Brown eyes. I stare into my reflection, my eyes hovering over my own, trying to get the perfect glance of who I truly am. My eyes are a replica of my mother's, dark and bold, making more of a statement than the kingdom itself. I've always dreamed of looking into the stormy ocean eyes of the blue. I've yearned for looking and feeling like the waters shall drown me with beauty. Mother has seen eyes of ice, not light, but a faded blue. She doesn't talk much about Faye, and I think I understand why.
To be honest, I do not yearn to understand why she never speaks of her. It is not worth my time to know of one that has already passed on. Surely I will know of her someday, but I do not have the time to grieve.
And not nearly enough time to get completely ready.
"Sorin!" Mother knocks on the bathroom door, her bony fingers pounding on the wood. It's more of a rattle than a knock like a snake is slithering in to poison me if I dare to arrive late.
I blurt out, "Hold on, hold on! I'm almost ready!" I take a glance at the page number and slip the book into one of the cabinets. If only I weren't too busy staring at myself, then maybe I could've finished the page-
"Sorin, you need to be out in the next few minutes, and that's if you want to be fashionably late!" She screeches. I dump my hands in the running water and smooth it over my hair. I dab my face with the cold sensation then turn off the faucet, drying my skin with a towel hanging from the door. I pry open the door and reveal myself to my mother, her bright, blonde locks of hair braided then pulled up into a bun. Her deep brown eyes glare into mine, burning into my soul.
"What took you so long?" She demands. My face flusters, as though they have placed a million burning stars right next to me, burning off my skin.
"I was trying to keep myself presentable," I explain with a large swallow. I pick at the excess skin surrounding my nail, tearing it up until the stinging sensation prickles at my finger.
"Your hands don't look nearly presentable." She taps my hand and I immediately shoot them back, keeping them at my side.
"Sorry, mother," I state.
"I'm sorry...stress and all." She chuckles, but it isn't even close to genuine. Just nervous. A nervous laugh that I join in on.
"It's fine." She links arms with me and leads me down the wonder of a staircase. Railings with golden swirls loop around the columns of a large marble.
Four guards surround us, two from behind, two leading us towards the ballroom.
I've been surrounded my entire life. Not just by guards, but by stress, years ticking by so quickly I can't even get my life straight. I just wish I could surround myself in my room, alone, in peace. That's something I will never be able to experience once I follow through with my mother's plan. The plan will keep our kingdom safe and benefit her, but it will only make me miserable.
But does anybody care? Not one soul.
I'm just the prince. That is all I am. I must keep this kingdom safe at all costs, whether it be taking away my childhood or stealing a life.
I did not approve of this lifestyle. I did not endorse my name on the back of anything. But I am the next and only heir to the throne of Dolmania. It is not just my mother forcing me to go through with this, for it is all of Dolmania, all of the stress heaved onto my back.
However, just because I'm only looking at the dark does not mean that it is all horrid. I am perceiving it as something terrible even if it could be the best opportunity within my life.
I just have to take this and go along with it. I need to be the prince I was quite literally born to be.
"Announcing Verena Dreamark of Dolmania, and the next heir to the throne, the prince of Dolmania, Sorin Dreamark." Trumpets blow and cheers erupt within the crowd of many visitors from far away places. Out of all places they decided to attend tonight they chose here, to watch me dance with my forced wife. Citizens I see roaming the kingdom every day are standing still in their elegant outfits, their eyes fixated on me.
"Good evening, Prince Sorin." Her eyes meet mine once she curtsies as a sign of reverence.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Emalie." I bow just as every man should do once in his life. Once we both look up she snorts the slightest bit, slapping her hand onto her mouth, concealing the embarrassment.
I whisper, "It's fine."
Her face is splotched with freckles, her dark skin perfect in contrast with her curly hair and almond eyes. She takes my hand and the orchestra begins a symphony. We waltz around the room as though it is second nature, her smile refusing to shroud. She wears a tightly fitted emerald dress that feels silky as it rubs against my skin.
And I think to myself, I'm dancing with a girl that I had just recently met...through notes. Just to protect my kingdom-
She interrupts my thoughts by introducing a conversation, trying to make small talk, "So you are the only heir to the throne?" I can't help but contort my face. What question is that?
"Yes," I answer. "What is the situation in your kingdom?"
"My father is trying to marry me off; I am the only daughter that agreed to do so. Plus I have older siblings, ones that could do a much better job at ruling than I ever could. That applies to that kingdom, of course," she explains.
Her almond-shaped eyes meet mine yet again. I observe them and notice more detail within the color, like a thin layer of glass veils her eyes. Splotches of gold layer over the sage green that makes up most of her eyes. A deeper brown appears here and there, like the stars that are seen here and there within the sky.
