CHAPTER 11 - Midnight Encounters
Royce slowly opened his eyes and picked himself off of the garage floor. His head ached and his shirt had fresh bloodstains on it. His car sat still silent beside him and he shook his head slightly. The bandages fell out of place again and draped themselves over his face haphazardly. He shoved them out of his eyes and leaned against the body of his car. Royce looked down at his shirt and muffled a cry. The sign of the Torn Prince had bled through and Dana's Angry Princess mark had burned itself onto the fabric. He clutched his head and shoulder as the memories of the afternoon flooded into his skull. He looked around in a panicked gesture.
"Broadway? Broadway!" He called her name, only to have his voice echo it back off the walls. Something glinted at his feet and he bent to retrieve it. It was her silver chain and good luck charm. Royce punched the side of his car and let out an exasperated cry. He pocketed the trinket and grabbed his jacket, pulling the knife out of his back proved to be a hassle, but he slid it from his body and tossed his jacket on. When he emerged from the depths of the parking garage it was well past sunset. Everything was silent, except for the sounds of crickets chirping and the winds through the leaves. He phased into the lodge and searched around for anyone. Dana was leaning against the wall looking mildly pissed off.
"Where is she?"
"Broadway? In her room, the last place you're going, prince." She replied stepping out to block his path.
"I need to see her!" Royce protested. Dana wrenched the knife from his grasp and wiped his blood off the blade with the end of her towel.
"That's not a good idea. Not tonight - may I remind you that you almost killed her? You could have screwed things over for ALL of us, Royce!"
"You know just as well as I do that I didn't mean too - she asked! I couldn't help it!"
"She knows that now, but that doesn't change the fact that if you go in there now she's going to be terrified of you." Royce sighed and slumped against the wall.
"Where is everyone else?"
"In their rooms. No one else knows if that's what you're wondering. Broadway told them that she wasn't feeling well and that she was going to go to bed early. Jean is with Arthur, Dennis is..I don't care where he is so I don't know and Susan is floating around here somewhere." Dana kneeled down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Prince, just trust me on this one. You can talk to her tomorrow."
"I just want to apologize somehow, and I need to give her this." He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and held it up to Dana. She rubbed her temples and sighed slowly.
"You have one minute, okay? One minute before I go in there and seal your toasted ass." He nodded and phased past her and down the hallway. He paused outside Broadway's door and knocked softly. There was no reply so he phased through the door and into the darkness of her dorm. It took a few moments to get used to the darkness but he could make out her sleeping form and hear her soft breathing. He made his way to her bed and kneeled by her side. A few strands of hair had fallen onto her face and he reached up and brushed them back.
"Broadway..? Can you hear me?" Royce whispered. Her brow furrowed but she remained asleep. He pushed the fallen bandages from his eyes again and tucked the necklace into her hand. She sighed quietly and her fingers closed around his. Royce stiffened and gazed at her hand. It was so warm, her entire body was warm. He remembered how frail she had felt in his hands and shuddered. The things he was prepared to do to her, the way he was going to kill her without a second thought. But then, another thought trickled into his mind; the way he had accidentally brushed his lips against hers. The thought made him tremble slightly and he reluctantly removed his hand from hers. Royce frowned and shook his head, forbidding himself to feel like that. He was dead. Dead, dead, dead. Broadway was nothing more than a mortal girl who had stumbled upon the glass house and happened to have a higher regard for people's lives. He paused mid-thought and remembered what she had done for him the previous day. She had saved him, not once, but twice before she knew his name, before she knew his past. She had possessed enough decency to reach out and save Royce when everyone else could only watch in mute horror. She had done the one thing he hated everyone else for NOT doing. He looked at her sleeping face again and the way her eyes moved behind their lids. He wondered what she was dreaming and hoped that he wasn't plaguing her nightmares. Royce reached out his hand and cupped her cheek. Even through the bandages he could feel the warmth of her flesh. Something shimmered behind him and Dana fixed him with a stern look.
