Tears of Queens

15 - Leo

"Let's go!" Wyatt grabbed my wrist and pulled me out the palace gates and into the city for the first time. As we walked down Greenfield Road, I took in all the things around us.

The roads were lined with shops and restaurants, and all the people around us were filled with joy. We saw couples going into coffee shops and groups of people going into clothing stores and restaurants. As we walked down the street, I thought about how wonderful it was to get away from our responsibilities for a while, no training, no meetings, just a nice, leisurely walk down the main road.

"Look!" Wyatt pulled me out of my thoughts as he tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at one of the coffee shops. He grabbed my hand and led me to the door, the bell jingling as he opened it. We stepped inside.

The inside of the shop had raw white brick walls and a cement floor, with all different types of tables and chairs strewn across it. The kitchen was to our immediate left, and I could see a short hallway in the back of the small building, presumably where the bathrooms were. The walls were decorated with string lights and paintings, and there was a small metal staircase leading up to our right.

"Welcome to the Dragonfly Café! What can I get for you today?" a young guy, maybe around 19, asked us as we walked in. He was dressed in a black t-shirt that showed off his defined biceps, dark blue jeans, and a pink apron with the café's logo on it, a white dragonfly. He had a name tag that read, "William", and a series of doodles drawn in black marker up at the top of the apron.

I took a quick glance at the menu as Wyatt started to order for us. "What do you want?" he asked me quietly.

"You pick," I smiled at him as he finished our order and paid.

"Alright, your drinks will be ready in a few minutes. Feel free to take a seat, we'll bring them right over." William told us. We thanked him and went to find a seat, but all the tables were full. I took Wyatt by the hand and brought him up the stairs with me, into what looked like a small library. There were bookshelves against every wall, completely filled with books of all colors and sizes. There were couches and bean bag chairs all over the place, a few of them full, but most of them empty. Wyatt and I found a comfy couch in the far corner, mostly hidden by two tall bookshelves. I sat down as he went back to the top of the stairs so he could get our drinks, so the baristas would actually be able to find us.

While I waited, I decided to look through the selection of books around me. There weren't any I recognized, though there were a few that reminded me of books I had read before. I noticed that all the fantasy books weren't about magical worlds and distant kingdoms, but about the world I came from. The boring, mundane world of constant wars and capitalism. Were these people really that interested in our world? I asked myself. I glanced over at Wyatt, who was leaning against the wall next to the stairs, fiddling with the collar of his t-shirt. I saw one of the baristas come up the stairs and hand him two mugs, making him smile. He lit up the whole room. I loved the way his eyes closed when he smiled, I found it comforting. He nodded a thank you to the barista and made his way back over to me, handing me one of the mugs as he sat down.

"What'd you get me?" I asked him, smiling.

"Zerryflower tea with honey," he said nonchalantly, as if either of us had any idea what a zerryflower was.

"I'm sorry, what the hell is that?"

"I dunno, it sounded good," he shrugged and I laughed. I took a sip of the tea and I was pleasantly surprised. It was really good! "Is it good? Can I have some?"

I nodded and handed him the mug, watching for his reaction as he took a sip. "Woah!" He smiled widely and handed me back the mug.

"What did you get?" I asked him.

"Um, a latte with essence of ushrane," he replied, reading off the receipt. I gave him a look of confusion, causing him to chuckle and take a sip of his own drink. "It's good! Have some," he handed it to me. I drank some of it and immediately handed it back, making a face of disgust. I hated coffee, and the ushrane just amplified the taste even more.

"Don't like it?" he smiled at me as I shook my head, still making a face. I drank my tea to wash away the taste as I pulled a book off the shelf. "Birds of your Dreams", the title read. I flipped it open to the first page and started reading.

~

An hour later, we had both finished our drinks and were ready to head out. We put our books back on the shelves and made our way back down the stairs to return the mugs before heading back out onto Greenfield Road. We walked back towards the palace at a leisurely pace, not wanting to be thrust back into the chaos of royal life quite yet.

When we were about halfway there, Wyatt's phone started ringing. He fished it out of his pocket and answered it, holding the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Tala, what's up?" he asked, not expecting her call. His face contorted into a look of confusion and concern. "What? Kamran? We'll be right there," he rushed out and put his phone back in his pocket. He turned to me. "Kamran's in the infirmary."

"What? Why? How? We just saw him!" I furrowed my eyebrows. Wyatt shrugged and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers and starting to run, pulling me along.

When we reached the palace, Leila met us at the door and ushered us to the palace infirmary. When we entered, I saw Kamran laying on a hospital bed, his face pale. Tala was sitting in a chair with her back to us, her head in her hands. Leo and I rushed over to them and sat down next to Tala.

"What happened?" Wyatt asked her. She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I don't know! He called me and told me to come to his office, and then when I got there, he was sitting on his couch all bloody, so I brought him here. I don't know who did it." she had tears in her eyes as she explained. I gently reached an arm out to rub her back as I led her to sit down. I continued to comfort her as Wyatt talked to a nurse nearby and came back to tell us what happened.

"He was shot. With a gun. They don't know who did it," he said solemnly, sitting down next to me.

"Well, you know what this means!" Leila exclaimed, too happy for the current situation. We all looked at her, confused. "Time to start preparing for the coronation!" She gave us a wicked grin and sashayed away, her heeled boots clacking on the marble floor.