The Twelve Kingdoms

You're Not Really There

/// Robin Hood

Time Control Kingdom ///

The leaves of the trees rustled above, whispering things only they could understand. Branches swayed in tandem, the light wind whooshing past.

Time was a lot like that. Invisible, but obvious by the things it did to its surroundings. It was a very useful tool for high profile thieving.

The rustling leaves partly concealed the sounds of a moving carriage as a dark silhouette of a man mingled in the shadows of the dark forest canopy. After a quiet moment, the staccato of horse hooves hitting the dirt path ceased, each leaf on each branch stilled mid-movement. Everything hushed to a stop. Everything but the emerging silhouette of the man.

His feet made no sound as he approached the frozen carriage. It occupied a stilled prince, his eyes closed and his head resting against the window, soft brown hair falling over his long eyelashes. The velvet cushioned bench he sat on, there was a small black box. Nikolai's hand reached for it, but froze at the soft voice.

"You can stop now," the prince whispered, eyes still closed. "I know who you are. I'll count this as you passing your interview, therefore your position is granted."

Nikolai stared in astonishment. "Your highness, you're not... affected?"

Malleville's eyelids fluttered open, revealing innocent brown eyes. He didn't look like he could be older than twelve.

"I would never consider hiring anyone with a power that affected me," he said, sitting up.

Nikolai composed himself, neutral frown back on his face, and cleared his throat. "Hiring? I don't understand what you're speaking of, your highness."

The corner of his lip lifted as he replied, "You've been trying to get my attention for a while now. And I'm giving it to you now. It's take it or leave it. You can go back to wasting your power on robbing the rich and staring at Anemone or you can interact with her everyday and remove all the crooked wealthy men you hate so much from their place in life."

The Prince's words resonated with a pang, but his lips twisted in a dead smirk. "You seem to be even more capable than the rumors, your highness. I accept your offer."

Malleville gestured to the black box. "A lock of Anemone's hair. Your key."

***

His first encounter with Anemone was a lot worse than he'd expected it to be. Maybe it was because he despised people in general, but every one of his sentences had a sarcastic bite to them, even if he didn't mean to.

Up close, her beauty was even more breathtaking than all the other times he's watched her from afar. But what scared him was how empty her eyes were. It felt like interacting with a shell instead of a real person; she was hidden behind an iron wall and he wanted to reach behind it and pull her out.

***

His first job was to assassinate a high-ranked official from the Earth Kingdom. It wasn't too hard. In fact, it was a bit satisfying. He was a greedy, power-hungry, self-centered aristocrat and Nikolai already stole from him once before. Not like it made a difference, though. But this time there was definitely a difference because he was dead.

That last sentence flitted through his thoughts as he wiped his dagger with a cloth, smile twisting his face ugly. He walked out onto the busy still street as the oblivious afternoon crowd began moving again, not paying attention to a darkly-clad young man with hair dripping over his eyes like ink and thin lips cemented into a scowl.

***

After his eleventh job, which consisted of murdering the Electric Kingdom's king (queen's special order), he didn't go straight to the tower. Instead, time stilled and he climbed up the tree he used to watch Anemone from. He hasn't been up here in a few months.

The relationship between them shifted during those months. He still talked to her in the same way as the first time, biting and a bit condescending. She never got angry, but she was mean. The soulless kind of cruel without showing a glimpse of emotion.

Despite his best attempts at covering it, she must have noticed the glances he dropped when he thought she wasn't looking. The ones full of longing and sadness and adoration.

He took out his key, a lock of her hair, running his fingers through it. It fascinated him, just how much power she had, whether she knew it or not. But the source of her power was Malleville, it was always Malleville. Without him she would be nothing. Without him she would be everything. Because if she didn't have Malleville, she would be Nikolai's.

Eventually, Nikolai went back to the tower and gave his report. When he was done, she just nodded and turned back to her desk.

"Anemone," his mouth formed those three syllables, but he didn't know how to continue.

"What is it?"

"Do you... actually like this?"

She turned to him, eyes widened, lips parted, the first genuine emotion of surprise. A weak breeze ruffled his hair and the papers on the desk.

There were a billion times he wanted to stop time, when he was a kid, when he was a teenager. He thought if he had a power like that, his life would improve tenfold, he would be able to do so many things. He wanted that power so much that sometimes it hurt. Eventually he was able to steal it and it was the happiest day of his life. But that feeling of powerlessness, of that strong desire to obtain something you can never have, he hasn't felt it since. He hasn't until now.

If only he could stop this moment and live in it for as long as he wanted. But his powers were neutralized the moment he entered the tower, he knew that. His fingers still twitched, with hope that it would work this time.

It didn't and the surprise on her face was replaced with stone once again.

"No. I no longer feel like or dislike for anything."

"But wouldn't you rather-"

"I chose this. And I don't regret it." She stood up from her chair and walked toward him. "This is your last day, you know. That was the last job."

His eyes widened. "What?"

"We don't need you anymore. In the contract it says that when we are no longer in need of your services, we are to give you a memory erasant and you won't ever remember of your time here."

She went over to one of the shelves and picked up a bottle of pills.

"But, I want to keep my memory."

"Of course, there is an option for that as well." She put the bottle back and began circling him. "You can stop existing, Nikolai, and when you leave this world, you can take those memories with you."

Nikolai sighed in defeat. "Just kill me then."

"Isn't it burdensome?" she whispered in his ear from behind. "All these emotions always clouding your decisions?"

"Isn't it tedious?" his voice came out pleading. "To see the world in gray? Your eyes used to be a brilliant green."

"With brilliant colors comes brilliant pain."

"I think I'd rather have the pain."

The clock ticked on the wall, whispering life and death to different people. The day was rolling to its end, the colors of the sky dimming themselves with time.

Wind was a lot like that. Invisible, but obvious by the things it did to its surroundings. It was a very useful tool for sucking out life.