The Fractured Prism (The Prism Files Book 1)

by Brendan Noble

  While Isaac pressed forward in conversation, Julia was obviously uncomfortable, fiddling with her own ring and looking around anxiously. Though she was trying to hide the discomfort, it wasn’t working. She drank the rest of her cocktail quickly and made eye contact with me, her eyes wide. I’ll take that as a signal. I slid through the smoky crowd and up to them, speaking as formally as I could, “Could you use another drink, m’lady?”

  She nodded properly. “I would appreciate that.” She looked towards Isaac and struggled to smile. “Isaac, this is my bodyguard, Ivan.”

  Isaac didn’t seem at all interested in me. I reached out my hand and grinned cockily, using my numbers as a tool to make him a little uncomfortable. “Ivan 181375. Pleasure to meet you.” Judging by his reaction, I could tell he was the arrogant first born who always thought too highly of himself. His fake smile and excessive usage of some type of expensive tropical cologne meant he liked attention, just not from me.

  He looked at my hand, peaked at Julia, who was analyzing me skeptically, looked at me again, and uncomfortably shook. His voice was cold and raspy. “Isaac Preus.”

  I pointed my finger obnoxiously as I faked a thought. “Aha, Preus! Your great-grandfather was the last governor of Minnesota before the war, wasn’t he?”

  He gave me a look that asked why I was talking to him and sighed, reluctant. “Yes, he was.”

  Tapping my finger against my lips, thinking, I pushed with more fake curiosity. Sometimes a little useless knowledge can be helpful. Good thing Poseidon taught me to read. “I can never remember, did Minnesota have elections for governor or appointments from the king back then?”

  Realization crept over Julia’s face as she finally understood my plan, and she cut in. “I’ll let you two talk for a bit. I can grab the drink myself.” She gave me a thankful look and glided off. This is going to be way too much fun.

  Isaac looked longingly after her before turning to me, a vein on his temple twitching. “He was appointed. Now if you’d excuse me…”

  Where do you think you’re going? “Huh, I always thought Minnesota had elections. I guess that’s what you get when you didn’t go to school!” I laughed, he didn’t.

  He quickly took a drink of what looked like whiskey and bit his cheek, looking around the room, desperate to get away.

  “Surprising that your family doesn’t have a larger role to play with the power you all had before the war. I mean, before I was brought into the princess’s service I’d only heard a bit about your father.”

  His eyes narrowed as he aggressively downed the rest of his drink, the vein twitching with agitation. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Your worst nightmare.

  I responded sarcastically, “Oh. Sore spot?”

  His fist clenched, and he bit his cheek as he hissed, “My family deserved better, and we are going to get it. You wouldn’t understand, Red.” What does that mean?

  I cracked my knuckles. “I was surprised to hear that you were at an event for international politicians, White.”

  He scoffed. “I build war planes. It is very important for me to connect with international buyers.”

  “Ah, gotcha, and princesses, apparently.” He glared at me but did not respond. “I’m sure it’s hard to compete with your prices since you use such… cheap… labor.”

  “I’m not sure what you…”

  I rattled my tag obnoxiously and raised an eyebrow.

  He rolled his eyes. “The Red Tags provide a fine service for the collective and are compensated for their work.” Fine service. What a joke.

  “So, how do you feel about Princess Julia?”

  “I beg your pardon?” There goes the vein again.

  “How do you feel about her?”

  He coughed and narrowed his eyes suspiciously before clearing his throat and tightening his tie. “She’s an attractive, young princess with a powerful family. What’s not to like, besides her talkative bodyguard?”

  “Oh, I see.” Fight me.

  Julia returned as Isaac appeared ready to assault me, but my job was done. He got the message, and she got away for a bit. While she was gone, she definitely had more than one drink, as the slight hint of fruity alcohol hung around her. She smiled at us. “Glad to see you two are getting on well.”

  Isaac just flicked his eyes between her and me as the vein looked ready to burst.

