Hunted

Why Do People Keep Thinking I'm An Idiot?

You can imagine the couple's shock when their banished Prince shows up at their doorway asking for shelter with a girl on his arm. They stared openly at us, their mouths gaping and their eyes never leaving my face.
"So yeah," I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. "Can I come in?"
The woman jumped into the action and hurriedly nodded, stepping aside and pushing her husband with her so we could pass. I thanked her as we walked in. It was a nice little house. We immediately entered into the kitchen slash dining room from the front door. Jessie and I stood in the middle of the kitchen awkwardly. This didn't sound like the best idea anymore.
I really needed to work on my plans.
"Please sit." The woman told us in razian.
I smiled warmly at her and thanked her, pulling Jessie with me and sitting her next to me in the wooden chairs.
"Sorry to barge in on you like this..." I started, speaking razian.
"No no no." The woman interrupted me. She blushed. She wasn't used to speaking to royalty. She was just a commoner. She looked down. "We just thought you were never coming back. We were surprised."
The man was probably only two or three years older than me. "You abandoned us." He told me. There was no beating around the bush with this guy. "You left us in the hands of that tyrannical monstrous father." Hie eyes were dark and resentful. "If you were here you could have stopped him." He growled. "You could have stopped him from killing my sister."
My stomach sunk and my heart hurt. "I'm sorry." I told him honestly, though very lamely. "But I didn't have many choices. It was either be killed right away or run away and hope to come back."
The man stepped forward threateningly. He was obviously angry and hurt. I stood up quickly and stood in front of Jessie defensively. "Please calm down." I pleaded with him. "If anything happens to me I won't be able to make this right. Just give me a chance."
"Navid." The woman said quietly. "Don't attack our prince."
Navid's glare softened. "My sister can't be replaced." He told me in a low voice.
I nodded and sat down slowly. "I know." I told him carefully. "And I regret not being able to help her. But I'm back now and I plan on making things right." I hesitated. "I plan to take the throne from my father, and after that I will do everything in my power to fix this country."
The couple exchanged glances and they both visibly relaxed. Navid nodded to the woman and she walked around the kitchen, grabbing coffee supplies and food from various corners. Navid sat down in a chair opposite to us and folded his hands, as if signifying his indifference toward us. "Who's the girl?" He asked me. "Is she mute? She hasn't talked yet."
"Oh, Jessie." I rested an arm around her chair possessively. "No she's not mute. She's from America though and doesn't speak our language."
Navid raised an eyebrow. "And you brought her here because...." He trailed off.
I shrugged. "We're best friends." I told him honestly. "We don't go anywhere without each other now." I gestured towards the woman. "What's her name?" I asked him.
"Ester." Navid answered me. "She's my wife. We've been married a couple years now."
I nodded. "Cool."
We sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes while Ester made the coffee. Eventually she sat a cup down in front of Jessie and gave another one to me. Navid thanked her warmly when he received his cup and kissed her hand lovingly.
I felt my gut wrench. I wanted someone in my life like that. I stole a glance at Jessie, but I chastised myself. I could never pull her into the life of a royal. It's not actually that fun. She would hate it.
"The people are angry." Ester broke into my thoughts. "But we are powerless. No one knows what to do."
"Why haven't you guys just stormed the castle?" I shrugged towards them.
The couple shrugged and Ester frowned. "That would just create more chaos." She told me. "And more deaths."
I felt Jessie shiver in her chair and I frowned. "Is there a shower she can use?" I asked them. "I don't want her to catch a chill."
Ester nodded and got up, mutely leading Jessie to a back room. Jessie sent me a worried look, but I just nodded to her encouragingly. She smiled and followed Ester.
When they were out of earshot Navid spoke. "Why'd you come to this house." He asked me in a low voice. "I know you're not an idiot. You don't walk up to random people and ask for shelter. How did you know I'm not going to turn you in."
"You're Duke's cousin." I told him bluntly. "Duke mentioned where you lived a couple years ago. I knew I could trust you."
Navid looked slightly shocked. "You know we haven't spoken in years, right?" He asked me. "Is he okay? It's normally too dangerous for me to talk to him. It attracts attention."
