Facade

Chapter 6

    We were walking in silence. A tense silence that made me uncomfortable as I walked behind Alex, wondering where we were going. Ten minutes had passed by since I asked him to show me around, yet all we did was walk.

    Looking around, I was surprise to notice the part of town we were in was busier. Buildings had light seeping through them and I could see life through the windows I passed by. Everyone was talking and smiling, and I wondered why my part of town was so much quieter in the evening. Then I thought about the depressing part of town I never knew about.

    I shuddered as my heart dropped. It was easy to forget about it when what you saw constantly was so much different. So much better that you thought everything else was good. Shaking my head, I made a mental note to somehow help my people.

    Five more minutes passed by and I began to tire. The space between us began to increase and I knew I should tell Alex I was tired, but I didn't want him thinking I lacked energy because I was always in a carriage. Although admittedly it was true for the most part, I still didn't want Alex to have that impression of me.

    But Alex seemed to notice I was lagging behind because he looked back at me. As he saw me meters away, he frowned.

    "Is something wrong?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing.

    I shook my head. "No... But where are we going? We've been walking for a while and I'm curious."

    I noticed the flush that crept into Alex's cheeks as he turned back. Watching him, I frowned as he kept walking.

    "I don't know," he said.

    "You don't know?" I asked, shocked. "Then where are we going?"

    "I don't know," he repeated, suddenly sounding annoyed. "I'm trying to think of a place that'll reach your standards, but nothing comes to mind."

    "My standards?"

    I frowned, unsure of what he meant by that. Wanting an answer, I scurried over to his side in hopes that he would stop walking. When he didn't even glance at me, I sighed heavily. I wondered why I thought he would be great to explore with.

   "What do you mean by standards?" I asked, staying at his side.

   "You're a princess," Alex simply said. "You probably expect something glamorous. Something that'll make you say wow. I don't know what that is here."

   "Wait." My eyes widened. "You think I want to explore to see the glamorous parts of my town?"

   "No, but I think you expect that. I don't want to disappoint you, princess."

    I stopped in my spot suddenly as anger flooded into me. Putting my hands on my hips, I let Alex keep walking, wondering if he'd leave me there. If he did I wouldn't have cared because he was infuriating. Narrow minded, too. But to my surprise, his shoulders went slack and he turned around. For an entire minute, we then stared at each other.

    His blue eyes were on me and they were cold. I had forgotten about how cold they could be as I stared at him, remembering the times where he almost seemed gentle. It was so back and forth with him and I didn't get it.

    Knowing we couldn't spend the rest of our lives staring at each other, I said, "You don't know me. You know nothing about me."

    I was surprised by the venom in my voice, but Alex didn't seem fazed. He cocked his head, analyzing me as I glared at him.

    "Do you really think I'd risk my mother's wrath just so I could see more of what I've spent my entire life seeing?" I asked, trying to remain calm. "I'm not some spoiled, rigid princess. I came here to explore and what I don't expect is glamour such as riches and royalty. I could care less about those things and all I want to see is my town. I want to know more about it and that's what I asked you to show me. Don't make me out to be someone I'm not."