Forever Hold My Heart

Devin took me out of the room and into another we sat down and I just gripped his shirt. I wasn't cold anymore I was more in shock if anything.
"Katelyn?" I heard I only gripped Devin's shirt harder. "It's me Mathew."
I lifted my head and looked at him.
"What's happening to me?" I asked
"Tell me what happened?" Mathew said kneeling in front of me.
"I heard the boy yelling, crying out. I tried to run to him but Damien wouldn't let go he thought I was having an attack. I could see images and when I finally started running towards him I could feel the pain, I could see his throat, I saw it happen it was like my throat was being." I said putting my hand to my throat. He pulled out his cell phone and started calling someone.
"Marcus meet me at the campus and bring the book." Mathew said. "Come on lets go."
Devin started getting up, he was still carrying me.
"You don't have to carry me," I said.
"I don't but I don't think you have enough energy to be walking around anyways." Devin said and I just nodded.
"How is this book going to help me," I asked Devin as we left the building and got into a car.
"You'll see." he said.
The ride back to camp was quiet. I didn't understand why all of this happened or why I kept experiencing the things I did. I think I was going to have nightmares tonight. When we arrived at the camp I got out the car my legs were a little weak but I would occasionally grab Devin for support.
"You know I can carry you," Devin said and I shook my head. We walked pass Mathew's office and continued on. For a second I thought we were going to my room but just as the thought occurred we walked past it. We kept walking until we walked into a classroom, I saw Eddie and the guys sitting down while Travis and Marcus were at the front of the classroom. Marcus was holding a text book it wasn't even in English.
"Take a seat," Devin told me and I sat down on a chair closest to me. Which was right next to Adrian. I got a good look at the guys they looked like a bunch of tough guys but when you looked them in the eyes you could tell how nervous they were.
I looked back at the front of the class room and saw Mathew and Marcus looking through the book.
"It has to be this," I heard Marcus say. They both looked up at me at the same time.
"Timore Simul," Mathew said I looked at Eddie and he was staring at me actually they all were.
"Remember I told you people will supersede in something, like their specialty," Marcus said walking over to me with the book. I nodded vaguely remembering our conversation about his skills in archery. "Well we think we found what your specialty is."
He put down the opened book at my desk. There was a section that started off with the words Timore Simul. I didn't understand any of it, what language was this in?
"What does this say?" I asked Marcus
"I almost forgot you can't read Latin." Marcus said picking up the book, "Well its basically says your specialty is 'Fear together as one'. What that means is for some reason when a Royal; or more specifically a Periculum, is in danger you become in synch. Which explains why you can see certain images and why you can hear them."
"So I'm like a GPS?" I asked
"Almost like that except there's a catch," he said
"There's always a catch, is it my Achilles heel or is it a poison apple?" I lightly joked.
"No but this 'connection' won't stop until you personally find the Periculum. Which can be good and bad. That is because like what happened tonight if the Royal you're looking for is killed then you begin to die. The connection is so strong that you'd go anywhere with them."
"But I'm still alive," I said
"Well if the royal dies then your only chance at survival is finding the body." Marcus said.
"Then whats so special about it," I mumbled
"Katelyn you wear it around your neck," He said pulling on the necklace my mom gave me. I had never taken it off. "Beata Maledictio; the blessed curse."
"Right," I said leaning my head in the palm of my hands. "Wait your specialty is archery what's the catch in that."
"When I'm aiming I'm left vulnerable, for example in the forest if I was aiming to shoot that guy and someone would of come up to attack me I wouldn't have reacted to them. They would have just killed me."
I just nodded my head in understanding.
"So now that you guys know about your team members ability, we have a new responsibility." Travis said. "If she runs we follow."
Then it got quiet I could tell it was late because I was sleepy.
"Alright then, it was nice having this meeting but I'm tired" I said and as I was about to get up, Marcus pushed me back down.
