Chapter 108 - The Other Side

After Laina returned to the palace, she continued to try and contact Dante. Holding the pendant in her hand, she looked listlessly at the blood rose he had given her. She had placed it in its own vase and left it on her dressing table. 

She admired its dark red petals, mesmerized by how deep the color was. Much to her surprise, the flower had remained relatively intact. It did not require water or sunlight to maintain its beautiful form. 

"I wonder what's keeping you alive, rose," Laina muttered to the blood rose as she leaned her chin on the back of her arm. 

Moments later, Margaret knocked and entered the room. With Kol's help, she brought in a silver tray and had it set up on the dining table in the small living room that was attached to Laina's bedroom. 

Once everything was set up properly, Margaret walked over to get Laina. As soon as she noticed the princess at the dressing table, mopping; she could not help but sigh as she shook her head. 

Margaret sneaked up on her and tapped Laina on the shoulder with a soft smile, "It's time for breakfast, your Highness."

Laina did not hear the handmaid the first time around, so she tried again. But this time, Margaret leaned in close to Laina and whispered into her ear. 

"Breakfast is ready, Princess Laina."

Surprised by Margaret's whisper, Laina jumped in her seat. When she finally registered what Margaret had said, Laina slumped back down on the dressing table. 

She leaned on the right side of her face, smushing her cheek onto the dressing table as she let out a sigh. 

"Oh, just leave it there. I'm not really hungry right now," Laina replied monotonously. 

She continued to fiddle with the pendant in her hand. Margaret furrowed her eyebrows as she shook her head. She was not about to give up that easily. 

"It's because he's not replying, isn't it?" The handmaid asked as she crossed her arms. 

Laina did not reply. Maybe she was overthinking it. Maybe Dante was just really busy, so he was unable to pick up her call. Maybe the pendant was faulty. Who knows? He could be trying to contact her but was unable to do so. 

No, it could not be. Laina had had the pendant checked, it worked well. So what was it? This was the situation Margaret had wanted to avoid from the beginning. She did not want to see Laina like this. 

While she would usually have something negative to say about Dante, this time, she was focused on getting Laina to see the brighter side of things instead. 

She placed a hand on Laina's shoulder and said, "Maybe he's just in the middle of something. I'm sure he'll reply as soon as he is able to do so."

The Crown Princess felt a little better after hearing what Margaret had to say. But she was surprised by her sudden change in attitude. She tilted her head and looked up at her handmaiden. 

"I think this is the first time I have ever heard you say anything nice about him," Laina said with a smile. 

Margaret grinned, "Well, don't get used to it. I just… I just want to look out for you. I'm not saying he isn't a great person or anything, I just want you to be safe."

Laina placed her hand on Margaret's. She was touched to hear just how much her handmaid cared for her. Most maids would have simply agreed with everything the princess said or did. 

Yet Margaret was willing to voice her own opinions, even if they differed. 

"And that is why I love having you by my side, Margaret. Thank you for always looking out for me," Laina said with a smile. 

To give it one last try, Laina tapped the pendant once more. She did not expect much to happen. The pendant emitted a soft glow. There was a moment of silence.

Then, she heard a voice coming from the other end. 

"Laina, are you there?" 

Another moment of silence. Upon realizing he had actually responded, a smile appeared on Laina's face. 

"Dante? Dante, you picked up!" She exclaimed excitedly as she looked up at Margaret. 

She eagerly waited for his response. But what she heard next made her fear the worst. There was a loud crash, accompanied by the sound of splintering tree barks. 

Laina jumped up from her seat, "Dante, Dante! Is everything alright? What's all that commotion?" 

Even Kol, who was in the next room, came over to see what was going on after hearing how anxious Laina sounded. Every passing second she waited for a response felt like an eternity. 

"Dante? Are you there?" She asked again, more anxious than ever.

