began after a moment. “Maeve was consulted as she reads the stars. She is certain that there is a quest for George. I realize that at present it may seem impossible, however he should continue to come to Charming Academy so that he can prepare for that quest.”
“I see,” Markus said. “Do you have any words of comfort we might give him? He loved Eleanor very much.”
“We all did,” Tabitha agreed.
“I’m afraid I have no magic cure for heartbreak,” Calista admitted sadly. “Like all wounds, this must run its course and heal on its own.”
By the time school had started again, everyone at the two schools was aware of what had happened to Eleanor and her family. At mealtimes, the boys did everything they could to keep George’s spirits up. They talked about their classes, the weather, anything to pull him from his melancholy. Every now and again he would be like himself again, but between losing Eleanor and not having Adrian there with his quick humor, the boys were struggling. One evening, he stood and said, “I know it’s probably frustrating, what you’re doing, but thanks. I’m glad I have such good friends.”
“We’re here for you,” Kaelen said.
George nodded and went upstairs to Gelasia’s office. He knocked on the door before entering.
“Well, good evening, George,” she said. “Is it that time again?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Have a seat.” After George sat, she waited for him to speak. When he remained silent she asked, “How was your day?”
“It was alright, I guess. Long.”
“Describe it to me, dear.”
“I doubt it would be very interesting.” He went through his day, describing each class. “Dragon fighting was terrible. I guess I just don’t understand what the point is of me staying here. Eleanor is gone and no quest will bring her back.”
“You’re right.”
“I beg your pardon?” He hadn’t expected her to agree with him. He’d been expecting a rebuttal.
“There is no quest that can bring Eleanor back, in that aspect you are correct. However,” she continued, “that does not mean that your education here is wasted or unimportant. When things like this happen, there is always another way provided.”
“But, Gelasia, I loved Eleanor, with all my heart,” he countered. “How can I offer the shattered remains to someone else? It wouldn’t be fair to them or to me.”
Patting his hand, she said, “My dear boy, heartache too can heal. Even the deepest and most painful wound can heal. You must simply be open to healing. If you close off your heart, than you will always be a broken man. But, if you can find the strength within yourself to heal than you can find love again.”
“I suppose so. It just hurts so badly.”
“I’m afraid there is nothing I can do to amend that, George. But, the pain won’t last forever.”
They spent another hour in the room talking before George left to return to his own room so he could finish his homework and get ready for bed. When he arrived, he sat on the bed for a while and just thought. The more he thought, the more he hurt. Finally angry and upset, he threw his pillow across the room. Soon he was tearing the bed apart, throwing bedding, pillows, papers, books, anything that reached his hands went flying away until he crumpled on the bed in tears. Queenie came over to him from her box in the corner. A blanket had fallen on her head, waking her from sleep. She nuzzled his hand and began licking it. George looked down and stroked her long ears. “Oh, Queenie, I wish it would just stop.”
Queenie whined, continuing to lick his free hand. She placed a paw on his chest. She wasn’t sure why George was so sad and angry, but she wanted to help him feel better. She was surprised when George put his arms around her and cried. She licked his ears and sat quietly, waiting for him to be ready to let her go. He was her puppy and she would take care of him always.
Winter continued as it had begun and soon glimpses of spring were visible in the grounds of Charming Academy. The boys were busily preparing for their princesses to come, while trying to downplay it so as not to hurt George’s feelings. They knew the constant reminders were painful to him, and so they talked about other things. “I wonder where Adrian is right now,” Jacobi said one afternoon as they sat under their favorite tree.
“Your guess is as good as anyone’s,” Kaelen replied. “I doubt that any of us would know.”
George shook his head. Suddenly he muttered, “Being a prince stinks.”Everyone looked at him in surprise as he continued, “Look at Kaelen, he’s a beast. And Adrian’s heaven-knows-where as a frog. I’ve got no princess and Lucian’s princess hates him.”
“Hey now,” he argued with a teasing note in his voice, “Moira doesn’t hate me anymore.”
