She was his light
She gave him hope
But that hope dwindled and died when she left
❉
After Prince Killian had excused himself, I was left with nothing to do. I eyed the people who were conversing with each other, laughing and talking to their heart's content. I wasn't shy. I just prefer staying away from places where lots of people are present. I don't like socializing.
I was saved from my boredom as I spied Rory and Galore flying off further into the trees. Curiosity took over and I sneakily tailed them in the darkness. Diving towards the ground and then shooting up so I appeared right in front of them, I screamed, "Boo!"
Rory let out a high pitched scream and wrapped himself around Galore like a spaghetti noodle. I burst out laughing at Galore's annoyed expression.
"That wasn't funny!" Rory yelled as he let go of the grumpy old man. "Why are you following us anyway?"
I shrugged casually, flying next to them as they continued forward. "Saw you two sneaking off. Got curious." Galore shot me a look and I raised my hands in surrender. "Hey, I mean someone needed to make sure you guys weren't up to no good or doing something you didn't want anyone else to know." They blinked at me.
"Curiosity kills the cat," Galore grumbled.
"But satisfaction brings it back," I sang, edging closer to him and he threw me a look that screams get any closer and I'll murder and bury you underneath the damn trees. I darted away and came up to Rory's other side just to be safe. "Anyways, what are we doing?"
"We are going to our cabin. You are going to go make new friends," Rory pointed out.
I scrunched up my face, "Friends? What's that? Wait but where am I going to sleep?"
Rory shrugged a shoulder as the two continued forward. "You can sleep in our cabin if there's an extra bed." Wow, okay. I see how it is.
As we broke through the trees, the sounds of another celebration seemed to be taking place. We hovered over a large expanse of cabins, campfires lit up the darkness and the people danced around them like moth drawn to a flame.
"Um... what?"
"Come on," Rory took a hold of my hand and dragged me towards the ground. Below, the sound of drums and different instruments blended together, creating a beat where people twirled and danced to. I planted my feet as Rory continued dragging me forward. However, the boy was much stronger than he looks.
Forced into the dancing circle, I stood there, clueless on the moves they were doing. I glanced at Rory to see him jumping and doing some weird footwork. "Come on! It's fun!"
Let's pray I don't embarrass myself. I mimicked their movements, weaving our hands together and moving our bodies in quick, sharp movements. Someone came over and threw a flower crown on my head and a beaded obsidian necklace around Rory's neck. It was actually pretty fun.
It was all going well until Rory decided to shake his butt in my face. "What are you doing Rory?!" I shout over the music.
He shot me a grin, "Don't the ladies dig someone who knows how to dance." Well then...
Deciding not to burst his bubble of happiness, someone caught my hands and twirled me around. I didn't get to see who as we all broke our circle formation and got into partners.
"What's your name?" The boy asked, his curly hair flopping around on his forehead.
"Amara, yours?"
"Talon!" We stepped closer, my left foot in between his. I leaned toward the right as he caught hold of my hands, his black wings flaring to keep balance. "Which kingdom are you from?"
"The West. You?" We hopped back a step, simultaneously clapping our hands together with the others around us.
"South." I was urged into a spin. Honestly, by the amount of times I've been spinning I'm surprised I hadn't thrown up my food. But then, my stomach is empty because of a certain someone interrupting my food time...
The music faded away and we stepped away from each other, me curtsying and him bowing. People broke off with their friends and I spied Rory talking to a redhead. That little brat ditched me...
"You want to go play some games?" Talon asked, his voice a bit hoarse from all the shouting. I nodded and followed him as we walked off toward where people were racing around a track. They were like lightning as they zoomed past, wind buffeting us in the face.
"Chap." A hard clap on the shoulder. I groaned.
"Now you appear, old man," I grumbled as I turned towards him. Instead of looking like his usual grumpy self, his eyes were alight with a fire.
He turned towards Talon, towering over his figure by a good head. "Say young man, you don't mind if I borrow her for a bit will ya?" Talon quickly shook his head and left but not before offering me a quick wave.
I pouted, "You scared away my friend."
"Thought you didn't have any."
"Hey that was mean!" Before I could smack him, he had already pulled me towards the empty line near the huge START sign.