She curled her hands into fists. Laina could hear her heart pounding in her ears. What if he was badly injured and in need of medical assistance? She would not even be able to send help since she did not know where he was. 

Laina turned to Margaret, her face twisted with worry, "Margaret, could he be in danger? Where could he possibly be?"

Seeing how worried the princess was, Margaret quickly reassured Laina as best as she could. But there was nothing she could do to help keep her calm. 

Just then, Dante's voice came through, "I'm alright, Laina. Don't worry my love."

Those last two words echoed in Laina's mind as stood there. It was as if she was frozen in time. Her face began to heat up as her cheeks turned bright red. Her heart was still palpitating. 

But it was no longer because of fear or anxiety. A different emotion had taken its place. 

Through the pendant, Dante cleared his throat as he spoke again, "I'm sorry, your Highness but I am a little tied up at the moment. I'll speak to you later."

"Wait-" before she could get another word in, the connection between them was cut. 

Laina slumped down in her chair. She did not speak for some time, as she tried to process what had just happened. Margaret and Kol exchanged looks for a moment. 

Hoping to lighten the mood, Kol muttered, "At least he finally picked up."

<Writing Prompt #9 - When time stood still>

A new song popped up on Selene's phone. It was titled <Time>. At first, she did not think much of it. As she was about to click it away, she noticed that at the bottom of the title was a line that read 'you can only listen once'.

Intrigued, Selene clicked in. The music was pretty good. It was not the best thing she's ever heard, but she knew it was catchy enough to make it into the top charts. As she entered her apartment, Selene paused the music. 

She took off her headphones as she entered the living room. She absentmindedly walked into the kitchen and put away the groceries. 

"I'm home!" She called out as she took the carton of milk out of the brown paper bag. 

She walked over to the fridge to place the milk in. As she continued to put away the remaining groceries, Selene furrowed her eyebrows. Her partner, Emeline, would have replied to her by now. 

She turned to look into the living room, half expecting to see Emeline walking out to greet her. 

Had she gone out? 

If she did, she would have left a note or a message. But there was no sticky note on the fridge or a notepad on the countertop. She began to rationalize the situation. Maybe Emeline just had her headphones on, so she could not hear her. 

Selene went over to the study room to check on Emeline. The door was half-open, so she just pushed the door gently. As it creaked open, Selene peeked in. 

"Emeline… babe, are you-" what followed was a gasp of horror and shock. 

Her lips quivered, her hands were shaking. There she was, her partner, sitting at her desk. At first glance, everything looked normal. But she was not moving. Emeline was sitting at her desk, completely still. 

Selene wondered if this was just a prank. But it was not April Fool's and she was the prankster in their relationship. 

"Emeline… babe, can you hear me?" Selene called out to her as she shook her shoulders and waved her hand in front of Emeline. 

But there was no response. 

Something was definitely going on. Selene walked over to the window and looked out. Her eyes widened in shock. She took a step back, trying to make sense of everything she was seeing. 

The Earth stood still. Everything stopped moving. The cars, the people walking down the streets. Even the bird that flew by was stuck mid-air, unmoving. 

"This… this cannot be…" Selene muttered to herself. 

Selene turned back to see the computer screen that Emeline was working on. She tried moving the mouse but the cursor remained frozen on the screen. When she tried typing on the keyboard, nothing worked either. 

Something was clearly wrong. Selene reached for her phone that she had slipped in her back pocket earlier. 

"What the…" her phone was frozen.

She tried swiping her finger on her screen but nothing worked. It was stuck on the page that she had last accessed. The song titled <Time> was still visible on her screen. As she tried to tap the screen to get it to work, Selene accidentally presses the play button. 

As if on cue, everything began to move once more.

"Selene? When did you come back?" Emeline called out to her as she stood up from her seat. 

Selene jolted in shock, surprised to see things going back to normal. As her partner walked over to give her a hug and a kiss on her cheek, Selene stood there in utter shock. 

What happened?