Red Eyes and Roses

Chapter 27

There are many things that I will never understand. Why the sky is blue, why people eat fish eggs. The main thing I am still pondering is why, and how, I manage to constantly get myself into situations where I'm woken up by an excruciatingly bright light above my. I groan out as soon as I open my eyes. Just like before, the white light is enough for me to snap my eyes shut. There is no point in me opening them when all that is going to come from it is a stronger headache. I can hear the door open from across the room and footsteps get louder as the person walks closer.

"Good morning, Miss. How are you feeling." The feminine voice that fills my ears is quiet. Her hands move quickly, tucking my blanket tighter and dimming the light. Rather than speaking, I groan a second time. She laughs at me slightly. "You might want to be open to talking when the King gets in here. He has a lot of questions for you." Even though there is still a light above me, I fling my eyes open. Cerin. Shit. I completely forgot about the King. He's going to actually kill me. I put his little sister in danger and almost got her hurt. The nurse's eyes widen when my heart rate picks up. A much more frantic beeping fills the otherwise silent room but it doesn't register with me. I'm more worried about being banished or murdered by a most likely livid royal.

As she frantically moves around my body, the door opens once more. The entrance is much different than when the nurse came in because this person is angry. Livid actually. Cerin's red eyes meet mine in a flame filled look. If it was possible, the room would be aflame from the anger that fills his eyes. Instead, my heart melts from the concern shuffled in between. Footsteps retreating from the room are the only way I notice the nurses disappearing figure. If I had the ability to leave this room myself I would have already been out the door.

Replacing the nurse, the King finds his way to the head of my bed. "Are you alright?" A blush turns my cheeks the same color as his eyes. Red. The same color that I see when I close my eyes or when I open them. I seem to always have someone with these eyes around me. I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse.

"Yes, Cerin. I'm alright," I whisper. A half smile covers my face before I think of Luna. I can't even begin to fathom how she feels right now. Sadly, I'm not phased by being attacked in a sexual manner. Luna? Luna has been locked in a castle all of her life. I don't have to ask her to know that she is most definitely upset right now. The smile that I had found upon Cerin's concern is wiped away instantly and replaced with a painful frown. "Is Luna okay? Does she hate me? I honestly wouldn't blame her if she did," my voice turns much more frantic as I speak and think. It's completely plausible that my only friend here hates me after these events. It's completely plausible that I'm going to be kicked out of the entire kingdom for putting the Princess in danger.

Cerin's face warps into an expression of total confusion. "Annabella, she's completely fine. She's been worried sick about you." A weight is instantly lifted from my shoulders. I'm okay. My best friend does not want me dead unlike what I originally thought. My body physically relaxes into the bed and Cerin chuckles. I have nothing to worry about. The Princess, Luna, my best friend, is completely okay. Those men never laid a hand on her.

It doesn't take long for the mood to become somber once more. Very gently, he runs the backs of his fingers down my cheek. Our eyes collide in a much calmer way. Rather than a deadly, evil, all-consuming fire, I'm met with a bonfire. The type of fire that you sit around with friends and roast marshmallows. The type of fire that you sing happily too or tell stories around. The type of fire that provides warmth and comfort. Without meaning to, a tear slips free. His lips touch the salty water in the most delicate kiss. Almost as if I was a glass doll perched high on a shelf never to be touched. "I thought I lost you," Cerin mumbles when his lips disconnect with my face. The emotions flooding his voice are enough to knock me back. Sadness. Worry. Love.