“Great, you don’t have any problems,” George retorted. “What’s so great about being Prince Charming anyway?”
“George, I know you’re upset and all,” Kaelen began.
“Do you? Do any of you know what this is like? I’ll never get the happily-ever-after that I was working so hard for because Eleanor is dead. You at least have princesses, well most of you. Kaelen, you’re the only one without a princess, but yours isn’t dead she just thinks you’re scum.”
“Hang on now,” Lucian warned as Kaelen glowered, “there’s no call for that George. We know you’re hurting.”
“Who cares?” George muttered. “None of you get it.”
“Well, Mr. Know-it-all,” Kaelen sneered, “why don’t you try telling us?”
“You’re too dumb to understand anyway.”
Kaelen jumped on George, hitting him dead in the face. Jacobi and Lucian jumped in to pull the two away from each other. “Enough!” Lucian shouted when they finally managed to pry them apart. George was wiping blood from his face and Kaelen was snarling angrily. “We’re princes, not animals. Both of you knock it off.” He glared from one to the other. “Is this going to make either of you feel better? Hurting one another isn’t going to help anyone. Don’t you see that we’re all we’ve got? If we start picking at each other than none of us will succeed. We need each other. George, I’m sorry that Eleanor died, I am, but you’ve got to get over your anger. The three of us here are the only support you’ve got, George. If you alienate us, you’ll be alone. Kaelen, he’s hurt and angry. Breaking him in half isn’t going to solve the problem. Right now, who knows what’s going to happen for any of us? But we need each other.”
Without responding, George left to go to his room.
That evening when he met with Gelasia, he was pretty sure he was in for a talking to. His face was so swollen he could barely open his left eye. “Good evening, George. Might I ask what happened?”
“I’d rather not say,” he replied, blushing.
“Well, I’m afraid that like it or not, I’m not letting you leave until I know what has happened.”
“Would you believe me if I said I walked into a door?”
“I most certainly would not,” she retorted. “Out with it, George, what happened?”
He sighed and proceeded to tell her all that had happened. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. I was just so angry.”
“I suppose I don’t have to say how disappointed I am in your conduct,” she said after a moment. “You know better. However, I also know that sometimes heartache leads to being angry. Did you feel at all better when you snapped at Kaelen?”
“No, if anything I felt worse.”
“Then I’d say you learned the lesson. Forcing our own pain on others does not fix things. It only makes you feel isolated.”
He nodded and the conversation continued, talking about other things. It was a longer meeting than they normally had. He supposed that it was in part because the spring meeting was that Saturday and she wanted to be sure that he was prepared emotionally for the fact that Eleanor would not be there. As they had prepared to wrap things up he asked, “What will I do, Saturday I mean?”
“Well, I suppose you’ll be placed either with Leticia or Allegra. I don’t know for cert
ain, but as their princes are not available, I’m sure you will be with one of them.”
“Leticia doesn’t have a prince,” he said.
“Doesn’t she? I will tell you now, George, that we don’t keep students at these schools if they are missing half of the partnership. The very fact that Leticia is still in school states quite clearly that she does indeed have a prince.”
“So that means Kaelen has a princess? Even though Esmé was expelled?”
“Yes, and so do you; though it is understandably too close to Eleanor’s death for you to be considering who she might be,” she added. “A little secret about life; when one door is closed, another is opened. Anytime there has been such a tragedy at either school, the stars have been consulted. If it is found that the prince or princess in question no longer has a quest, then they are placed in a different school setting so as to still gain the proper education as befitting their rank, but to ensure that they do not befuddle someone else’s quest.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“It has happened that people have fallen in love with the wrong person,” she explained. “While they enjoyed happiness, others were left with only heartache and sorrow. There are many quests which were never finished because one party fell in love with someone else.”
“What happens to the other one?” he asked.
“It depends on the nature of the quest. There are some who are instantly returned to the school and they are then taken to home to court or be