Chapter Thirty-Two
"Welcome to the Sunset Hotel. Please present a valid photo I.D with your form of payment," the young man behind the counter drawls, not even looking up at me. I slide my I.D and some money Axel gave me onto the magazine he's reading. He scowls slightly before taking my money and I.D. He examines my I.D with a bored expression, but his brown eyes quickly grow wide. He looks from the card to me to the card and back to me. "Y-Y-You're the princess!" he exclaims. I give him a half smile.
"Yeah, that's me. Look, do me a favor and don't go making a big deal about me being here. I'm trying to keep it quiet," I tell him.
"Of course! Oh, my gosh, I can't believe this. You wouldn't mind at least meeting my parents, would you? They're the owners. My name's Hayner, by the way," he says quickly.
"Nice to meet you. Yeah, I'll meet your parents, but could I just get a room first?" I say, trying not to sound rude. He grins widely, obviously not taking offense.
"Sure, no problem. Here ya go," he says while handing me a key.
"Thanks. Is it alright if I meet your parents tomorrow? I've had a bit of a long day." He nods excitedly.
"Yeah. You can meet them over breakfast." I nod and spare him a smile before turning to go find my room.
I find my room fairly quickly, toss my bag in the corner, and flop down on the bed with a sigh. I stare up at the ceiling unblinkingly, still numb to the events of this evening. I know it'll probably hit me in a few hours or in the morning, but right now, I just can't bring myself to feel anything about this evening. I sigh and crawl under the covers, not even bothering to change into pajamas, and let blissful darkness engulf me.
I wake in the morning to the sound of birds chirping outside the window, and I'd like nothing more than to have a bow and a bunch of arrows right now. I groan and roll away from the sound, and the events of yesterday wash over me. I can see Axel's ferocious face behind my eyelids and hear his hateful words. A mixture of anger and sadness spreads through me, and hot tears slide down my face. I bite down onto my knuckles, not wanting to cry out, and let the tears keep coming. I'm glad I'm getting the chance to fix everything, but what I've had to lose to gain that chance is killing me.
In a perfect world, my family would still be alive, and I would've inherited the throne with no resistance. Axel and I would've randomly met one day and fallen in love like people are supposed to and had a great relationship, maybe even have gotten married one day. In a perfect world, I wouldn't have had to sacrifice love for duty. In a perfect world, I wouldn't be in this hotel room crying my eyes out while birds chirp happily outside.
The world isn't perfect, though. It never will be. For this, I cry harder.
After cleaning myself up and putting on clean clothes, I walk into the lobby to find Hayner talked animatedly to his parents. As though sensing my arrival, he turns around and grins widely.
"See! I told you guys I wasn't hallucinating! Though maybe if you guys didn't work me so hard you wouldn't think I'm having hallucinations," he says. His father claps him lightly on the shoulder with a smile.
"Gotta earn your college tuition someway, son," he says lightly before turning to me. He scrutinizes me for a moment with a serious expression before fixing me with a wide grin similar to his son's. "I'll be damned. Kid isn't going crazy after all." I shuffle my feet awkwardly.
"Um…hi," I say lamely. The man chuckles, and Hayner's mother clucks at her husband.
"You're making the poor girl embarrassed, honey!" she admonishes before smiling at me. "Come on, dear, how about some breakfast?" Her eyes are kind, and I feel an immediate fondness towards this woman. I nod with a small smile.
"That would be wonderful, thank you," I say, following the small family into another room. I realize the family must actually live in the hotel once I catch sight of the room. I've been lead into a small kitchen and dining room with a four-seat table. I sit down opposite Hayner as his mother shuffles about in the kitchen. Moments later, she's scooping scrambled eggs onto my plate and plopping pancakes down. She asks me what I'd like to drink and returns moments later with a tall glass of orange juice. I thank her, a little embarrassed by her fussing over me. We all start eating in silence before Hayner's father clears his throat.
"So, Princess-"
"Iris, please," I interrupt, wincing. I've never liked the formality. His dad smiles.
"Iris. What brings you to Twilight Town?" he asks. I bite my lip slightly.
"Uh…well… I guess it depends on how you look at it," I mumble. All three of them look at me expectantly, so I know I'll have to elaborate. "I'm trying to reclaim the throne from my…brother," I say hesitantly. The three of them shift nervously at the mention of him. "I would've just done that from my own place, but my…er…boyfriend and I had a fight about everything, so I had to leave. I guess I'm just here in Twilight Town until I figure out what I'm supposed to do next," I finish. After voicing everything, I feel absolutely foolish. What am I supposed to do next?
"That's…that's quite a goal you're going for," Hayner's mother says nervously.
"I know it seems insane, but I don't think it's impossible," I say strongly, trying to convince myself more than her.
"Man," Hayner starts with a shake of his head. "That's intense. I sure wish Roxas was here. He'd love this sort of thing." I choke on a sip of orange juice and begin sputtering and coughing.
"Did- coughcough- you say- cough- Roxas?" I spit out. The family is looking at me like I've suddenly gone crazy.
"Uh…yeah. He was a good friend of mine. Lived with us after his parents died," Hayner answers warily.
"Disappeared two years ago?" I ask. Hayner's eyes widen.
"Did you know him?" he asks. I run a hand through my hair.
"Uh…yeah, sort of. I knew him very…briefly," I say, averting my gaze.
"In the slave market?" his mother asks softly. My eyes snap up to hers, surprised she knows. I nod slowly. "I always figured that's where he ended up. I searched the markets for a year after he disappeared, but I never found him." Her voice is sad, and I feel terrible for this woman.
"No, you wouldn't have," I say quietly. Her eyes search mine, and I know she understands. Her eyes are suddenly swimming with tears, and I don't think I can handle it. I stand up. "I-I'm sorry. E-Excuse me," I say hurriedly, leaving the room before I can watch her tears fall.
I stay out of the hotel all day to avoid facing Hayner and his parents. I window shop, eat some ice cream, sit atop the clock tower, and send a letter to the castle guard. In the letter, I ask him to meet me at the same place as yesterday in a couple of days. Finally, I have no choice but to head back to the hotel. I'm thankful when I see the lobby empty and quickly scurry down the long hallway to my room.
A few hours later, I'm sitting by the window reading when there's a soft knocking at my door. I look up and raise my eyebrows before setting the book down and crossing the room. Standing outside the door is Hayner, looking down at his feet with a stony expression on his face.
"Can I come in?" he asks, not looking at me.
"Sure," I say, confused, before stepping aside to let him enter. I close the door and sit back down in my chair by the window. I watch as he paces the small room quietly, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, he nods to himself and stops to stare at me.
"You're planning on fighting your brother for the throne, aren't you?" he asks.
"Uh…more or less," I say vaguely.
"Well you're going to need some people to back you up, huh?" I nod, not seeing exactly where he's going with this. "I want to help you. Any way I can, even if that means fighting," he says resolutely. My eyebrows shoot up.
"Really," I say. He nods.
"Yeah. My best friend, a guy I considered my brother, is dead because of that bastard's policies and laws," he replies heatedly. I sigh.
"Well, if you really want to help, I suppose you better know the whole story first," I start before launching into the truth. I tell him everything the guard from the castle told me, and he doesn't interrupt me. When the story is over, I can't read the look on his face. After a few moments, he whistles lowly.
"Man, talk about family drama," he says, and I can't fight a small smile from forcing itself onto my lips.
"So you still in?" I ask. He nods.
"You know it," he replies immediately. I grin.
Maybe this will all work out after all.