Dictator [One Direction AU]

18

Date: 11.03.2063

The pair had been walking for what seemed like an age to Jane when they stumbled across the small unnamed village, if it could be called that. In reality there were a few mud huts that had thatched roofs, they looked as unsteady and unreliable as Jane's mental state but it was the duo's only option.

Outside one of the huts stood an old man, with a beard that was longer than Jane's marriage to Louis; he was hunched over, staring intently at the floor as if it contained the secrets of the world but looked up as Niall passed. The blonde haired boy was slightly surprised by the man's sudden movements but brushed off the uneasy feeling that was building inside his stomach.

"Stop! Young fellow!" The old man did his best to run but ended up limping, pushing his good leg forward in an attempt to keep up with the fast boy. Jane stood still as she watched the odd interaction, confused by what was playing in front of her.

"Young boy," the old man stroked Niall's face, which was both reassuring and creepy to the Irishman, "Your eyes hold unspoken stories that even you do not know off by heart, you have a bright future. I am a soothsayer, I speak the truth."

"Thank you?" Niall replied with caution, unsure of the strange man's motives, "Sir we must get going, do you know where we could find refuge?"

The old man looked over at Jane who was standing staring at her shoes, the soothsayer was not sure why Niall had taken this girl along with him. Even the oldest of men could tell that there was no romance between the pair, neither was there a sibling love.

"Who is she?" The old man spat in the direction of Jane, he could sense an aura of defiance from the girl. She was not the type of girl who someone like Niall should have been associating with, the soothsayer saw no future for her.

"Her name is Jane, she is a runaway just like I. Now sir please- where can we go?" Niall had desperation in his voice as he spoke and the soothsayer knew that it was his responsibility to protect the boy with a shining destiny.

"You may stay in my house, there is enough space for us three to stay. I will look after you until you have somewhere to go," Niall dropped down to his knees and kissed the old man's hands while Jane watched on, feeling almost like an intruder. She could tell that the hunchback was weary of her, but she did not know what she had done to cause him to feel that way.

The interior of the 'house' was as bleak as the exterior, the floor was covered in old leaves that crunched underfoot and there was no noticeable heating except the dying fire that smouldered in the centre of the area.

"Young man, you look strong. Why don't you go to well at the end of the road and collect some water," the old man waited till the blonde boy had left before narrowing his eyes at Jane who squirmed under his intense gaze. He still couldn't see her future, usually he could predict someone's fate by one look but Jane was blank. All he saw was darkness.

"Sir, I know we are strangers in your home but please don't be hostile. I will leave if you do not wish me here," Jane had was tired of fighting to be in places she wasn't welcomed, she would leave if the old man wished it so.

"It is not that I do not wish you here, I would be a fool to turn away company however I am trying to figure out your future. I cannot see anything, it is like you have no future in this world," the soothsayer noticed a change in Jane's eyes as he spoke, he could tell that his words were having an effect on her.

"I do not believe I have a future Sir, so your prediction is entirely correct. I might have had one at some point, but that died when my love left this world. I have no place here without him," Jane could almost see Harry as she spoke about him and his face made the same searing pain hit her chest. The old man's face softened slightly upon hearing the girl's lament, and he came to sit next to her; he took her cold hand in his and watched as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"What about this Niall lad? Why don't you give him a chance?" The old man's voice was reassuring but his words weren't, Jane knew that she could never love again.

"It was not your average relationship, there was something so divine about it. Something so unspoken, the type of love you only hear about in poems and storybooks," the young woman dabbed at her eyes with the hem of her clock while the soothsayer sat beside her much like a guard.

"You will love again, this world is full of opportunities. Full of men. There is no such thing as one soul mate," the old man knew that his words held no substance to Jane but she took them anyway and wiped her tears away. The soothsayer knew that Jane was a good soul, but her place on earth was not needed any longer.

"Here's the water!" Niall called as he walked back into the hut, staring on at the scene in bewilderment. Only moments before, the old man seemed to have hated Jane and yet there the two were, huddled together like two gossiping girls.

***
Night was beckoned by the old, wrinkled fingers of the gods and the sun fell down to rest. Jane lay beside Niall, back to back, and she smiled sadly into the cold air; her life was somewhat improved from when she was living in the palace but she still had no purpose. No reason to stay on the planet she called home.

"Niall what can we do here? This is a dead village with only a few inhabitants! I want to live," Jane whispered into the boy's ear and he shivered at her sudden hot breath.

"If we leave, we will be caught and then have no life at all. You will be taken back to your cruel husband while I will taken back my slave master and sold on like some meat," Niall thought back to the man who had beaten him many times, the man who had told him that he was worthless. He never wanted to return to the slave dealer.

"Would you two be quiet? I am trying to get some rest- I am an old man you know!" The soothsayer shouted at the two young people and Jane suppressed a giggle. She would think of something to do in the morning, but at that moment all she needed was rest.