And Then... They Fell

CHAPTER ONE

Lilly

They aren't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be here.

The moment he walked through the doors; I saw him- I saw his face. His messy, brown hair and the confident puffed chest easily drew in your attention but what made him stand out most was the fact that he was the only five-year-old, or child at all, in sight. He was a child in a room full of the noblest people in the kingdom but that wasn't what filled me with fear when he walked into the room. No, I was filled with fear from the possibility of any one of them catching a glimpse of his eyes.

He turned and our eyes met; his pale purple eyes bore into my green ones as he saw me from across the room. As hard as I believed them to miss, I exhaled a sigh of relief when I glanced around and saw that everyone else was preoccupied and paid him no attention. They were all to preoccupied with themselves to notice the servers handing them food, how can they be responsible for noticing a young boy that doesn't meet their eye level; it helps, but it won't calm my nerves until he is out of here and safe.

He makes eye contact with me and gives me a small smile that holds no happiness- no matter how hard he is trying to make it appear. I give him a smile before giving him a small nod, signaling him to lower his face and his eyes. He immediately knows what I mean and moves to stand behind the woman, holding his hand, while also lowering his head, to be safe. I shift my gaze to the girl who is frantically looking around, clutching his hand. She shuffles them along the back wall before seeing me. Clara.

Sometimes I don't know why she is in my life- this is literally the worst place she could have brought him. If I wasn't so scared I would be furious with her, later- I don't have time for that now.

I feel angry they are here, happiness they haven't been seen, and a million other emotions rushing through me as I make my way towards them but the one that stands out, that I can feel in every inch of my body, is fear.

"What happened," I say as calmly as I can when I finally reach them but am unable to hide the firm undertone in my voice. Clara seems to become more frantic letting me know that, though I act and sound it, my eyes are anything but calm.

"Guards," Clara says in a hushed voice, but you can hear her earnest in every word. She doesn't need to say anything more and I thought she would leave it at that, but she starts rambling, in hysterics, trying to explain everything, "I don't know how many there were, I didn't have time to look. I mean there was time, but I couldn't think. They have never been so close before, so I just took him and ran. All I could think about was the look on your face if you came back and he wasn't there and if they took him. I saw them, and I panicked. I know you taught me not to but actually seeing them is different and I-I don't know. I didn't know where else to go or who else I could trust and I know this is the last place he should be, but, you know, he's little, they won't notice him right? And he is with you, even if they're here I still thought it would be the safest place, right? You can keep him safe, can't you?" She is on the verge of tears now, barely holding them back, as she is clearly frustrated. I raise my eyebrows and glance behind me, knowing all I will see are self-centered and cruel nobles. Despite the fear I feel I can't help but role my eyes when she says this. She follows my glance and one look around the room and she knew he most likely would be noticed, and it's a surprise he lived long enough to reach the back wall. Her face changes to one of understanding, guilt, and fear as she realizes the gravity of the situation; the gravity of that him being here actually was.

I ignored her because couldn't think about that right now. He is here, and there is no changing that. I had to think of a solution, any way to get him out of there unnoticed. I tried to think and understand how they got past the guards but come up blank. All the doors were flanked with two guards who, since the death of the last king, have been hell-bent on keeping this king safe. I quickly dismiss that thought knowing that though she could be an idiot at times she knows how to get in places she shouldn't, it was the first thing I taught her. I shake my thoughts away remembering that it didn't matter how they got in, it only matters how we get out and we wouldn't be getting out the way they came in, or they would already be gone. Neither of us know a way out.

There is a way, and I am damn sure going to find it, I thought knowing the conviction and promise behind that thought. He will make it out, with or without me.

I give Clara a quick reassuring smile, trying to ease her nerves before crouching down to Charlie's height to gauge what he is thinking and feeling. He appears to be as carefree as always with his adorable, closed mouth smile that seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face, along with his always confident stance. If I didn't know him so well, I would believe he was perfectly fine.

If I didn't know him so well, but I did. I knew better than to believe a smile. His confident stance was more ridged and stiffer than was normal and though his smile was present, so was the growing fear in his eyes that he was trying so hard to hide. He was smarter than people gave him credit for; he knew what could happen and how dangerous it was to be here, I made sure of that.

As I open my mouth to offer him comfort, the King begins speaking loudly, voice booming across the room from his place behind the podium, on the stage, across the room. I opt for a quick ruffle of Charlie's hair to try to calm him. Everyone quiets and I stand up, pushing Charlie behind me gently, as the king makes his announcement.

"Since the fall of house Brando, my family has ruled this kingdom..."

I take this opportunity to look at my surroundings. My gaze begins on the right and I see an older lady walking closer to the crowd before settling into a seat and hanging on every word the king says- I would have laughed in another situation. Dismissing her as a threat my gaze continues to sweep across the room. No one is close enough to us to have noticed Charlie or his eyes, but I continue looking anyways, taking extra precautions. My heart skips a beat when I look to my left and find two men. I can't believe I missed them at first, especially when both men are so astonishingly handsome.

One man is laughing and talking to the second man, paying the king no attention. The second man however is paying the man, nor the king any attention at all, as his eyes are fixed intently, unwaveringly on me.