Not Our Plan

Chapter ten

Ethan felt something hard underneath his foot and looked down. He was a few meters from the door, calmly walking on the grass.

He moved his foot and bent down, picking up a small wooden bear the size of his hand. He studied it, turning it around, curious. What was a wooden bear doing here? It was the type that he would see a peasant child playing with, except much better carved. Every single line of it's fur was drawn in, and it's teeth were all perfectly done as well. It had a creepy grin, leering up at Ethan like he was going to do something.

Without thinking, Ethan put it in his pocket and continued walking. He paused when he reached the door. Could he just walk inside? Was that rude?

Well, he was supposed to be saving her. With a sigh, he pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside.

The place was in perfect condition. The floors scrubbed, no vines, the candles all lit. The only thing that seemed wrong was a portrait that hung at the top of the staircase.

Ethan moved closer, walking up the stairs carefully. He ran his fingers along the rails. No dust either. Who was cleaning this place? When he reached the top, he stared at the painting.

It had a golden frame, obviously very expensive. Just like all the other things here, it was shining and polished. The painting itself had a picture of a small girl with long red hair, holding a man's hand. The man's face had been torn away, leaving only terrifying scratches on the wood behind the canvas. The girl was in a green dress, matching her green eyes, and she had a silver tiara upon her head. The father was wearing a white shirt with a red sash.

It had to be Elizabeth and her father. So why was it ripped? Was it an accident? It didn't look like it. It looked like somebody had done it deliberately.

Ethan touched the painting, feeling the deep slashed in the wood. After taking a deep breath, he moved on, deciding to try and find his way to Elizabeth's bedroom.

But did he really want to? Why? This girl, this princess, had done nothing for him. He didn't want to do anything for her. He considered going back, telling them that she was dead or something along the lines of that.

Instead, he found a library and curled up in between two bookshelves. It wasn't too dark in the room, as there were at least seven candles lit, but it was dark inside Ethan's mind.

He began to cry like he had never cried before. It wasn't because of the pain on his hands, or the fact he was going to be married to her.

It was the overwhelming depression that had been eating at him for years. His parents detached themselves from him as soon as the prophecy was made. Though he had never been extremely close to his parents, the fact that they didn't care if he died or not stung a little. For six years, it was always "Be quiet, Ethan," or "We're having people over. Please stay in your room." It was never something loving and kind. The "I love you's" from a few weeks ago was the first time he had heard those little words in years.

All because of Elizabeth.

She had ruined his life.

He cried harder, hugging his knees to his chest. He couldn't believe he was about to save her when she had only ever ruined everything for him. She had only ever caused pain. She had only ever hurt people.

Why was he saving her? She didn't deserve to be saved.

He kicked a bookshelf in anger, wanting to scream. But instead, his breathing calmed, and he got up.

No. It wasn't her fault. She was taken here against her will. He should try his best to be nice to her, she was his future wife after all.

He wandered around the castle, looking for her bedroom. At the very top of the staircases, there was a big wooden door, decorated with beautiful carvings. There was one of a small girl curled up in a ball, another of a bear cub. All around it was flowers such as roses, lilies, daffodils, and many more. But the biggest one, the one right in the middle was the face of a beautiful woman.

She was smiling, but it wasn't creepy. It was beautiful, giving Ethan a warm, homely feeling. She wasn't exactly looking at the person staring at her, instead she was staring to the side like she had a pleasant surprise planned.

Above all the pictures in the same curly writing there had been on the door to the maze there were some words written.

Princess Elizabeth's Chambers

Ethan tore his eyes away from the peaceful pictures and the writing and listened carefully. There was somebody moving around inside the bedroom.

It had to be her.

Did he knock? Was he supposed to knock? Ethan panicked. What if she was naked?! Horrific thoughts ran through his mind, making him take a step back. He didn't want to meet her.

What if she expected them to have sex instantly? Oh, disgusting. Ethan took a deep breath and ran back down the hallway, leaning against the wall.

Inside that bedroom was his future wife. It was too late to go back and pretend she was dead. They would probably be able to see her through her window.

He had to go and approach her then.

On the verge of a panic attack, he slowly walked towards her bedroom and knocked on her door. It flew open immediately to reveal a beautiful girl. She had pale skin, freckles dotting her cheeks. Her eyes were bright green, and her hair strikingly red. She was wearing a red tunic, knee high boots, and brown trousers. Instead of a smile on her perfect pink lips, there was an angry thin line and her eyes were narrowed.

She opened her mouth to speak.

Ethan held his breath.

"Get the fuck out of my room and go tell your fucking kingdom to stick their prophecy up their asses."