“I think we have this one in the castle library too. My mother used to read it to me when I was young. I loved the thought of there maybe being another world out there.”
“I think I’ve read that one a hundred times. It’s one of my favorites.” Veda sat up and perched at the edge of the chair. “And I’d love to see the castle one day. I've always imagined what it might look like in there. I think I even wrote a story about it once."
“How come you’ve never been there? There are always open court days and my parent’s annual Fall Ball. I’m pretty sure everyone in the kingdom has seen the inside at least once.”
She placed her tea on the rickety table beside her and crossed her hands in her lap. “My father never let me go, and I guess as I got older I just assumed I shouldn’t. That I wouldn’t be welcome there.”
I put the book back then wandered around the couch to kneel in front of her, her gaze still cast down to the floor. “That’s nonsense, everyone is welcome at the castle. Once my father is better I will bring you there myself. I’ll let you go anywhere you want.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause any problems.” She finally met my eyes, a ghost of something passing through them that I couldn’t identify. I had to be missing something here.
“Of course. Besides, you’ve invited me into your home, I should at least return the favor.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind, but we’ll see.”
A red line painted across the wall behind her. I turned and squinted as the first rays of sunrise burst through the window. I stood and followed the light, as if pulled on an invisible string, the sun tugging me towards it like a smelly fish on a fisherman’s hook.
A strip of red fire smoldered across the skyline, burning away the darkness, a new day rising from its ashes. I took the well-worn path to the edge of the cliff and stared over the mountaintops out to the entire kingdom. My kingdom.
Veda joined me at the edge, her hand held over her eyes shielding some of the glare of the sun. “You should see this view in full daylight. You can almost see all the way to Urbis.”
"Is that how you knew about the darkness? Because you could see it coming?”
Veda crossed her arms and jut her hip to the side, her green dress hugging the curves at her waist. “So, you believe me now?”
The fairy’s words whispered in my head. You might be our last hope.
“I think I might. It seems like you're not the only one who's been noticing what’s been going on around here. I’m starting to pay more attention."
“At least you're trying, that's an improvement."
My spine straightened and my chest puffed out at her words even though they likely weren’t meant as a compliment. "Maybe. But I ran into a gale force of a girl who said I should probably take note of these things. I think that maybe she was right."
A soft pink tinged her cheeks as she cast her eyes to the ground and fiddled with the flowers on her dress.
"There may just be hope for you yet, Your Highness."
"Please, you can stop with the pleasantries. My friends, at least the ones I thought were my friends, just call me Fallon or Falls sometimes."
"Okay…er… Fallon.” The words looked like they hurt as they rolled across her lips, but then she smiled, the melodic inflection of her voice on the double l’s oddly charming.
“Much better.”
Pink light bathed her face and highlighted the strands of red that weaved through her dark locks. I rested my hand on her cheek, my fingertips burying in her hair, and she stiffened under my touch.
“Sorry,” I snapped my hand away. What was happening? I hadn’t planned this, instinct pushing me instead of calculation. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
She turned her head to the horizon, curls falling over her neck. “It’s okay. It’s just…I’ve seen you in the tavern, with all those other fancy girls. That’s not why I brought you up here. I think there’s much more to you than that.”
“Veda…I never thought…” I stepped back giving her space and letting my thoughts clear, her proximity messing with my head. “Why do you have so much faith in me?”
“Because I know how it feels. Having responsibility on your shoulders that you don’t want, that you’re too young to understand.” Her eyes welled up, but she bit her lip and pushed down the tears. “My mother died before I could even remember her, and it’s clear my father never wanted a daughter. I don’t doubt he loves me, but I was a burden that took him away from his other projects. I grew up fast and on my own. Then I saw this prince. One who had the loving family I never did but had so many responsibilities on his head. I knew what that felt like. I knew what it would mean for you one day. That you’d be lost. I wanted to help.”
Her story socked me in the stomach. No one should feel like they weren’t wanted. I wanted to pull her close, but stopped myself, my fingers itching to try and make her feel better. “But you don’t need to. I’m not a puppy that needs to be taken care of.”
“But you will be king one day. My king. And I would do anything to make sure that you lead Aboria with strength and courage.”
I rubbed my hands over my face and paced between Veda and the cliff, the height making me suddenly dizzy. “Please don’t do that. Don’t imagine me as some great leader. I’m not. I want to be, but I will never be the leader
