The Dark Sun

Chapter 3: New Feelings

     An arm wrapped itself around my middle back, while another one surrounded my stomach. This hand locked together at my left side. Without thinking, I swung my arms around the neck of my savior and held on tight. I closed my eyes and pulled up into this angel of a person.

     "Your Majesty, are you alright?" The voice said. It was a man. No, a boy. He sounded no older than 20. I opened my eyes and stared at this man. He was handsome. He had extraordinarily dark blue eyes, shaggy brown hair, and light freckles on his cheeks and across his nose. His skin was more of a pale tan, and his voice was strangely therapeutic. I snapped out of my trance and stood up, taking off my heels as I did so.

     "Yes, I am alright, thanks to you," I told him, "you saved me."

     He smiled, showing his snow-white teeth. I could feel my cheeks getting red. His smile was beautiful. The smile was crooked. It lifted slightly to the right side of his face, but that didn't matter. To me, it was the most perfect smile on the continent. I smiled, blushing hard. This boy looked down at my bare feet.

     "You need new shoes, huh?" He asked me. I chuckled a little bit. "Yeah, I guess I do."

     "Well, I know where they make some pretty good ones if you'd accompany me. Of course, they aren't good enough for royalty, but they are the best you'll get around here."

     I smiled even bigger and nodded. "Yes of course I'll accompany you there."

     With that, I picked up my heels and started walking next to him. About 20 steps later, he stopped.

     "Umm, Your Majesty?" He asked. I looked at him and tilted my head to the left. "Yes?"

     "Do you want to wear my shoes while we walk? I wouldn't want you injuring yourself. And before you say anything, I know my shoes aren't the best, but they are better than nothing, ya know?"

     I looked down at his shoes. It was the first time I had paid attention to what he was wearing. This mystery man was wearing overalls with one strap undone, a white shirt, and some dirty, broken-in boots. His shirt had a mud stain on it and his overalls were damaged too.

     "Oh, thank you so much for the offer. But I don't want you to hurt your feet walking on the road."

     "No, I won't I promise, I've walked barefoot all across the city dozens of times. I promise I'll be okay."

     I thought for a couple of seconds, then made up my mind. "Well if you are sure that you'll be okay, then yes, I will accept your offer. Thank you."

     He smiled and sat down. He took off his left boot, and then his right. Standing back up, he reached them out towards me. Then, halfway through the motion, he paused. "Should I be offering these for you to put on yourself, or should I be putting them on for you?"

     I let out a small giggle and extended my left arm out. "Don't worry I can put these on myself."  He smiled and placed his boots in my hand. I walked a couple of steps forward and sat down on a wooden bench. I felt the hard, rough surface of the dark brown wood. I lifted my right foot slightly and slid the shoe onto it. "So, my savior, you still haven't told me your name," I said to him as I tied the boot as tight as it would go. He looked at me and blinked.
     "Thesus. Thesus Davison."
     "Nice to meet you, Thesus Davison. As you most certainly already know, I'm Cassiopeia  Lodge."

     Thesus chuckled, "Yes, I am very much aware of who you are, Your Majesty."

     It was my turn to giggle. I looked him in the eyes, and what I saw looking back was something I had never seen before. It was an experience that I was unused to and something I could not explain the feelings I felt. I blinked, and the contact broke. I looked away and awkwardly laughed. He scratched the back of his head and laughed too. We continued to walk down the street towards the shoe shop. The street suddenly felt very empty. I looked around, feeling a little bit uncomfortable.
"Is it me, or did the city just get way too quiet?" Thesus asked. I looked at him and shook my head. "It's not just you, I feel that too. I think we need to go. Like, right now."
He nodded in agreement and we picked up the pace.
We had almost reached the end of the street when Thesus grabbed my arm to stop me. "Sorry, Your Majesty, but we have arrived."
I looked over at the building he was pointing to. It was a large structure built on the corner of the intersection. It was made out of a mixture of wood and stone. It had displays encased in glass on the walls near the brown mahogany door. 3 story building was built out of timber and daub, just like most other buildings in the city. The only buildings that were different were the royal properties, libraries, and the courthouse.
     The door was pushed open. A small bell rang. A man wearing a black top hat and suit walked out. He stopped and looked from me to Thesus, and then back to me.
     "Your Majesty," he said while bowing deeply. I smiled and nodded back to him. "I am excited to accompany you and your family tonight at dinner," he continued. "Give her Majesty the Queen my best for me, will you? I'm sure she'll recognize me. My name is Luthor Onyx."
     He smiled a very unsettling smile, staring directly into my eyes. There was something oddly familiar about them. The small, black, beady pupils. I had seen them before. Where have I seen you before? I asked myself. There were many places in the royal properties I could've seen a picture of him. The Whitemore Palace had an entire hallway, roughly 200 feet long and 40 feet tall, dedicated specifically for paintings. The beige stone walls were covered in exotic and rare paintings of animals, scenery, portraits, and more. Not to mention the Thornhill Palace had a room as big as a ballroom designated for paintings.
     I was still thinking about his eyes when Thesus spoke suddenly. "Well, that dude was creepy."
     I jerked out of my thoughts "huh? Oh- oh ya... he was..."
     Thesus looked at me with a quizzical expression. I looked at him and shook my head slightly. He changed his expression and nodded towards the door. "Shall we get you some new shoes then?"
     "Yes, yes we shall," I responded. We pulled the door open and walked in. The inside of the shop very much reflected the exterior. The walls were covered in dark wooden shelves filled with different shoes. The variety of shoes included heels, boots, slippers, Riding Boots, and House Boots.