  I exuberantly clapped my hands together. “Well then, I should head back to my post. It was nice meeting you Isaac.” I reached out for a handshake, which he did not accept. I left it there for a few moments. “Hope selling planes to dangerous dictators, I mean other countries, goes well.” Bastard. I turned to Julia and bowed. “M’lady.”

  Julia coughed, trying not to laugh and quickly regaining her poise. She sent a warning shot as I passed by, telling me to behave. No. Hopefully I could relieve some of the pressure. If he hated me, maybe that would give him a reason to stay away. Shackles are off.

  I purposely bumped into one of the Purple UPF higher-ups on the way back, saying sorry very deliberately, so that he saw I was a Red. I am the life of the party. So much for being low key.

  Eventually, the speeches started, and people gathered tightly around the various standing tables as the crowd quieted down. Julia used this as a good time to glide back to her family. I was proud of her for toughing through that without stabbing the guy. I really wanted to, and I actually had a knife hidden up my right sleeve. Bodyguards didn’t get searched.

  While General Secretary Bachton took the stage and began ranting about the unshackling of the proletariat or something, I slid over to the bar and signaled the Green bartender. “Hey, I was just talking to Isaac Preus, and he wanted me to let you know that he wants five bottles of your most expensive champagne sent to his room tonight. Something about a massive fighter plane deal.”

  The bartender looked at me skeptically before noticing the Hughes family pin. “Oh, well, okay then. We will have those sent up for him soon. Did he just want it put on his room tab?”

  “Yes, of course. Thank you.”

  “No problem.” I’m an asshole.

  Eventually, the speeches finished, and guests began stumbling to their rooms. I moved towards Julia from my position, but Isaac beat me to her. He shot me a glare as I approached before returning his attention to her, wobbling on his feet. “May I have the honor of taking you back to my room this evening, my betrothed?” He reached for her hand.

  Rage surged inside of me, and panic filled Julia’s eyes. She stepped back, out of reach. “I think it would be best if we slept in our own rooms, Isaac.”

  Isaac stepped towards her, drunkenly grabbing her arm. Oh no you don’t. I flew forward swiftly and ripped his arm away from her before he could speak again. “I believe the princess made herself clear.”

  As he stumbled backwards, I put myself between him and Julia. A mix of realization and anger crossed his face as he pointed at me. “You’re going to regret this, Red.” His expression softened, and he looked past me to Julia. “I’ll stop by your room later, my princess.” With a frustrated huff, he shuffled towards the doors.

  I made sure he was gone before turning around. “You alright?”

  Julia took a deep breath. “Yes. Thank you for intervening, though. I don’t know what he would have done.”

  I smiled softly and shrugged. “No problem. Though, he did say he would be stopping by your room.”

  Julia hesitated, and worry crept onto her face. “He did, and we’re on the same floor I think. What am I going to do?”

  I pondered for a second. “Don’t worry. I’ll stand watch outside your door to make sure he doesn’t do anything.”

  She pursed her lips in thought. “You are willing to stand outside the door all night?”

  I shrugged. “It’s my job, and if it makes you feel better, then it’s worth it.”

  She smiled. She was slightly tipsy, and her guard was down more than normal. “Thank you, Ivan. I really appreciate it.” She sighed. �
�Maybe I could actually get some sleep, then.”

  “I also have a surprise that I think you’ll enjoy.”

  Her eyes narrowed skeptically. “What is it?”

  “You’ll see soon.”

  She groaned. “Ivan!” I just shrugged. “Promise me you’ll avoid making a scene in the future, please.”

  I laughed. “Fine. I promise.”

  She shook her head sarcastically before meeting my eyes. “Walk me up?”

  I bowed. “It would be my honor, m’lady.”

  She rolled her eyes, and we walked towards the elevators.

  Chapter 23

  We arrived just as the chaos struck. Isaac was raging at a poor hotel staffer outside of his room, “I did not order five bottles of $5,000 champagne! How hard is that to understand?” Hell yes.