"Not so fast don't think we forgot about what happened with the whole sneaking out ordeal." Mathew said. The mood changed instantly, I don't know what was going to happen. I knew we were in trouble but at the same time what we did had nothing to do with the Latronums.
"I want to know exactly everything that happened tonight." Mathew said. His voice was so calm yet menacing. We all looked at each other, but we didn't know where to start. "Okay then how about who's idea was it to leave."
Again we all looked at each other. Honestly we all had a part to do with it.
"Nobody? You guys do know you have a chance of losing all your team points putting you guys dead last." Travis said I knew that the guys worked their butts off for those points.
"Why would you guys leave when you could have bonded with someone." Mathew said
"Last chance to start explaining." Marcus said. The guys were definitely going to owe me after this.
"It was my idea," I said sitting up straight. "I convinced the guys that you would never tell the difference because you were all going to the Royals place. They were a bit hesitant but after convincing them they followed. I let them use my phone so they could get us a ride. I know it was stupid but I knew that all the Royals would be at that party and, and yeah."
Mathew just looked me straight in the eyes. I stared back I knew he was looking for any sign that I was lying.
"And what gives you the confidence to just freely confess." Mathew said
"I made a promise to the guys that everything would be fine. Obviously things didn't happen like they should of so I feel bad that they might get in trouble for it" I said
Mathew looked at Travis. They stared at each other for awhile.
"Alright, Katelyn but if you're going to take the blame then your actions can't go unnoticed. I'm going to have to ask you to turn in your key, then I'm going to have to change your schedule and take away almost all of your free time."
I would normally react to this with some type of defense but I didn't, I simply nodded.
"She's lying," Damien said, "She's only trying to take the fall for us but we're a team and I won't let it happen."
"If anything it was mostly my fault," Blake said
"Okay, I get it," Mathew said, "But you all did go as a 'team' so I'm going to have to put you 20 points behind Tristan's team."
I looked at Damien and I saw him flinch.
"Now go you guys have a long day ahead of you." Mathew said.
We walked back it was like the rebels walk of shame. When we got back the guys all just laid down on their beds.
"So that wasn't that bad," I said and I just heard some of them groan."At least they didn't take away all our points."
That's when Eddie got up and put his hand around my shoulder.
"Look just go to sleep we'll talk about this tomorrow." He said.
"Am I missing something?" I asked
"We are in last place now." Damien said
"Oh," I trailed off. I took off my makeup and picked out my pajamas."Can I turn off the lights?"
"Go ahead," one of them mumbled, I began to change in the dark. once I was completely dressed the door opened and the hallway light flooded in. The figure started walking my way but then he got on the bed on top. It was Travis I almost forgot we shared bunk beds. I stood there thinking about everything that happened today. How was it that the Royals went out without any Custos? I was tempted to ask Travis but for all I know I might get pillows thrown at me. Suddenly I saw images of that boy again a chill ran down my spine. I slowly walked out of the room and headed over to the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror. If the guys hadn't held me back would I have made it to the boy in time? Would I have been able to save him? All these questions ran in my head. I clenched the side of the sink with my hands. I closed my eyes but opened them. I couldn't get the images out of my head from the moment they actually killed him to the moment I actually held his hand.
"What's wrong," Travis asked I turned my head to look at him but I just shook my head. "It's better to get it out."
"I can't get him out of my mind," I said looking down at the sink. "I felt like I was there when they killed him. I don't know if I can keep doing this."
He wrapped me into a hug.
"You're not in this alone, we're here for you," he said
"Thank you," I said
"Come on you should really get to sleep," he said putting his arm around my shoulder. "We wouldn't want you to get bags under your eyes."
I laughed but I got serious again.
"Can I ask you something serious?" I said and he nodded. "How did the Latronum's get to the Royal?"
