A Heart Unbroken [Book One]

The King ~ Louis

"Hey, I have a question," I said, getting off the rock. "You were talking like Lilly before that King guy showed up. Why do you sound different now?"

"I don't expect you to understand, but I knew He was watching. He always watches. He holds us to a certain standard, like a really annoying parent."

"No, I understand. Lilly's totally the same way."

"They seem to be growing more and more similar. Good luck dealing with two of them."

"How do you do it? Put up with him, I mean..."

"Easy. If I didn't, he could kill me."

I thought about that, sitting back down and wondering if Lilly could kill me. I imagined a scene where someone gave her the choice to live and kill me, or die. She's only ever cared about herself, so she'd pick to live. It wouldn't cause her any pain to do it...but how would she do it?

Would she simply run me through with a sword once, and leave me to die a slow, painful death? Or maybe she'd stab me in the heart and get it over with. Maybe she'd use a gun, depending on what was handy, and just shoot me in the head. I thought of the mountain lion. Would she treat me like that once I was dead?

My sister was heartless.

I wondered if she would be forced to do something like that on our trip. Make a choice between one of us, and herself. I wondered if anyone would have to make a decision like that.

What would I choose? Them, obviously. I couldn't kill my friends, even if I had just met them.

What if the choice wasn't between me or them? What if I had to pick between one of them? If it came down to Lilly or one of them...she'd understand my decision, whatever it was, I was sure.

I decided I didn't want to think about that anymore. There was no way that could happen, and if it did I would just choose not to make a choice. And no matter what, if Hanan was involved, he came first. Always.

When I had pushed the thought away, I found that some of the Unicorns were teaching Cameron one of their games, which he seemed to be enjoying. Marshall watched them from astride one of the Unicorns, who had taken pity on him. Meghan and Hanan were talking near the part of the forest that Lilly and the King had disappeared through. Meghan was holding Hanan's hands, so I figured I wouldn't interrupt them.

I came over to Marshall and the Unicorn he was on, asking him to explain the game, which he did. I nodded, and watched as Cameron jumped over Unicorn after Unicorn like they were mere hurdles in a race.

He completed it, earning cheers from the Unicorns and I. They offered to let me try, but I could barely get over the first Unicorn. After I had gotten over it, I suggested we just sit and talk.

Two of them sat with me, but the rest wanted to play with Cameron. Their names were Ashmaul and Ashlar, twins.

"So...is everyone afraid of the King?" I asked.

"Not really," Ashlar began. "It's just that-"

"-Crystalnils tried starting an uprising-"

"-And He quelled it, leaving her with a 'warning.'"

"So she has reason to fear him?"

"Yeah," Ashmaul said. "And when she said he's 'always watching,' that's because she isn't really trustable."

"She's the only one who's discontent with his reign," Ashlar added.

I thought about that. I had understood how she felt, yet she was discontent with her leader. She hated him, and tried to overthrow him. Did I hate my sister? Was she really a thorn in my side?

It would be so much easier if she just quit being so stubborn, and actually told me she loved me. But, I would want her to mean it...I wouldn't want her to pretend.

Or maybe I did want her to pretend. I wanted to hear her say that she loved me; she was the only immediate family I had left. Of course, I still had Hanan, but we didn't say I love you. We were men.

Either way, I wouldn't get an 'I love you' from my family any time soon. I remembered my conversation with the Unicorns, and wanted to get back to them...I still had a few more questions.

"Why is he black, when all of you are white?"

"No one really knows..." they said in unison.

"One final question, and then I'll leave you alone. What-"

"No! Don't leave us alone!" Ashmaul cried.

"Yeah, we like talking to you!" Ashlar said, adding a whinny.

I chuckled. "Okay, I'll chill with you guys while I'm here."

They cheered, getting up and doing a little happy dance. I laughed as they sat back down, one on each side of me. They nudged my hands, encouraging them to scratch their manes. They were cuddly little guys. Ashlar started the conversation again:

"Okay, Louis. So what-"

"-Was your question?"

"What is the King's name?"