  The worker sheepishly raised up his arms in defense and stuttered, “There’s no return policy, sir. These were ordered for your room.”

  Julia’s room was at the other end of the hall, so I slid over, smiling at Isaac and blocking him from her. She held back a smile as she realized that this was my surprise.

  Isaac was on fire, and I loved every second of it. The forehead vein was this snake’s rattle. “You, bodyguard, tell them to take this back.”

  I looked at the Yellow Tag hotel staffer and then at him, shrugging. “I think he was pretty clear. How much have you had that you don’t remember ordering it? I was there!”

  He slammed his knuckles into the wall in anger. “No, I didn’t. Ah! Fine. It’s just $25,000 anyway.” Okay. Rich bastard. He looked at Julia, his green eyes a mix of rage and panic as he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, my betrothed. I’m not an alcoholic, I swear.”

  Julia didn’t respond, and I blocked Isaac as she glided by. He pushed against me for a moment before giving up and slumping back into his room. Hopefully that’s all the energy he has for the night.

  I escorted Julia to her room and unlocked it for her before taking my post outside. She smiled rebelliously before going in. “That was amazing, Ivan, but never do anything like that again.”

  I nodded and smirked. “Yes, m’lady. Have a goodnight.”

  She rolled her eyes and entered the room. “Goodnight, Ivan. Thank you again for offering to stand guard.”

  The next six hours were awful as I stood outside the room, bored out of my mind. It was me, the weird smell from the carpet, and the drum that was my heartbeat, which seemed deafening in the silent hall. The only other sounds I heard were the occasional whirring of the elevator shaft and the constant, ever so slight, buzz of electricity from the lights in the hall. I was left to think about everything that had happened, but Julia’s arranged marriage was stuck in my mind. It didn’t matter whether I had feelings for her or not. I was not going to let her be forced into marrying Isaac.

  As I hoped, Isaac never came. He had probably passed out from the alcohol, whether he drank any of the champagne or not. Still, standing guard was worth it, just in case.

  Eventually, the world woke up, and people started moving out of their rooms. Julia appeared at the door, wearing similar clothes to the casual ones she had on earlier yesterday. She rubbed her eyes. “Hey, Ivan. Any trouble last night?”

  “Surprisingly, no. Seems like the alcohol got to his head.”

  She yawned. “I’m glad. Sorry you had to stay up all night, though.”

  I smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it. Though, I could use a shower to wake myself up.”

  She smiled softly. “I will have them bring your bag up. You can shower here. Isaac is still around, so I would prefer you stay close.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

  She responded sternly, “I’m a princess, and I say it’s okay.”

  Once my bag arrived, I showered and changed into my spare clothes. As I threw by bag on the couch in the suite and started packing up, Julia walked out of the bedroom and sighed. “You would think a hotel this expensive could get a princess a decent hairdryer.”

  I laughed and looked back at her. “Oh, how the monarchy has fallen.”

  She giggled. “Almost done?”

  “Yup. Thanks for letting me use your shower.”

  She sat down next to my bag on the couch. “Of course.” She hesitated, and her eyes searched for words. “Why did you try so hard to ensure Isaac stayed away from me last night?”

  I considered the question for a second before deflecting. “It’s my job to protect you, Julia.” She looked at me disapprovingly. “And… I know how much this matters to you.”

  She sat, looking at her hands and thinking. “Ivan, what am I going to do?”

  I moved my bag and sat down next to her, sighing. “I don’t know. It pains me to say it.”

  She looked at me before standing, her hands fidgeting with her ring nervously as she paced around the room. Last night had been rough for her, and her eyes were irritated from crying, a sea of blue clashing with streaks of red. She spoke intently, “You came up with everything to stop it last night. You have nothing now?”

  I looked down before returning my eyes to hers, defeated. “Making him hate me with stupid questions and sending a prank to his room is one thing. Convincing your parents is a whole different story. I’m sorry Julia.”

  She sniffled, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she held her hands tight to her chest, shaking. “I barely slept. I was just thinking about Isaac and our betrothal the whole time.”

