I ran through the corridors frantically. I pushed the people around me as I ran; hearing the noise as they called after me but not their words. My feet slipped against the worn stone and I kicked the pathetic heels from my feet, not even picking them up as they clattered behind me. I had to find Soul. His name was flashing through my head as I ran but my head was too dizzy to imagine where he could be. I had pulled him into this mess and now I had to pull him out; even if it meant tearing him from my life.
I continued, aimlessly flinging doors open, looking with the hope that he would be in one of the rooms; but he wasn't. This wasn't like me. I was calm. I was strong. I was independent. I let out a chocked sob, I wasn't any of those things without Soul.
Finally I reached the library, the one place that I had a small hope that he would be in. I wrenched the doors open panting as I looking into the room. Soul was sat on a seat, smiling at book in his lap; looking so calm in the damp light. He looked up at the sound of me, eyes warm and a wide smile growing across his face. I almost let myself collapse then, the tears finally brimming in my eyes. I staggered forwards, choking out his name.
"Soul..." Soul stopped smiling, quickly standing to walk to me. he caught me in his arms and I sagged forwards into his embrace. "Soul, you have to go, you have to leave." I forced myself to tell him. I couldn't bare to look up at him, i would definitely cry.
"Maka? What's wrong? has something happened?" He asked, ignoring my question and gripping my shoulders.
"Soul please, they know about us; you need to go." I told him, the urgency now strong in my voice. I took a step back, "Florence, she... she saw us and she's going to tell my father, if you don't go..." I looked behind me, "the guards will be here any minuet now!" I grabbed his hand, attempting to drag him with me but he refused, his body staying still against my pull.
"Maka," He smiled weakly, "you don't need to be upset." He laced his fingers into my hand, pulling me closer till our foreheads were pressed together and I could look nowhere else but his deep crimson eyes. I felt there tears rolling over my cheeks, he needed to leave but even now i couldn't muster the force to make him. I was selfish; still wanting him to stay. Souls fingers went up to brush the tears away, "I'll support you Maka so don't cry." He whispered gently.
"You have to go!" I sobbed, "You have to run!" Soul just kept smiling at me, running his hand delicately through my hair. "If we go now you can leave through the gate in the gardens! You can catch a ride to Death City before the news spreads and then-"
"And then what?" He interrupted me, "I can't start over again after this and without you I wouldn't want to anymore. I'm not running Maka." My eyes opened in shock and I pushed away from him, stepping back.
"Soul, leave now!" I shouted desperately, "Don't be stupid! Please, they'll take you away; they'll kill you!" I was screaming, trying to make him understand; trying to shake his smile and make him run.
"I won't leave you Maka." He spoke calmly, despite my loudness, "People will think that I am a coward who ran away and didn't care about you; they'll have no respect for you and I wouldn't leave you in that situation."
"I don't care!" I was sobbing, not even listening to him now, "Just leave!" I grabbed hold of his shirt, pulling myself into him and continuing to cry on his shoulder. "Please... please go..." The strength left me and I continued to cry, feeling hopelessness drop on me like a weight and he stood still.
"I love you Maka, I really do." He whispered as he held my shuddering body, "If they want me to leave you they will have to force me because I would never do it of my own accord. I won't leave without you."
I took a deep breath; I needed to stop crying for him. I let go of his shirt, my hands moving to his face solemnly. There were shouts in the corridor outside.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn..." I whispered, the tears were drying on my face and my eyes were sore but I was no longer crying. The footsteps along the stone seemed to echo through the room. "I love you too, I just wish I had gotten longer to show you that..."
Soul wrapped his arms tightly around me, cradling my body and I gripped his back. He kissed me gently and I let my eyes close; ignoring the panic as the library doors slammed open. Ignoring the noise as footsteps as guards filled the room. Ignoring the shouts are the men approached us. Nothing mattered to me anymore, nothing but Soul.
Or lips parted when the guards pulled us apart, their rough hands lifting me away. I reached out, calling for Soul. A look of worry flashed in his eyes but then he smiled at me warmly as the guards clamped their hands around his shoulders and held him restrained. Soul held his hands forward, not attempting to fight them, and offered his wrists towards one of the guards who tightened a pair of shackles around them.
"No please!" I cried out, "Please leave him alone!" Some of the guards looked tormented on whether they should obey me but none of them did. I was pulled further back to the side of the room.
