Ricardiana

twelve

Fear crept through me as I looked at the faceless men in front of me. There were lots of them, and I think that they wanted to harm me. I was paralyzed; I couldn't move and I even if I could, I wouldn't know where to go. I hiccup, and then before I know it, I'm running. My feet are taking me somewhere I have never been before, but I didn't care. I ran past the hotel, past the small cottages of Hannah and Juliet, and came to a dead end. They were still chasing after me.

I begin to cry, something I never liked doing when I was scared, until a petite man came up to me. "Back off, you turds! Don't terrorize poor Juliet like that, she's a nice girl!" He says.

The faceless men all look at one another, and then walk away. The small man turns to me. "You're not Juliet, who are ya?" He asks.

"Diana, who are you?" I respond.

"My friends call me Randy, but you can call me tonight." He says with a wink.

I didn't know what to make with a remark like that. This man was about Delaney's age and only barely five feet tall, but I was not going to call for him.

"How did you know that I'm not Juliet?" I ask.

"Because Juliet is smart enough to know that the faceless men come out after a certain hour. You're a foreigner, aren't ya?"

I nod in response.

"Have you heard stories about this place?" Randy questions.

"Yes, but I did not assume that they were true." I answer.

"Well, anything that you think isn't true, is in fact true. People in first world countries make up stories, and everything that they make up and don't carry on is thrown here in the forbidden forest. Everyone you meet here, has been made up in forgotten. Even me." Randy informs.

I am taken back to a time where I was younger. Liam and I were sitting in his library, upon the throne of books. We were talking about how 'my twin sister, Juliet' had moved away. How she had went to live with my grandmother. We had made Seth, Liam's little brother, king of the dwarves. It suddenly all made sense. It made sense as to why I wasn't as freaked out as Liam was when I had saw Juliet. It made sense why even though I didn't know Hannah nor Juliet, I had kind of felt as if I did know them.

"Does that mean I've been forgotten as well?" I ask Randy.

He chuckles. "You, Diana? How could anyone forget you?"

That's when I remember it all. Walking home early from school in the rain. Being struck by lightening. I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand. It was all coming back to me. Sophie breaking up with Liam. Liam inviting me over to dinner with his family. Going home for lunch and not wanting to go back to school and ending up going back, soaked by the rain. Getting caught laughing by Mr. Julian. Sophie confronting me about Liam. Getting angry and walking home. Getting struck by lightening.

"Have people been known to leave the forest?" I ask Randy.

"Yes, if someone picks you back up, finds a hidden gem... Maybe you were just misplaced? I don't know, but it's possible to get out of here." Randy says.

I smile and then run back to the hotel to get Liam. I had to get out of here, the both of us did. I unlock the door and Liam is dead asleep on the bed. His shirt is unbuttoned and he's stripped down to his underwear, but I didn't care. It's not like I hadn't seen it before. I hop on the bed and shake him awake.

"Liam, we have to go back to Ricardiana." I say. He didn't budge. "Liam, please wake up! I need you right now!" I try again.

I groan and roll my eyes, and look around the room. I could throw his shoes at him, but that would be painful. I wasn't keen on inflicting pain on to others. So instead, I straddle him and shake his shoulders. "William Edward Bennett! Wake up this moment or I will be forced to do something I swore I'd never do!"

He wouldn't move. I checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive, and he was. But then came the part I dreaded. I had heard Liam tell me about a dream once when we were about fifteen. He said that he woke up because I kissed him, and that it was the best way to be woken up. Now, I had never even had my first kiss, let alone thought about kissing Liam. He was my best friend, and I've decided that he was only going to be my best friend.

I sat on him, poked his chest. Wouldn't budge. I sigh and begin to psych myself up for this kiss. I was about to have my first kiss with someone who wouldn't even know I did it. And then if he does know, I might have to explain to him why a kissed him, and neither of those choices seemed appealing to me. I sigh and place my hands on either side of his face, and lean closer to his face. It's then I notice how smooth his skin is. I pucker my lips and place them against his.

I stay like that for three seconds and then pull away, getting off of him. He opens his eyes and turns to face me. "Diana?"

I nod.

He rolls his eyes at me and groans. "Why did you wake me up?" He's angry.

"We have to get out of here. You and I, we don't belong here." I say, my voice shaky.

Liam shakes his head. "No, Diana. I'm tired, I wish to rest."

"And I wish to get out of here!" I scream. I couldn't help it. Tears began to rush down my face and Liam's eyes widen. "Liam, I don't want to be here anymore." I say.

Liam comes over towards me and consoles me in a hug, rubbing my back. I kind of needed that, although I would never admit it. He holds me for a while and then looks me in the eyes. "You can leave, Diana. I'm going to stay here until the morning." He tells me.

"William, you can't do that! You can't leave me alone!" I tell him. My vision is becoming cloudy from the tears.

"Diana, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He asks.

"I want to go home, Liam! Back where I belong." I reply. I didn't tell him about the real world. I didn't tell him that he was my absolute best friend. I didn't tell him that he dated Sophie and that my real parents were getting a divorce and that my mum was pregnant. I didn't tell him that Ricardiana was fake. I didn't tell him that Juliet was someone I made up and so was Hannah. I didn't tell him anything more.

"Diana, I want to go home too, but we can't just leave in the middle of the night." Liam says.

I nod. He was right. With the faceless men and God knows what other odd creatures lurking in the dark, it wasn't safe for either of us. I lay down in the bed opposite of Liam and turn to face the wall. I hear him mumble a few things but nod it off. It didn't seem to be important.

+

I wake up and Liam is not in his bed. I peel the blanket off of my legs and look in the bathroom, but he is not there either. I figure it's no use going out to look for him because he couldn't just leave me here. So I relax in my bed and begin thinking about a story idea that I've had. I found a pen and paper in the bedside table and began writing. Oh how I missed it. It was the only way I could really express myself.

I hear the door unlock and in walks Liam and Juliet, smiling and laughing, arm in arm. I'm not going to lie, after kissing him last night, this kind of hurt. Bringing a girl who looks exactly like I do into our hotel room when we were going to escape. I look at the two who are in deep concentration with one another. I roll my eyes and make my presence known by coughing intentionally.

"Oh, Diana! Glad to see that you're here!" Liam says.

"Where else would I be, poo head?" I respond dryly.

He looks over to Juliet, who can't stop laughing. I wanted, so badly, to tape her mouth shut. If I sounded like that when I laughed, why didn't anyone tape my mouth shut? Her laugh was hideous. The two calm down and then take a seat on the separate beds.

"Juliet wants to help us escape."

"What's in it for us?" I ask.

Juliet looks at Liam, and then looks at me. "I can pretend to be you, silly. I know how you don't like doing certain things, and I can take your place."

Although this sounded like a good idea, I didn't think we could pull it off. She had no idea what being a princess was like. But I nod in agreement anyway. "Fine. But you have to learn to be like me, alright?" Juliet nods in excitement.

The three of us then start our journey back to Ricardiana.