"You're kidding right?" I asked as I eyed him from head to toe. He has had years of flying here and there, not counting the years in the human world, but still. That guy was built and was probably as fast as a bullet.
"Nope. I'll let you sleep in our cabin if you win."
I perked up at that. "You're on, old man." I slapped his shoulder hard; he barely flinched.
Stepping onto the track, I went towards the inner lanes. It looked shorter.
I stretched out my own wings, warming them up against the freezing night air. I crouched down as Galore did the same. We waited in anticipation and what seemed like five minutes later, the person blew the whistle.
Immediately, we shot off like bullets, leaving dust in our wake. I beat my wings furiously, pulling ahead. I didn't bother looking back as I rounded the first bend. However my mini victory was destroyed when a pebble hit my on the back.
"What the hell?!" Another pebble hit me on my shoulder. I dodged another one as Galore zoomed by. That cheater.
Chasing after him, I reached out a hand and grabbed his shoe, tugging furiously. Strands of hair whipped into my mouth and I flicked them out of the way, keeping a firm grip on the cheating ass's foot.
Veering sharply to the left, I swung him like a baseball bat off his lane. He quickly recovered and made a grab for my dress but I was long gone. Just a little more...
I passed the finish line seconds before Galore, loud cheers broke out and I grinned. "Still denying the fact that you're old?"
He grumbled, crossing his beefy arms in front of his chest. "You tossed me out of my lane."
"Excuse you, you were the one who started it by throwing rocks at me... rocks!"
"That wasn't me," He denied, expression giving nothing away but I could see the twitch of a smile present. "But good job, lad. Guess you weren't as weak as I thought you were." He poked my on the forehead.
I stuck my tongue out at him as he let out a laugh and clapped me on the back. We flew back towards the clearing where everyone else were. I looked in surprise as they started splitting off and the people on the right were getting blindfolded. "What's going on?"
"Hide and seek."
I blinked. "They can find each other blindfolded?"
He watched as more people stepped up to the line. "Well not necessarily. The person blindfolded would be given a feather from a person. After the countdown starts, they will go hide while the person who gave them the feather will go find them. They will be blindfolded too of course but their blindfolds would be taken off."
"What if someone gets lost in there?" I watched with raised eyebrows as a group of guys winked at three girls who stood in line. They giggled. I made a face.
Galore shrugged. "Guess the guards will be busy trying to find a body."
"Wha-"
He shoved me towards a woman who held a black blindfold in her hands. "Wait! I didn't say I was going to join!" My protests fell on deaf ears as darkness covered my vision. Once I get my hands on that old man, I will give him a piece of my mind.
"Seekers! Have you decided who you're finding?" A loud voice boomed throughout the clearing. A chorus of 'yeses' echoed back. "Go give your feather to your Hider and oh- welcome Y-" She abruptly cut herself off and I squinted, trying to make out any shapes beyond the blindfold.
"Anyways, you have two minutes to decide if you haven't!"
I heard the excited murmurings as the people next to me got a feather. A presence appeared before me and I tilted my head to the side. A fuzzy object was placed in my hand and I smiled. The presence disappeared as I fingered the feather in my hands. It felt like a down feather.
"Hiders! Get set...go!"
Immediately, I turned around, trying to run towards the trees but ended up colliding with someone. Muttering a small apology I took flight in what I hoped was the direction of the trees. Bumping into numerous trunks, I finally made it into an open area. Well I was a sitting duck out here.
Feeling the sturdiness of the tree I'm leaning on, an idea made its way into my mind. I smirked.
Flying upwards, I made sure to find a steady branch for me to perch on. Now time for me to wait...
***
The soft beating of wings below made me stop mid-yawn. My nose suddenly decided it was the best time to start itching. Damnit.
Holding my breath for as long as possible, I listened carefully as the beatings stopped followed by a rustle of grass. The person must have landed on the mini clearing. Feeling the itchiness go away, I breathed out a silent sigh of relief. Too soon. I sneezed, the loud sound echoing throughout the trees. I froze. Shit, what to do what to do.
I darted blindly out of my tree, the rustle of leaves loud enough for even hell to hear. Not knowing where I was going, I continued forward, thankfully I hadn't crashed into a tree yet. A ghost of a chuckle sounded behind me. Goosebumps prickled along my exposed arms.
