Chapter 189 CHAPTER 189
By the time Lisa’s car rolled through the gates of Lunaris Academy the next morning, the atmosphere already felt different.
Even before the vehicle stopped, Lisa could see clusters of students gathered across the school courtyard. Some stood near the fountain whispering urgently, others leaned against the stone railings in tight circles of conversation. Phones were out, heads were bent close together, and the usual calm rhythm of a school morning had been replaced by something far louder - an undercurrent of curiosity, gossip, and restless speculation.
Lisa exchanged a small glance with Isabel beside her in the back seat.
“Something’s going on,” Isabel murmured.
Lisa nodded slowly. “It feels like the whole school knows something.”
The car door opened and the two girls stepped out onto the pavement. The moment their feet touched the ground, a voice called out from across the courtyard.
“Lisa!”
Ella hurried toward them, weaving through students with the urgency of someone who had been waiting impatiently. Her usually cheerful expression looked different this morning—more intense, her eyes bright with curiosity.
She reached them almost breathless.
“Is it true?” she asked immediately.
Lisa blinked in confusion. “Is what true?”
Ella stared at her as if she could not believe the question.
“About Sarah,” she said quickly. “Everyone is talking about it.”
Lisa frowned slightly. “Talking about what?”
Ella lowered her voice, glancing around as if the walls themselves might be listening.
“They’re saying she’s a witch.”
The word hung between them.
Lisa felt a faint chill run down her spine.
“What?” Isabel said softly.
Ella nodded emphatically.
“I’m serious. The kids from Silverpine have been spreading it since yesterday. Apparently everything blew up there. They’re saying Sarah’s real parents aren’t even the people who raised her. That she had taken them captive and forced to say they were her guardians.”
Lisa remained quiet, absorbing the words carefully.
Ella continued, her voice rushing as the excitement of sharing the rumors took over.
“They’re also saying Sebastian was bewitched,” she added. “That Sarah had some kind of spell over him and that’s why he rejected you. If that’s the case, then it means he is not as bad as we thought him to be. Right?”
Isabel folded her arms slowly. “And where exactly did you hear all this?”
Ella gestured vaguely toward the school building. “The Silverpine students. They’re everywhere this morning. Apparently the whole pack has been talking about it, but the adults aren’t telling anyone anything. Their parents just keep saying it’s ‘pack business.’”
She rolled her eyes slightly.
“You know how that works. When adults refuse to explain something, rumors get worse.”
Lisa remained thoughtful.
“Is that so?” she asked.
Ella nodded.
“That’s what they’re saying. Apparently the elders went to Mooncrest with Sebastian to ask for help to find Sarah. Is that true? Did they come to the palace?”
Lisa did not respond right away, but she felt a quiet realization settle into place.
She now understood why Sebastian and the elders had come.
They had not come simply to apologize.
They had come with a much bigger problem.
“Do you know what happened after they arrived? Please Lisa, I need to know the truth. The suspense is killing me.” Ella asked eagerly.
Lisa hesitated.
Ella leaned closer. “Come on, Lisa. Everyone knows they went to the palace. What happened to them?”
Lisa shook her head gently.
“I can’t tell you that.”
Ella blinked. “Why not?”
“Because it’s palace business,” Lisa replied calmly. “There are some things I’m not allowed to discuss unless my brother says it’s okay.”
Ella frowned.
“But I’m not just anyone,” she insisted. “I’m your friend.”
Lisa gave her a patient smile.
“I know. And that’s exactly why I’m telling you honestly. If Ethan wants the public to know what happened, he’ll announce it himself. Until then I can’t go around sharing information that belongs to the court.”
Ella looked frustrated.
“But everyone is already talking about it,” she pressed. “They’re saying all kinds of things. Some people are even saying Sebastian might be in prison.”
Lisa shook her head again.
“I’m sorry, Ella. I really can’t talk about it.”
“Come on Lisa. I thought we…” Ella started but before she could continue, Isabel stepped forward slightly.
“I think you’re being unfair,” she said calmly.
Ella looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re asking Lisa to reveal things she already told you she’s not allowed to discuss,” Isabel explained. “A good friend wouldn’t pressure someone into breaking rules that could get them into trouble.”
