Royals

Chapter 2: Flight

Alena. That definitely struck a chord in my memory. I slowly turned around, away from the door, and crouched down. Alena. I ran the name over and over again in my head. It was an odd name. No one I knew was named Alena but it seemed very familiar. Where did I hear it from? This girl turned out a lot more interesting than I had thought. I rocked back on my heels and looked at her again. This time she met my gaze immediately. Something had changed in her. She looked calm and there was a new light in her eyes.

"Why do you think I look familiar?" she asked in a polite tone.

"I don't know. You just do."

"You remind me of someone I used to know as well," she said softly, her eyes boring into mine.

I looked away, uncomfortable with her strong gaze. Was she toying with me? Trying to say something that would get me into her good graces? I picked at the cuff of my doublet as I tried to decide what to do. It wasn't all that late. I still had plenty of time until supper. It probably wouldn't hurt to talk with her a bit more. What could she do? I gingerly sat down and leaned against the door to the room. She mirrored my movement and leaned against the wall facing me.

"Do you mean you think you used to know who I was or I just remind you of someone? " I probed in a low voice.

"I think I used to know you."

"Are you just saying that so we can have some sort of weird connection and I can help you out of here?"

"No. I am telling the truth. I believe I knew you a long time ago. "

"All right. How old are you?"

"I am eighteen."

"Me too! You looked pretty old," I teased.

"It is because you look and act like a foolish ten year old."

I laughed when she said that. She was pretty good at comebacks. I looked at her and was surprised to see that she had a slight smile as well. It's amazing what a smile can do to your features. Before, she looked about as inviting and talkative as a toad, and now she actually looked human. If she was manipulating me, she was good at it. Or maybe I was just easy to manipulate. I ran through my list of questions again and paused. She probably would only do an exchange of information at the most.

"Okay. Since you probably want to know some things about this place and since I want to know some things about you, why don't we ask each other questions in turn? It's fair," I suggested. She looked down and seemed to consider my proposal. I waited tensely, my eyes locked on her. When she looked up, she seemed amused.

"Very well. I shall ask first, Damian. What's going to happen to me?" "I don't know. This's the first time I've seen someone brought up here so you're probably really dangerous. If I had to guess, I'd say Her Majesty will probably come and interrogate you and then after that, I can't say for sure."

When I said that, a tinge of fear and anger swept through me. She would probably be put to death after the interrogation. From her injuries, it looked like someone had already tried to torture information or something else out of her. If she resisted then and had to be put in solitary confinement, only worse things would come. She seemed be thinking along the same lines as I because when I looked at her with a mixture of pity and sadness, she gave me a defiant look back.

"I can handle whatever awaits me. Ask your question," she said forcefully.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. Why was I getting so upset about this? She was a prisoner. The enemy. Someone I shouldn't be talking to. That's right. I should leave before I decide to do something completely stupid like trying to help her escape. Savana rescued me. I owed her my life. I repeated those thoughts to myself as I got up and turned my back on her. I didn't even pause as I opened the door and hurriedly stepped out. She shouted something at me but I couldn't hear through the thick wooden door. I locked the door and replaced the key.