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GRACE (Jackson's soulmate)

R.I.P

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“How does this look?” Diana laughed as she stepped out of the dressing room in a dazzling floor length ball gown.

“Hmm, it looks pretty great… maybe add this,” I handed her a purse as she strutted up and down the narrow walkway.

“Fabulous darling,” Bianca commented while she scanned the dresses on display. “If only I could fit into these,” she said, rubbing her belly.

“Just a few more months.” I smiled. “Do you know the gender of the baby yet?”

“We’re going to find out soon,” she hummed with joy. “I wanted it to be a surprise, but the curiosity might kill Beau before that happens.”

“He’s really excited about this,” Diana observed.

“Yeah, we’ve been talking about this for a while. It’s amazing to see it finally happening.”

Bianca offered to pay for the stuff we were interested in, but I decided to pay instead because Ashton had given me a card to pay for any expenses we might have.

“But I’m not from your kingdom,” Diana mumbled shyly. "I'll pay."

“You’re mated to our precious Kristof. You are already a member of our family.” Bianca smiled at her.

Diana looked between me and Bianca and a huge smile spread across her face.

“I’m glad I got to know all of you,” she said as we walked to a restaurant. “I was wondering if I would be able to make friends here. I get nervous around new people so it’s hard for me to make new friends.”

“We’re glad we got to know you too,” Bianca chimed. “You make Kris extremely happy, and you’re making progress with Jun too. You fit right in here.”

“I’m going to transfer to your kingdom,” Diana informed us happily. “Kris said I had the freedom to choose, but I could tell his heart was with Crysauralia. He’s happy here and so am I.”

“That’s great!” I said. “You make a great addition to the kingdom.”

“I think you’ll make a lovely queen,” she added.

Bianca nodded in agreement. “Ashton found the perfect soulmate for himself.” She paused. “He hasn’t marked you yet though.”

“That’s kind of on me,” I giggled.

“It must have been surprising to find out that the prince is your soulmate,” Diana said in wonder. “If I was a human I would freak out.”

“I freaked out in my own way, I guess,” I mused. "At first, I refused to accept it. I didn’t want to believe it was possible.”

“Because logically it didn’t make sense?” Bianca asked.

“Mm hmm,” I nodded. “But Ashton was really patient and I ended up acknowledging my feelings.”

“Ashton’s grown up a lot. I think you’re one of the main reasons for that. I can tell he cares deeply about you.”

“You can?”

“Yes,” Bianca chuckled. “The way he looks at you… talks to you… It’s very different from the Ashton we knew. He finally understands what he didn’t have when he found you.”

I smiled into my drink.

“I’m happy I went to Prince Ashton’s party,” Diana cooed. “I didn’t want to go but someone had to keep an eye on my brother. It was the best decision ever.”

“Cheers to soulmates,” Bianca laughed, raising her glass of fruit juice. We clinked our glass with hers as we continued laughing and talking.

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“See, sweetheart? I made it back in one piece,” Bianca smiled at Beau.

Beau kissed her forehead tenderly with a smile. “I hope you had a great time.”

Bianca glanced at us. “I did.”

I walked into the living room in search of Ashton. He wasn’t there but Jun strolled into the room.

“You’re back.” He smiled.

“Yeah.” I paused hesitantly. “Are you… Is everything okay?”

“More or less. Kevin’s going to be training me more.” He grinned. “I’m happy with that.”

I gave him a smile of relief.

“I’m really sorry I hurt you earlier.”

“Why are you apologizing again? You already told me this morning,” I said, ruffling his midnight hair. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”

He met my eyes with a smile. “Thank you… for everything.”

“Hey Jun, do you want to play video games?” Diana asked, popping into the room.

“Only if you’re prepared to lose again.”

“Oh please. I won last night. I carried your sorry butt for half the game.”

“No, you didn’t!”

“Yes, I did!”

“Quit lying!”

“You have memory loss.”

“You’re older than me, you have memory loss!”

“Okay, kid!”

“Old lady!”

