The Luna Choosing Game

Julian's words rendered me speechless, and for a long moment, I didn’t say anything. He seemed content himself to let the words linger, and they did, hanging heavy in the air.

It meant the world to me, for Julian to feel that way. I only wished Nicholas felt the same. As it was, while the words were sweet and comforting, they changed absolutely nothing.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

At the end of the day, Nicholas would still choose someone more fitting to be his Luna, and I would be alone.

When enough time had passed, Julian blissfully changed the subject. “ Nicholas won't find any answers from the King and Queen.” He’d already said that to Nicholas’s face.

“He’s determined to learn something,” I said. “He believes that to be his only option.”

“Then he’s not looking close he enough.” Julian turned his head. I followed the length of his gaze up the hallway to where Selma was flitting about here and there, cleaning up and giving orders to the other staff.

Did he mean to talk to her?

“She’s not any more likely to tell you what’s going on than the King and Queen are,” I said.

Julian didn’t seem so sure. “She’s a good person. She’s exceedingly loyal to the crown, obviously, but don’t forget, like you so often seem to, that I am a part of the royal family. If I can speak to her alone, I should be able to uncover at least a few more pieces to the puzzle.” I still wasn’t entirely convinced. The King’s orders ranked higher than those of the princes. If he said not to tell anyone, she probably wouldn't tell even Julian.

But, if she truly was a good person, perhaps she harbored some guilt about what was happening here, with the King’s sabotage of me. I couldn’t imagine anyone being happy about having to lock some of her staff away in their room.

“It’s worth a try,” I said. What harm could it do? Either she told him what was going on, or part of it. Or she refused to say a word and nothing was lost. There really was no downside to the attempt.

“Okay, great,” he said. “Come with me.” I was confused. “Shouldn’t I stay out of this? I'm sure she’d be more willing to talk to you if I wasn’t there.”

“She won’t know you're there,” he said.

I followed him farther down the hallway, until we reached a door I hadn’t seen opened before. Julian grabbed it and opened it. Oh. It was a hallway closet filled with various cleaning supplies.

Julian motioned his arm as if I was to \ enter. There was enough room but it would be a tight squeeze.

My stomach twisted.

Since having fallen into that pit, the thought of being in an enclosed space made my nerves prickle. But... I had to be strong. Maybe if I continued to remind myself that the door was not being locked. I could get out at any time. I was stepping into this willingly and I wasn’t going to be trapped.

“Piper?” Julian’s features softened into question and concern. Original content from NôvelDrama.Org.

I didn’t want him to ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer, so I sucked in a big breath and stepped into the closet. When I turned back to face Julian, he seemed hesitant to close the door.

We didn’t have time to waste. The longer he waited to close the door, the more likely we would be caught in this hallway.

I reached out, grabbed the door handle, and closed myself into the closet.

The door had slats in it, on a diagonal facing downwards. I was confident that I was fully hidden in the dark, but I could see outwards okay enough.

Mostly, because of the downward slant to the slats, I saw Julian’s shirt and his legs and feet, but it was comforting that I could see even that much.