KOTLC - Short Stories II

Daisy Prince (Biana & Alvar)

     The thin curtains flowed back as Biana opened the glass doors. From her balcony she looked across the sparkling lake, behind the green forest, at the colorful sunset. Way up above the red sun, you could see the stars and moon. She jumped over the railing, floating down gently to the grass. She walked slowly through the green field. She needed to clear her mind. The wind blew through her long brown hair, as she took a deep breath. 

She gasped as a familiar figure at the edge of the water caught the corner of her eye. What was he doing here? She didn't dare move. She should be sacred. Why wasn't she scared? He said to her face that he was a traitor. He was crazy!  And he was feet away! Yet, she felt... nearly calm but not exactly. 

"Hey sis." he said, turning around to look at her. When she saw his face she didn't see a Neverseen Agent. She saw the face of her brother who stayed up late to help her with her homework, who would slip messages in his free time in her locker,who helped her get into her costume for graduation. Not a crazy arsonist. 

"Come on sit next to me." He told her, patting the spot next to him on the log. She didn't move a muscle. What did he think she was? Stupid?  "C'mon, I want her hurt you princess." 

"Don't ever call me that ever again!" She snapped. Her big brother had called her that, not the criminal he claimed to be. Surprisingly, he looked genuinely hurt by her words. She softened. Maybe she was stupid. She sat down. He gave her a gentle smile. She didn't smile back. She couldn't look at him. What was she doing? She started to pluck daisies from the grass and knot them together.

"You think I'm a bad guy, don't you?" he said. She could feel his eyes in her. She kept her head down toward her flowers. 

"No... I don't," she told him sincerely, to her own surprise, " I don't believe in 'bad' and 'good' people, we're all just people. I think you forgot what you have, who you have. I think you feel alone. I think you were born with monsters in your head, and Fintan were their personification. You saw them in him. You trusted him. You needed someone to help see the world clearly even if it was all lies, it was some contorted sense of clarity. I think you just maybe succumb to the madness of the world. You counted all your flaws and mistakes, and forgot to count your blessings. You lost your mind." She looked up at him. His eyes were glassy, he stared at her in shock. "I think you don't see how much more there is to everything," she continued, "You're smart, healthy, handsome, and above all, loved. What more could you want?"

"You don't understand what it's like Biana!" he argued, "Or you're too little and too ignorant to realize. I grew up constantly trying to please dad. Every breath, every step... everything I did was for him. Then Fitz came along, the born lucky child. Constantly breaking records, being praised by everyone for everything, trophies, medals, potential and dad would give him this look, so full of... pride. I never saw that when he looked at me. Then a little before you were born, Lady Gisela, Keefe's mom came with Fintan one night. He gave me that look. They told me everything, about their plan to help the world..." Biana couldn't hear what he said after that. Before she was born... Alvar had been with the Neverseen all her life. She had loved a psychopath. She couldn't breath, She concentrated on the pattern in her movement. Pluck, cross, loop, pull. Pluck, cross, loop, pull.

"My heartbeat seemed to always fall behind. I grew up as a peasant disguised as an heir in a family of kings and queens... Biana?" he called back her attention. He wanted her to say something, she realized. 

"I think you can be in control of  your monsters. I think they're maybe just... kittens with claws when they're afraid. I think you're a royal covered in dirt who doesn't realize that underneath all the muck, he's exactly the same as the rest." She looked at the crown of daisies in her hands. It was shaggy, the flowers weren't all perfect. Blades of grass were intertwined here and there. She placed it on his head. "You're a prince, Alvar. You can be a king one day if you want to."

With that she got up, and went back toward Everglen. She didn't look behind her. She had never seen him for all she or anyone else knew. 

'Never seen' him get it? The neverseen...? *clears throat* Nevermind that. 

So, question: More pairing/couple stuff/bonding or like Black Swan, story, and concept sort of things (if you know what I mean)?

Though I am working on several requests currently and have some ideas of my own, feel free to request away.