A KINGDOM UNDONE , original

three

[ AMAYA HALE ]
[ ACT ONE : THE BLOOD MOON ]

The next few days, Amaya and Sebastian were getting familiar with each other's rhythms and schedules. Amaya found that he liked to sleep in late while she could be up at the crack of dawn if she was summoned. He liked to have breakfast, she would like to run head first into work. He was a beloved king, she was a forgotten princess.

Amaya was sitting on the floor of their bedroom, surrounded by red candles and white crystals that were used in a summoning ritual. But this wasn't that. She was just meditating. Trying to calm down. Not that she was angry or angsty. Her mind was racing, though. Sebastian. The Council, she's only met once. Sophia, her most trusted friend in this strange world. John, her best friend, filling her up with nectar and bringing her books.

She sat there crosslegged, her hands on her knees and mumbling the spell underneath her breaths, the once familiar words coming out shakily and stammering out of her mouth. She thought of all the spells she used to cast and how now she was barely able to do the simplest of magic. Sophia's right, Amaya thought grimly. John was miles ahead of her.

She let out a frustrated yell, blew the candles out and gathered the crystals that she hid in her sock cabinet in the closet. Amaya walked out the door and pouted when she realized that she had no idea where she wanted to go. She had no idea where anyone was and she hated that. Being left alone was one thing, not knowing where everyone else was, was unnerving her.

She wandered the halls, went upstairs and down into the kitchen before she finally found the door to the courtyard. She breathed in the fresh air, it still smelled like fresh rain considering it only rained three days ago. The were wildflowers planted in the rectangular courtyard, all along the stone walls keeping this castle somewhat safe. Many of which she didn't know the name of. But she didn't care about the flowers now.

She was outside, and alone. And she cherished both. No one was there to chastise her or tell her to hurry back inside. She took a few steps further towards the gate and was surprised at the guards that opened it for her. She stepped over the non-existent, but palpable threshold and wandered over to a path where a sign told her it would lead to the falls.

Amaya took off, running down the path. But soon, she found, she didn't feel exhausted or sweaty. She felt incredible the more she rushed down the road, passed a few cabins that didn't particularly stand out to her until she was near the falls and one, dark blue colored cabin did. Her breath now, in fact, hitched and she put a hand to her chest, feeling her heart race and jump against her hand. She sat down before the porch in the damp, green grass and stared at the house. The wrap around porch was renovated as she remembered it to be grey and with broken down wood, but now it was a freshly painted white and clean and looked like a home. She couldn't take her eyes off the pots filled with flowers and the two seat bench on the porch.

Amaya pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on one, blinking away a well of tears that had built up in her eyes. She stood up when she felt a warm, electric energy fizzling in the air behind her and turned around to a green portal opening. It was round and golden and spewed crystals from every side that dissipated mid air. It was well large enough to fit her and Amaya tried to summon her magic inside her. She willed it to come forward but she had been out of practice for far too long, so she simply stood there. Sebastian had a bag in each of his hands and looked at her with a furrowed brow after he came through the portal, the magic closing behind him.

He dropped the bags and they hit the grass with a soft thud as he walked toward her, "What are you doing here?" He whispered and his hand reached out to her face before he knew better and pulled it back. She hastily wiped the tear stains away from her cheeks but her face was puffy and her eyes red. She had been sitting there and crying and cursing for a while. "I wasn't running." Her voice was small and quiet. "I just wanted to see..." she hesitated, looked in his face for something that could tell he was mad, or disappointed. But he wasn't. His eyes held unspoken questions, unspoken worries. It was like the time he saved her from herself when she fell out of the sky and held her. "just anything else beside the same four walls."

He might not have been mad or disappointed in her, but she was in him. Not disappointed, at all, simply mad. But she swallowed it down and put her arms around her body as she asked, "What are you doing with the bags?" she nodded to the brown, leather bags on the grass. His gaze fell to the ground and he smiled, "They're your clothes." Oh, so he was kicking me out, fantastic!, she thought. But he proved her wrong. "Mine are already inside." Her brows furrowed together in confusion and her head tilted to the side, looking at him incredulously. "What?" She asked softly.

"I figured- if you're okay with it-" he paused and sighed, "We spend a few days here. Just us. And if you have any questions, you are free to answer them without anyone else listening expectantly. Back at court it can sometimes feel like everyone wanted to know your inner most thoughts all the time. Here, there's no one but us." She nodded slowly, biting her lip as she weighed her options. Stay here for a few days, get some solid answers he couldn't possibly escape or go back to court where everyone seemed to be tugging at their sleeves. It was too easy. Both of them knew that. "Are there still two bedrooms?" She muttered then, looked up to him and found herself stepping up to him. He nodded to her questions but the spark in his eyes disappeared. Like he seemed disappointed now.

"There are. You can go ahead and choose which one suits you more." He told her in an equally low voice. "Just-" she breathed deeply in and out, "Who's handling our affairs?" He was taken aback by her question and then he let out a humorous chuckle, "I asked Sophia to step in while we are away. She knows we are well and that we can handle ourselves. She also packed your bags for you." Amaya nodded then, whispering an Okay before she turned around and carefully stepped onto the porch and inside.

She remembered that downstairs was a kitchen, dining room and living room while upstairs where two bedrooms separated by a hallway and at the end of it was the bathroom. She went upstairs and stood in the middle of the hallway on the wooden floor, to each side was a bedroom door.

She heard a soft thump and figured Sebastian brought the other two bags in, dropping them next to the others at the bottom of the staircase. She heard his footsteps on the stairs and sighed then, bringing a hand to her neck before she turned around to him just as he came up into her view. "One thing-" She said and her gaze met his. "Whatever it is..." Amaya didn't let him finish, "Don't ever hurt me." She whispered, her hand still around her neck to comfort her. "Please." She added softly.

Sebastian closed the space between them, bringing his hand up to the one holding onto her neck and pulled it softly away before he moved his own up to her cheek. "Do you trust me?" He said and Amaya looked again in his brown eyes, searching for anything. But he has been honest with her, this entire time. Has not let her out of his sigh and defended her when they stood before the council. He saved her life and only ever asked for her trust and understanding. Sebastian was not a bad man. He was everything that Amaya came close to wanting. "I do." She brought her hands to the side of his face as his fingers trailed down to her lip, dragging her bottom lip down before his lips came crashing down on her own.