I HAVE NO idea where Peter went, but suddenly he wasn’t anywhere in the school. I checked everywhere, up and down, high and low. Peter was nowhere to be found. I sat in Bert’s room, him seated across from me. “Why do you always try to run away from Peter? He won’t hurt you,” I asked Bert. His eyes went wide. “Um… I don’t like him. There’s a look about him that gives me the chills,” “Oh.” He nodded awkwardly. “What’s your favorite part of being out of the castle, and away from the monarchs?” “I get to— um… nevermind. My favorite part of being out of the castle is having great friends, and time to spend for myself rather than being ordered about by a snooty prince all the time.” “I agree,” I said, grinning. There was a moment of silence before Bert spoke again, mumbling. “Peter’s a jerk.” “What do you mean?” “What?” “You just said that Peter was a jerk.” “Did I?!” I nodded. “Oh, um… sorry, I misspoke.” “No, it’s fine. I just want to know why you hold that opinion.” “Because— um… I don’t know. The first day he was here, he took me aside and threatened me, multiple times. He also knows…” he trailed off. I laughed. “He was just joking,” I said, though part of me was wondering if this was true, and why in the world Peter would do such a thing to my friend. Bert nodded, not looking very convinced. “Do you have anything else to talk about?” “Well, um… no.” “Neither do I,” Silence seeped into our conversation once again. “Do you know where Peter’s been?” I asked, hoping that even though they disliked eachother, Bert would know. He shrugged, and muttered something under his breath that I didn’t catch. “That’s too bad.” “I actually do know, but it’s only the result of some tell-tales I heard from Abigale.” Abigale was the person he went to the ball with, and she was very up-in-your-business. “Okay, what is it?” “Well, did you know that the Prince ran away?” I shook my head, aghast at that information. Bert nodded. “Peter tried to turn someone in as the prince, but it turned out to be someone else, and he was arrested.” “Arrested?!” my jaw dropped. I would never have expected Peter to be arrested. He nodded again. “Of course, that’s probably not true,” he assured me. I gulped, and nodded. I hope Peter’s okay! I thought. It wasn’t his fault that the person was an imposter! They should let him go! I glanced at my pocket watch, looking for an excuse to leave. “I’ll be late for my chores!” I exclaimed. Bert looked like he wanted to say something else, but nodded, and let me push through the door. “Peter, arrested?” I asked myself once I was in my room, setting myself on my cot. “No, no. I refuse to believe it. Peter would never get arrested!” tears pricked my eyes, threatening to spill out. “It wasn’t his fault that he got the wrong person! Darn, that Bert! He shouldn’t have told me that.” my eyes widened in realization of what I had just said. “I’m sorry, Bert.” I whispered, even though he wasn’t there and couldn’t have possibly heard me from all the way in his room. The tears that had once threatened to leave my eyes finally streaming down my cheeks. I sobbed, breathing heavily. I had never felt this way before. So torn! I didn’t know who to believe. Bert, who I had only known for a few months, or Peter, who I had known my whole life. Peter… I wanted to answer. I knew somehow that what I wanted to answer was wrong. I considered what Bert had said, and burst into tears again. Why? I skimped on my chores, my tears bringing me fast asleep.
Ack. 30. Chapters. 146 pages (I've written 3 more). Hello, my peeps! What's hangin'? HOW'S LIFE? Okie, enough with the greetings. I'm so happy to be presenting this chapter to you! I hope you enjoyed it Wow. That totally didn't save... -OREO