Ella shifted uncomfortably.
“I wasn’t trying to get her in trouble.”
“But that’s exactly what you were doing,” Isabel replied gently.
Lisa remained quiet beside her.
Ella sighed after a moment.
“Fine,” she muttered. “I guess I got carried away.”
Then her eyes lit up again as she remembered something else.
“There’s something else everyone has been talking about,” she said cautiously. “It’s not just Sarah.”
Lisa waited quietly.
Ella lowered her voice slightly, glancing around to make sure no teachers were nearby.
“They’re saying something happened inside the Mooncrest council,” she said. “One of the elders.”
Lisa’s expression remained calm, though she already knew where the conversation was heading.
“They’re saying he died,” Ella continued. “Some students are saying he killed himself.”
She paused before adding quickly, “But others are saying that can’t be true.”
Isabel tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
Ella leaned closer, her voice dropping into the excited whisper of someone repeating rumors that had grown stranger with every retelling.
“Some of the kids are saying he was murdered,” she said. “Others are saying he didn’t really kill himself, that he was working for Sarah and that she bewitched him. According to them, when she disappeared the spell broke and he couldn’t handle it anymore.”
Isabel blinked slowly.
“That sounds like a story someone made up during lunch.”
Ella shrugged helplessly. “Maybe. But you know how students are. Once one person says something, ten more people add their own version.”
Lisa listened quietly before answering.
“I’m not allowed to speak about anything happening inside the palace,” she said gently. “If the king decides to make an announcement about it, everyone will hear the truth at the same time.”
Ella studied her for a moment, clearly hoping Lisa might say more.
When Lisa didn’t, Ella exhaled softly and looked away.
“Alright,” she said after a moment.
There was a small pause between them before she spoke again, this time with less curiosity and more quiet embarrassment.
“It seems like I pushed too much,” she admitted. “You probably think I’m being annoying with all these questions.”
Lisa shook her head lightly. “You’re just curious.”
Ella gave a small, apologetic smile.
“Still… I shouldn’t have pressed like that. You’re obviously dealing with things I don’t understand.”
She stepped back slightly.
“I’m sorry if it sounded like I was trying to make you say something you shouldn’t.”
Isabel relaxed a little at that.
“It’s okay,” Lisa said kindly.
Ella nodded once.
“Well… I’ll see you guys later.”
With that, she turned and began walking toward the main building, leaving Lisa and Isabel standing near the courtyard entrance.
After a few steps, Isabel leaned closer to Lisa as they started walking toward the school doors.
“Can I ask you something?” she said quietly.
Lisa glanced at her. “Of course.”
“Do you trust Ella?”
Lisa frowned slightly, surprised by the question.
“Why would you ask that?”
Isabel shrugged as they walked.
“I don’t know. I just have a strange feeling about her sometimes.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of feeling?”
Isabel hesitated before answering.
“She reminds me a little of Sarah.”
Lisa stopped walking immediately.
“What?”
“I know it sounds strange,” Isabel said quickly. “But think about it. She appeared suddenly, and then she became very close to you almost immediately.”
She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly before letting out a small laugh.
“Then again, I also appeared suddenly in your life and now we’re friends too.”
Lisa shook her head firmly.
“No. You’re not the same.”
Isabel blinked in surprise.
Lisa smiled gently.
“You didn’t come into my life the same way as Sarah or Ella. You helped me when you didn’t even know I was a princess. That’s different.”
Isabel looked down slightly, touched.
“Never compare yourself like that,” Lisa added softly.
Isabel smiled again.
They continued walking toward the academy doors, disappearing into the building as the morning bell rang.
Behind them, near the courtyard fountain, Ella had stopped walking.
From a distance she looked like any other student lingering before class began.
But the expression on her face had changed.
The polite disappointment she had shown Lisa was gone.
In its place was something colder.
Her eyes followed Lisa and Isabel until they disappeared inside the school.
For a moment her jaw tightened, as though something had not gone the way she had hoped.
Then the expression vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Ella turned and walked toward the opposite hallway, blending into the crowd of students as if nothing unusual had happened at all.
Around her, the academy buzzed with rumors of witches, traitors, and dead elders.