Into The Unknown

Chapter 24

"Princess Amari!" An irritatingly high pitched voice called out amongst the loud crowd.

Nylian and Amari looked to their left and there he was. Prince Sylvar. Nylian had heard that the young man was unsightly, but he looked far worse than he predicted. Instantly, Nylian felt sorry for Amari. Sylvar was dressed in a bright pink and puke coloured yellow suit. The suit looked too big on his scaly green body, and a large blue eye rested where his mouth should've been. And his mouth... It was...

On his shoulder.

Nylian cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked at Amari who already looked disgusted. "Your highness, this is Prince Sylvar..." Nylian gestured to the... Green slob.

"That's correct! Amari, shall I have this dance?" Sylvar smiled widely.

There was a fake smile plastered on Amari's face. "Of course," she moved away from Nylian and walked with Sylvar to the dance floor.

Nylian wished that Lucian was still around. He would make for a far more suitable candidate.

Nylian had planned to stay in the hall, so that he might step in if Amari was about to lose her cool, but then his sight drifted to the King and Queen of Tessara - Amari's parents. They were walking together in unison, not totally uncommon for a happily married couple, but something about it was strange. Both parents were walking in exact, perfect sync. The exact same angles, turns and footing... It was almost as if they were a pair of identically programmed robots, ordered to walk in one direction. They were headed towards a wall, and with one gentle push, a segment of the building popped open, and the King and Queen slipped out of the hall. Suddenly, Nylian was interested.

As a child Nylian had been blindly loyal to the Royals, but as he'd grown older, he'd gotten more suspicious of Amari's parents. He could never figure out exactly why they bothered him, but he could tell something wasn't right. Maybe this was his chance to find out. Leaving Amari to her 'romantic' dance, he followed the two into a hidden room and snuck into a hallway. He could hear their distant voices as he quietly approached.

"I need Amari to get married as soon as possible," Amari's mother spoke.

"If she doesn't, then I can't continue the royal bloodline," Amari's father added. Nylian furrowed his brows and leaned closer to the wall between him and her parents.

"She'll be sixteen in a week, it'll be the perfect time. As soon as she decides on Prince Sylvar or King Eldrin, I'll start the wedding preparations," her mother continued.

Nylian's heart seemed to twist and ache. She was getting older, and getting closer to marriage. It scared him, mostly because she wasn't ready and she was desperate to escape, but also because he didn't want to leave his best friend.

And here he was, ditching her to satisfy his own curiosity.

"She might refuse to marry..." Amari's father went on.

"If she refuses, then I'll have to force her instead. I can't afford to lose control..." Her mother replied. Although labelling it a reply may be inaccurate, she started speaking the moment Amari's father had stopped.

Again, it wasn't unnatural for couples to finish each other's sentences, from time to time.

But every sentence?

Nylian seemed to be drawn closer to the wall. He was invested now. They were talking to each other as if they were the same person, one mind inhabiting two bodies.

"The humans and Sarius are hunting down the royals... I need Amari in the cloud before it gets worse. I need her mind," Amari's father stated.