"Soul Evans." One of the guards stepped forwards, reading loudly from a scroll, "By order of the King you are hereby charged with treason against the kingdom of Whitehollow and Death City for the disruption of the peace treaty. You will be take to the cells where your case will await further judgement. Do you except these charges?" Soul stood tall, looking only at me.
"I do." At this the guards lead him away, while I watched helplessly from the side of the room. Once they had taken him the man with the scroll turned to me.
"Princess Albarn, the king has requested an audience with you this afternoon to decide on a suitable punishment to your part in this act." He left abruptly, the guards around me letting go of my arms and following him. My body sank to the floor, legs crumpling beneath me as I put my head in my hands; I wan't to cry and scream and wail but I didn't. Right now speaking to my father would be the only option to get Soul free; although I already knew that his freedom wouldn't be with me.
I felt empty as I staggered to my feet, using the walls for support and taking deep breaths as I calmed myself. I would talk to my father, accept his punishment and free Soul. I narrowed my eyes in determination as I set off towards the throne room.
I walked in, head held high despite my ragged hair, bare feet and swollen eyes. Ahead my father was perched in the throne, attempting to calm the prince who was pacing up and down the hall.
"I understand but I don't think we should be rash about this." He spoke, "We could-Maka!" He looked up as I entered, then his eyes became dark and plagued with anger as he stood. His brow was crumpled and he shook his head. "I'm so disappointed in you. After everything we've spoken about you've done this; acting so recklessly over such an important matter! Do you have any idea how much this has troubled the treaty with Death City?"
Anger boiled inside me as I listened to him.
"I can only imagine." I spoke through gritted teeth. He had no right to accuse me, not after how he treated my mother.
"Why Maka? Why would you waste all of this peace for servant like him?"
"What do you mean by that? He's a better man than you or Kid! Soul is an amazing person who unlike either of you actually cares about me!" I began to raise my voice as I spoke, "Soul spends time with me, he makes me happy! He makes me laugh and holds me when I cry! When have you ever done that?!" I looked at Kid, "When have you ever thought of me without thinking of business?! When have you ever loved me without thinking of Elizabeth?!"
"Maka," Kid's eyes were wide, his hands shaking by his sides, "I don't know what your talking about. I have only ever loved-"
"Stop!" I wanted to scream at him, "Stop lying to me, we all know that this marriage is a joke! It would never work, not when you were already in love! So please, stop acting innocent, stop depicting me as the villain; we are equal." My voice was becoming steadier as I glared at him but he said nothing. Finally Spirit spoke.
"I'm disappointed in both of you... This behavior, it's immature and I had hoped that you were old enough to grasp the seriousness of this situation, through apparently I was wrong. Maka, you are forbid to see Soul Evans again, and he will receive his punishment in separate."
"Punishment?" I asked.
"Yes, for his part he will receive a suitable time in the city jail."
"No." The word slipped out of my mouth without hesitation.
"No?" He asked.
"No! Soul doesn't deserve any punishment! Can't you punish me, can't that be enough?" I clenched my hands. I knew what I was about to say was not right but something made me speak it anyway. "None of the girls who you cheated on mother with were punished; neither were you." I knew I had crossed a line immediately and even if I hadn't the look in his eyes was enough to clarify.
"How dare you compare this to that!" He shouted, "I will not hear another word on this!"
"Why not? Because you feel guilty? Because you know that what you did was worse?" I took a step forward, "But you are right about one thing, I can't compare them. Because I love Soul but you, you cheated on mother because you were a pig who couldn't commit to one woman!"
"Enough!" He pushed past me, "This conversation is over Maka." The man was fuming, his eyes dark and his shoulders heaving. "I can't look at you right now. You are to be confined to your room until I say. And as for Soul; he has committed treason against Death City and Whitehollow. The execution will be in two weeks today." he left, without another word, allowing Kid to follow dutifully in his path.
The door closed and I stood in silence. There was an agony in my chest as I finally allowed myself to sink to the floor. The tears were flowing fast now, the world seeming to spin as it imploded around me. The silence was too loud, too crushing for me to bear and I let out a scream. It was choked by the tightness of my throat, strangled as it tried to escape my lips so that it trailed off into a sob. Tremors wreaked through my body and I sank further towards the cold floor until I was lying. I would not get up for a long time.