"Yeah, he's fine." I assured him. "He's staying low in the castle, since his dad is working with mine. I think he's got a girl he's protecting and probably fallen in love with by now."
Navid and I shared a smile. We both knew how easily Duke fell in love, making him susceptible to heart breaks. He may put on the façade of not caring or being a jerk, but underneath all that, he would risk everything and anything to help someone else.
"What's your plan?" Navid asked me.
I hesitated. "I'm not sure." I told him slowly. "I'm supposed to meet Duke tomorrow morning at the gates. I think he's going to try to get me in range of my dad, and maybe I'll take his life. I'm not sure yet."
Navid raised an eyebrow. "You're trying to get yourself killed." He told me slowly.
I shrugged. "I'll figure something out." I did have half of a plan. But the less people who knew, the better.
Navid and I talked for another half hour. He told me about the people and how everyone was coping, and all the details of what my dad was doing. It made me sick and made my blood boil. After awhile I yawned though.
"Okay, I'm on jet lag." I told him sleepily. "And I would love a hot shower. You going to let us stay here or not?" I asked him.
Navid shrugged. "We've only got one guest bed though-" he began.
I waved him off. "I'll sleep on the floor. Can you direct me to the shower please? Jessie is probably done by now."
Navid consented and after my shower I redressed and walked into the guest bedroom, toweling off my hair. Jessie was already curled up under the covers, sleeping peacefully. I smiled at her and walked to the side of the bed, pulling the covers around her snugly. Her hair was slightly damp and cascaded around her head. I sighed and sat down on the floor. Navid had given me an extra pillow and a couple blankets and I laid there, getting ready for a much needed rest.
"Hunter."
I stopped what I was doing and looked up at the bed. Jessie was peeking over the edge. "Yes, Shorty?" I asked her.
"Why are you on the ground, you idiot?" She asked me casually.
I looked at the mess of covers on the floor. "Because you're on the bed." I told her bluntly.
Jessie smirked. "Get up here." She told me playfully. Her voice cracked though and her eyes gave away fear.
I got up slowly and Jessie pulled the covers away, allowing me to crawl in with her. She moved over so we weren't touching and turned away. I stared at her for a second before turning my back on her and pulling the covers up to my chin.
"Good night Hunter." I heard her say in a quiet voice.
"Night Shortcake." I told her simply. Then darkness claimed me.
***
It was dark when I woke up. And Jessie was gone. I patted the spot next to me frantically and looked around wildly. I began sweating and jumped up. I was about ready to scream her name when she walked out of the bathroom. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you okay?" She asked me uncertainly.
I saw stars and I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Gosh, Shorty, don't scare me like that." I whispered, relieved.
Jessie smirked. "I was in the bathroom Hunter." She informed me. "For like two minutes."
"Yeah, but." I gestured wildly. "I woke up and you were gone."
Jessie shrugged and made direct eye contact with me. "I'm here." She told me simply. "I'm not going anywhere."
We both knew the double meaning of that statement and we stared at each other heatedly. Then I sighed. "What time is it?" I asked her.
"Three A.M." Jessie told me. She walked across the room and sat next to me. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me.
"It's too early to go meet Duke." I told her.
"You do realize it's like two in the afternoon in the U.S. right?" Jessie asked me. "I'm not going to sleep any time soon."
"Yeah, I know, that's why we're wide awake."
We sat in silence for a minute and then Jessie said the words I'd been waiting to hear from her.
"This could be our last day together." Her voice was small, timid, hesitant.
I sighed and turned to face her. Her green eyes had turned misty. I tried not to stare too deeply into them as I reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Shorty, I need you to listen to me." I told her sternly, holding her chin lightly in my fingers. I could feel her quivering. From fear or something else, I didn't know. "Nothing is going to happen to you," I told her sternly. "Not if I can help it."
Jessie frowned. "I'm not worried about me." She told me honestly. "I can take care of myself. I'm worried about you. You're going to get yourself killed."
I dropped my hand, a little taken aback. "I can take care of myself." I told her quietly.
Jessie groaned. "Hunter, you don't even know what you're doing." She told me, grabbing my hand and holding it tightly in her hands.
I squeezed her hand gently. "I can do this." I told her. "And nothing is going to happen to you." I held up her hand and pressed it to my lips. "I promise."