The Cursed Queen

The Law of the land

The Facility was busy, to say the least; Mrs. Grangely was harsher; she spent most of her time hitting my injured hand with a long ruler when I'd get a question wrong. I'd see her smile once in a while when I allowed myself to wince.

I trained hard; It was only my second year being in the facility. I had bested Olivia, but it wasn't enough. I was slower than I was when I was on the streets. I had lost my edge. There were no second chances on the streets of Pyran. The gangs run rampant with adults lucky enough not to have made the cut. I had a family once, and that one time was enough of an experience never to make me want to have another again.

"Faster, Yemi. We don't have all day." Mrs. Grangely barks.

I ran faster around the track. A red-haired girl behind me curses as I speed up. Soon enough, Mrs. Grangely is in sight and frowns, holding her stopwatch.

"Yemi, it seems you want to be the next student to disappear. 1:01 isn't good enough for a student of your background; you've been running from the facility for 16 years, and this Is the best you can do." Her spittle dresses my face.

I clench my fist and walk away. The red-haired girl chases after me.

"Great work out there." she smiles.

I nod and continue walking away, she runs in front of me and stretches her hand out.

"I'm Sandy, by the way."

I shake my head mindlessly and ignore her. We head inside the building when the alarm blares. The dim lights are now entirely off. Bars slide over the windows throughout the building. I reach for my small knife in my pocket. I take off the sheath, and the silver object gleams, reflecting the little light the windows provide. I move slowly, forcing my eyes to adjust to the absence of light.

Then I hear people's shrieks reverberate in the halls. Someone grabs my arm, and I quickly stab the intruder's hand. I twist the blade before jerking it out and kicking them onto the cold surface. I run as my eyes begin adjusting to the lack of light in the area. I hear the person's footsteps behind me, and I rush toward Mrs. Grangely's office and latch the door.

I raise her rickety desk and shove it towards the door. Then add her bookcase and her office chair. Her window was the only one open. The intruder had found me and banged on the door. I gazed at the drop and concluded I'd break only a few bones. There are only two options in life, live or die. Then I plunged to my demise. I crashed into the dirt -roughly. I stood up quickly and ran. The guards had been missing, and I took my chance. That was my first mistake. I had bumped into someone; he was much taller than me and resembled a large animal.

"Look here, father, we've got a runner." he grinned.

My eyes widened; I couldn't be caught- no, I wouldn't be. I slashed his face with my blade. My second mistake, I hear his groan fade to the background. I turn, only to face his Highness, injecting me with a syringe. I try to fight; my body flails as I descend into darkness.

****************************************

I wake up only to be tied up in a chair, staring up at an angry Prince and a furious King.

"It's sweet you thought you could run; you should have seen your face when you thought you had made it." The Prince mocks.

I wanted to hit him, rip him apart. He loomed over me by a few feet like a large villain, though he was lanky. I could take him; he was a weak boy hiding behind the real power -the King. The King had been oddly quiet; he stared at me intently, inspecting every inch of my face. I stared back, noticing his features, his dark eyes. They were obsidian, void of any light. His face was sculpted, and his jaw was prominent. The King was pale, to say the least, his skin seemed to shimmer as the moonlight beamed on his skin. The veins on his body went from being visible to disappearing without a trace.