"Maybe I should just tell you in the morning," he said
"I won't be able to sleep," I said
"Fine. Pierce the royal, and some of his other royal friends were getting ready at his house. They were supposed to get picked up by a Custos, the Custos was waiting for them and when they never came out he went in. By the time he searched the house he realized they had snuck out. We sent out a couple of guys to go search for them. The reason it was so hard to find them was because they were club hopping. When they finally did find them one of them was missing." He stopped, I could pretty much put it together from there.
"Thank you," I said
"What for?" He asked.
"Being here," I said and he nodded
"Okay kid let's get you to bed." he said and we started walking back. When we reached the room it was dark, once my eyes adjusted I walked over to my bed and Travis climbed up to his.
I laid down my bed, it was so quiet. I didn't even want to move because I didn't want the guys to wake up. This was actually the first time I'm going to sleep in here. My bed was too soft for my liking. I stared at the top bunk and just laid there thinking. I thought of my mom and Gavin I wondered what they were up to, I had lost track I could always check my phone but I didn't want to disturb the peace I rolled over on my side. I was facing the rest of the boys they didn't even make a sound, it was like they never mind. I was so uncomfortable I just wanted to go home I kept moving around until I threw my pillow and blankets on the floor and I got down and laid on the floor. I laid there looking up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes I felt overwhelmed.

I woke up on the field everything felt surreal. I took a step and now I was in a Royals house. I opened one of the doors there was blood on the floor. I put my hand to my mouth I felt so sick, I tried to turn and leave but the doors were locked.
"Katelyn," I looked to see Travis standing next to me, "close your eyes think of something happy, open them."
We were in my house. I ran upstairs Gavin was in my room I just hugged him but I wasn't hugging him anymore. I was holding a dead body. I was suddenly running away from something.
"Katelyn," I heard Travis calling but I knew if I stopped whatever was after me would reach me.

I woke up and Travis was shaking me awake.
"You better get up if you plan on making it to your first class on time." he said smiling. I sat up and looked around all the guys were gone.
"What time is it?" I asked stretching
"5:55am" He smiled I just sat there when reality sunk in. "If your late you're going to get a lock out and that means you have to pay the consequences."
When he said that I shot up out of my bed slipped on my toms and grabbed my messenger bag and ran to my class room. I ran through the door just as Madeline was about to close the door.
"Almost late Katelyn," she said and I just grinned at her. I took a seat in the front I didn't really want to socialize in my pajamas. I ran my fingers through my hair hoping that my hair didn't look like a nest. My history class wasn't your average class although all we did was take notes, I learned where Periculums came from and why Custos came along as well. It turns out that when Adam and Eve bit the apple from the Garden of Eden, knowledge wasn't the only thing that was passed down. The power that the royals have within them comes from that. So when our Creator realized how things were unbalanced and how things were about to turn ugly he created us, the Custos. We were created to help restore balance. Madeline didn't exactly say it but she implied that this was one of the reasons why the Royals thought they were better than us. All because we were created 'for' them. Which is a load of bull if you ask me. I slowly gathered my things as I walked up to Madeline, it was strange that we didn't call her by her last name.
"Madeline, I had a couple of more questions," I asked as she looked up from her desk.
"Oh Katelyn, I thought you had left," she smiled, "I thought we were scheduled for one on one later today."
"Oh yeah, I just thought," I trailed off.
"It's okay but I'll see you then?" she said getting up. "I have a class in ten minutes."
"I'll see you later then," I said a bit awkwardly. I walked out I felt dumb I guess nobody played around with the whole schedule thing. Speaking of which I don't even know when I have my next class. I walked over back to the room. I wasn't having a good day, I looked like a mess and now I feel like all my questions irk everyone. I walked over to my belongings, deciding on what to wear.
"You might want to settle for something cozy," Travis said as he walked in. "I'm just warning you, my one on one time with you is not going to be a simple walk in the park."
"Oh hi to you too," I said raising my eyebrows. "Yeah my days going good, don't worry I won't bother you with any nonsense questions."
