Royal Reject

Something Strange

Maze P.O.V

The guy Damien punched had was taken by medics in a stroller. People looked at us weirdly. I had to hide Kyle’s face and mine to avoid gossip about the royal family starting. Luckily, they didn’t come closer and just continued their day. We saw the carriage and quickly got into it. We rode off and started to laugh at what just happened. It wasn’t because we enjoyed it, but because it felt nice to not have to act as members of the castle. After laughing we started talking about the day and joking about stuff we say around the village. I notice Kyle had been talking to Austin without stuttering like in the beginning. I guess he’s finally opening up to others.

~Sometime later~

We arrive at the castle, just in time for my lessons and lunch. We circle the fountain and get off. In the distance, I see the queen and mary near one of the open halls. I also see the queen yelling at Mary. As I got closer, I heard the queen say something,

“Unless you want him to completely forget you, you better stop trying to bring him back!” said the queen.

I could see Mary’s tears falling on her face. The queen turned around and saw me and Kyle and her face filled with anger. She walked to us and grabbed Kyle and dragged him to a guard and she told the guard to take him to his room. After the guard left, the queen spoke, 

“What are you servants doing?!” She said raging towards us,

“You should be doing your jobs, but you chose to wander around the town!” She said, staring down Ashley and Austin, “Get back to work!” She said excusing Ashley and Austin. They walked away with their heads down trying to avoid eye contact. She then turned to me and said;

“Listen here you brat, I don’t care if you want to waste your time with your petty friends, but if you try to mess everything up, I will make you disappear,” she said whispering into my ear with a smirk.

She walks away into the castle and closes her doors. I felt a feeling of fear inside me like I had been having deja vu. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I noticed that Damien had his hand on my shoulder. I felt a wash of calm after Damien reassured me. I didn’t say anything and just walked to my room for my studies. Damien tried to tell me the queen always acted like that and that I shouldn’t be worried about that. But it wasn’t her attitude that mortified me, the fact that she told me that she would make me disappear… 

What did she mean by that? We reached my dorm room and just tried to forget about that. Emily came and started the lesson. I kept a smile to not show what I’m feeling. Some hours passed and the lesson was over.

“Maze? Are you ok? You seem out of it today.” She said worried,

“Oh, it’s nothing, Emily. I’m just a bit distracted today that’s all.” I said with a gentle smile.

Emily doesn’t pressure me anymore and just backs up and leaves. I stay put for a few minutes until I get up and head outside. The walk to the kitchen was quiet, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to hear the wind pass me to help me forget my thoughts. Damien kept staring at me, trying to start a conversation. I turned my head away from him, signaling him not to try. I just wanted peace.

We reach the kitchen where I see Ashley still in the kitchen. She turns and sees me waving at her. She tells something to another chef and walks to me with our food in some bag. We walked to our usual spot while Damien sat with his group.

“So, did your boss scold you?” I asked concerned,

“Nah. She only wondered what took so long, but besides that nothing,” she said eating.

We let some seconds of silence go by before Ashley says,

“Did something happen with the queen after we left?” She asked me,

“No, she was just worried for the prince,” I said,

Ashley looked at me up and down then said,

“You think I’m stupid? We’ve been friends since forever, I know somethings up,” she said sassily.

I laughed at her remark and then sighed, “The queen did say something...but I don’t get why she did,”

I said looking down to the brick tiles.

“What did she say?” Asked Ashley,

“If you try to mess everything up, I will make you disappear,” I said softly to avoid anyone but Ashley to hear.

Ashley’s face became concerned, “You should tell that to the king!” She said in a loud voice,

“I know, but I’m trying not to be bothered by her comment,” I said.

Ashley tried to change my decision, but it’s final. We continued eating and tried to talk about other things. We finished and returned to our activities.

On my way back to my room, I notice Kyle walking towards me with his head down. 

“Kyle!” I said waving at him,

“h-hi…” he said with his head down.

Without a pause, I stopped Kyle and lifted his head. Even with his mask, I noticed he had a scratch mark along with a hand mark on his face.

“Oh my god, who did that to you?!” I asked concerned,

“I-it's nothing,” he said with his head down again,

I didn’t need him to tell me, I already knew who it was, his mother. “I’m telling the king! She can’t mistreat you like that, you're her son!” I said outraged,

Kyle grabs my arm and says, “Don’t! It’ll only make it worse. I can handle it, I swear!” He said scared.

I wanted to go and ignore his wishes, but I knew that he felt genuine fear and I couldn’t bring myself to. 

“Ok, but I won’t stop if it continues,” I said straight,

“Ok.” He said. 

He walked in the opposite direction of mine. I walked back with Damien and reached my room. Before I walked in Damien pulled me aside,

“I know what it’s like not being able to do anything for someone who’s hurting, but what you can do is help them move on.” He said with his hand on my shoulder. 

I don’t know what came over me, but I pulled him in for a hug. He didn’t question it and instead hugged me back. There was that feeling again, of warmth and protection, it felt like I could stay there and nothing bad would happen. He pushes me back and says,

“It will get better, I can promise you that.” He said,

“Thanks, Damien,” I said with a small smile.

“No problem, Princess~,” he said, teasing me.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and entered my room. I took a shower and headed to bed. Those thoughts came back, but I remembered what Damien said. That what I can do is help move on. I closed my eyes and drifted into a troubled sleep.