The sun shined through the window and hit a young boy’s eyes.
Ryan groaned he opened his eyes to the blinding light from the sun. He turned towards his side, let out a breath and contemplated on what to do. His father was always busy, and his sister… he never knew what Opal was doing. After a while, she just stopped hanging around him. Perhaps she finally managed to find someone that can keep up with her, someone else that she decided to bother.
That’s good. At least she isn’t trying to coerce him into playing Knights again. He would enjoy this day for now, not giving a care in the world.
That was, until someone knocked on the door. “Your Highness!” a young man’s voice called out from behind. “Time to get up!”
The boy groaned on his mattress, struggling to force himself out of bed. It would be another day, another day of something he didn’t want to do. He slowly dragged himself out of bed and sluggishly slid across the floor to the other side of the room. With a small creak from the door, the little prince peeked out and glared directly at the man’s eyes. He didn’t particularly care.
“Come on out Ryan,” the young man said with a smile. “I know that you don’t want to leave, but…” he paused for a moment, and Ryan arched up his eyebrows. “Your father wishes to see you shortly.” The door closed again with a sound click as the boy shivered in fear. His father wanted to see him? For what reason? Surely he didn’t do anything wrong, and Opal, she could take care of herself! He, he—
Ryan immediately dashed out of the closet, with proper attire, and slammed the door open. His eyes were wide, and he wheezed harshly. When he saw that the man had not moved from his spot, and most certainly watching him right now. The little prince then swiftly put on a façade of composure. He cleared his throat. “My uh, father, wishes to see me?”
The young man laughed at the sudden change in attitude. “Come on, little one, let’s go. Your sister should be at the table as well.” He led the boy through the hallways. Ryan kept a mental note off his surroundings, in such a way that he could remember where everything was at a given time.
Both of them arrived at the grand entrance, leading to a giant ballroom-like room, with a long table, the center of it a vase of red roses. The boy saw her, an adorable little girl a couple of years younger than him. She smiled at him, her silky pale-light brown hair shimmering in the light. “Good morning brother!” she giggled, slightly lifting her pink frills as she curtsied.
Ryan rolled his eyes and gave her a bow, making her giggle even more.
“Please, settle down,” a deep, authoritative voice cut through the laughter. Ryan gulped, Opal stopped her twirling, and the man that accompanied the prince quickly strode away, leaving the room altogether. Ryan regained his composure and brought Opal to his side.
“Sit,” he commanded, and they obeyed without question, taking their seats on the table. The two children looked at each other, not understanding why he was… here.
“Father,” Ryan began, only to be dismissed with a wave of the hand when a servant came in bringing in their breakfast. The little prince grumbled, knowing that once again, the king would not listen to whatever he had to say.
Opal could only helplessly watch the tense atmosphere created by the two males. Ryan glared secretly at the king, as he knew that his father would never care for him, or his sister. The silence was deafening. Ryan couldn’t concentrate on the taste of his food.
“They are at the borders again,” his father said casually, dropping his fork in a dramatic manner. “They’re planning an attack.” Ryan was aware of the circumstances, hearing the rumors and all. However, the king telling him personally was a different thing altogether. Why would he tell him something this important?
“Father—”
“Son,” he said with a strange gleam in his eye. “There are possibly spies in the kingdom. You find them, warn the guards.” He stood up from his seat and swiftly walked past the children, exiting the room with a final bang.
Opal shivered at the abrupt noise and dropped her fork. Ryan saw her as she trembled, reaching out for the arm of her beloved brother. He didn’t know what to do. Opal, for the most part, was terrified at him whenever he appeared in such a formal way, and he knew that she missed when he was kinder to her.
Ryan didn’t want to be a part of her suffering. He flinched away and returned to his own duties, leaving the girl alone in the empty space where it once held their joys and happiness.
The little prince clenched his fist, close to punching the wall. He cursed the day they took his mother away from him, the day they lost their father in the fire. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if those monsters forced their way in. He knew why the king casually told them this. He wanted to ruse them up, and it sure did.
He knew that if any intruder came anywhere in this castle, he wouldn’t be call the guards. No, he would kill them on sight. He wouldn’t let another incident like that similar to the one before happen ever again.
As he was in deep thought, he didn’t see his sister running through the corridor with something in her hands. He didn’t notice the look of pure joy on her face as she ran.
“Your Highness,” a young man said. Ryan snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the older boy who woke him up earlier. He was smiling in a very strange manner, but he took no note of it. “You seem a little out there.”
Ryan stared at him, suddenly not trusting the words that came out of his mouth. “What do you want from me?” he asked annoyed, ready to snap back at him.
The young man slightly chuckled. “Well, you see…”
Ryan had enough of this. He walked past him, not wanting to hear a word he said. The older boy only giggled a bit as he let him pass by.
Possibly might be the best idea to just stay in the library for now. He quickly paced towards the familiar door that would lead him to what he would call his second room. The door was unlocked and closed as usual, and he secretly opened the door to the world of books awaiting him.
However, it turned out he wasn’t the only one there. Instead, he finds a girl, a very strange girl with strange tattoos and strange clothing. She looked up to spot the intruder and blinked. Ryan grew angry at the sudden idea of someone else anywhere inside his precious room.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, stomping his small feet as he approached her. The girl took it as initiative before running into the window and jumping out of it, down to the glass greenhouse. He chased after her before stopping at the window, looking down at the girl as she disappeared. There, he saw her. Her little sister, and two others… hanging in the garden.