But I don't want to stare into the eyes of every other Dolmac for the rest of eternity. Of course, her eyes are beautiful, as well as every other feature. However, I want something more than this kingdom, something more than the throne. I yearn for a wild one to come, to cross paths with.
However, what is it like beyond our borders? Is the world different from Dolmania, or is this whole world against people of different eye colors?
"Does your kingdom believe in the difference of Dolmacs and..." I swallow hard, "Labrinths?"
"What do you mean?" She chuckles.
"Do you have blue-eyed people in your kingdom?" I ask, restating my question.
"Blue-eyed people? There's such a thing?" She exclaims.
I nod.
"Here...you have people with blue eyes," she whispers in astonishment. We continue waltzing around the room, both of us centrally in the middle where everybody watches our every move or glances over at us as they dance along.
They long to see our connection, how we interact with each other, what our conversations are filled with.
My face then flushes up. They are staring at us for a reason. They don't want to hear our conversation; they just want to see whether I ask her to marry me or not. They are preparing for the moment my mother has been planning out since Emalie's first letter arrived, maybe even earlier.
I try to gulp down the rocks scratching at my throat, but how am I supposed to handle this...getting married to a young woman that I've just met for the first time?
I whip my head around to meet the eyes of my mother. She nods at me as my pleading eyes ask for reassurance.
I swallow hard, beads of sweat starting to bubble up on my forehead. And then I start to compare my situation to the books that I've read, the worlds that I have been sucked into. The lovers within books were natural...most of the time. They would learn to love over time, not in a matter of a day. The lovers would learn to adapt to each other and they would grow together, growing closer, not growing apart. If only this were fiction, a world of fantasy.
But instead, I am in reality.
A reality that I wish would perish once and for all.
My mind wanders as the scarlet light filters into the room through the large, towering windows. I glance over a shadow gliding over the curtains. I close my eyes and imagine it all over again. And once I peek at the other curtains there are no shadows whatsoever.
I am just imagining things. I have to be seeing things. I am in quite an eccentric atmosphere with the weight of the world has thrown onto me. Emalie's spectacles for eyes stare into mine. She pulls in and rests her head on my shoulder, forcing us to be closer. I put on a mask for the others, to show them that we are in love when I just want to jump out one of those windows, fleeing from the responsibilities that I own.
"Verena!" Three guards burst through the grand doors, each of them panting.
"What is it?" She inquires.
"Evacuate Sorin to his bedroom. We have at least ten intruders within the barriers of Dolmania. More are guaranteed to enter," the guard demands.
I glance back towards my mother and the guards.
My mother nods and I walk over towards her, hugging her tightly as the guards escort me to my room.
I hear my mother command from behind in the ballroom, "Once Sorin is secure in his bedroom, come and guide the others to the safe room!" A few shrieks and shrills rip through the air, some coming from inside the castles, a few others from outside.
I look back at the guards and tell them to leave; I can handle this on my own now. I then twist the door handle, my heart beginning to pound as my fingers meet the gold.
They are gone. I am alone.
Is that...supposed to be delightful?
I don't know. I just shake my head and creak the door open inch by inch. I turn my head over to see my desk, a shade of dark oak, and some of the papers sprawled out on the floor.
But one thing catches my eye.
A shattered window.
Shards of glass cover the floors of my room and sweep across as the wind starts to pick up and enter my room.
I keep my breaths steady and even, trying to intimidate the enemy if anything.
"Who are you?" I demand, pacing my room.
"That's a question I have been asking myself for years now," a feminine voice chuckles.
"Come out," I command.
A young girl steps out from beneath my desk, her choppy locks of deep brown hair framing her face.
"What is your name?" I inquire.
She jolts up towards me, retrieving a short blade...a dagger. She glares at me and brings the dagger up towards my throat. She stands shorter than me, yet she still causes my breaths to fasten.
"What is your name?" I repeat, the words coming out raspy and deeper than intended.
"I know who you are," she laughs to herself, drawing back the dagger, pacing up and down my room. She drags her fingers across the flat of the blade. Who is this girl? And why is she here?
"Then who am I?" I ask.
"The prince boy. You're supposed to be downstairs dancing with your soon-to-be wife, aren't you?" She questions.
I nod.
"Then why are you up here?"
"That is none of your business," I say sternly.
She cries, "Ha! Nothing is ever of my knowledge, you know why? Because they called me a monster. They sent me away and stole everything from me. Including this." She holds up a golden locket-
"That's mine!" I exclaim, trying to grasp it from her hands.
"Correction," she sneers, "it's mine." Her grip grows tighter on the locket, her knuckles turning a bright white as she glances back up towards me.
"What is your name?" I step closer to her, hankering to put this face to a name.
"You think I'm going to tell you?" She laughs, looking straight into my eyes as if challenging me. "Are you that dumb?"
