Days of the Forbidden

Chapter 14

Clyde and I exited the blackness of the passage, squinting into the light of the new day. We took in deep breaths, and let them out as sighs of relief. We were alive: we made it out of the Evergreen Castle grounds. I couldn't even begin to imagine its condition, and I really didn't want to. As happy as we were, I couldn't help but feel an emptiness within. What were we to do now?

Clyde turned to me with a face covered in black soot. He had a tired smile upon it, but it shifted to a 'what now' look as he saw my expression. He came close and enveloped me in a tight hug. He pressed my head to his chest, kissing my hair, and breathing in softly. I could hear his loud heartbeat: quick with speed. I pulled away just enough to look him in his eyes and ask the tacit question aloud.

"What are we to do now?"

Clyde's smile returned as he took a step backwards. He waved his arms around, giving recognition to the wide open area. His bright beam came back to my direction, and I couldn't help but notice that he was being a little dramatic. I gave him a questioning look as I raised an eyebrow.

That's when he came tearing over to me, scaring me nearly to death before he lifted me up in his arms. He didn't give me much time to react before he crashed his lips with mine, and kissed me in the wide open area.

"Isn't it great," he began as though quoting something, "that it can be just you and I for one day? We can hold hands as we walk through the Evergreen Lands, and kiss as freely as we wish. On top of all that: it looks like we get to dance in the sun, on this free day of our lives."

Suddenly, a new realization occurred to me: Clyde and I were free out here. My confusion shifted to mere delight, as I gripped the back of his head and pulled him in for another deep kiss. Once our intimate session was over, I requested that he put me back on my feet. When he did so, I looked around. Endless amounts of green grass swayed ever so gently in the moderate breeze. The Evergreen Land truly was a gorgeous sight to see: especially for sore eyes; but it no longer had a glorious castle to match it.

Sadness washed over me once more, and Clyde tried to reach out and placate my grief, but it was to no avail. I began pondering all the possibilities that perhaps we weren't the only survivors from the onslaught. For all one knows: Clyde and I could go back to the castle and perhaps save a few souls, hanging on to their last threads of life.

"Clyde," I whispered desperately, "We have to go back."

"Go back?" Clyde scoffed. "Are you crazy Obadiah?" I gestured a small gap between two of my fingers, and yet I showed Clyde that I was being serious. "The enemy could still be there, Melvin."

"But what if they got what they wanted and left?" I argued back with volume.

"That isn't likely, considering they attacked at the Evergreen Castle's most vulnerable time: the night of the princess' wedding. They had been planning this, and there is no way they did it just for pleasure. They were definitely going towards something."

"But what if there are survivors? Are we to just leave them to die? Alone, afraid, anything but content. They lost their entire kingdom in one night, Clyde!" I pleaded.

"And you desire to put our lives in danger for those we owe nothing?"

"How could you be so selfish?" I began with building anger, "You are to become the king, and with that attitude, you'll become just like your father."

"Don't you say that!"

"It's but the truth, love," I said as carefully as possible, for I didn't want more commotion to rise between us. "There are those who suffer in their own ways within our castle as of now. They need a loving, compassionate king to guide them better than the current ruler. I know that deep inside your heart you care. You are enough like you mother: you must have this longing to help. To help even those who you owe nothing."

Silence arose in the thickened air around us; and then the awkwardness dispersed as Clyde looked up at me. It seemed as though he were realizing something.

"You're right, Obei," he said shamefully.

"So we will go back to the Evergreen Castle?"

Clyde looked deeper into my pleading eyes, and I silently begged for consent. His face scrunched up, and then he huffed out as he nodded his head once.

"We will go," he clarified. "But, we must be extremely cautious. The last thing we want is to go back to our death. I wish not to lose you as I have Alaia."

My face drooped at the mention of her name. It nearly broke my heart to even think back to what had happened. There really wasn't a thing we could've done, but it still felt so wrong to have left her there. Clyde redirected my attention to him with his long, lean finger.

"Promise me, that if I even sense one tiny morsel of danger, that you will not hesitate when I ask for us to leave?"

"I promise," I replied, hoping that wouldn't be the case.

With that, Clyde released us from our intense staring session and began looking around. He squinted against the sun, which was now very high in the sky. He shaded his eyes with his hand, turning in circles. He eventually stopped and squinted even harder in a particular direction. He began pointing before turning to me.

"I believe the castle is this way," he said.

"Why don't we just go back through the passage? Wouldn't it just be easier?"

"But I cannot see your bright, handsome face in the light of this beautiful, free day of our lives. If we go this way, there will be plenty of room compared to that narrow prison of a passage."

"But it is also more accurate, for we know we will come out on the other end at the castle."

"Which could be completely burnt to the ground by now. For all we know, we would travel through the passage only to find that we can't get through the rubble on the other side of the wall."

I sighed, discerning that he was correct. I showed him a sign of defeat and walked towards him.

"What're we waiting for then?" I teased as I passed him by.

Clyde only smiled as he began chasing me playfully through the field, and towards the area in which the crumbled, and decaying castle resides.