"Wrong side of the bed?" Travis asked.
"Something like that," I said grabbing my schedule
"Don't worry things will get better..." He trailed off, I just looked at my phone.
"I sure do hope so," I said getting up and going to go take a shower.
After I was done taking a shower I put my hair into a messy bun. I walked over to the cafeteria, I grabbed a plate and filled it up with different fruits. I looked up at the clock I still had little less than an hour. I sat down at a random table, I tried to relax. Travis was right I did wake up on the wrong side of the bed or in my case floor.
"Can I sit here," A guy asked unlike the guys in my group he had messy windblown hair that was barely above his eyes. He had jet black hair, with light brown eyes.
"Sure," I said and he smiled.
"I'm Noah," He said
"I'm Katelyn," I said smiling back
"So I've heard." he said taking a bite out of his sandwich and I just raised my eyebrow.
"What exactly have you heard." I asked
"Oh you know just how you discovered your specialty. I mean it's about time Damien's team finally got someone with a specialty. Before all they really had was just the title of first place don't get me wrong." He said
"Right... let's not talk about teams right now," I said recalling how upset the guys were last night.
"So I heard your little conversation with Madeline." he said and I stopped chewing on the strawberry and nodded. "I could help you with whatever you need. I mean I know it's usually your teams responsibility to help you but I know how it can feel to have all these unanswered questions."
"Really?" I asked hesitantly
"Yeah I wouldn't just say it to say it." He said
"Well when I'm done with you, you'll wish you would have never talked to me," I smiled and he just chuckled.
"Done with what?" Damien said sitting down at the table and he just stared at Noah.
"Hey Damien, this is Noah. Noah this is Damien." I said
" We know," Damien said still giving Noah a hard stare.
"Because this isn't awkward at all." I said
"No hard feelings," Noah said getting up and smiling at me. "I'll see you around."
I nodded and watched as he left
"Well you scared away the only person willing to answer my questions." I said poking Damien on the arm.
"I could answer your questions," He said and I actually stared at him for awhile.
"You barely tell me this now." I said with a solemn look on my face.
"How hard can it be?" He smirked
"Right," I said, "So how do we go about getting more points?"
"Team tests," he clenched his fist, "But according to Mathew we won't be having any of those any time soon."
"Oh," I said
"Anything else?" He said.
"Well when you put it like that it makes me want to say no," I said sincerely.
"No its okay, just go on," He said
"Tell me about Latronums," I asked and his head sharply turned to look at me.
"Latronums," He repeated and I slowly nodded my head. "Well there are many different types, you're not an official Latronum until you actually kill a Royal or Periculum whatever you want to call them. The more they kill, the stronger they get, and the more Custos it would take to take one down."
"Is there a specific way to go about killing a Latronum." I asked
"No not really it's just like asking a 5 year old to kill me. It's not impossible but it would take a hell of an effort." He said
"Well that's nice," I said
"So when do we actually start getting introduced to the Royals?" I asked and I found myself wringing my hands under the table. "Is it an individual thing or we go as a team?"
"Actually every 2 years 3 teams are asked to attend," he paused, "Basically a masquerade."
"A masquerade?" I asked him
"It sounds dumb, but every Custos that attends that has not bonded with anyone is asked to wear a black mask and everyone else who attends; ranging from royals to communia, are asked to wear a white mask. This is because if a Custos bonds with someone at the masquerade then they take off they're mask."
"Sounds like an interesting event." I said looking at my plate, "So how does a Custos know who they bonded with. I mean because I'm assuming there's going to be a lot of people there so..."
"From what they tell us you'll just know. Also before you ask the next masquerade isn't until next year." He said glancing at the clock
"Well that was very informative." I said taking in a deep breath, "Thanks for everything."
"I have to go but I'll be happy to answer more of your questions later on." He said and he got up and left. I looked at the clock I still had 15 minutes to kill.