Am I dead again? I don't see anything. Wait my eyes are closed never mind.

My eyes flew open as I sat up right in bed. Where am I? I looked down at myself and found my stomach was rapped in bandages. The walls of the room I was in were white and clean. A hospital? I looked at the equipment which none of seemed very high tech. The door opened and shut with a click.

"Veronica?" A voice called and I spun my head around to see them. My eyes were met with bright green ones that stared back at me. Wesley. "Oh my god I thought I lost you!" He envelopes me in a hug but he was careful not to touch my injury. "You almost died." I could feel warm tears on my sleeve.

"You- you did too." I whispered back as tears welled up in my eyes.

We hugged for a while until he finally released me. "My father..."

"I know." I winced. "I saw." He looked down as if pained. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Maybe not right now... but I will be." He said as he whipped away my tears.

Wait... how could he whips my tears? I felt my face for the hard surface I was used to but I was met with soft skin. Right, my mask broke while I was protecting the king.

"Do you want me to get you a new mask?" He asked realizing I had noticed.

I smiled weakly. "No, I kept it for its sentimental value and nothing can replace that." I replied calmly.

"I'm sorry..." he started looking distressed.

"But I don't regret trying to save him you know." I cut him off.

His face relaxed. "The doctors said you're free to go back to school anytime as long as you don't participate in physical activities until your in the clear."

"What about you?" I asked.

"I have to take a year off. I've already learned everything there anyways but now I have to learn the duties of a king." Wesley replied sadly.

I looked down at the clean covers. No more Wesley at school. Who else would I talk to at lunch? Who else could I hang out with?

"I'll still be close by of course. We can still see each other whenever we want I'll just be busy with other things." He quickly added. "We can always meet at the tree."

"Oh." Is whispered then realized I forgot something. "What about the rest of the monsters!? Is everyone okay?"

He cringed. "There were quite a few casualties but compared to if we had just sat around like the council wanted us to everyone knows there would have been many more."

It was a no brained that we couldn't save everyone. I sighed, "let's meet at the tree everyday, okay?"

He nodded in response and left the room to let me rest. A month week passed and I decided to go back to school. I still had an injury but I could walk on my own and do things on my own. I arrived in front of my classroom. I inhaled and exhaled nervously. I hadn't been in here in a while. First it was the furled trip then it was the tryouts then a battle. When was the last time I was in here?

"Excuse me But you're blocking the way!" A high pitched voice rang out. One thing I didn't miss, Alisa. "Oh my god move!" She shoved me slightly and I staggered back. Shoot my stomach. I clutched it in pain.

"Shoot!" I fell onto the floor in pain. It subsided as I caught my breathe.

"A-are you okay?" She asked actually concerned for my well-being. That's surprising.

"No... stomach injured." I replied in ragged breathes. It sucked that even the slightest push or pull would cause me so much pain.

"Wait I heard Veronica had an injury... are you?" She gasped as I looked up at her. I forgot people wouldn't recognize me without my mask. She helped me up and into the class.

"Today we have a returning student, please treat Veronica carefully she is injured." Our teacher informed.

I sat down in my chair and all around me I could feel shocked stares.

"Surely that can't be her!"

"No way it's not... is it?"

I knew it was going to be a surprise to people but not this big of a surprise. I barely managed to learn anything in class since whispers constantly interrupted the teacher. Finally it ended and I could get some fresh air. As I walked out of the classroom a group of guys stopped me.

"Um... we just wanted to say..." one of them started.

"We're sorry!" They all said and bowed their heads.

One boy pushed through the crowd. It was Brandon. He put his hand on my shoulder and a movie star kind of smile. "Hi."

"Hi?" I responded confused by the situation. I could see a lot of glaring guys behind him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime... maybe a walk in the school garden?"

My instincts told me where this was going and I removed his hand from my shoulder gripping it tightly. He winced in pain and I looked him in the eyes. "Hehe, how about..." I pretended like I was thinking. "No." I threw his hand to the side and walked away.

That night I went to the tree and a familiar face greeted me.

"You look tired." I noticed he had dark circles under his eyes. It didn't make him look any less hot though.

"I am." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

It made my heart flutter and I instinctively bit my lip. He noticed and blushed while looking away.

"I..." he started to say.

"You what?" I smirked. He was adorable when he was embarrassed.

His face turned serious. "Actually I won't be able to see you for a while." He said without missing a beat. "I have to go to the neighboring kingdom and form good relations since I'll have my coronation ceremony to be king next year. I also have to find my fathers will and documents of any last wishes which will take a lot of time." He sighed. "His office is a mess."

I looked down in disappointment. "How long will you be gone?" I asked hoping it wouldn't be too long.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "It could be a few weeks or it could be a whole year. It depends on how long it takes to get people on my side."

"Oh." I whispered.

"I'm sorry." He apologized and I could tell he meant it.

"No, it's okay." I half heartedly laughed. "I'll see you when I see you. In the meantime go back and get some rest."

It looked like he was going to object but I pushed him away. He looked down at the ground sadly and nodded in agreement. He walked away and left me standing there, alone.