So I am clearly insane and thought it would be a good idea to juggle a third story along with everything else in my life. So I wrote this; it's a bit different than my other two stories, but I thought it would be a nice change of pace to write something that's more fantasy.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Skins characters.
Chapter 1
"Naomi, run!" a voice shouted.
The blonde turned around to see three men on horseback pursuing her. She ran as fast as she could, but stumbled over tree roots as several branches ripped her clothes and scratched her arms. The men couldn't follow her in the woods, but they were following along the edge of the trees. Naomi burst through the trees and into the clearing, skidding a bit on the grass. She paused for a moment, regaining her balance before turning right and running alone the edge of the forest. She could hear the horses' hooves gaining on her, but she didn't dare turn around to look.
"Go that way!" she heard one of them shout.
Naomi tried running faster, but she was getting a cramp in her calf, which was making it difficult. She chanced a glance back and saw two of the men only about twenty yards behind her. When she turned her head back around, she caught a glimpse out of something out of the corner of her eye. She saw a quick flash of metal and felt something soaking her top. She stared up with wide eyes and the man leaned down, whispering something into her ear before slowly lowering her to the ground
"Is she dead, Freddie?" one of the men asked.
Freddie reached down, putting two fingers to her wrist, checking for any sign of life. "Yeah, there's no pulse—"
6 weeks earlier
"Cook!"
"What, Naomikins?" he asked, turning around.
"How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that," Naomi said, rolling her eyes. "And get away from there."
Cook threw his arms out and grinned. "I'm just having a look around."
"You're going to get us both thrown in the dungeon," Naomi said, grabbing at Cook's arm. "Or worse."
"I'm just standing here," Cook said, leaning against the stone wall. "Whoa." He jumped from the wall and turned around to stare at it. "Did you see that?"
Naomi sighed. "Did I see what?"
"It moved." Cook pointed to the wall. "Right—" He felt around for a moment. "—here."
Cook pushed on one of the stones and the entire wall shifted and turned, leaving an opening where the once solid wall had been. Naomi and Cook both stared at it, openmouthed and Cook took a few steps toward it.
"Where are you going?" Naomi asked.
"Jesus," he said, peering into it. "It goes right into the castle."
"Fix it," Naomi insisted.
"Hold your horses," he said, taking a step in.
"Cook!" Naomi whispered harshly. "You're going to get us both in trouble."
Her friend was clearly not listening to her. "I'm going in."
"What?" Naomi shouted, looking around to make sure no one had heard her, but there was no one in sight."You can't." He just grinned and ran on in. "Cook!"
"Come with me," he requested.
"No!" Naomi said from outside. "Neither of us are going anywhere."
She heard Cook laugh, sounding further away than before. "Suit yourself, Blondie."
"Cook!" There was no response. Naomi looked in and saw nothing but a dark tunnel. "Cook?"
Silence.
"Fuck," she said to herself, looking around. She took a deep breath and took a step in. "Cook?"
She started walking slowly toward the direction Cook had gone. When she reached the end of the tunnel, she hit a fork; she could either take a set of stairs up, or stay on the ground floor and turn right. She looked in both directions, listening, but she didn't see or hear anything that could tell her which way her friend had gone.
"I am going to kill you," she mumbled to herself. "If we're not caught and killed first."
She looked up the stairs and decided on them. Sighing, she walked to the top and looked around the deserted corridors. She continued forward, but quickly hit a dead end.
"Fuck," she said, running her hands through her hair and leaning against the wall.
Suddenly, the wall moved out from behind her and she screamed as she crashed backwards into the room on the other side. She found herself staring up at the ceiling of a brightly lit room and heard a feint gasp from a few feet behind her. She awkwardly looked up from her position on the floor and locked eyes with a very stunned looking redhead.
She jumped up as quickly as she could. "I…I…"
"Is everything okay in there?" There was a loud banging on the door. "Princess?"
Naomi stared wide-eyed at the girl. Princess? Had she really just managed to fall into the room of one of the reclusive princesses and daughters of the most evil woman anyone had ever met?
"I'm coming in," the gruff voice on the other side of the door said.
