"Seto, slow down. You're too fast!" a little girl screamed as she chased a boy who looked a year or two older than her.
Seto slowed down and started to laugh. "C'mon Ren. My baby brother can run faster than you."
She frowned at him. "Yeah right. He can only crawl."
"My point exactly."
She huffed and glared at him. "Well, I can swim much faster than you."
Seto shook his head. "I told you. I let you win, Serenity. I felt bad for always beating you."
"Yeah, right," Serenity said rolling her eyes. "What did you want to show me anyway?"
"This," Seto answered. He pulled a bush away from the side of the building. "It's a secret passageway. I hide out here sometimes when I want to get out of my lessons."
She laughed as she crawled inside. "Wow, this is so cool!"
The room was small but cozy. There was a woven blue rug covering the dusty floor. A small table sat off to the side where a picture rested on its top. The walls were a faded emerald as if they hadn't seen daylight in a long time. Judging by the lack of windows in the room, they probably hadn't.
"No one knows about this place. At least I don't think so. There are so many rooms in the castle that it's impossible that my parents can keep track of all of them," Seto whispered to Serenity.
"If no one knows about this place, they why are you whispering?" Serenity asked.
Seto cheeks grew pink. "Well…I don't want them to find out now."
Serenity smiled. "Thanks for showing this to me, Seto. I love it."
"What are best friends for?"
Serenity woke up with a gasp. The dream was still as vivid as it had been that day. She tired not to think about it too much. Seto and her had been best friends but that was before everything had changed.
"Serenity, are you awake?" a voice asked. An older woman entered the room smiling at the girl. She had never had a daughter but she liked to think if she had, her daughter would be like Serenity.
"Yes, Halima."
"Well, good. Get dressed then. We have a lot to do. There's going to be a party today so we don't have much time to get it ready," Halima said as she left the room.
Serenity sighed. It's not that she wasn't grateful to live in such a beautiful place and be treated so well, it was just hard to be a slave. It seemed like you never got a break.
She slowly changed as her mind drifted back to Seto. He had always been nice to her, even befriended her, but then his mother had died and his father had grown ill. That's when she started seeing less and less of him. He was always studying something or other. They had to prepare him in case his father died. They needed someone to take the throne, and at sixteen, Seto would be next in line. In other words, there was no more time for him to play or spend time with her.
Really, she shouldn't be surprised. She was a slave, not some princess. She was lucky he spent so much of his time with her.
"Serenity, are you ready?" Halima asked.
"Yes," Serenity called back. She had work to do. No more time needed to be wasted reliving the past.
Serenity smiled as she surveyed her work. The table was all set, the crystal and gold tableware shining in the bright afternoon sun, which streamed in from the huge wall to floor windows. The whole room sparkled with the new cleaning. Someone entered the room and stood near her.
"I think it's perfect. You can go back to your corridors now."
Serenity turned to look at the source of the voice. She had assumed it would be Halima, but the voice was masculine.
"Oh, it's you," Serenity said as she took a step back, not expecting to see Seto there. She rarely saw him anymore now that he was always studying. It seemed that was all he ever did. She noticed that he had grown taller and stood a good foot above her. Gone was the boyish face, replaced by a strong chin that made him look much older than he was. The only thing that remained were the deep blues eyes which now stared at her.
She quickly realized her mistake and bowed before him. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"Just don't forget again," came his cold reply, "And you can leave now."
She held back the words that were trying so desperately to escape. What had happened to him? He had never treated her this way before. When they were children, they had seen each other as equals. Now he acted as if she was the lowest scum on the earth. She ran out of the room without looking back.
A man entered the room after Serenity had left.
"Just the way I taught you. Good," he said laughing. "If you don't treat them like slaves then they don't do anything. You'll make a great king, Seto."
Seto did not look at the man whom he hated more than any other person. "Thank you, Uncle."
The man placed a hand on Seto's shoulder. It took every ounce of strength Seto had to not shake it off.
"I only wish you were my own son."
Seto nodded his head, not wanting to say that he would rather be living on the streets starved to death than to be his uncle's son. That very thought of it made him shiver with revulsion. Fortunately, his uncle did not notice.
"Yes, Uncle," he answered unable to say anymore.
Serenity sat on her bed still thinking about what had happened earlier. She thought she had known Seto but it turns out, she had been wrong. Suddenly, a memory came back to her.
Seto was eight and Serenity was six, as of that day. As a slave, she didn't really get presents. Halima had made her a new dress but that was about the extent of her birthday celebration. Seto, however, had received multiple gifts when he had turned eight a few weeks ago, all lavish items that cost a fortune. Of course, Serenity wasn't jealous. Seto was a prince after all.
"What do you have behind your back, Seto?" Serenity asked. She tired to peek around him but he took a few steps away. "C'mon, let me see."
Seto finally gave up and pulled out a small box from behind his back. "It's for you. You know for your birthday."
