The Crimson King

Chapter 2 | Obstinate

Arlo was the beginning of her memories, the one who had lifted her out from her nightmares. Why would she ever need anything else?

"Besides, you said we had to stay here, didn't you? To keep me safe?"

She watched his reflection in the window for his reaction, but she couldn't understand why his eyes squeezed shut, his jaw clenching as he turned his face away.

"Don't you want to see more though?" He asked, almost desperately. "Surely you want to experience more than this?"

She shrugged her slim shoulders. "What is there to know?"

As she said those words an image flashed into her mind. A pile of fur coated bodies, blood splattered snow, vicious snapping teeth – she felt herself tense automatically but at the same time Arlo's hands fell down on her shoulders, dispelling the memory, and he was turning her around to face him.

Her hands were still wet from the dishwater and she held them awkwardly in front of her, soap dripping down onto the floor. She felt lost as she looked up into his eyes. He seemed to want an answer from her that she was unable to give. A drop of water landed on her foot and her toes curled involuntarily.

She attempted to offer him a smile, but it came out shaky, so she gave up, her eyes slipping evasively to the side where she chose to scrutinise his shoulder. "What do you want me to say?" She whispered helplessly.

He captured her chin in his grasp, bending down until they were eye level. "This isn't a fairy tale Iris," His words blew softly across her face, "you aren't meant to be locked away in a tower forever."

Her gaze hardened and she swatted his hand away. He released her and she spun back to the sink, noticing in the reflection of the window that he was still stuck in the same position, his hand out stretched.

"I know that Arlo. I'm not a child."

He straightened and looked away from her, his face dark. "I know."

She looked back to her task and tried to ignore the fear that she had felt at his words.

This place, this home with Arlo, it was safety to her. Out there in the rest of the world, there were dangerous things. Things like what she saw in her dreams. Things she had no interest in experiencing for herself. Little changed in her small world because there was little to change. Arlo was suddenly changing things without her permission, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

"If you have something to tell me, just say it." She began to stack the dishes, two knives, two forks, two bowls and two spoons.

"We are moving."

A plate, halfway out of the sink, slipped from her grasp and shattered against the floor, just as her whole world seemed to shatter at the same time. She spun around and gripped his arm, her fingers squeezing tightly, turning the skin beneath them white.

"What do you mean? We are leaving from here?"

"Yes."

"Moving to where?"

"To a castle," His lips quirked upwards as he referenced the earlier comparison he had made about fairy tales, "in a land far, far away."

She took his face for jest and waited as he closed his eyes.

"Be serious."

He opened his eyes and sighed. "I am being serious. We are moving to a castle, to the King's castle actually. He's decided it's not safe for you here anymore."

She felt her heart throb uncomfortably fast in her chest. Was her life something that the King could so easily dictate? "Is this what you've been hiding from me?" She accused, "Does it have something to do with what happened the other night?"