Hands wrapped around my waist. I screamed, "Murderer! Help!" A large familiar hand covered my mouth and I kicked, catching the person's knee.
"Will you calm down?" His dark voice reached my ears through my banshee screams and I stopped.
"Prince Killian?"
"No, a murderer who has come to butcher you with his hatchet. Yes, of course it's me. Who did you think it was?" I took my blindfold off and turned around, realizing we were standing in a field of poppies.
"Well I wasn't expecting you," I said sheepishly.
"Oh." He looked away with a small frown.
Trying to ease the awkwardness, I scuffed my shoes on the grass. "Well you're not bad too! Well I didn't mean it that way. I meant like I just wasn't expecting it to be you since you told me you had some things to take care of not like your physical appearance or anything. I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon and I thought it was my friend you know? That-"
I broke off and smiled, embarrassed as he chuckled. "What?"
"You're rambling."
My face grew redder. "Sorry. I ramble when I'm nervous or anxious. You know what I mean? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who-" I cut off as I saw the smile on his face. "Sorry."
He shook his head, eyes turning a molten gold in the moonlight. "Stop apologizing."
"Sorry." I winced when I did the opposite of what he said. "I'll shut up now."
A small grin appeared on his face. "You're entertaining and cute when you ramble."
Someone come dig me a hole and bury me. "Uh, thanks?" Not knowing what to do next, I lifted up the soft feather to him.
He shook his head, "Keep it." Shrugging, I pocketed it into the folds of my dress. We stared at each other in silence for a while, observing the small details present to the naked eye.
"You have tiny white specks in your eyes."
He raised an eyebrow in amusement, sitting down on the grass. "I do?"
I nodded, sitting down next to him. "They're not really noticeable though."
He picked several flowers and began twiddling with them. I laid onto my back, watching the white moon and stars twinkling among the darkness. It was peaceful, quiet. Well except for his rustling but otherwise, everything seemed to be at a standstill.
Curiosity got the best of me as I sat up, peering over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"
He rolled his bottom lip into his mouth, eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated. He didn't answer until he finally made the final know. Holding it up, I blinked in awe at the flower crown. Golden poppies stuck out around the stem, small white flowers making up the space in between them. Upon closer inspection, there were some grass tied in a bow weaved in there.
"Here." He placed it on top of my head. "Saw the one you had on earlier flew off when you were racing."
"So you were stalking me." He didn't even look embarrassed at being caught as he smirked.
"I didn't say who saw," He cheekily replied as a catlike smile appeared, flashing his pearly whites.
"Stalker," I mumbled but laughed as he poked me in the side. A knowing look crossed his face and I immediately scooted backwards.
"Oh no no no. You didn't hear me!" I squealed as he lunged forward, hands poking at my sides. I squirmed and howled in laughter a tear trickled down. "Stop!"
He paused, eyes twinkling. "Stop who?"
"Um, Prince Killian?"
His hand shot back to my side. "No! Wait!" He pulled back and grinned, waiting. Watching as I scooted a few inches away. To be honest, I didn't know what to say. What did he want me to say?
"Uh...Killian?"
He shrugged and sat up; I breathed a sigh of relief. A thought flashed through my mind and I snorted a laugh. He looked over and narrowed his eyes in question.
"Killy." Not being able to hold it in, I burst out laughing again.
Killian raised his hand threateningly and I sobered up. I coughed. "If you're going to give me a nickname, at least give me one that's manlier. That one makes me sound like a wimp."
I coughed again to hide my laugh. I was about to reply when another voice sounded from behind us. "Amara?"
Vulcrian stood at the edge of the clearing, his expression unreadable. "Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah." I got up, dusting off the small debris. Turning towards Killian, I gave him a grin. "See you around..." However his attention wasn't on me as he watched Vulcrian, jaws clenched and expression cold.
Quickly, I walked over to Vulcrian who grabbed my arm and dragged me away. Away from the Prince who sat, wings drooped, underneath the moonlight among a field of poppies.
❉
Longest chapter I've ever written. I have a chemistry test tomorrow and I haven't studied... whoops.
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