Serenity blinked unsure what to do. She hadn't expected this. Slowly, she took it from his small hands and turned it over in hers. Finally, she took the lid off and peered inside. In it, there lay a necklace laced in pure gold. A small heart shaped pendant held a brilliant diamond.
"Seto, I can't…where did you get this?"
He laughed. "I'm a price, remember? Believe me we have lots of jewelry much more expensive than this. I like it because it was one of my mom's favorite necklaces."
"Well, then I definitely can't take it," she said handing it back to him.
He closed her hand over the necklace. "Keep it. It's yours now. It shouldn't lie in a corner gathering dust."
She shook her head. "But I'm just a slave."
Smiling, Seto replied, "Not to me you aren't."
Serenity pulled a box out from under her bed. The box fit snugly in her palm. Carefully, she removed the lid and peered down inside. The necklace remained nestled inside. She knew if she sold it she would have more than enough money to leave her life of slavery and live on her own, but for some reason, she couldn't do it. Even after all these years and despite the fact that she was no longer friends with Seto, she still kept it. Maybe it was because it was so beautiful or maybe it was because it was the only gift she had ever received. More than likely, however, it was because the necklace reminded her of a time when two completely different people became friends under the most unlikely of circumstances.
Seto sat at the table surrounded by royal people, some he knew, most he didn't. His ailing father sat next to him even though the doctors had insisted he stay in bed. His younger brother sat on the other side of him, too young to bother to worry.
High-pitched laughter filled the air causing Seto to cringe. At his father's insistence, the party was filled with young prospective daughter-in-laws. Seto decided he would rather shoot himself than marry one of these women.
His uncle cleared his throat from across the table. "You're very quiet tonight, Seto. Aren't you having fun?"
Seto glared at his uncle who knew full well that was the last thing he was having. His uncle smirked in return, probably delighted that Seto was suffering.
"I think I should get to bed," Seto announced. He couldn't stay here for one more minute. These girls were interested in one thing and one thing only: becoming the next queen. Honestly, they could care less about him or his family so long as they got what they wanted.
His father looked at him. "It's much too early for that. Sit back down, Seto."
He sighed but did as he was told. Seto did not care about this party or impressing anyone, but he did not want to upset his sick father. Since his mother had died, he only had his father and brother left. He really didn't count his uncle since he despised that man.
Suddenly, his father began coughing violently. Seto turned to look at him. "Are you alright, Father?"
His father tried to nod but the coughing worsened. Soon he was gasping for breath.
"Your Majesty!" the guards and servants cried rushing forward to aid him.
Seto sat there in mute horror unable to move. He wanted to help but what could he do? Mokuba began crying and he turned to face him. "Shhh, Mokuba. It will be okay."
Mokuba nodded but continued to cry. People began running all around them. Seto focused on the one thing he could control: his baby brother. He wrapped his arms around Mokuba and held him close promising to never let him go.
"A great king and ruler of this country. He will be dearly missed. He leaves two loving sons behind who…"
Words faded into the background. Seto stood still with his brother beside him. He just wanted the service to be over. Most of these people didn't even know his father and yet they were all crying. He stared at them thinking how weak they must be to cry for someone they had never met.
"Seto, who will take care of us now?" Mokuba asked suddenly tears freely falling down his face whereas Seto's face remained perfectly dry.
"Don't be silly, Mokuba. That's what the slaves are for," Seto whispered trying not to draw unwanted attention their way since they were supposed to be quiet. "Besides, you still have me."
"Seto, I thought I taught you better than this," his uncle said suddenly standing beside him. "It's rude to talk when the priest is talking."
Seto thought if it was so rude, then why was his uncle talking? Instead he murmured an apology and looked away. He noticed Serenity standing next to Halima a few feet away. He saw that Serenity was crying. Seto stared at her and wondered if it was just as painful for her to be here as it was for him. Since she had never known her parents, his father had always made sure to be kind to her. Even though she was a slave, she had never been treated poorly. His father had treated everyone with respect and kindness.
Mokuba wiped at his eyes and grabbed Seto's hand as they ceremony came to a close. "Look Seto, there's Serenity."
While Seto rarely saw Serenity anymore, Mokuba would often hang around her while she did her chores. He said he liked her the best out of any of the other slaves there. "You can go say hi to her if you would like."
Mokuba smiled at his brother and let go of his hand. He ran over to Serenity and Halima. While Seto couldn't hear what they were saying, he knew Serenity must have made his brother feel better because Mokuba smiled for the first time since their father had died.
After a few minutes, they looked his way. Mokuba was pulling Serenity towards Seto but she stood rooted in her place. Seto quickly looked away.
"Seto," his uncle said looking at him. "You have a lot of important things to do today. Follow me. We've wasted enough time here."
Seto glanced back at Mokuba and Serenity. Her eyes met his and she took a step forward. His uncle grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him away. He didn't dare to look back.