MISCONCEPTIONS

You could feel the unease in the room, as no one wanted to be there. We can’t stand each other, but we are civil. Well, everyone is but King Alexandre. He’s the worst, never listens to anyone, and does as he pleases. I never understood why they always invite him. Thankfully, King Joseph sat us on the opposite side of the long table we’re all sitting at. My father, King Lee, sat to my right. My older brother, Prince Ken, sat to my left. Unfortunately, though, he sat right in front of me. Smiling at me, as the others argued about something. I couldn’t quite keep up with all the over-talking, so I don’t know why they called us here. He thinks he’s all that. That he can do whatever he wants, because everyone is scared of him. That smile he gives me makes my blood boil. I just want to smack it right off his stupid face. He never says anything, just always smiling at me. The others just ignore me like the rest of the ladies here.

“We’re getting nowhere!” King Samule hit the table with his fist.

“And hitting the table will help.” My brother quipped.

“I do believe that we all need a rest. Let’s all go back to our rooms and eat something. We can try it all again in the morning.” Queen Elizabeth, King Samuel’s wife, softly put a hand on her husband’s arm. One by one, we all stood up and walked out.

My father and brother walked a few steps ahead. That’s when someone steps in sync right next to me. Just as I turned to look, the ground seemed to move out from under my feet. The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me whole was my father. His eyes were wide, like the time I stole his horse and went for a ride across the training field at the age of six.

The pounding in my head was what woke me up first. Then the smell of smoke and dust filled my nose. That’s when I realized someone was shaking me. Their voice seemed so far away, like we were in a tunnel. Opening my eyes, I was greeted with the most beautiful emerald eyes I’ve ever seen. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the torches on the wall, I recognized the face.

“Don’t touch me!” I yelled, shoving him away. My mouth was so dry, like I hadn’t had a drop of water for years. But he was still too close for my liking, so I tried to move further away, but something sharp poked my back. Biting my tongue, I had no choice but to move closer to him. Revealing that a sword from a suit of armor sat to the side of the hall. Everything around us was furniture, tables, and armor from the dining hall and the hall we were all in. What happened?

“I believe you would call this being helpful.” He said, raising one side of his lips. His voice in my ear brought me back to how close we actually were.

Narrowing my eyes, I choked back the urge to yell at him. I wanted to blame him. Somehow, I knew this was his fault. I wanted to pick up one of the pieces of the flooring lying around us and hit him with it.

“Relax, Princess, if I wanted you dead, I would’ve done it long ago.” He sat down a few feet away. Leaning back, he laid an arm over his knee. As he moved, he stirred up the dust that seemed to settle when he fell. Leaving a trail as he walked. Something seems to be a little off with him, but I couldn’t seem to figure out what it was.

For a while, we just sat there. Neither of us said a word, and neither was happy. He didn’t do this, right? He was covered in rubble. Pieces of the stone floor we once stood on were in his chestnut hair. Dust covered every inch of him. This wasn’t him. There is no way he would put himself in this situation. He lay his head back onto the rock he was leaning against, closing his eyes. As I watched him, he seemed to be favoring his right side.

Looking up, the room we were just in seemed so far away. Pieces of the flooring seemed to be still falling somewhere. We can hear the echo in the distance. The rats that made their homes down here scurried around. Squeaking in anger at the sudden mess around their once clean stumbling ground. “So, tell me, princess, have you decided if I’m behind this or not?” He said, sitting motionless.

Quickly looking away from him, I tried to think of anything else. But he let out a little laugh, bringing my eyes back to him. Not wanting to stand just yet, I made my way to him. Not really understanding why I was getting closer to him. There was this pull to get closer to him. As I moved, pushing the fallen floor out of the way. The noise caused him to open his eyes. Watching my every move. At his side, I went to move his arm, to see what he was hiding.

“What do you think you're doing?” He grabbed my wrist, holding me tightly in place, even though his touch was gentle. There was no anger that was usually there, but instead, I saw pain and loneliness. Could he really have feelings?

Taking a breath, I once again meet his eyes. His beautiful emerald eyes. “You can either let me look at your wound or wait till they find a way to get down here to help us.”

For a while, he just stared at me. Is he scared? Scared of me? No, that can’t be, he’s not frightened of anything. He let my hands go but never took his eyes off me. Only by focusing on what I was doing did I not let my mind wander. We were even closer to each other now. I gently moved his arm and lifted his shirt. Right in the middle of his ribs was a piece of metal, no bigger than my pointer finger. I’ve seen worse when I helped in the infirmary back home. My father never liked it, but I still helped. When I put a hand near it, to see how deep it went, he grabbed my hand. Pushing me away. “You're done!” There’s that anger. I couldn’t help but smile at myself.

“As you wish. It didn’t seem to hit anything vital. Going to hurt like hell, but unfortunately, you’ll live.” Rolling my eyes. Looking up, I could’ve sworn I saw movement. Somewhere in the distant heard yelling and people

“How would you know? Isn’t it a princess’s job to just look pretty?” He barked. He readjusted, making a face as he moved.

“Screw you.” I pulled myself up. We’ve been down here too long. I’ve started to believe he had a heart. But once I put pressure on my left ankle, pain shot up my leg and up my back. Letting out a scream, I fell right next to him.

To my surprise, he moved closer. Without saying a word or waiting for me to say anything, he grabbed my leg. In shock, I watched as he took off my shoe. He was so gentle. I watched him as he checked out my ankle. “I thought it was rude to stare.” He said, not even looking up. But I could see a little smile on his lips.

“I didn’t know you could be so gentle,” I said. I still couldn’t help but watch him. There was something different about him. Our eyes met again, this time it was like I was seeing them for the first time.

“Amy!” My brother’s voice echoed through the room. Hearing his voice, we pulled away, as if they had caught us together like that; it would be worse than falling down this hole. This time, with the distances between us, I fault the cold and dampness in the room. Was it always this cold in here? The glow of the fire from the search party was the first thing we saw. The fire from the torches they were carrying lit up the room. We fall into a room with five different halls. Strange, we didn’t hear their footsteps. Looking at the man across from me, he went back to his normal self.

“Amy!” My brother yelled again, this time closer.

“Over here!” I called out. Soon, guards and my brother swarmed around me. Everyone was asking questions. Once again, we’re all talking over each other. Just past them, I saw only one person standing over him. For a second, our eyes meet. His friend helped him to his feet. With his arm over him, he gave me another smile and disappeared into the darkness. This time, that smile didn’t bring my blood to a boil. This time, I saw him differently. He wasn’t as bad as everyone made him out to be, or what he lets everyone think.

Alxis McLeod from a little town called Byron in Georgia. When she’s not with family and friends, she’s writing.