Love at first feather

Chapter 6

     After the weird girl, whose name I learned was Rajji, fixed my hair into an intricate braid, we left my room and walked down hallway after hallway. I would've been lost if I had tried to find my way on my own.

     Rajji kept throwing glares over her shoulder at me. She was never enough when she fixed my hair. Maybe, she has done kind I split personality. One hates me, the other wants to be my best friend. Odd.

       Rajji stopped suddenly in front of a large wooden door.

      "Enter now, your highness." She said with a sneer as she dipped into a curtesy.

     "O-okay, thanks for your help." I stammered. I turned away from my sometimes friend and faced the large door which swung open to reveal a banquet. There were meats glistening with sweet juices, all the side dishes you could imagine, and the dessert table! There were colorful jello's and creamy cheesecakes! There were plates that held cakes taller than me! It was heaven on a table!

     "Ahem." I turned to see a man who made the noise. He was a tall regal looking person. He was dressed in a black suit and white shirt. Around his neck he wore a tie that matched my blue dress exactly. "Ahem" he said louder. I realized then I had been staring at this guy with sapphire blue eyes and black hair.

      "Hello." I greeted him cordially. He wasn't going to say anything first apparently. "I go by Raven."

     "Hello my fair queen, I've missed you terribly. I do hope you plan to join me for dinner." He said with a flash of perfect teeth and a small bow.

     "I will join you. However, on one condition." I said with a smile. I had a plan.

     "Of course, anything. What do you desire?" He smiled openly, eyes twinkling.

      "I will tell you after eating. However you must promise to let me have what I want."

 "I promise." With that, the black haired boy pulled back a chair and gestured for me to sit.

     Dinner was fun. We were joined by a snobby looking couple and mimicked them. Me and the man, who finally introduced himself as Prince Kane, passed the hour laughing till out stomachs ached.

Finally though, the food was taken away and Kane reached for my hand.

"Let's away. My fair Kate!" He said in an impersonation of Petruchio from Taming of The Shrew.

       Once again laughing I let Kane lead me to a library. Once we entered the prince opted to perch on a desk. I took a seat on a nearby couch. I arranged my dress around me and looked up to see Kane watching me with a vaguely feline look.    

     He didn't speak so I took his silence as permission to interrogate.

     "Where is this place? I'm not a queen so I don't see why you insist on calling my queen. So why? And why do you all call me by my real name? And really, when do I get to go home?" By the end I was pleading.

     "This place is your kingdom, but in correlation to earth, I'm not sure. I, and others call you queen because per your birth, you are of the royal blood line. And we call you by your name because you only ever went by anything else, for protection. Also, my sweet, you can't go home because your already there." Unlike Rajji who sounded so assertive when giving me answers, Kane sounded nervous, as if he was afraid of how I would react.

     "This isn't my home. I don't know any of you people." I spat out angryily.

     "Hey! Don't snap at me! Just because you don't remember your friends doesn't mean you lash out at us!" As he spoke I saw hurt in his eyes. It was the first time since meeting this prince that I saw anything but joy in his eyes.

     "I'm sorry for snapping but this place is so sureal. I just miss my home." I appologised while staring at the floor. I looked up to see Kane watching me with an expression on his face akin to the one wore by the men in rom-coms as they stared at the girl they were destined to be with. That's a problem. Yes, Kane was extremely attractive, but I didn't know him and as such there was no way I could return the feelings he made no effort to hide.

      "Look, I'm sorry I don't remember you, but I can't make any promises. My bestfriend is dead, I need to go home and find the answers as to why." 

     " The answers you seek are here not there. No human killed your friend." He said quietly like he was trying not to scare of a bunny in his yard.

     "What do you mean?"I asked even though I think even then I knew the answer in the pit of my stomach. 

     "Do you ever have dreams about a place that reminds you of here?" He asked suddenly, instead of answering my question.

      "Ye-yes" I stuttered. "Theyr'e preety boring though. Im just standing in the field outside the great big doors I used to enter the castle. Then a guy emerges from the creepy, dark forest to my left. I cant see his face but I hear him call to me; he sounds far away like he's in a tunnel or something. Then another guy comes up from behind me and places a hand on my back. I can't hear his voice and I can't see him either. All I distinguish from him is the weight of his hand. Then never without fail I look up, see a bird, and suddenly ther's a pain in my chest. The dream ends there." I, to this day, could not tell you why I informed a stranger as to my dream.

     I saw a new emotion in Kane's beautiful and expressive eyes then. Kane was scared. 

     "I have to go, dear, I will see you for breakfast." Then with a smile that never reached his eyes, and a kiss to my cheek, Prince Kane was gone. Leaving me alone, again. Confused and tired.