The two walk through the darkness with the light of Comoros' flame to guide them through the dimly lit cavern. Cole leads the way as it seems he knows what he's doing. "This is the perfect place to stay while the war starts. We wont be able to stay here the whole time because I must protect my people, but it is a perfect place for now." Cole tells Viviana.
Now that Viviana is alone with Cole, she gets a fizzy feeling in her stomach. He signals for her to come sit down next to him. Once she does, he puts her arm around her and tells her everything will be okay. It's a good thing it's dark in here because if it wasn't, Cole would be able to see how her face turning bright red.
"So Viviana, I want to know more about you. You seem like a great person." Cole says.
"Oh, well, there's not much to know. I haven't had the most, exiting life." She replies.
"Well that's alright, you know, it's never too late for a full life. You just have to take opportunities." He tells her. And with that, he leans in.
There's a loud crash and a dragon growl. He backs up. He looks around and goes to investigate the sound. He turns back to her. "We need to go, again,"
With that, he starts running again. He runs to a door with a sign that says Castle dungeon. Cole pulls out a key and unlocks the door. They walk through a damp and dark room. It was lighter than the last room but it was not very bright. Viviana follows Cole to a staircase which leads upstairs to the rest of the castle.
They get up to the top of the stairs and enter the bright kitchen where a chef is preparing a meal. "How is everyone not panicking about the war?" Cole asks the chef.
"Oh we are, but your father is forcing us to keep working." He responds to Cole.
"Of course it's my father." Cole sighs. "He never has any sense of sympathy. He's so selfish! Take the time off go home! Do what you need to." He is such a sweet guy. Always thinking about other people. How is he even related to the king? He is the crown prince though so the king will one day be him. The chef likes the idea of that and goes home after thanking Cole for it.
Cole's father enters the room. The king. Here he is, standing in front of Viviana.
"Where did the chef go!" King Kendrick exclaimed.
"I told him to go home." Cole told him.
"Why would you ever do such a thing?"
"Because he has needs too, father. He doesn't live here. The whole world doesn't revolve around you." Cole snapped back.
"Last time I checked, I am the boss of you, not the other way around."
"I think it is good practice for me for when I take your place." Viviana is just standing there watching all this. She has no clue what is going on. She has no experience with royalty so she doesn't say anything. She just watches the two argue with each other.
"You will never take my place as long as I live." King Kendrick finishes telling Cole.
Viviana waits for Cole to counter, but he never does. He just nods in submission. The king walks away from the scene and yells at the people to get back to work.
"He will never understand that other people have need and can't do everything he wants all the time." Cole says. "What do you think Viv?" He asks her.
"Oh um, I think you're right about that he should be a bit less harsh on them," she replies.
"Exactly, but he just doesn't get it. He thinks he gets to run around like a dictator. This is all the prime minister's doing. He always tells father that the king has more power than anyone else," Cole explains to her. All of that makes sense to Viviana. Cole's father always acts in total control of the kingdom. Not like he does anything bad. The kingdom is typically a peaceful place. He just has some messed up morals.
Cole leads Viviana to a a sparkly clean room. It is covered from floor to ceiling with gold and silver. When she walks in she is almost blinded by the shining reflection coming off of the gold and silver.
Viviana looks around and sees three chairs. Technically they were thrones.
"This is the throne room. It's where father forces the servants to do things for him." Cole tells her.
"It is a very beautiful room, even if it is used for messed up things." And it is true. The walls of silver and gold have patterns of the kingdom's flag surrounded by fifty-seven stars as he is the fifty-seventh king to have ruled the kingdom of Rosentania.
"True. Father insisted on covering it with silver and gold as it is a way to show his superiority to the people."
That makes sense to her. It seems like the kind of thing that the king would do. Show your off that he has money that they don't. It really makes Viv sick since she grew up in poverty. How she had to lose her sister when she was so young. When she thinks about it, she thinks about how she lost her mother and how her father got drafted into the war. How she worried every day and night. How he eventually returned just do disappear a few weeks later. Once again she feels like she wants to cry. Cole notices this and asks her what's wrong. She tells him the whole story. She tells him all about how she lost everything and everyone.
Cole's sympathy is comforting to her. More comforting than anyone else's. Not like she gets much from anyone though. She's holding back her tears when she looks up and sees Cole leaning in once again.
