Savoirs

Jason

I hated the slow hours but I also didn't want them to end. It was an odd feeling considering there had never been a time in my life where I wished for time to go faster but for it to also go slower. In the war you just needed to know when it was time to act and after that I hadn't really known what time it was at all besides the time to move on. 

Now I was wishing to see her once more before I was forced to watch her die. I was sitting on the bed my anger running out only to be left with the longing for everything to go away, for everything to disappear and I could be who I was before all of this happened again and I would have never helped Jaclyn discover her power, I would have never fallen in love with her, and I would never have to watch her die. I wondered if she wished for the same thing, to be able to never know anything that had happened these past few weeks, to just be able to go through life without knowing that any of this happened. 

I found myself wondering what the others were thinking and when I stood I saw what was going on outside in the square. The guards were readying for an execution in the morning. No doubt the village would be present as well. Anger boiled up in me again as I watched and I wanted to do something, anything that would distract me from what was going to happen in the morning. Sleep wasn't an option but neither was walking around the castle. Frustrated I fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. 

Slowly I let the images of the past few weeks fill my mind. I saw Adam, terrified but calm, telling us to follow him if we wanted to get away from the guards. I saw Serena with all of her attitude and closed book demeanor walking with us as we walk towards the enemy. I see Lia sitting exhausted with three others around her, all of them scared and confused. I saw Jaclyn being attacked in her inn and Joseph killing the man. I see myself taking the role of the leader in our small group and slowly I saw us becoming friends, family even, no matter how much we disagreed and fought. 

I didn't hear the prince enter the room until he cleared his throat and I looked up. Shayne watched as I turned around to look at him and I saw the ring of keys in his hand. Confused I looked up at his face, which was solemn and sincere, my eyes asking the question I so badly wanted to voice.

"Follow me." He says quietly and I do so silently. He led me through the castle and down a set of stairs I had never seen before. As we walked down deeper it became colder and darker. The stairwell was lit with the occasional torch and when we got to the bottom of the stairs I knew where he had taken me. The cells. He led me past empty cells with a few people inside every now and then in silence. Then he stopped at the end of the long hall and unlocked the door to a cell. He stopped before leaving and looked back at me. "I'll be back to get you." He says quietly and then he disappears. Confused I walk into the cell and suddenly there was someone hugging me. I hugged them back, knowing who it was immediately, and we stood like that for what felt like forever.

"The others already came and saw me. I thought I wouldn't be able to say goodbye." She says quietly and I shake my head.

"We all thought that. Shayne must have bent some rules." I say and she pulls away.

"He'll be a good ruler one day." She says and I nod.

"Yes he will be." Silence falls over us and we stand there in silence, unsure of what to do. I found myself wrapping my arms around her again and bringing her close. I felt her put her arms around me too and she started to shake. I felt her arms tighten around me and I pulled her closer to me. The silence surrounded us but what we had said before was there and what we wanted to say now seemed to be said through the silence. A small sob escapes her and she looks up at me, tears running down her face.

"I'm scared." She says and I hear her voice crack. It breaks my heart and I nod.

"So am I." I say quietly and she pulls me back into an embrace.

"Why did he do it?" She asks and I shake my head.

"He's scared." I say and she lets out a halfhearted laugh.

"It seems like everyone is scared tonight." She says and I laugh shortly.

"It does, doesn't it?" I say and she nods. I hear her sniff and then someone clears their throat. We pull away from one another and I turn around. Shayne stands at the door with a sad look on his face.

"I can't give you anymore time." He says and I nod. I walk towards him and then Jaclyn's saying my name. I turn around and she looks down at her hands before looking back up at me and attempting to smile.

"I love you." She says and I walk back to her. I kiss her and she returns it. I'm the one to pull away from the kiss and I put my forehead against hers. I tuck her hair behind her ear and look at her. I wanted to memorize everything about her in those few moments and her eyes searched mine.

"I love you too." I say quietly and then I walk away and let Shayne lead me back to my room. The door shuts behind me and I lean against it and let myself fall apart for the first time in what felt like forever.