His face contorted into one of frustration. Of course his sister would let anyone enter in the garden. She was a stupid, naïve child! He had to retrieve her.
Ryan sprinted across the room, trying to keep his face composed, but his worry for his sister got to him quickly. Opal was down there, with two unidentified people roaming around there, and she was… she was…
The motivation only made him run faster. He raced past the servants, making sure that he wouldn’t bump into them and whatever they were holding in their hands. He swiftly dodged the ongoing wave of people as they scurried along the corridors, less so as he neared the garden. He was ready to scream.
“Opal! What on earth—?”
One could hear the sound of a small pin drop.
What was Opal doing with… with that…
“Oh! Hey brother!” she called out with an innocent smile. “I didn’t think that you would come…” Opal looked at the two people behind her, and immediately she realized that explaining to him might be a mistake. “Wait! Brother…”
“Opal! What did our father say about intruders in our castle?” he yelled.
She shook and ran behind the boy that seemed the same age as him. He was covered in a rather dark and ragged cloak that covered most of his body. His hair, back and long, seemed dead and flat. Right beside him was another girl with a light blue dress. She had blue eyes, and a light blue streak flowed down her pale hair. The boy glared at him, angered at the tone that Ryan had towards the little princess. “Oh, I see now…” the boy murmured.
Ryan gulped. He could tell that these two weren’t like him. They seemed a little too eerie. He needed to rescue his sister. “Give her back,” Ryan growled lowly. Despite him being only nearly a teen, he terrified his sister, and she only continued to cling onto the boy, who bent his legs, getting in a fighting stance.
“She doesn’t want to,” the other boy said, getting ready to strike at any cost. The other girl carefully pulled the princess into her arms. “She wants to stay.”
Ryan wouldn’t pay attention to that though. All he knew now was that there were two unidentified suspects that seemed to be holding Opal hostage. He didn’t believe anything the other boy said. “Opal… you can’t trust him.”
The dark-haired boy laughed at the statement, which only angered the prince even more. However, Ryan noticed that her friend seemed to be growing a little taller, and darker. “You… and trust?” he scoffed at the prince. “You, you, you Royals, you took away everything from me, and you have the gall to call me untrustworthy?” Ryan took a step back, and she spotted the blue-eyed girl placing a hand on his arm, seemingly trying to calm him down.
“You are an intruder,” Ryan spat.
The girl’s eyes glanced between the two, and Opal cowered away from him. Ryan took notice of that, and tried to persuade her to come back to her side. The leaner boy noticed this, and harshly gripped her arm before she could even take a step forward.
“Abby!” the girl cried. Lily screamed at the contact, only to be spun around and landed in his arms. “Abby, stop!”
“Let go of her,” he said. “Monster.”
“Oh, I’m a monster?” the boy asked, leaning down on the poor princess who trembled in his hold. “Perhaps you should speak to me more softly then. Monsters are dangerous and, well, kings are just dropping like flies this time of year.”
Ryan lunged at him, only for the prince to get pushed back. The demon boy released her only to grab his body and push him to the wall at full force.
“Listen to me, prince,” he sneered, tightening his grip. The small child yelped out in pain, trying to kick himself out of his hold. It didn’t have any effect unfortunately, and he could only helplessly watch as the demon told him his plans. “Out there, we got an army.”
“Stop! Abaddon you’re hurting him!” Opal yelled, but it didn’t affect him in the slightest.
“You-you’re one of the spies, aren’t you?” Ryan asked.
The monster cackled out, slightly loosening his hold. “Well, little prince, it turns out you’re right. Now,” he turned to the girls. “Lily, get her out of here.”
“No, not with my sister,” he squealed, biting onto his flesh. The demon screamed in agony before letting him go all of a sudden, and Ryan used this opportunity to call out the guards. He looked back at Opal and the girl holding her, reluctant to release her.
At this time the demon reverted into a young boy again, holding onto Opal and his accomplice. “Run!” he warned the girls. Lily nodded, and took Opal with her as they quickly escaped the greenhouse together.
The guards were too slow.
The boy glared at the prince, ready to attack him again when he heard sudden footsteps. There they were, the guards and the king, ready to strike. The boy knew then that it was his time to retreat, and quickly dashed off into the exit. Ryan followed after them, knowing that he will lead him to the princess.
They were led to a dead end, the guards surrounding the four children, and the king just appearing after a long period of time. “Arrest them,” he commanded, and the guards immediately chased the two strangers and Opal.
The blonde haired girl was the first to be captured. They easily forced her to yield, leaving the other two children to get. Opal was scared, and Ryan knew it.
He would never let her do anything like that again.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans. The other boy gritted his teeth. With one final glance with his companion, he grabbed the princess and jumped over the guards, running away into the town, disappearing, and taking the girl with him.
Ryan struggled to keep up with the king. He was not pleased with his son. He turned to the little prince, and nothing but disappointment was displayed on his face. He quietly returned to the castle, leaving the guards and the still captive alone.
The prince turned around to see the girl still there, her face glowing with tears. The guards nodded and immediately started to take her to the dungeon, where she would be held until her final breath, her execution.
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