Weeew...it's said I have vacation, but my part-time job is making me work fulltime.
Let's run!

Chapter 11: Sides of Life

Max wasn't exactly right.

As Drew wandered through the hallways of the seemingly empty castle, he let his mind run free. He wasn't sure what to think at all. He couldn't admit the situation to himself better even.

He knew he cared for the princess. He immediately frowned upon this thought. 'I'd have to correct that,' he thought, 'I like May.' Then he backtracked his stream of thoughts and halted in his tracks as his eyes widened. 'What?' he thought, but the unspoken words were already resounding through his head.

Even if they weren't spoken, they had been painfully clear. And he caught himself thinking it. Drew wondered if he could say these words out loud too, and sneaked in another abandoned hallway, a small corridor rather, and took a deep breath.

"I like May," he spoke out load, tasting the words that lingered on his tongue. To his surprise it hadn't been as hard as he had thought it would be.

He groaned as he slid down against the wall, he had been leaning against.

"Now what?" he mumbled. He watched a torch on the wall shimmer and throw shadows. Drew knew he could have everything he wanted, without really having to ask for it. But things were complicated, more complicated than he wanted, and needed it to be.

Sighing, knowing exactly what should be done, he made way to the royal family's personal chambers. He was glad he didn't met anyone on the way. Even if he was proclaimed a special case, and whatever he was or was not, Drew wasn't sure he'd be excused for being here.

Lady luck wasn't on his side.

"What are you doing here?" a girl's voice asked.

In his bothered thinking, he hadn't noticed the girl walking down the hallway. "Hey! I recognize you! You are May's friend," he said surprised when he recognized the flaming red hair.

Misty smirked at him, "Yes, I am, Hayden. My name's Misty," she said. Then she frowned, "You look bothered,"

Drew rolled his eyes, "I might look bothered if I am bothered yeah, smart one," he replied cranky.

Misty crossed her arms, "Don't go all smart-ass on me. May might be charmed by it, but I am not, and I am still in more power than you," she said.

Drew smirked, "You might want to take a second guess, as of such I got promoted to commander," he said.

Misty raised a brow, "Do you want to explain what you were doing here then, oh mighty commander, I'm sure everybody is immensely interested?" she threw back. "But this does change the case."

Before Drew knew it, May was pulling his arm and stumbled after her. "What the...?" he let out surprised.

Misty chuckled, "Consider yourself lucky I didn't make a notice of you being here. You are somewhere where you just shouldn't be. So you be quiet," she said.

"But you haven't told me anything," Drew protested.

Misty turned around sharply, "I said, be quiet, alright? Right now, I am doing something I shouldn't but I hate seeing the princess more than anything. And apparently, you are at the core of it," she said.

Drew closed his mouth for a moment in uncertainty and Misty pulled him with her again. "Why are you doing..."

"...Something I shouldn't?" Misty finished. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm bringing you to the female quarters, a place where no male except for the prince and the king is allowed."

Drew kept quiet, not daring to retort to this headstrong woman.

Misty stopped and knocked on a door. "May, please get up!" she called sternly.

"No!" sounded a muffled voice from the inside.

Misty sighed, "I guess there is no helping it then," she said. She opened the door and then pushed an unsuspecting Drew inside before closing the door again. Drew stood there in the portal of the room, not knowing what to do now.

May was lying on her bed, facedown. "Misty, I just said that I want nobody to disturb me," she said without looking up.

Drew crossed his arms, "I don't care for such a wish however," he said quietly.

May raised her head from the pillow with a snap. "What are you doing here," she spat, stressing the addressing. "This place is off-limits for soldiers.

Drew sighed, "Would you turn around and look at me," he said impatiently.

May growled, "Who are you..."

"Look at me!" Drew ordered.

Shocked, May turned around on the bed, sitting up. "What!" she sputtered, astounded.

Drew smirked, "Good, now that I have your attention," he said, pleased that she was facing him now but May wasn't it taking it that way.

"You are in no right to talk to a princess like that, you...you..." May stuttered, unable to find the right words in her rage.

"I am...?" Drew asked mockingly. He put a step forward, and leaned with his arms on the high footboard of the bed. "My dear spoiled princess. I am currently only beneath the general in rank. I'd appreciate you not putting me down like that," he said.

