Knife in the Dark

Tonight, we are young

Jackson walked to my left and my advisor meandered behind, cautiously following us towards the queen of Dres. She met us halfway to the airport terminal, with a dress that sparkled so much it looked like it had been woven out of stardust, which of course seemed stupid, but it just got me thinking about the technology it would require to fashion the garment. I held out my hand in an action of friendship, which she took in the nicest way. Her hands were soft and gentle, and the touch sent shivers down my spine, but I managed to stand up straight and follow her towards a black stretched limousine, which had the flag of Dres and Sloce on it, it's beauty alone made me want to turn tail and run, as it was made so beautifully that even me, who had no interest in vehicles unless they looked cool and were way up the price range, had to admire it. What was even more impressive was the escort that we were given by the army. seven helicopters flew overhead, five motor bikes to the front and to the back, and two hummers that drove on either side of it. It was an impressive convoy, but I had the feeling this was more for her than myself, and that it was not just to show off to other countries that she had a large army, as I could outclass her any day on that account. She looked out the window at everyone of Dafirda and multiple other towns in the region with a look of worry, like any one of them was going to turn out to be the assassin that was trying to kill her, and although she seemed perfectly fine at the moment, I could tell that there was always going to be the chance that it went down hill, and that would not be good if in the presence of another leader. However, we managed to get through the city unscathed, which meant that was one less problem for me to worry about.

We pulled up in front of what I assumed to be the palace, which almost made me laugh that I couldn't recognize it even with it being my home for the past 14 years. I stared up at the building, which appeared to be made of one single piece of rock which, combined with the stardust dress, made me think that these people were from outer space or something along those lines. I was so busy gawking at it that it required a sharp nudge from Jackson to keep me looking like the king I was supposed to be. I straightened in such comical fashion that I was certain that I heard the queen laugh, but the notes could have been confused by the notes of the harp that filtered down from inside the entrance hall, where I was escorted to. The hall had a diamond chandelier that was about five metres in diameter and three metres tall, with a long and high nature about it. The court jester sat at the harp, playing the wondrous melody that conflicted the emotions, at times seeming happy, at others seeming sad, to the point where the literal translation of 'tears of joy' came into effect. The entire group spread out around the hall, obviously trying to coax me in the direction of the conference room, which I could see ahead of us, although it just made me feel insignificant, so I decided not to move until there was a direct order, as I had been told so many times within these very walls, only ten feet below, where C.L.O.U.D. was still operating, which just made me sick thinking about it. Forcing more children to do the same as The Storm and I were forced to do just sickened me, there was no way that I was going to let it continue, even if I was forced to destroy the friendship that had already been stretched during Dragor's reign of Sloce. I stood there while everyone filed in, lastly the queen entered, the light from the chandelier bouncing off her dress and casting light displays in every direction. Her brown hair in a tight pony tail, and eyes that could have competed with Adrianus for sharpness. She looked at me and gave a slight smile, then, hardly speaking, asked me to follow her, to the point where I was convinced that she was a ventriloquist. I doggedly followed her down a brightly lit corridor and into a room that I immediately worked out was sound proof, and with my extensive learning, knew that there was not even one-way glass for people to view us in. I turned only to see Jackson and my advisor, neither looking pleased, being held back while the doors were closed. I was not in the mood to start an argument, as I noticed that the queen had no advisors or adversaries with her either, making us both on even ground. I stood bolt still, not sure where I was wanted. The woman facing me was around my age, maybe younger or older by about a year, but nothing more than that. I could not help but stare at her dress, which had changed from a beautiful sparkly dress into a jet black dress, a similar colour to onyx. There was not much that I could do but stare to be fair, but when the queen noticed me staring she simply burst out laughing, which was as sweet as the harp, I just had lost the lovely sound under the beautiful piece of music.

