Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Crow Bait

It was nearly 11PM when Princess Julie walked out of her bedroom with Flynn, arm in arm. Luke stood back and watched them walk down the hall in a laughing fit, waving at Reggie before following behind them. He hadn't seen Princess Julie behave so open and free. Hearing her laugh echo down the hall and watching her curls fall out of her messy updo reminded him that she was also a teenager. A teenage girl with her best friend to say the least.

They ended up at the wood castle doors which were at least 30 feet tall, the bullet hole from the banquet covered poorly with white puddy. Luke stood five feet away from them as they whispered goodbye and final messages, and he watched Julie's face for a chance to get a glimpse of her smile. He did, and it was radiant.

Flynn turned to look directly at Luke and took her phone out of her pocket, walking over to hand it to him. He mechanically took it, but he was confused. "Sorry for being a little dramatic earlier," she said with a sheepish smile. Julie was standing with her arms crossed in the back, but Luke couldn't read her face. "Can you put your phone number in," she asked him. "Just for emergencies?"

"Of course, Lady Flynn," Luke said, trying to remember his number and his formal training on how to address a lady of the court. "And don't worry about earlier. It's all in the past." He felt like the more he talked, the more educated he sounded to them. He typed it out and called the number, feeling a buzz in his pocket. He hung up and handed back the phone to Flynn who seemed to be examining his face.

"Thank you." She took it back and wasted no time asking, "How old are you?" The Princess let out a sign in the background, and Luke let himself be amused for a second before realizing she was asking him.

"Seventeen," he answered. Did him and Reggie look that young? Flynn looked at him with raised brows, tippy-toeing to get closer to his face. He nervously leaned back, not sure what the Lady was looking for.

"And they gave you this position?"

Princess Julie walked up and guided Flynn towards the door by the shoulders. "Time to go now, Lady Flynn."

"We were talking!" Flynn complained but before Luke knew it, she was out the door and Princess Julie shut it closed, only nips of cold air managing to slip in. She put her hands in her pockets and walked past Luke, leaving him to play catchup without acknowledging that he was there. He didn't know why it made him glum when he was just there for a job.

Luke and Reggie switched off sleeping on the marbled floor a couple hours each as soon as Princess Julie had gone to bed. It was at seven in the morning that a housemaid ran to them, out of breath, and apologized for not showing them where their room was. Reggie couldn't call them cheap anymore.

Luke's back and neck ached, but he was thankful that it was only for one night. He let Reggie "test out" his bed after they brushed their teeth for the first time in an entire day, and he stood guard in the hall. He hoped they would have coffee at breakfast, but he remembered the Princess didn't go out much so he couldn't possibly need it so badly. At the academy you only got coffee privileges if you marked in the top five for the week. He could probably nap standing up in the hallway, waking up when her room door hit his back. But he didn't want to risk it. If he could stay awake for over 70 hours during training, he could probably manage with the few hours he got.

He didn't know what time the siblings went to breakfast, but at 8:30, Reggie was scolding Luke for letting him sleep in for so long. "Relax, dude," Luke told him, pointing at Prince Carlos' shut door. "He's still asleep."

"I thought the royal family is up by 6:30 and goes to bed by 9 or something."

"I think they like to party a little," Luke said. The entire kingdom was full of towns that celebrated any little thing. At the knight academy, they once threw a party because they all got new undergarments.

It wasn't until 9AM sharp that the Prince and Princess walked out of their rooms at the same time and walked down the hall to their dining room, Prince Carlos loudly telling her about his dream from the night before. She seemed very attentive to him, and it made Luke smile, knowing the fiery girl could be so loving.

While Reggie and the Prince were out having an adventure, Luke stood quietly in the hallway. He had a few messages that he answered and then deleted before returning to his blank staring. He had to find a hobby to keep him entertained in the hallway because he was already losing his strings of sanity. He regretted leaving his guitar at the knight academy barracks. He thought he'd be back sooner.

The door opening took him by surprise, and when he turned to look, the Princess was looking at him. She looked disappointed to see him, but he felt a little better knowing his existence was being acknowledged. She looked like she was going to say something, but she didn't, walking away.

Luke followed her out the castle, past the gates where he was greeted by a few familiar faces from the knight academy, and down a stone road leading to the town square. There was more guards out than usual, mostly all of them new placements fresh from the academy. He recognized every single one he passed, and he politely nodded at them as they bowed their heads for the Princess walking by.

She said hello to a few towns folk who were walking by, and they smiled when seeing her. Luke couldn't see her face, but he knew she was smiling back at them. He didn't think it was an act she was putting on, but he figured it was hard for her to smile at all.

He didn't recognize most of the town as they left the square- even with the academy's occasional trip to the castle. The academy was in the next town over, and this town of Montserrat seemed to be a place for the well-off people of the kingdom. Not exactly rich, but they didn't struggle. The rich people, Flynn he assumed, lived in their own gated neighborhood a little way out of town. Not too far from the castle. Him and Reggie had a friend that lived there.

Not knowing where they were going, Luke was a little put off by realizing they were soon at the cemetery gates. It made him feel tense knowing the Princess could start to cry at any moment, and he'd just have to stand there and watch her. What else could he do?

He tapped his fingers on his legs in a rhythm to distract himself, as she walked in. They passed many graves, some ancient and falling apart with their scripts barely legible and others brand new with flowers freshly cut by their loved ones. There was a gated corner of the cemetery that Princess Julie stood in front of. It wasn't very large, but it had mostly statues unlike the other graves in the cemetery. Luke looked closely at the top of the gates and read the words Royal Cemetery. There was a single crow perched there.

Princess Julie turned to Luke and said, "Can you wait here? I'm just going to see my mom." Luke nodded and she walked in, not very far from his sight. He felt discourteous looking at her, so he turned away and looked around at the empty graveyard. The skies were blue, but giant clouds loomed the threat of rain over their heads.

A while went by and the Princess hadn't left her place. Luke turned around and realized he couldn't see her anymore. He walked past the open gate to find her. "Princess?" he called out. He hoped she wouldn't scold him for interrupting whatever she had going on.

He walked all the way to Queen Rose's grave before realizing she was gone.

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A/N: Hehe