  I sighed, stood slowly, and hugged her. “To be honest, so was I.”

  She kept her hands at her chest but placed her chin on my shoulder, her tears smacking into my jacket as she spoke hesitantly, “Pretty dedicated to your job.”

  “Yup.”

  She took a long breath, looked up at me in realization, and quickly backed away as she paced over to the window. “I’m so screwed.”

  I was determined. “We’ll figure something out.”

  She dropped her hands in anguish, taking her ring off and examining it in the morning sunlight before placing it back on her finger. “Will we?”

  “He could always fall out a window.”

  She was sharp, her eyes like daggers. “No, Ivan.”

  “Fall down the stairs and hit his head?”

  “Ivan, I said stop. It’s not funny,” she snapped.

  I bowed. “As you wish, m’lady.” She gave a judging look and shook her head. Not in the mood for jokes.

  Chapter 24

  Ding, we stepped off the elevator to see most of the family in the lobby, ready to go. Only Alexandria and Helena were later than us. I could feel Julia’s blood pressure rise as the Queen approached and started asking questions. “Did you have a good time last night?”

  Her icy glare clashed with her mother’s intensity. “It was fine, mom. Isaac tried to force me to his room. Luckily, Ivan was there to stop him.”

  The Queen looked stunned. “Hun…”

  Julia stormed off. “I’ll be in the car.”

  The King stepped in front of her, their eyes meeting. Ice vs Ice. “Do not talk to your mother like that.”

  Julia took a deep breath and came face to face with her mother, gesturing towards her coldly. “It was awful having to talk with him and all the socialist tyrants, pretending that I was happy to see them. I hated being grabbed at by my drunk arranged fiancé in front of a room of people, mom.” She turned her head towards her father, her eyes narrow. “There. Happy?” Ice cold.

  With that she did a quick about-face and stormed off with me in tow. I was sure to not make eye contact with either of her parents, though I could still see the shocked look on their faces.

  I opened the back door of the car for her, and she looked around for a second. “Can you wait outside, Ivan. I need a moment.” Understandable.

  “Of course. And if Helena comes?”

  She was quick. “The sooner that happens, the sooner we can go home.”

  Nodding, I stepped back and let her have her privacy
behind the tinted windows while I stood at attention with my hands behind my back outside the car. It would have been a beautiful morning under different circumstances, with the birds singing and gliding through the trees in the hotel courtyard.

  Eventually the rest of the family emerged. Alexandria stumbled to her car, hungover, or still drunk… or maybe a bit of both. Her bodyguard was just trying to keep her upright.

  The Queen approached and tried to peek in the window, her brow furrowed. Her voice was impatient, lacking understanding. “Do you think she will be alright?”

  I kept looking straight forward, past her, and put as much formal bluntness in my voice as I could. “I believe the princess clearly expressed her thoughts on the matter.”

  She scoffed. “You may be her bodyguard now, but you’re still just a pawn in a game far larger than you can see. Did you even try to do as I asked?”

  I mimicked a royal accent, still facing forward. “You must not play chess often. A well-placed pawn can win the game or become a much more powerful piece.” I turned towards her. “Anyway, if you just asked her, she would have told you the truth about the throne. She does not want it.”

  She bit her cheek before gesturing sharply to me with an open hand. “What do you think you gain in alienating me in favor of her? I put you here. Remember that. Do you think that stopping her marriage to Isaac would mean it would be possible for you?”

  I just stared forward, past her. Does she actually think I’m interested? Am I?

  “Oh. I see, or is it that you believe you’re just doing your job and trying to protect her? Maybe it’s a bit of both.” She was trying to read my reactions, her eyes scanning my face. What is it telling her? “You have no idea how much danger you’ll be putting her in if this marriage doesn’t go through. You know bits and pieces of a grander picture, Ivan, that’s it. Don’t let this sudden loyalty to her blind you. She’s my daughter, I love her, and I want the best for her. Don’t overstep your role.”