King | j.b

XII

The field, where Ariana stood, was spotted with pink and yellow tulips. The sun shone down on her face as a warm feeling rushed through her body. The sky was a baby blue; Ariana's favorite color. She couldn't spot one cloud up there; nothing could block the bright sun and the happiness it brought the earth. The only sound that filled the air was the singing of a robin, perched high on a long branch. Ariana closed her eyes and smelled the summer air. It was clean and fresh. She sighed.

What a wonderful world it was, she thought.

But just as she was admiring the beautiful flowers in the grass, she saw a shadow overhead. Her smile faded and she sensed the feeling of fear in the atmosphere. She looked up and saw that the sky had turned a dark gray; there wasn't a single spot of blue. The field became dark and the tulips lost their glow. The robin had stopped singing and instead, had flown away. The smell of rain filled the air and she felt a drop of water on her shoulder. She flinched at the unexpected feeling.

As she looked up further, she saw a lightning bolt which lit up the sky. It started to rain harder and harder as the winds picked up. A feeling of angst filled Ariana as she watched the storm come closer and closer; her clothes now soaked from the rain.

Then suddenly, a loud 'bang' echoed through the air causing Ariana's heart to skip a beat. And at that moment, the only thing she wanted to do was to flee from this place.

This place that was once happy, but now a forsaken wasteland.

"Ariana," a voice said. The girl in the dungeon had not moved. "Ariana," the voice said more angrily.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open to see the familiar blood-stained wall. She picked her head up and looked towards the bars of the cellar. Behind them was a guard. Once she caught sight of him, she immediately stood up. The chains on her feet made a clanking sound as she adjusted her clothes. Really? she thought. Again with the chains? After Ariana had yelled at the king last night, the guards sent her to the dungeon for three days.

At first she was confused as to why the king hadn't killed her for speaking to him in such a manner. But then she realized he couldn't. He liked Ariana in ways that no king should ever like a servant. He just couldn't bring himself to kill her.

The guard cleared his throat and continued. "There is someone who would like to speak with you," he said with almost an evil grin on his lips. Ariana trembled in fear, already knowing who that 'someone' was.

Right after the guard had left, Ariana wished he didn't. And then a figure emerged from the dark dungeon. He was walking right towards Ariana's cellar. Ariana's heart rate sped up.

He halted in front of the bars of the cellar and looked right into Ariana's eyes. Ariana stared back. After for what seemed like a whole minute, a smile grew on his lips.

"Good morning, Ariana," the voice of the king said. Ariana shuttered at his words. His voice sounded cold and mysterious.

"Your majesty," she said with a slight bow. The king scratched his chin and reached his hand in a pocket in his robe. He took out a key; the key to the cell. He brought the key up to the lock and with a quick turn, unlocked it. Ariana's heart beat faster. What was he going to do to her? Kill her? She remembered the story Rachel had told her about the man the king killed in the dungeon. She shivered at the thought and was hoping she wouldn't end up like him.

The king stepped inside the cell and shut the barred door behind him. Ariana stood in the center, staring at him as she fiddled with her hands. The king looked at her in a way she could not describe. He didn't look at her with passion nor hate. So what was he thinking?