"I'm not dumb enough to break into enemy's territory," I snap.
"I'll kill you," she threatens. "You realize that, right?"
"How will you find a way out? Because I'm sure you need some help navigating through this...castle," I sneer.
"If I could make it inside without dying then I can escape easily," she laughs.
I refute, "The guards are being stationed elsewhere, more and more of them hunting for your kind. They sent me to my room to protect me for a reason."
"Fine. But I keep the locket, you live your perfect life, and I keep my name to myself."
My eyes graze over hers, roaming up and down her, scanning her face and each feature that belongs to her.
Little had I known before that I would be staring into the eyes of a stormy sea later. And I take a moment to just take it in, to feel and see the wonders of such eyes. I've seen green. I've seen brown.
But never blue. And her...her shade of blue is so dark and mysterious it is as though it is more gray. A muted blue for a vibrant and fiery soul.
"Stop looking at me and agree!" She snaps.
I chuckle, "Fine."
"I agree. I'll help you find a way out."
She nods and strokes straight towards the door...just ready to turn the handle-
"Hey! Don't turn it yet!" I exclaim.
She cries, "Why not? If they kill me then they kill me!" Her face flusters once the words pass through her thin lips. She then starts chewing...her cheek. And then she maneuvers to her lips, gnawing on them until her lips begin to bleed.
"I'll go out first. I would prefer for a living person to own the locket rather than a deceased one," I scoff. I push the door open and enter the winding hallways.
"Stay behind me, I'll guide you to where we need to go," I whisper.
"I hate you," she mutters. "And I hate that I am depending on you of all people."
"Do you want to get out alive or in pieces?" I threaten.
She scoffs, "Are you sure you aren't asking yourself that?" I refuse to respond to her snide remarks; silence is what tears most people apart once in an argument.
She glances here and there as we walk through the hallways, her eyes darting towards the doors and through the arches that provide a way through here and there.
I grip onto her wrist, keeping her firmly next to me before she meanders off without knowing where to go. I know the feeling of one's mind wandering, escaping reality, and right now is not the time for both of us to get lost. One of us needs to keep a firm grip on getting to our destination, and I am known for my mind wandering off.
"Where are you from?" I ask, breaking the silence.
She sighs, "I'm not telling you, and would you let go of me?" She manages to pry her arm from my grip.
"I've never met someone so stubborn," I chuckle.
She rolls her eyes, "You could learn a few things from me."
"Then teach me," I laugh.
"I'm not teaching you, not right now."
"I still don't know your name," I blurt out.
She laughs, "And you think I'm going to tell you?"
I nod.
Her face flushes up and her smile drops. "You think so? Then I want to know your name, your majesty."
"Sorin, prince and next heir to the throne of Dolmania," I state firmly, just as my mother had taught me.
"Such a formal name for a stupid boy," she teases. I chuckle under my breath as we continue our way down the halls.
"We're almost there...where are you headed to?" I inquire, our eyes meeting yet again.
"Our kinds aren't nearly allowed to come in contact with each other, let alone...get to know each other," she explains.
"But-"
She scoffs, "You think you can change that? It would take a whole revolution for your kind to even consider allowing us to come into your borders. I'm not permitted to be here, Sorin."
"I'm the next heir, I'm the prince, don't you think I can do something?" I retort.
"People are going to abhor you for eternity if you even think about allowing all of us to go near each other. The last time somebody tried that, it just ended in a civil war. Dolmac against Dolmac. Imagine what it would be like now that you have all advanced. I don't mind you guys killing off each other, but you have to think things through."
"Says the one who made the most irrational decision to pass our borders!" I exclaim.
"And have I died yet?" she points out.
"Fair point," I mutter.
"I don't know you, and I don't want to get to know you, but you're being brave and kind enough to save me. I'm just trying to return a favor by asking you to keep yourself safe. Let it come in the future. A revolution should never be forced; the outcome would be forced."
I have never met a woman who speaks such wise words. Not one time have I danced with a woman like her, with a personality that represents fire. But that fire can be tamed, for now.
If only it weren't this divide for power and of eye color. If only our kinds could live in peace.
Then again, I would've never met her.
What do I even think of her? She's different... I mean, of course, that's what most people say. However, she truly is different. She's wild and outrageous, spiteful yet wise. And she doesn't have any clue of who she is.
Words can make a huge impact on the personality of one.
"What made you come here?" I ask.
She laughs, "For this locket. Out of all things I chose to do tonight... I chose to find out my past."
"So that locket? It-"
"It was mine, but it was stolen. Maybe I can tell you next time I come."
"Next time?" I ask.
"Isn't there always a next time?" She laughs, her steps wobbling side by side.
I sigh, "Not always."
"What do you mean?" She questions me.
"There's not always a next time, whatever your name is," I explain. "People come and go, some are snatched by Death, while others leave by choice."
