King | j.b

XIII

Ariana stared at her brother in front of her; her vision blurred from the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Frankie," she said. "Is it really you?"

The boy in front of her placed his hands on her's from in between the bars and held on to them tightly.

"It's really me," he said with a smile on his face as a tear trailed down his cheek.

Ariana smiled, and even though her brother's hands felt cold on her's, she felt a warm sensation surge through her body. She brought her hand up to touch his cheek.

"My God it really is you," she laughed. Frankie smiled. Ariana looked at him in the dim light. He looked quite the same since she had seen him last: his brown hair, his eyes, his smile. Although he did start to grow a beard. Ariana laughed to herself.

"You're growing a beard," she said as she felt the stubby hair on his chin.

"Yeah I did," he laughed. Ariana smiled and just stared at him, making sure all of this was real. She couldn't believe this was happening. It's been almost four months since she had seen anyone in her family-- friends even.

The two siblings sat in silence on the cold ground of the dungeon. It seemed like a whole minute before Frankie broke the silence.

"I missed you Ariana," he said.

"I missed you too," she replied. She looked at the chains on his feet.

"Why are you here?" She finally asked. Her brother's smile faded and he pressed his lips into a straight line. He stared at Ariana but he seemed to look right through her as if she was transparent. He clenched his teeth as if he was struggling to find the right words to say.

"Father has fallen ill," he said through his gritted teeth.

Ariana listened to his voice echo through the dark dungeon and waited until the sound of his voice faded to answer.

"He's sick?" She asked shakily. Frankie nodded slowly. Ariana's heart dropped. How did he get sick? How long has he been sick for? When will he recover? A look of worry crossed Ariana's face and questions filled her head.

"The doctor has made a few visits and thinks he will eventually recover-- but slowly."

Ariana stared at the ground in disbelief. She had seen her father as the strongest man on earth. He was a role model to her.

"But what does this have to do with you're being here?" She asked looking back at her brother.

"Well," Frankie started, "since father is very sick, I was handed over complete ownership of the house."

That made sense, Ariana thought. In the village, only men were allowed to be owners of the house. Ariana hated this rule. If women were the workers of the house, why did their husbands have to have ownership? But she shook her thoughts away.

"Go on," Ariana said after clearing her throat.

"I am now the official owner of the house because we don't know what is going to happen to father. Now here's the problem," he said, scooting closer to his sister on the other side of the bars.

"We're running out of money. With father being sick, mother and I have had to pay for the doctor to come and visit every few days.

"Yesterday the tax collectors from the castle came to collect the taxes. Mother and I didn't have enough money to pay all the taxes. The tax collectors were not happy about this at all. And since I am the owner of the house, they dragged me here."