Little King

Paeton

The stony roads of Tawny Park are quiet. Silver star castle is barely visible in the low light. In my right hand I weave an arrow through my fingers, and in my left I hold an apple, which is a dim gingery color. Nothing like the apples at the castle, which makes me grimace. I left early this morning so i wouldn't have to deal with Trei. I shove the arrow in my pocket and raise the apple to my face, measuring it. I take a bite, frowning at the sour taste. It'll have to do, I don't have the money to but anything, or the willpower to face my brother, so I eat, choking down each bite. 

"Paeton!" Someone calls, and I flinch, turning to meet Tasha. She's put her curly hair up in a bun and she's wearing her favorite light green tunic. "How's Trei?" She asks, making lovesick eyes, and I nearly throw up my apple right there at her feelings for my twin. 

"H-he's fine." I mutter, tossing the apple core somewhere off the path. Several shops line the road on one side, and a wildly growing forest looms on the other. The town baker's apprentice, Karson, waves at me. I force a smile at him, wishing everyone in this town would leave me alone. Tasha follows my gaze, smiling at Karson. 

"He's sweet, and not much older than you." She chuckles, a spark of mischief glistening in her eyes. I frown, looking back at the forest. 

"You know I'm not looking for anyone right now." I mumble, glancing back at Tasha. She sighs. 

"You don't have a choice." I murmurs

"I should have a choice." I sneer. She looks sympathetic and I turn away, storming off down the path. It's not my fault she thinks my brother's so perfect. It's not my fault some king made a law. It's not my fault I was born as some commoner instead of being up there in the palace. Tasha leaves me alone, but by now Tawny Park is bustling, and people crowd the streets. I try to decide whether I should retreat to the forest or my house.  I can't stay mad at Trei forever, and the forest is risky, so I begin the trek home. 

Soon I leave the forest behind, enclosed by walls of houses and shops. Ms. Simone, the librarian, is instructing her apprentice, Yoko. Yoko has shortly cropped black hair that hangs in her eyes, and the sweetest dimples when she smiles. I wave, and she waves back. Yoko has been my only friend since me and Trei were sent here. She murmurs something to Ms. Simone, who nods. 

"How's it going?" She asks, running over to me. She just barely misses getting run over by a man on his horse. 

"Careful." I chuckle, inviting her to walk with me. Mother died when I was three, and Father was shipped off to fight in some war when I was six. When we arrived here to live with some cousin, Yoko accidentally got her hair stuck between our fence. Me and Trei had run over to help her, and we've been best friends since. She's been the one good thing about living here. In Tawny Park, your life is laid out for you, and you are forced to live it. Yoko was promised to Ms. Simone at age five, and I was promised to Mr. Greene. He owns a shop on the other side of town, and he's kind enough to give me weekends off. Yoko doesn't mind it as much as I do. She's lived here her whole life. Her parents decided what she wore, who she talked to, when she went outside. 

I often feel bad for her. My cousin was sent of to fight with father when me and Trei were thirteen, so we were legally allowed to look after ourselves.  I've learned that as long as I follow the rules, I can go unseen, and no one will bother me. We're coming up on my house, a neat little pale yellow cottage, surrounded by a white fence. Trei has taken to gardening, so the front of our house is lined with flowers I can't even try to name. Me and Yoko stop at the gate, and she turns to me, giving me a soft smile. 

"I can't make Ms. Simone mad, I have to go." She murmurs. 

"I know. I hope Trei isn't home." I mutter. She chuckles.  

"What'd he do this time?" She asks, and I huff. 

"He's just being annoying, pestering me about Karson." Yoko looks sympathetic. 

"I mean, he is perfect for you." I scoff. 

"It'd be perfect if I actually loved him." She sighs, and for a moment, she reminds me of everyone else in this stupid town. "You agree with them? You enjoy having every step of your life planned out for you?" I hiss at her, staring at my face reflecting in her eyes. She wets her lips. 

"No. But there's nothing we can do about it, huh?" She's been broken. Trei's been broken. Tasha's been broken. Our world has been molded into submission. Longing glistens in her eyes, and her fingers brush mine. "I'll see you later." She whispers, turning around and walking away. 

                                                                                ***

"Do you know how worried I was?" Trei snarls, glaring at me. I meet his eyes defiantly, anger burning in my stomach. He meets my eyes for a few minutes, and for a moment his stance scares me. He's muscular, his fists clenched, his jaw tense. He doesn't lean over, he stands tall. For a moment I forget he's my brother. Trei sighs. "I'm sorry." He mumbles, slumping into a chair across from mine. "I know how you feel about Karson, I'm sorry I brought him up, but you have to face the facts. Do you think I wanna go off and marry Tasha?" He stammers, and I wonder how'd she feel if she heard those words. 

"What are we even doing here? How does controlling us make King Talon feel any better?" I growl. "I remember when we lived in Willow Brook. The rising sun would light Ravenwood castle up, and everything was perfect. Father would take us to the pond." I sigh, and his eyes reflect the same grief I feel. 

"Everything was perfect." He mutters. He stands, walking towards his room. 

"Trei?" I call after him but he just looks back at me and smiles humorlessly. 

"Everything was perfect." 

                                                                               ***

"At least you guys aren't fighting anymore." Yoko shrugs, plopping down beside me. I chuckle. 

"I think I made it worse, he doesn't like it when I talk about father." I sigh, playing with blades of grass. We're sitting in a quiet meadow a few minutes walk from any roads. Ms. Simone was kind enough to give Yoko the day off, so we came out for a picnic. She unfolds a pale blue blanket and smooths it over the grass, pulling a few apples and loaves of bread out of a woven basket. 

"This is most of what I had at home. Plus, when we combine our earnings for the week-" She pulls out a chocolate cake, and I gasp. 

"How?" I stammer, and she grins, her eyes glimmering. 

"I have my ways." Chocolate cake has always been my favorite, and Trei jokes about how I have expensive taste. 

"This must've cost more than our earnings." I murmur, looking at Yoko, who just smiles her beautifully dimpled smile. 

"So, how's the store?" Yoko asks, shining an apple on her shirt. 

"Good, Mr. Greene caught something, but he's getting better." I say, catching an apple she tosses to me. "How's the library?" I grin. She groans, flopping back on the blanket. 

"Boring, quiet, full of old people." I chuckle, taking a bite of my apple. "Ugh, I'm so tired." She sighs, yawning. "Last night I got home at 2:00 because Ms. Simone wanted me to lock up." I glance at her quizzically. 

"Ms. Simone locks up at 10:00." I say. Yoko grimaces. 

"The clock was wrong." I laugh, and she throws a handful of grass at me. "How dare you!" I smile, standing up and offering her my hand. She takes it and I pull her up. Out of the corner of my eye I see something shift in the trees around us and I turn. "You good?" Yoko asks, and I flush. 

"Y-yeah, it was nothing." I say. For the rest of our picnic I can't help but notice the shifting in the trees.