Before she realized what was happening, Naomi felt a warm hand grab hers and she was being shoved behind a think curtain, beside the window. Naomi's heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. A moment later, she heard a scraping sound, which she figured was the sound of the wall being put back into place.
"Are you okay?" he asked, barging into the room.
"Yes," she heard the other girl say.
"I heard a scream," he stated.
"Sorry," she heard her say. "I saw a spider."
"Really?" he asked, sounding skeptical.
"Yeah," she lied. "It ran across the floor; you know how much I hate them."
"Right," the man replied.
Naomi heard the door shut and she exhaled the breath she'd been unwittingly holding. She wanted to run, but was afraid to move a muscle. Suddenly, the curtain flew back and she was staring into a pair of brown eyes. Naomi looked like a deer in the headlights and she didn't know how she was going to get out of this one alive.
"Are you okay?" the redhead asked.
"Am I what?" Naomi asked, looking at the opening in the wall and seeing that the other girl had simply moved a folding screen in front of it.
The redhead smiled. "Are you okay?" She reached out and touched her hand to the back of Naomi's head. "You hit the ground pretty hard; I was afraid that you might have hit your head."
"Yes?" Naomi answered, sounding unsure of herself. "I'm…I'm okay though."
"You're sure?" she asked, sounding concerned. Naomi nodded and the redhead took her hand away. "I'm Emily."
"I'm—"
"Naomi!" she heard Cook say. She looked over to see him standing at the wall. "Where the hell have you—"He walked around and took one look at the unfamiliar girl in the room. "—been."
Emily didn't look at all phased by the second intruder in her room.
"We need to get out of here," Cook said, reaching out and grabbing Naomi by the arm.
"He's right," said Emily. "Wouldn't want you two getting caught now would we?"
Naomi opened her mouth to say something, but Cook was pulling her away. She looked back at the redhead, who simply smiled at her in an amused sort of way. Cook pulled her through the hole in the wall and moved the false wall back into place.
"What the hell were you doing in there?" he asked Naomi.
Naomi scoffed. "I was fucking looking for you."
"But how did you end up in there?" he asked.
Naomi shrugged and followed Cook as he started walking toward the stairs. "I called your name and you weren't there so I went in and was trying to find you. I hit the dead in and when I learned again the wall, it just gave way."
The two hurried down the steps and to the wall they came through; once they were out, Cook slid the wall back into place so it looked as if it did before they ever entered. They walked in silence until Cook started laughing for no apparent reason.
"What?" Naomi asked, frowning.
"Just imagining the girl's face when you fell through," Cook said, letting out another howl of laughter. "You're lucky it wasn't anyone important."
"Cook," Naomi said, stopping.
"What?" Cook asked, looking around and then stopping and turning to Naomi when he realized she was behind him.
Naomi sighed and closed her eyes. "She was somebody."
"Who was she, then?" Cook asked.
"One of the Queen's daughter's," Naomi replied.
Cook frowned for a moment and then a smile spread across his face. "Yeah right."
Naomi let out a sigh of frustration. "I'm serious."
"Sure you are," Cook said, nudging her shoulder and starting to walk away.
"I'm serious," Naomi yelled after him. "The guard that almost caught me called her Princess."
Cook turned around and his smile faded. "Are you serious?"
Naomi rolled her eyes. "I've said twice that I was serious. Do you really want me to say it a third time?"
Cook looked toward the castle and frowned. "But why would she help you?"
"I don't know," Naomi said, shrugging.
"Let's get out of here," Cook said, turning to look at Naomi and grabbing her hand.
"Are you okay, Princess?" Emily heard a quiet voice behind her ask.
"Emily," she automatically corrected as she turned around "And I'm fine."
Emily was staring out the window where she could see the two friends talking and laughing as they walked toward the village. She had been watching them since the moment they rounded the corner and came into view. For six years she had been watching the two friends from this window, envious of their friendship, their lives, and their freedom. When they were younger, she would watch them playing in the field and when they got older, she would watched them just lounging around, talking. She'd sit up there and wonder what they talked about; the guy was always making the blonde laugh and the blonde seemed a lot more serious than her male counterpart.
