"What else do you like about me?" The words came from her mouth. No, not hers— If it were her mouth, it'd be retching—
Whatever lascivious husk she was currently occupying writhed against the protuberance again. To her horror, one of them moaned.
"You're BEAUTIFUL."
The word, letter by wiggling letter, slipped from his mouth and into the air before her eyes.
SMART.
Colors like the walls of a kindergarten classroom, the words waltzed in bold, blocky print in front of her face.
QUEEN SOMEDAY.
Someday too soon—
I dream about being BESIDE YOU when that day comes...
The words danced in mocking as the long finger ventured lower, to the apex of her thighs. Until suddenly, the vivid primaries of each letter paled. The presence behind her stilled and hushed. Then, all at once, they disintegrated into puddles of water, pooling so heavily at her feet it quickly rose to her waist before stopping altogether.
Stunned by the absence of all, she froze.
The water caressing her hips was... warm. The air was a gentle kind of empty.
She didn't remember how she got here, but she didn't care to try. She was complacent with the sudden, inexplicable comfort. Peace was a vacuum. This place was good.
"I wish you could see the way your eyes light up when you talk about the things you've read, it's... amazing!"
That voice. The water rippled, heating pleasantly, like she was wading in a pool of autumn sunlight.
"I like that you humor even the most ridiculous hypotheticals I throw at you. I like how you sigh after taking a bite of something tasty. I like the way your eyebrow does that little twitchy thing when you're thinking really hard—"
Did it do that? She had no idea. Whom was she talking to that he knew her quirks better than she did? She rotated, but no one was there.
"When I'm with you, I sometimes forget that you're a princess and I'm a knight. When I'm around you, I feel happy."
"I... I feel happy around you, too." Though she conjured the words, she didn't recognize the voice. Is that what princesses sound like?
When the other voice—the knight—spoke again, it was right behind her. "And I know—I know I shouldn't be saying this..."
She swiveled once more. Behind her, a boy, built from caramel and cerulean—
Her heart rattled so hard her whole body shook from the inside out. The boy took the girl's hands and she interlaced her fingers between his. She loved the caramel and cerulean boy.
"You are incredible, Paya," the boy said, "I'm kinda obsessed with you."
The name clanked like a misfire. The water turned frigid, and she didn't understand its reflection. She was not a girl of crimson and ivory—
She was already shivering as the water began to rise, turning to ice around her feet. She tried to free her legs but she was shackled, like those menacing hands had snatched her ankles now. When she looked up again, the boy was gone. The freezing water was at her breast now. Her reflection was gone too.
A scarlet fish drew near, shaped like a word. Beautiful. Then, a royal blue fish. Pathetic. A pair of mustard yellow fish—Queen. Someday. More and more, the fish swarmed and swirled around her, rising with the water to her neck until they tried swimming down her throat—
YOU ARE READING
Fortune Favors the Courageous
Fanfiction"Princess!" he yelled after her. "Where are you going?" "Back to the castle," she replied without stopping. "Not by yourself you're not!" "I'm sorry,"-she whipped around-"I didn't realize you were my father?" "Your father, the king, would execute me...
Chapter 21: Contrition
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