I slowly backed out of the room with a laugh. Might as well leave them to sort it out. I went upstairs but Ashton wasn’t in our room. Where was he? I turned the corridor and came to another room. I knocked and Jackson’s voice answered back, telling me to come in.

He looked up from his computer. “Yeah?”

“I’m looking for Ashton. Have you seen him?”

“He went to meet with Prince Jaxon.”

“Oh… okay.” I turned to leave, but hesitated. “Uh… do you need help with anything?”

“Thanks for asking, but I can handle these.”

I went closer to his desk to see what he was doing. Emails, contracts, documents, paperwork upon paperwork.

“It seems you’re always busy,” I commented.

“There’s always a lot to do. I like staying weeks ahead so I get these done as quickly as possible.”

“You’re very reliable. Thanks for always helping Ashton. I appreciate it.”

A slight smile played on his lips. “It’s my job after all. I work for the royal family.”

I eyed a chess board in a corner of the room. “Do you play?” I asked, motioning to it.

He nodded, still immersed in his work.

“Well then, let’s play,” I suggested with a smile. “You should take a break. You’ve been at this all day.”

He glanced up at me uncertainly.

“I promise I’m not trying to disturb you,” I laughed. “I just think you could use a breather.”

“Okay,” he decided hesitantly and got up from the desk. We made our way over to the board.

We played in concentration for a while. He was good. He seemed to read all my moves.

“You’re a really good player,” I commended after he stole another of my pawns.

“Not really. I just like the game. It’s been a while.”

“Did you play a lot before?”

“Something like that.”

I captured his knight and tried to close in on his pieces.

“If you move there, then I’ll win,” he said as I was about to move my rook.

I looked at the board carefully again and it was true. I was rustier than I thought.

“You know, most people would have just taken that win.”

“I’m not most people and either way you take it, I will win.”

I pouted as I realized he was right.

“You haven’t played in a while, have you?”

“I haven’t, but playing with you is so fun. Who taught you how to play?”

His hand hovered over the piece he was about to move when my question hit him. He recovered his composure and took another of my pieces.

“My soulmate.”

Oh…

He smiled after I'd been silent for a while. “I guess you’ve heard of her.”

“Just a little,” I admitted. “I heard that she was a really nice person.”

“Yeah… she was. Her name was Grace.”

“I wish I had got to meet her.”

He nodded. “Checkmate. How do you challenge somebody and lose?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you’re so good at this,” I laughed.

“Let’s play another round,” he suggested. “Consider that a warm-up.”

“If you could have one wish, what would you wish for?” I asked offhandedly as we reset the board.

His eyes darkened and he sighed. “That people follow the rules they set.”

“You really love rules, don’t you?”

“They keep the order of things. How about you?”

“Hmm… I’d want the kingdom to become a better place for everyone. So many people are miserable and I want that to change.”

Jackson nodded. “Hopefully Ashton can make it possible. We’ll do our best to assist him.”

“Thank you.”

“I like you, Elizabeth. You always think of the kingdom. I just wish things were different. You know, chess is a lot like life,” he murmured.

“How so?”

“To get to the king you have to get to his pieces first. When you take what’s important to him, then you can take advantage of his weakness, his vulnerability. That’s how people think.”

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“Who’s winning?” Ashton asked as he observed the intense battle between me and Jackson.

“We’re tied one to one right now.”

“Stalemate,” I groaned and Jackson chuckled.

“Well played, Elizabeth.”

“Not so fast,” Ashton said as Jackson was about to get up. “Let me demonstrate my expertise.”

“You play?” I asked him in surprise.

“He is royalty,” Jackson laughed.

“That means I had to learn all the boring stuff,” Ashton said, rolling his eyes.

I watched the long match between them. They were at if for almost an hour. At last, Jackson emerged victorious.

“What expertise?” I jabbed at Ashton who scowled. “How can you challenge somebody and lose?”

Jackson grinned at that. “Wise words.”

“Let’s go,” Ashton huffed, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the room. “It’s almost time for the gala.”

Jackson returned to his desk and promptly got back to work with the papers.

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