"Braedon Astor, King of Sloce, slayer of the usurper Dragor, whatever other title you hold, do not tell me that you are confused by my dress." Her voice was as clear as water, which fell tumbling out of her mouth and washed over me. "It is simply dependent on the light to perform its acts of beauty, but when in the darkness it fades into the shadows similar to me. I know that you don't know my name, and for now you won't be able to, but it will not take long for you to learn it. I also know why you are hear, that much I can help you with. After you and your friends escaped, my father's dying order was to have C.L.O.U.D. disbanded, so that no one like you would ever have to be subjected to the same fate. We all may not  be able to run from our destinies, but  we are still able to mould them when we are given a chance." I noticed a small flicker on the wall behind her, a television. On it, there was headlines about how Queen Victoria the second had greeted Braedon Astor, as they were here to talk about peace. Obviously Victoria was oblivious to this, and a second later it was turned off, which was weird, but I decided not to press the matter. There were more important tasks at hand that needed much more urgent attention than chatting about names, but I was not going to let her think that she had won in any way as, knowing people similar to her, she would exploit this power to her own advantage, although her air was different, more care free, with more freedom than many others that I have met, like she did not care if she lived or died, but wanting to live her moments alive as much as she could, which was something that not a lot of people around the world thought these days.

"Well, Victoria, Queen of Dres, that is most certainly news to my ears, however, I am also here to bring about the peace of our nations. I understand that our families were once close, and that Dragor has since destroyed that, as he did to many things. I am here to fix the wrongs of the past, and while I may not be able to change the past, I am still able to manipulate the future. Our lands border each other, and this means that we can not only be effective trading partners, but we can also be friends and, if you were to allow it, allies. Our armies massed together would form an army that not even the other eight kingdoms could topple, and with the alliance that I have struck with Gambrene and Carabin, we have nothing to fear should a time of war come. Our armies are not the only thing that would benefit however." Victoria stared at me, open mouthed, trying to work out how I had known her name, without having prior knowledge from inside the walls of this building. I looked down, not sure how I was going to continue this conversation, as it was so awkward that I could barely bring myself to it. I had only just met Victoria, but apparently, according to my advisor, there had already been a marriage arranged between the pair of us, which was extremely awkward and I was not even sure why I bothered asking it, as she was most certainly not interested in me, as I was sure as daylight that I wasn't the sort of person that she would get in a relationship with, let alone marry, even if for the sake of alliances. Victoria obviously sensed my awkward feeling, as she burst out laughing and came over and hugged me, the strangest interaction I had ever had with another human being.

"I know that I can come across as imposing on people,"she whispered in my ear softly, sounding so distant I wanted to move towards the sound, even though there was no room to do so. "I have to tell myself that every day, but never feel worried of how I would react to what you say, as I will normally take it well, or not take it at all, although the latter is rarely required as most people are too scared of me by then to dare to ask, I can see why this goes into a cycle now, that is confusing, I need to work around that in the future. But back to my main point, never feel like I need not know what you were going to say, because all that does is make it harder for both you and I to do our jobs properly." Her voice was crystal clear, there was no hint of malice or annoyance in it, she honestly sounded intrigued by what I had to say, which made me feel like I was special, which immediately made me want to get the hell away from here, but curiosity held me still and in place. The thought of saying it almost made my chest want to burst  apart and tell her everything about me, from what my favourite colour was to what I had for dinner last night, how I was as a person and what I was like outside of the imperial act that I was forced to put on for such diplomatic ventures as this. I wanted to scream her name out loud and go insane for joy, but somehow I kept myself controlled enough.

"W-would yo-you b-b-be my wife?" I asked, pulling out the ring that had been forged by the blacksmiths of Sandros for me. It was a gold band, with onyx that was set inside it. But it had a red diamond on the top, which sparkled from the different angles in such a way that it almost outclassed her dress. Victoria was shellshocked. She stood so still that she did not even blink for about ten seconds. At last she turned to me and simply whispered the words in my ear.

"Always." Which was enough to send shivers down my spine. We hooked arms and walked out into the waiting crowd, with Victoria holding up the ring for everyone in the hall to see.