When lunch comes, I get dressed in a simple ball gown. My hair is hung high as I brush off any sense of insercuity. I'm pretty, I am pretty. I am the perfect princess, because that's who I was born to be. Perfection at its best. That's who I am.
Still, I fumble with my words as I greet the brave soldiers who are willing to bleed for this war. My mind wonders to all those times when I screamed at my parents. I would scream at them because I hated the war. I hated the war with a burning passion sunk deep into my hearts. I would scream at them to stop this madness, and I would ask them why we were going on with this endless, hopeless cause.
They called it my 'hormonal' time. Mostly because they thought I wasn't thinking, and I was only nine. When your a princess at nine years old, apparently, you have to bicker about something. Later on, I learned that some things... you just don't have the power to change. But I still secretly hate the war, but doesn't anyone?
I shake hands and smile, like a proper princess would. Every now and then, a picture of their grave in front of me, mentally of course, would confront me. I would squeeze tighter than usual, as if that's the last time I'll ever feel their flesh. But it's when I see Cal that makes me hug him tightly. And he's not even leaving yet.
I watch from the shadows as my father drapes an arm around my brother, which makes him start grinning like an idiot when I realize something.
Father does that all the time to me. Every day, whenever nobody was looking, he would drape an arm around my shoulder and pull me closer. Its only on the rare occasion when he would do this to Cal or Maven. I don't understand why I'm so special in this world of silver. My father doesn't know what I can truly do, yet he still makes me feel like the most special girl in the world.
I don't relish in his kindness and love as much as I should. Perhaps, I need to focus on being more grateful.
Starting with my parents.
*E*
When the ball comes around, I walk around the room, my feet moving with the only thing I'm worth for: My gracefulness. The one thing that I found rather easily and kept quite attached too. Its all I truly have when it comes to this.
"Mother." I say as I watch her fix up Maven's clothing. She turns to face me as I smile back at her. For a moment, the cold hearted, stone faced woman is gone. Her eyes brighten as a smile dances across her face. Genuine.
"Yes, Eliza?" She asks me as I smile and twirl for her, Mare, and Maven.
"Do you like it?" I ask as she smiles, her teeth a bizarre white.
"You look beautiful, Eliza." She replied and walks up to me before wrapping her crisp arms around me. I hug her back and stare at Maven as this look of envy and anger cloud his eyes. I walk away, my mother by my side, my father on my other side, when I hear him.
"She's always their favourite." He mutters to Mare as a deep ache shatters my heart and I turn to face my mother.
"I need to ask Maven something." I say, as she stares at me. I don't feel her presence in my thoughts, but she gives me a sharp nod before heading off.
I race back into their room, Mare and Maven still there and cross my arms.
"I don't understand why you seem as if you hate me so much, Maven." I say, my voice crystal clear. "I never did."
On that note, I walk away towards the ballroom, and I dance to the music. I've never felt so free. I've never felt so happy in my life unless I'm dancing. My golden curls bounce before me, my red-gold eyes shimmering in the light as I give myself a secret smile. My smile.
It was then, when I notice Mare and Maven talking to a simple servent.
I can't help but stop and notice something very, very important. I've never seen this man before, and I know every servent in the castle. Every single one. I know who gets recruited, and I even know a few names. But I know every face in this room, I know who people are. I have a talent of it, somewhat of a photographic memory, but only for people and names.
Yet, I've never seen this man before. I've never even saw his face, which didn't seem nearly as polished as the rest of the Red servents. In fact, there's a smidge of dirt underneath his left ear. I can see it, out of the corner of my eye. Only Red gardeners can be outside, let alone play in the dirt. The servents here only work indoors.
A smidge of dirt made the difference. THat piece of dirt was what tipped me off.
I do it, I intrude his mind. And what I see, frightens me.
Ten more seconds before the shooting...
He thinks and I don't think, I don't think at all when I scream, loud and ear piercing.
Everyone's eyes are on me, the princess who never goes out of her way to do anything, just screamed. My heart hammers within my chest as I scream again, but this time, its in true words.
"EVERYBODY DOWN ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW!" I shout, my voice tinted with that royal, princess command. To my surprise, nobody does it, they just stare at me with this confused look on their face. I look around frantically, looking for any sign of a servent with a gun.
It was then, when I see it. A flash of metal, beautiful, silver metal.
A gun.
A fire ball emerges from my hand and I shoot it with ease, this is what I trained for. To protect my people.
It hits the man with grace as he tumbled from the balcony, his clothes on fire. Some people do scream then, and then, the lights go out. But I easily fix that. The second it flickers, my fire comes to me, protecting me from any harm.
My hands wave, and a golden-red fire surrounds the ballroom, giving the world light. I am their sun when the world turns into darkness. It blares through the room, giving my people knowledge that their princess will help them. Will always be at their aid.
A shot rings out, blasting through the light, and at first, I think I'm too late. But then, a man, a bender of metal, a magnetron, his face barely visable, but I can see it. Ptolemus. He's always had the sharpest reflexes. And with my fire lighting up the whole room, its easy to spot the rest of them, all scrambling because their plan at murder has failed. Two more shots ring out through, but their easily stopped by Evangeline, though one hits a lady's leg. For once, I'm happy Evangeline's on our side.
Sentitals catch the rest with ease.
But it was then, when I hear it. I can feel it coming. I can feel it before anything else.
My head turns, and I feel like everything is in slow motion. I see him, I see Cal. He's trying to help a lady who was shot, but I see it. Small, barely visable, and very, very close to Cal.
A bomb.
"Cal!" I scream, my voice isn't very clear in the jumbles of screams of fear. But somehow, Cal turns to face me. He hears me as I run.
I push him out of the way, and he stumbles when this ear shattering sound echoes past my ears. For the first time in my life, I'm truly worried for my life as this pit of sickening darkness pushes me past the cliff.
And all I can truly do is fall.
*E*
Author lady, ummm... there wasn't actually a bomb. You know that right?
Of course I do, figment of my imagination. But because of the fact that this is a fanfiction, therefore, I can do anything I want, I decided to add it in, just for laughs and a dramatic plot change.
So... yeah.
Laughs and Giggles,
Emily
