A Game Of Hearts

spades

chapter 7| Cas

Noise.

All. I. Could. Hear. Was Noise.

When Hibi left I spent fifteen minutes pacing the room, convincing myself that she'd be fine. I got into the bed (which could've been compared to concrete). I had managed to get a few minutes of rest until I was abruptly woken up by the sound of laughter below me.

At first, I blocked it out and tried to go back to sleep but more laughter echoed through the thin wooden floorboards. The laughter was then followed by voices talking, music playing, the colliding of glasses and lots and lots of dancing.

Heavy, irregular footsteps echoed beneath me and I couldn't help but think they were purposely trying to wear a hole into the flooring. 

I soon came to the realization that a good nights rest would not reach me tonight and sat up. Only when I was hunched over the blankets with my hair hanging into my face did I realise how truly and utterly exhausted I was. The last time I'd gotten even a wink of sleep was approximately forty-eight hours ago....when I was still in my warm bed surrounded by thousands of blankets and furs.

I took at the room around me and the tight leather clothes I was wearing and sighed. Did I make a mistake?

Is my mother truly that horrid?

Was being royalty really that big of a pain?

Although the kingdom of hearts was my home and where I grew up it was also a prison for me and many others. Most fled the kingdom in hopes of never having to face the wrath of my mother and me, who had a first-hand experience of the cruelty she was capable of, joined the long list of cowards that run away with their tails tucked between their legs.

Does this make me weak?

What type of ruler runs away from their own throne?

I could have just pushed through it all then have her throne in the cells when I was crowned. A flash of her cold blue, calculating eyes ran through my mind and I shivered. 

Who was I kidding? 

My mother rarely gave up. The only way she would give up her crown was when her head was severed from her body and even then she would rule from the grave.

She was probably on her way right now.

Tracking me down with nothing but her red army and thousands of bloodhounds that she bred herself. All specially bred to track down anyone she wanted with nothing but the scent they left in the air.

I was doomed.

I know threw my legs over to the side of the bed and placed my feet on the cold wood. Was this a mistake? I thought grimly to myself as I put my head into my hands.

Was this an act of rebellion? Just a simple act of revenge to get back at my mother? 

Maybe I wanted to see if she still cared. Give her a little scare so that she'd finally start appreciating me more. The more selfish side of me hoped she was in distress looking for me, I hoped she tossed and turned in her bedsheets right now. Unable to get rest with the thought that I was gone.

The more logical part of me knew that was not the case.

She was probably sleeping with a smile on her face at this very moment.

She knew I'd be back. Whether it'd be by her hand or mine.

And the longer I sat on this shitty mattress I felt my rebellious resolve breaking.

What am I doing here?

Was this because of my burning curiosity to see what was beyond the glacier-covered ground of the Kingdom of Hearts.

Do I regret this?

Probably.

I glanced outside the window to see many other houses and establishments on the block. Everything was dark out except for the warm lights that were on in a few buildings. It felt weird to look outside and not see snowflakes dancing down from the sky to cover my windowsill in midnight frost.

Homesickness hit me in the gut, leaving my heart in my stomach.

Was there still time to go back?

Maybe if I left now I'd make it back before sunri- A sound of melodious laughter hit my eardrums and I felt all my worries come to ease.

Hibi.

A stranger. 

She made me feel warm inside, a warmth I had never felt since....since.

She was playful and spontaneous. 

She was daring and snarky with all the attitude in the four kingdoms in her blood.

And she was beautiful.

Everything about her was something I'd never seen or felt before. A breath of fresh air. She never seemed to have a plan but the compassion behind her eyes that made her help me out gave me more than a reason to believe that she was a good genuine person.

She didn't have a solid reason to bring me here. She just acted on instinct.

No malice or evil intentions glazed her eyes when she looked at me. It was all pure mischief. It was all a game to her.

I admit I felt extreme irritation for her when she got my sash stuck in a tree but I couldn't find myself holding a grudge for her. Not when she had the playful twinkle in her catlike brown eyes that was hidden behind the visible guilt she felt.

But she was stubborn to spit out an apology.

She treated me no different than I assume she would anyone else.

In the palace, people were walking around eggshells around me. Scared that my mother's famous rage was passed down and any smallest move would set me off. But Hibi treated me like we were the same, even going as far as to assume I was just a common thief.

I snorted at the thought.

Maybe it was just the lustrous attraction I felt for her or maybe it was the fact that the adventure in her eyes bubbled a curiosity I had never felt since I was a boy but I wanted to stay with her. At least to see how far she would take me.

Even though greedy I wanted to play this commoner game for just a little bit longer.

Who knows how far I could go.