King | j.b

IV

"Can't we get in trouble for this?" Ariana whispered violently at Harry. They walked silently along the castle's hallways. Everyone must be in bed by now but there were still guards out. Harry gave her a stern look.

"Yeah we could, but I do this all the time. Just- trust me," he said.

"Where are we going anyway?" Ariana asked curiously.

"You'll see," Harry said as a small smile grew on his face. Ariana gave him a puzzled look but continued to follow.

They walked through countless hallways, all filled with gold pillars. They even came across a wall, lined with pictures of the past kings. The first picture Ariana saw was of a friendly-looking king whose smile grew from ear to ear. But as she passed more and more pictures, the smiles of the king's started to fade until she passed King Justin Bieber's picture. His lips were pressed into a line and his eyes looked almost translucent. Harry noticed Ariana looking at the pictures. 

"Sad isn't it?" he said. "How the kingdom used to be such a magnificent and happy place," he sighed. "And now it's just awful." He shook his head. "C'mon."

Harry led Ariana out a secret back door which led to the castle's garden. The garden seemed so much bigger than she had remembered earlier that day. Lights were speckled around the whole area. The sound of crickets filled the air. And the crescent moon along with hundreds of stars, shone bright up in the black sky.

Harry brought Ariana to a small hill which kept them hidden, but still had the most magnificent view of the whole garden. A large hedge maze stood towards the right. 

Ariana was astonished. "This is incredible," she said quietly. Harry smiled brightly as they sat down on the cold grass.

"Just because this castle is home to that nut job," Harry said tilting his head towards the castle,"doesn't mean it's not beautiful." They sat in silence, gazing down at the garden as their minds took them to another world. Ariana thought she could just stay here forever and forget about everything. Then she got back to reality.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon," she said looking down at her hands. "About mentioning your family." At first there was no answer. Then Harry finally spoke up.

"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry about anything. You didn't know," his words almost jumbled together. Then Ariana started thinking about her own family. She missed them more than anyone could ever imagine.

A tear unexpectedly trailed down Ariana's cheek. Harry noticed this and wiped it away. "Don't cry. You're wasting your tears," he said. "At least be thankful you have a family," he said.

At this, Ariana brought herself together and looked towards Harry. His brown eyes gazed through the garden. His expression was emotionless.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Ariana said. Harry gave her a small smile.

"I come here a lot," he said. "To clear my mind. You can sometimes go crazy listening to that man's voice every day," he said shaking his head.

Ariana sighed. "I've hear the craziest stories about things he has done. Do you know if they're true?" she asked.

"Depends," he replied. "I've witnessed so many awful things you wouldn't even dream of."

"How long have you been here?" Ariana asked.

Harry stiffened and he curled his hands in a fist. "5 grueling years," he replied.

"How long do people stay here?" Ariana asked.

"Depends on how much the king likes you. If you seem useful to him, you're most likely going to stay longer. One lucky servant even only stayed for one year. So it just depends."