"I was feeling generous so I gave you two minutes, now get moving." She whispered. Royce withdrew his hand and phased out into the parking lot. The Princess followed him. "You're getting too close." She muttered. Royce picked up a large stone and self pitched it to himself. His bat made a loud cracking noise as the stone disappeared over the tree line.
"I don't know what you're talking about Dana." He replied a little too monotonously.
"Don't be a shit, you do so. Don't forget what you are Prince. We can't forget that we're ghosts. If you got to close to her, you would only end up hurting yourselves in the end. She's not going to purgatory with you-"
"Who says that's where I'm heading? Dana, if we were heading anywhere at ALL, don't you think that we would be there already? Ghosts are earth bound FROEVER! We're not going to Heaven or Hell or Purgatory! We're going to be trapped in this world forever, why? Because we're ghosts." Royce snapped, pitching another stone to himself. Dana shook her head.
"We don't know that, Prince. Maybe we're just late or something. It's still not a good idea to get to close to a mortal..I'm pretty sure there are laws against that anyway." She added, giggling a bit to herself. He shot a look at her over his shoulder but said nothing. He swung at another stone and sent it hurdling into the blackness. "Still got it in you." Dana commented.
"Why do you care so much Dana?"
"About Broadway and you? Because I think she's a good girl and you're a good guy Prince, and I don't want to see either of you hurt any more than you already do."
"Really?"
"Yes really! What's that tone for?" Royce struck another stone and turned to look at her.]
"Because the more you talk, the more it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of something. Like you're trying to convince yourself rather than me that falling for a mortal is a bad idea." Dana flushed pink.
"Well, no, see that's wrong.." She stumbled over her words and fidgeted with the end of her towel. Royce placed a hand under her chin and met her eyes.
"Dana, look at it this way, if we're going to be trapped on earth forever, and we might have met a person who can make it a little more bearable - even for a moment or two - then why in the hell would you throw that away?" He raised an eyebrow at her before flickering and disappearing. Dana pushed her hair behind her ear and sighed.
"Because maybe I don't want to lose anyone anymore."
~*~
Royce slowly opened his eyes and picked himself off of the garage floor. His head ached and his shirt had fresh bloodstains on it. His car sat still silent beside him and he shook his head slightly. The bandages fell out of place again and draped themselves over his face haphazardly. He shoved them out of his eyes and leaned against the body of his car. Royce looked down at his shirt and muffled a cry. The sign of the Torn Prince had bled through and Dana's Angry Princess mark had burned itself onto the fabric. He clutched his head and shoulder as the memories of the afternoon flooded into his skull. He looked around in a panicked gesture.
"Broadway? Broadway!" He called her name, only to have his voice echo it back off the walls. Something glinted at his feet and he bent to retrieve it. It was her silver chain and good luck charm. Royce punched the side of his car and let out an exasperated cry. He pocketed the trinket and grabbed his jacket, pulling the knife out of his back proved to be a hassle, but he slid it from his body and tossed his jacket on. When he emerged from the depths of the parking garage it was well past sunset. Everything was silent, except for the sounds of crickets chirping and the winds through the leaves. He phased into the lodge and searched around for anyone. Dana was leaning against the wall looking mildly pissed off.
"Where is she?"
"Broadway? In her room, the last place you're going, prince." She replied stepping out to block his path.
"I need to see her!" Royce protested. Dana wrenched the knife from his grasp and wiped his blood off the blade with the end of her towel.
"That's not a good idea. Not tonight - may I remind you that you almost killed her? You could have screwed things over for ALL of us, Royce!"
"You know just as well as I do that I didn't mean too - she asked! I couldn't help it!"
"She knows that now, but that doesn't change the fact that if you go in there now she's going to be terrified of you." Royce sighed and slumped against the wall.
"Where is everyone else?"
"In their rooms. No one else knows if that's what you're wondering. Broadway told them that she wasn't feeling well and that she was going to go to bed early. Jean is with Arthur, Dennis is..I don't care where he is so I don't know and Susan is floating around here somewhere." Dana kneeled down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Prince, just trust me on this one. You can talk to her tomorrow."