May's eyes turned wide,"But how?" she asked.

Drew smirked, feeling a little smug, "Your father gave me all of Gar's tasks and privileges. He thought it was a wise step to make me commander."

May closed her eyes and rubbed her sleep, "I should talk to him about making unthoughtful decisions soon," she muttered.

Drew crossed his arms again, a frown edging in his face, "Is there something wrong with me?" he asked.

May sat up straight, "Do you have any idea how to command an army?" she asked.

Drew snickered, "I know how not to, so it's not like I don't. Just do anything Gar didn't and the other way around," he answered.

May laughed softly, "Why are you here? There is nothing for you to find, and I don't believe you'd take so much pleasure in mocking me," she said quietly.

Drew shook his head, "There is something though, that I need..." Suddenly he hesitated. He hadn't thought it through well. And now he couldn't find the words. In his mind he grimaced, 'There's no way I can be with her, even with her father's permission,' he thought. He sighed, "Never mind. There's nothing to discuss," he said to May, who had been awaiting his response.

He turned abruptly and went for the door, "Absolutely nothing," before closing the door behind him.

He left a very confused May. She blinked to herself, "Why did he sound sad? And what was that all about?" Not unexpectedly, nobody answered her.

Someone knocked on the door, "May? Are you there?" came the voice of May's best friend.

"Yeah,"May breathed.

Misty entered, "Why are you sad?" she asked.

May shrugged, "I don't know, I mean, I don't have to marry, there are no close people dead and that war is over. I don't have a reason to be sad."

Misty smiled, "But you're in love," she said simply.

May looked up shocked, a deep red settling in her face, "I am not!" she spluttered indignantly.

Misty laughed lightly, "You are sad because that soldier sees you as a princess." May did not reply and Misty sighed, "Come on girl, I want to show you something."

Before long, the two females found themselves on the courtyard. "Remember this place?" Misty asked.

May stared at the poles, on which last time she had stared at them, Drew had been tightly fastened with ropes. "Yeah, I guess I do," she said.

Misty nodded, "You see where you are standing now, right?" she asked.

The princess looked carefully. Truthfully enough, she was standing at almost the same place as last time, and now too, she was staring down, where the Drew in her memory was still fastened and beaten. Misty took her hand, "Now, look like this," she said as she guided May to the place Drew had been in, on her knees and all. It was a good thing the yard was empty.

Instead of looking down, May was now forced to look up, and from this perspective, she found the towers of the castle point out in the pale blue-grey sky. "This was Drew's sight, right?" Misty muttered.

May nodded, "It was,"

Misty smiled, hearing the breathless voice of her friend. She was impressed with the change of view. "Then come with me once more."

Drew angrily hit the wooden training pole: it shattered slightly and ripped the skin from his knuckles. He stared at it, not realizing he should be in pain, and the blood flowed over his hand..

"Dude, you look messed up," a voice came, and Drew realized that he wasn't alone anymore.

"You should pay me some respect, you know," he commented dryly.

Ash chuckled, "Very well, I should. But I'd like to think myself more than one of your subject you know, You should consider me a friend buy now. And as a friend, I am equal to you," he said as he sat down on the wooden fence near the pole.

"Really now?" Drew replied.

Ash sighed exasperated, "Tell me what's wrong already," he said.

Drew sank down against the pole "Life doesn't want me happy, that's what's wrong." He said glumly.

Ash peeked an eye at him as he closed them in the sun, "That's not a reason. I am a stable boy. I don't own much, but I am happy. Now tell me the real reason," he said.

Drew sighed annoyed, and bared his back for Ash to see. He knew, he had felt it, that there was a sight of horrid scars. "Remember this. This was my punishment for deserting. But my nurse happened to be the princess of this land I supposedly deserted." He placed the tunic next to him on the ground. "I am not much of a noble man, yet she cared as if it didn't;t matter. I don't get it. What is it that people want me to do?"

Ash chuckled, "You fell hard for her, didn't you?" he asked.

Drew cocked a brow, "I can't remember I did."

Ash laughed out loud now. "You don't even recognize it? Let me tell you, Drew. The princess isn't just a princess. That is something she doesn't care for. When she aided you, she wasn't just May, right? It's the girl you fell in love with, not the princess," he said.

Drew groaned, "You tell me. Since when are you so smart? You should get more near-death experiences."

