"Princess, I am so sorry…''
''If you apologize one more time you, James, I will throw you out of the car and drive myself home,'' Amara was having a headache as she looked at her Leah who clung to her like a koala while puking her guts out on her lap.
And on top of that, her bodyguard was onto his newfound overthinking habit again, "I get it that it is hard to be perfect like me but what is the point of bashing yourself over what already happened?"
"You are right, princess," James nodded like a pigeon pecking crumbs.
"If you feel something is wrong, just right it in future. What will your self-blaming lead to other than disturbing your mind?"
"You are right, princess," the man repeated like a chant.
The putrid odor of the vomit heavily lingered in the car.
''Shall I park the car in front?" James asked when Amara lowered the glass.
''No need. We already did that thrice but it doesn't seem to help her much,'' Amara said while rubbing Leah's back, ''Just stop the car when you see a pharmacy nearby and grab some Antacids."
The car went silent for a few moments before James spoke up, ''I agree with princess's words but today's incident was due to my own carelessness. I will take responsibility…''
''James.'' Amara called out to the man, her voice serious, ''We are going back to Monteluna tomorrow for Christmas. What happened here, stays here. This incident shall not be spoken of when we reach there.''
''But…'' James looked at the gauze wrapped around her hand through the rearview mirror and his eyes lowered in guilt.
''The situation was urgent and I acted on my own. As skilled as you are, you are not a superman. Forget that this happened.''
''Princess…'' James furrowed his brows, ''I…''
''Did I stutter?"
The rest of the ride was quiet with occasional noises of Leah throwing up and crying her heart out at the loss of her 'oh-so-great-boyfriend'.
…
"Ahh…''
''You are awake…''
Leah clutched her head in both her hands as she groaned, ''Fuck, did you hit me while I was asleep? Why does it hurt so much?"
''I don't want to hurt my hand,'' Amara walked towards her and rubbed her back, ''Freshen up quickly. Let's have breakfast together and then you will feel better.''
''I am terrible with alcohol. It doesn't do me any good at all. I don't know why I still end up drinking so much…'' Leah trailed off and the room suddenly went silent.
Perhaps, the implication behind her words sunk into her as well. This relationship was also not doing her well and it was time that she stopped going back to the man who, just like alcohol, was not doing her any good.
''Hmm?" Something caught Leah's attention. Her blonde hair moved in a dramatic swish as she sat up on the bed, groaning and cursing some more in the process, ''What the fuck!'' She looked at her well packed suitcase and bags lying near the couch and rubbed her eyes some more, ''When did this happen?"
Amara followed her gaze and glanced at the luggage that was kept in an orderly manner near the couch.
"I… I had dumped all my stuff on the couch but I had yet to start with packing. Am I…'' she wiggled her brows and knelt on the bed dumbly, ''Am I secretly living my beauty and the beast life? Do I have clothes which fold themselves? Luggages that pack themselves?"
Amara calmly shook her head, "They wouldn't do it as beautifully."
Leah avoided blatant narcissism, ''It was you?"
"Take a guess?"
Leah hugged Amara's arm, ''Not to act foolish early in the morning, but pray tell. Where am I going? Did I do some mess-up yesterday after I was drunk…'' she trailed off when her fingers rubbed against something, causing some friction.
Leah looked at the gauze wrapped around Amara's elbow and frowned, ''What happened to your hand? Tell me… what did I do?" She asked nervously when she saw the look on Amara's face.
''Nothing much. You just clung to a stranger and asked him if you are beautiful or not. I was afraid that they would tie you up and sell you somewhere for that behavior so I lost balance in my haste.''
''Holy shit!"
''Those two words don't necessarily belong together!''
"Just like alcohol and me. Fuck! We don't belong together as well… But, why the packing?" Leah paused, ''I had dropped my stuff outside because I was supposed to go vacationing with… Ron for Christmas but now that it has come to this, our plans have long been invalid. I have become a single person overnight. Why did you pack my stuff?"
''Do you think only he can take you traveling?" Amara tilted her head to the side.
Leah blinked, ''Hmm?"
Amara flipped her behind her shoulder, "I am taking you to Monteluna with me," She patted her head, "Have good food, visit new places, connect with new people, shopping, clubbing, or whatever you want to do.''
Leah's lips parted and her eyes sparkled.
It had been almost two years since she ended up befriending this princess of Monteluna. When they became friends, Leah had been clueless about Amara's identity for a while and when Amara told her about it, it left her in shock for quite some time.
They had planned to visit Amara's country a few times back in the past but sometimes, the timing was off and sometimes, their schedules were as most of the times when it was vacation time, Leah would often end up hanging out with her boyfriend.
Amara, on the other hand, kept her visits to her country limited, only thrice a year during major vacations or a few times here and there whenever she would be summoned for some event.
''Princess, am I now being invited to your royal palace?" Leah held onto Amara's hand as she gently swayed it back and forth.
Amara sighed helplessly, ''Pretty much. You might not find the palace as interesting as me but we can make arrangements for that.''
The narcissism had Leah speechless.
''Oh, Sibby is joining us as well.''
''Is she?" Leah was stunned, ''When I called her yesterday, she did not answer so I thought she must be busy. Not that I was in the condition to think about anything,''
''She was working overtime in her new part-time job. She told me when I called her in the morning. She was worried about you.''
''It seems like I caused quite some trouble…'' Leah scratched the back of her neck and pushed herself out of the bed, ''But since it is a new day, I would rather not think about it. I am super excited about this trip.''
Looking at the woman's retreating back as she made her way to the bathroom, Amara knew that Leah was just pretending to be fine at this juncture. But in the end, it would not be as easy for her to get over it.
All Amara could do was hope that this trip would give her friend some space to clear her head or start afresh.
When she walked out of Leah's room, she spotted James standing near the staircase, engrossed with the phone in his hand. ''Have you already made the arrangements? When will the plane be here?" She asked as she approached him.
James lifted his head, visibly a little startled. He slipped his phone inside his pockets as he spoke, ''Arrangements?'' he paused and looked at her in genuine confusion, ''Princess, aren't we leaving tomorrow?"