"I'm not going to die," she assures me. I know it is not for me; she starts fumbling with her fingers, her mind is obviously racing. She's trying to convince herself that she will see another day, that she won't die.
Come to think of it...her kind has to convince themselves every day that they will live to see another day because of me. Because of my kingdom.
But they are evil. They are heinous and cruel. They are powerful, and yet they seek more. Just like she broke into our borders this very night, seeking for more.
"There will be a next time," I assure her.
"Stupid idiot, can't even solve the conflict within yourself," she sneers.
"What conflict?"
"Whether I'll live or not," she spits.
I chuckle, "If you don't want to get caught, then you should try and act a little more formal than you are now."
"I'm sorry, my prince." She curtsies as the punchline to her joke, snorting once she stands back up. I shake my head in disapproval as we continue to meander.
What she doesn't know is that I'm taking a long way out. I want to get to know her, to treasure every moment with the kind that we have been against for cycle after cycle.
She glances at the locket tied around her neck, hanging loosely.
She mutters a few words, "Life... Death...and Everlasting..."
"What are you saying?" I ask.
"Nothing," she whispers as she stays drawn to the locket. "It's my locket anyway, why do you need to know?"
"There aren't any words, let alone details or-"
"Idiot, can't you read?" She exclaims.
"Actually," I interrupt, "reading is like the only thing that I enjoy, so I don't think you should question my ability with words."
"You Dolmacs are so full of yourselves."
"And you Labrinths are so ambitious, so spiteful."
"You want to know why?" she cries. "Because of your kind! Because we had to adapt!"
"Sorry-"
"Don't say sorry. It's like trying to put out a fire with more fuel. You only make it worse. Instead, you should've thought it through before if your kind is so wise and witty."
I interrupt what seems to be the never-ending silence by admitting, "You know...you quite literally saved me from that dance right there."
"Why?" she asks.
"I was supposed to ask this girl I had just met to marry me. Forcing her to spend the rest of her life with me, even though we had just said our first words to each other."
"And do you love her?" she says in a sing-song voice.
"I don't know."
"How do you not know?" she cries.
"It's like forcing a howler to live amongst a flock of birds. You don't know if it will work out, whether the howler will hunt them down or protect them. Just put that in perspective with marriage. They're forcing me to marry this woman I don't even know, and forcing her to live amongst a kind that she has never known, a place that she has never ventured to. You don't know whether she will love or betray us."
"I don't know how I doubted your ability to read," she scoffs. "Because that was one heck of a comparison."
"It's what I get for locking myself in my room every day."
"Reading books?"
"You practically know everything about me now," I laugh.
"You're the prince, you like reading, your name is Sorin...and you are very advanced with your fancy comparisons and language. The opposite of me."
"And I know nothing about you."
"Let's keep it that way. And why is it taking so long for you to get me out of here? Aren't you supposed to despise me to the point where you want me to leave as soon as possible?"
"The castle is huge," I explain. "How am I supposed to get you to exit in a matter of a second?"
"Well, I better be out of her by the next cycle," she groans.
"Here, I'll get you out quicker, but can I show you something?" I ask.
She grumbles, "Fine."
Her eyes widen once we reach the courtyard of large arches and pillars. A tall tree branches out in the middle of the courtyard with perfectly-placed silver bricks. An archery course is set up right next to us, where I would practice with Quinn every so often. He hasn't been free lately, but then again, he has just reached the marking of eighteen.
"What do you do here?" she asks in astonishment.
"Read, write...sometimes I journal the stars or the moons. A few cycles back my friend and I would always be here, either sword fighting, practicing our archery, or horseback riding. We would do a lot together, well...that was until he had to fulfill his duties."
"And those duties are..." she trails off.
"I don't really know. It depends on what rank he has succeeded in. His family is close to mine, so that gave him plenty of opportunities. We met at boarding school. Of course, my mother brought me back to homeschooling. However, Quinn and I stayed friends and would contact each other whenever possible," I explain.
"I've never seen these kinds of flowers..." She kneels, her fingers barely about to graze a flower-
The flower.
I shout, "No! Don't touch that!"
She laughs, "Why?"
"My mother uses that to poison the Labrinths in the chambers. It will kill you if you come into contact with it."
"Chambers? What do you mean?"
"Listen here," I whisper. She leans in. "They capture your kind, testing on them to know how you...how you do what you all do. But they do more. I don't know what else they do. All I know is that she keeps them locked in chambers in the basement. I've found some of the files, in which my guess is...is that they are testing on your kind."
"Then we better go, you idiot! I'm sorry, but I don't want to get captured!" She exclaims.
"There they are!"
"Seize them!"
I whip my head back and see the fear in her eyes, but once I look up, I meet the eyes of my mother and the guards.
Run.
