I'm not your Hero, I'm your King

Chapter 21 - The friend

Woop woop, here I am with another Chapter!^^ I was on vacation aaand maybe I kinda forgot to upload this chapter- I'm really sorry for leaving you here waiting >-< If I have the time, I'll try to write the next chapter. Thank you for reading, I really hope you like it :D Feel free to vote or write a comment, it really motivates me^^

Danny's Pov

I didn't tell Dani the reason, I just said that they'll be gone tomorrow morning. Nothing she didn't know already, but she understood that I didn't want to talk about it so we changed the topic. We ate dinner together and she told me about her playdate with Youngblood, they are pretty good friends and have often hung out recently. 

"By the way, Danny?" Danielle asks after taking a sip from her glass.

"Mh, what is it?" I reply and look up from my plate to look into Danis Eyes. They look just like mine, toxic green with long, curved eyelashes.

"Do you think Youngblood could come here sometime? We always meet at his place, but I want to show him my home too." She explains softly and I smile a little. She actually has multiple homes. Sometimes she stays at my castle, on other days she is at Pandoras or even with Vlad. Jep, you heard that right. It's true that he tried to clone me and happened to create Dani in the process, I was really mad at him for this and Dani also isn't happy about it, but he changed a lot in the last few years. He is still a fruitloop, but he doesn't try to do weird stuff like in the past. He pretty much just enjoys his life as a billionaire nowadays. I mean, yeah he sometimes still creates chaos as Plasmius in the human world, but apart from that, he is kinda okay. Dani forgave him and I am okay with it as long as she is happy and alright.

"Of course, as long as we don't have any guests here like... right now, he can visit." Her face brightens up and Dani nods.

"Thank youuu, you're the best!" Dani laughs a little, gives me a brief kiss on the cheek, and runs out of the dining room. I look after her and then continue to eat, alone with my thoughts.

Not long after, the door suddenly opens again. I look up, it can't be Brandon because he would have knocked on the door. So who is it?

"Oh my, why are you sitting here all alone?"

"Pandora!" I smile happily to see her, stand up and walk up to Pandora to greet her with a hug.

"What brings you here?" I ask her right after and look her questioningly in the eyes.

"I just... wanted to talk with you." She said and I raised an eyebrow. I wonder what she means.

"How about we'll talk while taking a little walk?" I suggest to her and she nods in agreement.

We walk down the hallway together, in the east wing is still some noise, that's because the guest rooms are there and the students aren't asleep yet. I don't want to go there right now, so we turn into the west wing of the castle.

There are many rooms, but I don't use most of them. Walking along these hallways always feels lonely, but with pandora, it might feel a little less... dead. At this late hour, none of my servants are here, most of them are asleep in their rooms or at home.

"So...what did you want to talk about?" I ask Pandora as we walk side to side through the hallway.

"Why did you change the plan?" She asked me, it didn't feel like this was what she wanted to talk about but I didn't ask further. Instead, I answered:

"I... had to. They are still friends, at least.. some of them."

"But they think you're dead. And the others made your life worse than it already was with your parents...?" Pandora objects and I sigh a little. It's complicated to explain and I told Pandora that with the exact same words. She patiently replied that I could at least try. She really wants to understand me and gives me the opportunity to explain myself, I really like that about her.

"Well, you see... We all know that I wasn't quite happy back there but still.. My life wasn't always bad. I grew up with these people. They are still an important part of my life, they shaped the person I am nowadays. Without them... I probably wouldn't be here. Sure, my classmates bullied or ignored me but even these actions had an effect on me and I don't want them to suffer here in the hands of Walker or someone else who would and could hurt them. I just... want to prevent any problems with the humans, you know? And if a group of teens and adults go into the Ghost Zone and never come back, that would definitely bring Ghost Hunters and the government in here. They could hurt my subjects and... my family. I just want to make sure that everyone is safe." After telling Pandora my reasons for letting the humans stay here, I become quiet and our footsteps are suddenly the only sound that echoes through the dead silent hallways. Why doesn't she say anything? A weird feeling spreads in my stomach but I don't know if I should say something now. With a careful look up at Pandora, I realize she is silent because there is something she want's to say but doesn't know how. I see how she is fighting with herself, it's the look in her eyes that tells me so much more than she could ever say.

"Pandora, what's wrong?" I ask while I stop walking. She sighs, taking a shaking breath. Her shoulders tremble slightly, I don't think I ever saw her upset like this. 

"Danny I... About that..." She begins but stops herself. I notice how she balls her hands into fists and squeezes her fingernails into her palm until it hurts. At least it looks like it should hurt, her knuckles are turning white. I begin to worry and step toward her.

"What?" I ask carefully and look her into the eyes, but Pandora seems to try and avoid my gaze.

"I... I am so sorry but.. I don't know if I am allowed to tell you." Tears start to sparkle in her eyes but Pandora holds them back as well as she can.

"Just tell me, it can't be that bad and you know you can trust me." I assure her with a calm voice and try to comfort her a little.

"It's just... I... Okay, I'm just going to say it. Please... Stay calm, okay?" She asks, but it sounds more like she is trying to tell that to herself so she doesn't burst into tears. I nod silently, waiting patiently for what she is going to say. The uneasy feeling inside me just got worse, but I hope my stomach is wrong about the situation. It's probably not going to be that bad...

"It's... Ember. She.. disappeared and no one knows where she is or what happened to her..." She says and my eyes widen a little.

"What... no.. no one knows? Not a single soul..? Since.. since when...?" I ask, not knowing if it is fear or rage that is building up inside me. Probably both. 

"It's a been a week or so since she disappeared... I am so sorry Danny, you have no idea how much I wanted to tell you but we thought it would be best to... you know, not tell you because you are so stressed and we thought... maybe you would get a little angry if we tell you..." She said, realizing how stupid it sounds what she just said. Now I know what it is inside me, it's anger, disappointment, and fear. 

"Oh, yeah? You thought it would be best to not tell me that my best friend has been missing for days and just leaving me there, thinking she is ghosting me because I did something wrong or shit? And now you actually think I am less stressed and not angry?" I ask, my eyes glowing a toxic green. I feel like destroying something, I feel like getting these awful feelings out of me, but I need to stay calm. 

"I know... It's stupid but you have to understand-" She tried to calm me, but that just made it worse.

"Quiet! Just... stop. I... I can't, please leave me alone." I interrupt, knowing that if I stay here, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. Pandora becomes silent and stays there in the middle of the hallway, while I just walk away. Away from the people who I thought I could trust, away from the people who keep important information away from me, away from all my problems. But maybe, just maybe, all I really want is to walk away from the life I live right now