"I just want to apologize somehow, and I need to give her this." He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and held it up to Dana. She rubbed her temples and sighed slowly.
"You have one minute, okay? One minute before I go in there and seal your toasted ass." He nodded and phased past her and down the hallway. He paused outside Broadway's door and knocked softly. There was no reply so he phased through the door and into the darkness of her dorm. It took a few moments to get used to the darkness but he could make out her sleeping form and hear her soft breathing. He made his way to her bed and kneeled by her side. A few strands of hair had fallen onto her face and he reached up and brushed them back.
"Broadway..? Can you hear me?" Royce whispered. Her brow furrowed but she remained asleep. He pushed the fallen bandages from his eyes again and tucked the necklace into her hand. She sighed quietly and her fingers closed around his. Royce stiffened and gazed at her hand. It was so warm, her entire body was warm. He remembered how frail she had felt in his hands and shuddered. The things he was prepared to do to her, the way he was going to kill her without a second thought. But then, another thought trickled into his mind; the way he had accidentally brushed his lips against hers. The thought made him tremble slightly and he reluctantly removed his hand from hers. Royce frowned and shook his head, forbidding himself to feel like that. He was dead. Dead, dead, dead. Broadway was nothing more than a mortal girl who had stumbled upon the glass house and happened to have a higher regard for people's lives. He paused mid-thought and remembered what she had done for him the previous day. She had saved him, not once, but twice before she knew his name, before she knew his past. She had possessed enough decency to reach out and save Royce when everyone else could only watch in mute horror. She had done the one thing he hated everyone else for NOT doing. He looked at her sleeping face again and the way her eyes moved behind their lids. He wondered what she was dreaming and hoped that he wasn't plaguing her nightmares. Royce reached out his hand and cupped her cheek. Even through the bandages he could feel the warmth of her flesh. Something shimmered behind him and Dana fixed him with a stern look.
"I was feeling generous so I gave you two minutes, now get moving." She whispered. Royce withdrew his hand and phased out into the parking lot. The Princess followed him. "You're getting too close." She muttered. Royce picked up a large stone and self pitched it to himself. His bat made a loud cracking noise as the stone disappeared over the tree line.
"I don't know what you're talking about Dana." He replied a little too monotonously.
"Don't be a shit, you do so. Don't forget what you are Prince. We can't forget that we're ghosts. If you got to close to her, you would only end up hurting yourselves in the end. She's not going to purgatory with you-"
"Who says that's where I'm heading? Dana, if we were heading anywhere at ALL, don't you think that we would be there already? Ghosts are earth bound FROEVER! We're not going to Heaven or Hell or Purgatory! We're going to be trapped in this world forever, why? Because we're ghosts." Royce snapped, pitching another stone to himself. Dana shook her head.
"We don't know that, Prince. Maybe we're just late or something. It's still not a good idea to get to close to a mortal..I'm pretty sure there are laws against that anyway." She added, giggling a bit to herself. He shot a look at her over his shoulder but said nothing. He swung at another stone and sent it hurdling into the blackness. "Still got it in you." Dana commented.
"Why do you care so much Dana?"
"About Broadway and you? Because I think she's a good girl and you're a good guy Prince, and I don't want to see either of you hurt any more than you already do."
"Really?"
"Yes really! What's that tone for?" Royce struck another stone and turned to look at her.]
"Because the more you talk, the more it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of something. Like you're trying to convince yourself rather than me that falling for a mortal is a bad idea." Dana flushed pink.
"Well, no, see that's wrong.." She stumbled over her words and fidgeted with the end of her towel. Royce placed a hand under her chin and met her eyes.
"Dana, look at it this way, if we're going to be trapped on earth forever, and we might have met a person who can make it a little more bearable - even for a moment or two - then why in the hell would you throw that away?" He raised an eyebrow at her before flickering and disappearing. Dana pushed her hair behind her ear and sighed.
"Because maybe I don't want to lose anyone anymore."
~*~