir than a son and never let me forget my 'destiny' as he called it. Unless he was talking about the throne we barely spoke.  When my mother died it just caused a larger strain between us. I acted up especially regarding my education so he decided it'd be best to send me to boarding school."

He paused giving me some time to take it all in. It must have been so hard for him to lose his mother and what was left of his father figure when she died. All that pressure and eyes on you all the time and none of the compassion and support.

I squeezed his hand and allowed him to continue.

"I began 5th grade at one boarding school and ended it at another. I spent 6th in another stricter school but by 7th I had been kicked out yet again. In 7th grade, my father decided that he wanted me to follow him in whatever country he was doing business in at the time, for bonding, I guess although I saw him only on holidays. 

Halfway through 8th grade, I had been to 5 different schools. My father seemed to have enough of me by then and sent me to a boarding school in England. That's where I made my first ever friend, Vinnie. That's the school I went to for the longest, from 8th to the beginning of Junior year. 

My father became fond of Vinnie in a way, probably because he saw him as a good influence. He became part of what we loosely call the family and was trained to protect both him and me while money was sent to support his family. So technically he's my bodyguard but he'll always be my best friend." He paused once again, "Am I overwhelming you?"

I shook my head, "8 different schools since the age of 10" I said, recalling the article.  "That had to have been so difficult for you, I can't even imagine."

"I got kicked out mostly for causing trouble and fighting. I felt like I had to prove that I was more than just a coddled prince and I hated what my father had done to me, sending me away. I missed being taught by my mother." He lowered his head, "I also started gaining a reputation."

I thought back to the headlines and articles about the player-boy prince. Is this what he was referring to?

"Gossip tabloids especially in our country loved following royalty. I got a reputation as a trouble maker, as I got older I started to act out in different ways... mostly with drinking and sex. From a fairly early age it started on and I hurt a lot of people when I stopped caring about everything, including people's feelings. It's my biggest regret." He took a breath, "Karma rightfully came to kick my ass after a while when some of the people I hurt went to the tabloids and started spreading rumors about me which snowballed from there."

"The timing of the tabloids along with the help of Vinnie and threats from my father finally got me thinking straight. Sophomore to Junior year I started to refocus on my studies which I had forgotten how much I loved and I made a deal with my father to allow me to study in the states on my own as long as Vinnie came along with me. Since then I've tried to become the man my mother raised me to be, someone she could be proud to call her son," He scratched his head, "Although I do tend to let myself get carried away sometimes with fun."

I smiled at his last line. "I know your mother would be proud. You're a wonderful man to me and the people around you. She raised you well."

We smiled at each other for a minute as I processed all that was said to me. He's been through so much and in the end, used it to shape him into a better person. So many people would have let that be the end of it but he pushed forward. 

"Nothing you've said to me changes my thoughts about you. If anything I can understand you better now so thank you for telling me."

"Thank you for listening." He responds. 

"I won't say anything about it to anyone. Not until you're ready and until everything falls into place."

"Thank you. I hate that I'm the reason you'll have to lie to the girls but I'm glad you know everything now and I won't ever have to hide anything from you again." He chuckles, "If anything it's a good thing you overheard that conversation with my father.

I smile, "Yeah I guess it did work out for the best."

His eyebrows raise, "Exactly how much of that conversation did you hear exactly?"

I paused, confused as to what he was referring to until it hit me. "All of it, at least until the end."

"So you heard..."

I nod my head "Yeah." I smiled.

"I guess you know all of my secrets now." He looked me in the eye as a new vulnerable expression graced his face, "I love you, Alora."

My heart exploded in what I could only describe as pure happiness. My breath caught in my throat and my brain stopped all its thinking at once, my only thought being...

"I love you, Elijah".

-:-

AGH! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's long overdue and took me so long to write but it's every bit worth it. 

Let me know what your favorite part was! What are your thoughts on the chapter and the book so far? I love reading all the comments and opinions (I read every single one). 

I hope you all are having a beautiful day/night. It's time for me to head to bed... goodnight!