Ash laughed again, "I am not as dumb as I look. It comes convenient sometimes though," he said. But then he turned serious, "It's not so much what people want you to do, it's what you want to do. What's in your reach and what are you willing to grab. Those are the things that matter."

Drew laughed too, but his was bitter, "I have the whole world in my grasp. If I wanted I could take May as my wife and she'd had no say in it," he said.

Ash sighed, "But, that's not what you want is it? And that makes you sad right? Then ask yourself this, "Do you want her as your wife? When you come home in the future from long marshes, do you want her to be waiting for you, happy you're back home? Do you want her to be the one you'd caress in the deep of the night?" he asked.

Drew turned faintly red at the suggestion, but hey, he was a young man. He looked away however, "I want to make her happy, to make her feel safe , and if that's what it takes, then I'd make her feel loved. But I don't know if that's my place, and that I should be the one doing that. I don't know a woman's heart, lest what she desires. There are so many who do know, who know the noble's play and could make her live comfortably."

Ash sighed, "You're making this harder than it has to be. It's true that you're not a noble-man, but I've seen many families who are happy. There's no royal blood involved at all. Besides that, " Ash smiled, "You are noble of heart. If I was a girl, I'd have made up my mind pretty quickly," he said thoughtfully, tapping his chin.

Drew's face blanked, "You're creeping me out,"he said dryly.

Ash grinned, "You are a good man, Drew. If you want May to be your wife in every way, you'll have to ask her. She won't forget that you did that for her," he said.

Drew sighed, "Won't she just dismiss me, having the chance. I have hardly the feeling I am up to her standards," he said.

Ash resisted to hit the green-haired man, and sighed in response. After all she had done for him, did this man still not trust her of looking past birth? "If it's not you, it will be somebody else. Be prepared to let her go, or deal with the fact that she's someone you will always in some way look up to. That's why she's a princess. But answer me this: are there really people, you'd trust her to?" he asked.

Drew shook his head slowly. He didn't trust a single man to properly take care of her anymore. He knew man's nature. "I don't think so, I guess," he answered hesitatingly.

Ash grinned, "You see? You're a good guy, Drew, really, but I wouldn't trust Misty to you either. It's in our nature to be protective, perhaps a little too much. Protect what you love, and love what you protect," he said.

Drew laughed, "That hardly made any sense, stable boy!" he said.

Ash laughed as well, "I am not much of a philosopher, but it's true, isn't it?" He then saluted comically, "I do have my duties to tend to, sir. I ask permission to be dismissed," he said.

Drew snickered, "You have permission. Get your ugly face from my sight directly!" he joked.

Ash chuckled, "Yes, sir!" and ran off.

Drew's smile wilted. Even though the black-haired man had been very enlightening, he wasn't sure if he could ask May to be his wife. He knew he definitely didn't want the princess to marry somebody else. But claiming her for himself; it almost seemed like an arrogant thing to do.

He groaned in annoyance, and hit the pole with the back of his hand, still sitting against it. The dried blood let go and new blood flowed. It didn't solve the problem at all, but it did relieve stress fairly well. He wished the answer could come easily to him though.

If he thought objectively about it, it wasn't strange to marry young. At least, young like his age. Eighteen was a nice age. He also knew that is was to prevent a girl falling from grace. To prevent her from birthing bastards. He would know.

Besides that, people in the army would marry young as well, because every day spent was a day less you would die. Having a wife and children would produce fairly stable families, and men would fight braver to protect those precious to them.

Drew slumped back against the pole, and turned his eyes towards the sky. His own case wasn't so different, really. Commanders were supposed to have good families. He did not have one, not even his mother was a solid factor. That being said, he made a note to visit her sometime soon, to let her know he was still alive.

He sighed, he probably should marry. Especially in this rank he would have a high hit-rate, people wanting to take his life. Then again, he wasn't keen on leaving a woman with one or more children on her own. If possibly he wanted to be a father.

Drew groaned and closed his eyes. The answer should, concerning him, just on the wind.

This is going to be fun, I mashed all the chapters, and now, next chapter is way too short. I'll figure something out.

Meanwhile I apologize for the long wait, AND the fairly boring chapter. I'd say it's the calm before the storm, but I know differently. This is called a writers block.

Well, please review!