Naomi. The blonde's name was Naomi, but she still didn't know the guy's name. She'd always wondered what their names were; Naomi fit her.
"Umm, Emily?" the voice behind Emily asked.
"Yes Effy?" Emily asked, smiling to herself.
"The Queen wants to see you," the brunette said, eliciting a sigh from Emily.
"And what does my mother want?" she asked.
"I…I don't know," Effy replied. "One of the guards just told me to let you know."
Emily smiled at the brunette. "Thanks."
Emily sighed and crossing the room, walking out the door, and leaving the brunette following behind her. Emily walked to her mother's chambers and gently knocked before entering, while Effy waited right outside the room.
"You wanted to see me?" Emily asked.
"Yes," the older woman said, staring coldly at her daughter. "I want you to attend court with me tomorrow."
Emily sighed. "Why?"
Her mother smiled, but, as always, the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Because one of these days, all this might be yours and you need to know how we do things."
"I know how you do things," Emily said, turning around. "And this will all be Katie's, not mine. I'm just the spare, remember?"
With that, she walked to the door and opened it.
"Eight o'clock," her mother called after her.
Emily slammed the door and swiftly walked back toward her room with Effy trying to keep up.
"Em," her sister said, stepping out from her room and standing directly in front of her.
Emily sighed. "What?"
Katie nodded to her room and went back inside, leaving the door open; Emily walked in and shut the door behind her.
"You shouldn't rile her up like that," Katie advised.
"You heard?" Emily asked.
Katie laughed. "Of course I heard." She nodded to the wall where Emily knew you could hear every word into their mother's room. "Like I said, you shouldn't rile her up like that."
"Why not?" Emil asked.
Katie gave her sister a look. "You know why not."
"What's she going to do?" Emily asked. "Chop my head off like everyone else that doesn't do exactly what she wants?"
Katie's face dropped. "Don't joke like that, Em. Just do what she wants so you don't make her mad."
Emily shook her head. "Do you really think I want to go watch her sentence a bunch of people to death or to spend the rest of their lives in the dungeon, just because they disobeyed her?"
"Do you really think I like doing that?" Katie yelled. She then sat down, sighing. "I didn't ask for any of this; it's not my fault that I was born several minutes before you."
Emily shook her head and sat down next to her sister. "I know."
"Just—" Katie put her head on her sister's shoulder. "Don't make her so angry."
"But it's so easy to do," Emily said as a small smile crept on her lips.
Katie was now smiling too. "I know. Will you at least think about coming with us tomorrow?"
Emily squeezed her sister's hand as she stood up. "I'll think about it."
She walked out of the room without another word and Effy silently followed Emily to her room. Once they were both inside, Emily let out a yell of frustration and threw herself on the bed, which cause Effy to flinch.
"Sorry," Emily apologized.
"It's okay," Effy replied.
"Effy?" Emily said, gaining the other girl's attention.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Nothing," Emily said, shaking her head. "I think I'm going to take a nap."
The other girl nodded. "I'll be outside."
Emily sighed as she watched her leave and quietly shut the door behind her. Emily often watched the brunette and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She had been working at the palace since she was eleven because Jenna, Emily's mother and the Queen of Bristol, had sentenced both of her parents to death. And all because their son, Effy's brother, had stolen something and they had tried to protect him. Effy had come to work here several weeks later and had become a sort of attendant for the girls. Emily was honestly surprised that her mother hadn't killed her when she murdered the rest of her family. Emily didn't know how she could stand being inside this castle, with the woman that was responsible for her whole family's demise.
She scooted under the covers and stared at the canopy above her, knowing that she wasn't actually going to sleep. Before she knew it, tears had sprung to her eyes. She couldn't help but feel lonely. She had no friends; even Effy, who she had spent every day with for seven years, was not her friend, but she guessed it would be hard to be friends with someone when their mother ruined your life.
That's why she envied Naomi and her friend so much—because she didn't know what it felt like to have a friend. The two always looked so carefree with each other, while Emily always felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Good? Bad? Please take a few seconds to leave me your comments.
