"I like the way you put it, because that is absolutely right. We gain long lasting friendships with people I know I can trust no matter what," Ollie smiled.
"I agree, what else are friends for?" Annie laughed.
"You would be surprised how many ulterior things some people stand to gain from a particular friendship," Ollie replied.
Annie found that hard to believe. What else could people want from a friendship other than friends? Maybe she just had not experienced that sort of betrayal in her life before, and she was very thankful about that.
"So, what happened then? After Maddie tried your trick to calm down?" Matt asked.
"Well we started talking about how peaceful and quiet it was and how beautiful the sky was at that time," Ollie smiled. "Oh, and then after that it just went silent," he added.
"Wait, so Maddie didn't tell you what was bothering her?" Matt asked. He was more concerned about that. If Maddie had not resolved whatever it was that had been on her mind yesterday. She would carry it over to today and it would be no surprise if she was in a terrible mood.
"It was silent for a long time until she said how lucky I was because everyone liked me," he said.
"She said that?" Annie asked worried.
"Yes, you don't know how worried I was when she said that. My first instinct was to say that's not true because she does not like me, but I could sense how serious the situation was, so instead I told her that's not true," he said.
"You know, she has some truth to her words. You are very easy to like," Annie laughed.
"I agree, that's so true dude," Matt laughed.
"Thanks you guys, but I don't really think so. Remember how Maddie was so suspicious of me in the beginning, and you were just being nice, Matt. It wasn't until Annie woke up that she did not suspect me at all, she just treated me like I was one of her friends," Ollie smiled.
"Awww, thank you for thinking that about me like that," she said.
Ollie smiled, "Maddie was convinced that she was right and I was wrong. Then I had to tell her that sometimes people like you, but not for the reasons you think.".
"That is true, very true. Everyone wants something from you, you just have to figure out what they want and if it's genuine," Matt shrugged.
"It's true, at least when you are hated, you know who your enemies are. When you have fake friends and people around you, it's hard to tell what's real and what's not," Ollie said.
"I agree, Ollie. That's true, the sooner you know your enemies, the less they will be able to catch you unawares," Annie replied.
"That is true. I tell you sometimes, I can't be sure if someone likes me because of me or because of my title or who my parents are. That's why when I met you guys, I wanted to be friends from the beginning.".
"You didn't seem to care that I was a Prince, you did not rush to be friends with me, you simply watched and made sure that I was who I really said I was.".
"And I'm glad we did, because now we have another very good friend that we can count on for support at any time," Annie smiled.
"That's really sweet, Annie. I feel the same," Ollie smiled.
"What did Maddie think about what you said?" Matt asked.
"She did not believe me, she never believes me straightaway," Ollie said.
"That is Maddie for you. That's good, she cannot be easily swayed, but at the same time, it makes it hard for her to open up her mind and her heart," Annie shook her head.
"It's true.".
"She must feel like that becasue she's worried about getting accepted into Artrovan. It might be easy for us to overlook that Azazel is her father, but not everyone else is; we won't be going to Artrovan alone, we are going to meet other students," Matt said.
"I agree, that is true. She hates being lonely, and she hates that people don't trust her as soon as they find out that Azazel is her father," Annie said.
"Yes, that is true, but the thing is, the stars in the sky might appear near to us, but in reality, they are thousands of kilometres away from each other. That gives them the ability to shine as bright as they want. It might feel lonely sometimes, I am sure of it, but at the end of the day, shinning your brightest is all that matters," Ollie said.
"That's what you told Maddie isn't it?" Annie chuckled.
"Yes," Ollie laughed and looked down.
"And what did Maddie say?".
"She said that it was a weak pep talk," Ollie shook his head.
Matt laughed, why did he know that would be the response.
"Let me guess, you talked some more and she told you that you were too soft?" Matt laughed.
"How did you know?" Ollie gasped, he was actually surprised.
His reaction made Annie laughed.
"Because, Maddie has this sort of pattern when she's in a state of mind that is not her usual. When you try to snap her out of it, first she's reluctant to open up, then when you persist, she finally opens up and then when you give your advice and she doesn't agree with it, she resorts to calling you soft because in her head, everything can be solved with violence somehow," Matt said.
Ollie laughed, Annie and Matt truly did know Maddie well. He wished that he would be able to know her like that one day. To be able to know all of them like that.
"You guys can write an entire book on how to deal with her," he laughed.
"You are right about that. If she doesn't wake up soon, you might have the opportunity to get to know her more since she will be staying with you awhile longer," Annie joked.
"I don't know how to feel about that. Maddie might not be happy about that," Ollie frowned.
"Well, you will have to find that out yourself," Annie shrugged.
"You know what, the more you mention it the more I am starting to like the idea of leaving Maddie here. Come on, let's finish eating breakfast and get out of here before she wakes up," Matt said.
"I agree," Annie laughed as they high-fived.
Ollie shook his head, he did not want Maddie to get upset with him.
"She won't be upset with you, it's her fault for sleeping in," Annie said.
"That may be, but Maddie does not care about that," Ollie shook his head.
"You worry too much," Annie laughed.
"Alright, moving on. I am going to give you all a going away present," Ollie said.
"Oooh, I am excited, what are they?" Annie asked.
"I can't tell you, it's a surprise," Ollie smiled.
"Do you know what he has planned?" Annie turned to Matt who shook his head.
"Don't look at me, I don't know anything. The blondie is very secretive," he said.
Ollie and Annie found themselves laughing.
"You better don't allow Maddie hear you mimicking her like that," Annie laughed.
"She can hear me, I'm not scared of her. The worst she can do is try to wrestle with me, but clearly, I'm going to win," Matt said proudly.
"You might win in strength, but don't count on her not to use magic, if she does, you are in trouble," Ollie said.
"Well, luckily, she is not here," Matt laughed.
...
Maddie's eyes flew open. She felt much more rested. She yawned and stretched in bed.
She got out of bed and rubbed her eyes. Fifteen minutes felt like fifteen hours now. She clapped her hands and her bags were packed. She was sure that Annie and the others were busy having breakfast without her.
What good friends. Maddie brushed her teeth and got ready. A part of her was happy to be leaving, but the other felt a bit sad. She was certain it was sadness from having to leave this magnificent castle, but it was something deeper. She refused to believe that she was actually feeling sorry for that blondie.
Maddie brushed her hair. Her bags were put together with Annie's an indicator that Annie had not left yet.
Maddie hummed a calming tune. She did not know when last she had hummed. She only did so when she was happy, and that meant that she was very happy today. Today was going to be a very good day.
Maddie walked out of the room. She walked through the halls that she would see for the last time. She doubted they would have time to come and visit once they were accepted into Artrovan, and she doubted Ollie would have less busy days again.
She walked into the dining hall. To her surprise, it was empty.
She frowned, "Guys?".
This was strange, where were they?