The Knights and the Princess

Chapter 25

I rocked back-and-forth on the ground impatiently, waiting for Blue to return. Eight minutes had passed since his departure and I was on edge, fighting desperately against the urge to go out and look for him. He's fine, he's fine, Blue is okay. Don't think about it. He had claimed it wasn't a villager and never necessarily stated that it was an enemy. That meant there was a high chance that Blue wouldn't get hurt and neither would the newcomer. But while that was so, he could have just kept the knowledge of the person being an enemy from me so I wouldn't worry and look for him.

Unfortunately (I seem to say that a lot, don't I?) Blue not saying anything other than the intruder being "small and weak" did nothing to help ease my mind.

"He's fine," I muttered, shifting position so my knees were pulled up to my chest. I brought my hands up and grabbed fistfuls of my hair-pulling on it as I choked and fought against the tears. "He's... He's fine." Why do I have to constantly do this? Why can't I just go one day with Blue leaving me alone and not be worried or scared? Am I that desperate for attention or am I really just that attached to him? He'll come back in one piece, Irene, so calm down! "Please be safe..."

As if to just unnerve me more a female scream echoed about the corridor, causing chills to run down my spine and goosebumps to run along my skin, the tattoo on the left side of my face beginning to sting-like I had just gotten slapped.

And trust me, that hurts.

A whimper escaped me and I buried my face in my knees, fingers clawing and pulling on the hair on the back of my head, attempting to distract myself with a newer pain. I felt weaker-feverish even, as the pain in my chest increased drastically. What's going on!? Is he okay; who was he fighting? Is he even fighting anyone or did that one village guard attack the intruder before Blue could ever get close to her?

Outsiders aren't supposed to know about him after all, which meant the villagers would do anything to keep him secret-even getting rid of those who could risk seeing him.

"Hurry back, hurry back-Please, please hurry back..." I can't take this. It hurts. Everything hurts. My heart, my face, and even my side is beginning to burn a little.

Blue left, Akito's not here, there's a possibly innocent person out there being beaten, kidnapped, and/or killed, and I'm here having a freaking panic attack about it!

I sat up abruptly and slammed the back of my head against the wall I was leaning against, before crying out loudly and cradling my hands around the new bump. "OW!" I then groaned, whimpering and mumbling to myself about how I was never going to do that again. My poor head sustains enough injuries as is on a daily basis because of the guys who think it's fun to make an appearance every couple days to get rid of me, and I don't think it needs anymore. I'll end up having another concussion or just get brain damage in general. I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood for a fractured skull. "Ugh..." I groaned and sat up straight, feeling a headache form. "Just great..."

For now I was distracted and my thoughts were in disarray. I could stop worrying, if only for a few moments.

My face continued to burn, but I felt more calm. A strange thought suddenly came to my mind-in a way similar to how I had called Blue being a "Blue Dragon" when I first ran into him. I sat up halfway, eyes locked onto the entrance almost as if something was pulling me-tugging at my body and telling me to go find "that person".

That... king.

But what king? I know of no kings. The only "royalty" I know of is that stuff you'd see on a magazine cover if you went to Wal-Mart. There was always something about some prince and his wife and how many kids they have, and honestly I could care less. Most of it was just rumors anyway-that's how magazines and celebrities work anyway.

So why... Why does it feel like if I don't leave now I'll miss out on something big-something life changing? Even more crazy than what I'm dealing with now.

Because let's face it-people trying to assassinate you isn't really normal. Wait... assassinate...

I went completely still as I remembered Blue and that he was still gone. My stomach twisted grossly and I felt a horrible feeling form once more, making me wonder if he was hurt. There was no time to ponder that thought as a sudden squeak captured my attention, making me turn my head and look down when Akito jumped up and latched onto my arm. "P'kyuu!"

"Akito?" I said in surprise, before a huge relieved grin spread across my face and I picked her up off of my arm, cuddling her and rubbing her cheek against mine. "You're okay! I was so worried about you! Jeezle-give some warning before you run off like that again, okay!?" She squeaked, pressing her nose against my cheek briefly, before jumping out of my hold and landing on the ground next to me. I stared at her in confusion. "Akito?" Did I do something wrong?

"Kyuu!" She bit down on my pants leg, pulling at it and tugging, and I hesitated in fear of being bit before reaching forward and pulling her teeth off of my clothing. "P'kyuu!" I winced.

"Sorry!" Akito stared at me for a long moment before jumping up and biting my finger. "Ow! What was that for!?" I cradled the wounded phalange to my chest, hurt and slightly betrayed. I scooted away from her, appalled by her sudden behavior.

"P'kyuu!" She shouted, locking eyes with me and causing me to freeze in place. I watched and listened as Akito let out various other squeaks and squeals, seeming to be trying to get some kind of message across. "Kyuu! P'kyuu! Kyuu!" I blinked, observing the way her face moved as he squeaked and the tone she said it in.

I bat my eyes a couple more times, something I always did when confused, and briefly wondered why I didn't have Kronk's skill at understanding and speaking squirrel.

"P'kyuuu!"

"...I don't get it." Akito let out a huff before reaching over and and pulling on my pants leg again. "...Do you want me to go somewhere?" I am so lost. However, what I said seemed to strike a chord with her and she nodded frantically, the smile spreading across her face once more. "Yeah?"

"P'kyuu!"

"...Why?" After a few moments of silence I remembered the one thing that could get either Akito or I to freak out. "What happened?" Any and all confusion I felt got pushed to the deepest parts of my mind and was replaced with fear and worry. "Is it Blue?" She nodded again, squeaking loudly. "What happened? Is he hurt?" Another squeak. I stood and Akito pawed at the ground, signaling that we needed to hurry. Feeling a sob start to build up in my throat I ground my teeth together and inhaled sharply, forcing it back as I said, "Can you show me where he's at?"

"P'kyuu!" Akito seemed more than happy to do as I asked and I quickly followed her out of the room. It grew so dark to the point where I had to rely on my hearing, listening intently to the sound of her pawsteps pattering against the ground, and soon my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. "Kyuu, kyuu!" I yelped when I suddenly tripped, face-planting into the ground, and I spat out some dirt as I pushed myself up onto my knees. I looked around frantically as I tried to locate the squirrel, and after a few moments I could hear the faint sound of her squeaking. "Hold on!"

I'm coming, Blue. Just... hold out a little longer, okay?

~~