Outside My Comfort Zone (Original/Reuploaded)

Chapter 2: Danger

Kai POV

"You want to get married?" Nya repeats what I just said to her in shock.  I nod my head.  She has a look of complete shock and confusion on her face.  In all her life she had never heard me say I had wanted to have a girlfriend, no less a wife!  "Who are you?" She questions me.

We're currently in the dining room. Nya has just finished eating after a tiring day of royal duties. Sometimes, instead of eating as a family, my family members all just eat at separate times because we're too busy with our own things. I'm still dressed in my casual wear, but I've taken the beanie off and tied my sweatshirt around my waist again. I roll my eyes. "Seriously Nya? You know I can't take the throne without a spouse."

She leans back in her chair.  "Well yeah, I know that. But, I honestly took you for the kind of guy who would bend the rules and take the throne anyway, wife or no wife." She crosses her arms.

"Maybe that's what I would have wanted to do at first, but I've weighed my options and have found that I don't have one. It's either marry and take the throne, or don't take the throne at all."

"And you want to take the throne." She states sarcastically. She always gets annoyed when I mention becoming king. She'll cross her arms or roll her eyes while speaking in a sarcastic and annoyed tone. I don't get her.

"Yes!" I say in an annoyed voice. She knows that's my wish, so why keep questioning it? It's all I've talked about for years.

She puts her hands up in defense. "Okay okay, relax a bit your majesty." She mocks.

I growl and turn for the door. "I don't know why I tell you anything." I say as I close the door behind me and walk down the hall. I can feel the guards sneaking a glance at me, interested in our conversation. I say nothing, and continue to walk.

Nya and I used to be so close. How could things have changed so much over the years? I don't even know what happened. We just— grew apart I guess;  Our bond worn down over time like an old pair of shoes or like the wax from a tube of chapstick. But unlike shoes or chapstick, you can't just replace the bond between two people. Bonds are special, they're built up over trust, likeliness, and even love. It doesn't have to be romantic or sexual, it can be the love you have for your family or the love you have for your friends. Most love comes from platonic relationships, like with your siblings, acquaintances, and even pets.

I love Nya so much, but recently I can feel us growing more and more apart as the days go by. I don't know if it's me, her, or what. Maybe she just doesn't like the idea of me getting married? I don't know why she would be so against it though. What's so wrong with it?  I think as I walk up the long spiral stairs leading up to the royal family's quarters. It's a long, simple hallway leading to all of our bedrooms.

I emerge from the stairway and walk down the hallway to the very last door: my bedroom. I bend the handle and open the heavy door to reveal the room is just the way it was when I left, but darker from the evening light.

I cross the room to my big balcony. I open the glass double doors and get hit with a wave of fresh, cool air. Goosebumps appear on my arms and I rub them. I walk forward, all the way to the edge of the balcony, and look over the kingdom. As the sun sets, the last rays of light shine on all the metal or shiny surfaces of the buildings in the kingdom, causing smaller patches of golden light to shine away the shadows one last time before the sun dips below the horizon and the light disappears, never to be seen again until it rises again the next day. I take a deep breath as I lean on the stone railing and close my eyes. My mind becomes overwhelmed with peace.

After several minutes, I open my eyes again to see the sun has almost fully descended below the horizon, causing the shadows to become dominant and overtake the light. I look up to see the first twinkles of a new night in the sky, accompanied by the large moon, which is only half of itself at the moment. The soft breeze returns and so do my goosebumps, inviting me back inside and into my cozy bed. Taking the invitation, I turn away and walk back inside, closing and locking the doors behind me. I remove my shirt and pants and I replace them with red silk pajamas. Sometimes I think the pajamas are more fancy than my actual clothes.