The Different Ones

Chapter 6: A Friendship Spreads its Roots

I wandered through the servants halls following Akaila to her assignments. We dropped off towels and food and random cleaning materials. It was a nice break from the drama and stress and pressure of castle life.

"So, would you like to put some rumors to rest for me?" Akaila asked after our third clothing run.

"Rumors?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard them."

"I haven't. Care to shed some light?"

"The one about you and the Queen's best friend. Or the one about your mother being a sorceress. Or my personal favorite, the one about your relationship with Colin."

"Seriously? People believe those?" I could feel my cheeks turning red. If the whole body of servants knew this stuff, then it wouldn't be long before the royals heard about it.

"I know at least one of those is true." Akaila quirked a skeptical eyebrow at me. I sighed. She was right.

"Fine, fine. You caught me. The queen and I are pretty close. She's different you know."

"You jerk. You know what I'm talking about. Is he a good kisser?"

"What makes you think we kissed?"

"That Eryn girl sure does have a mouth."

"No way. She's so nice."

"I'm still waiting for an answer, you know."

"Yes. He's an incredible kisser. He's gentle. Its like he's holding a flower, and if he is too aggressive he'll break it."

"No need to rave, Eliza. What about your mom? You never answered that."

"She wasn't a sorceress. She wasn't even different. They killed her because of me and my father."

"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."

"I know, but it doesn't change the fact that she's dead and I'm still alive. I watched her die, Akaila. I watched her scream out in pain as Quelsom smiled and laughed. I watched as the people laughed and shouted in enjoyment. They don't even see us as human. It's like they've been brainwashed." Tears rushed to my eyes as memories of my mother rushed to the forefront of my mind.

"I know what it's like. I'm different too." Akaila put a caring hand on my back.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I wasn't born with powers like you, but I have them nonetheless. My powers are controlled by my emotions, especially when I'm sad or depressed. They seem to control me more than I control them. Like earlier with Richard. The flipping him on the ground and almost breaking both his arms wasn't just self defense. That was my powers seeping through. I was afraid of what I would do to him, but the irritation that my powers were feeding on was more powerful than my own will."

"You can't control your own powers? That's rare."

"And terrifying. I couldn't stop them from making me kill someone. I could kill someone I loved just because I loved them so much. It haunts me more than anything else in the world."

"How far have you gone?"

"I broke my brother's leg when I was 12. I didn't mean to, but he was just so-argh! He never listened to anything I said. He's mellowed in the 6 past years, but still. He could have at least tried to listen to me." I laughed at her. Siblings had weird relationships. They hate each other to the point of violence, but care so much about them they'd put their own life on the life for them.

"Did you get in trouble for it?"

"I didn't have parents, but I did have to splint his leg because we couldn't afford a doctor."

"Did it heal alright?"

"Yeah. It was surprising because what does a 12 year old know about healing a broken leg?" I laughed.

"This was pleasant, but I'm gonna head back up to my room. I'll see you round, yeah?"

"Yeah." She waved as we parted.

I walked back to my room with a sense of stability. It was a rarity to feel stable, but I had a victory, a friend, and a somewhat stable relationship with a guy who was already engaged. Okay, maybe not as stable as I thought, but more than in the past.

I laid down on my bed before deciding that I should probably take a bath. I grabbed some clothing and then ran downstairs to the closest bathroom. I got some water from the kitchen and heated it over the oven and then ran it back to the bathroom. I poured it into the basin and then undressed and climbed in.

The water was so relaxing, but it wouldn't stay warm for long, so I grabbed a washrag and scrubbed every inch of my body for a good ten minutes.  Even  if  your  a  wreck  on  the  inside  you  should  always keep up a good appearance I told myself. It was true, but maybe I shouldn't have told myself that.

When I was finished I poured the lukewarm water down a drain in the back of the room. I dried myself off and started getting dressed. I was half dressed when there was a knock on the door. Figuring that it was just a maid I opened the door. My assumption was apparently wrong because I saw Prince Colin of Perinad standing in front of me.

"Oh! Uh-hi. Is it-I'm sorry. I'll wait in your room," he stuttered.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," I replied while making a face. I could feel my cheeks turn bright red. I hurriedly finished getting dressed and then ran up to my room.

"I am so so so sorry about that. I didn't know, and I didn't think you would open the door," he spluttered out as soon as I walked in.

"It's fine, I'm just a little disheveled at the moment. So, don't ask me any difficult questions. I'm not okay enough for life changing decisions." 

"Well, that might be an issue because that's exactly what I'm here to talk about." I raised my eyebrows as I felt a knot twist in my stomach. "There's an issue..."

"Just spit it out. If it's urgent I actuallly need to know what 'it' is." 

"There are some, well, rumours. About...us. And they may have kind of sort of made their way to the King's presence and he very well may be absolutely furious at you and I. And he also very well could have told an entire squadron of knights to come after us. And he also might've ordered them to kill us on sight."

"What?"

"I figured you'd say that." 

"We have to get out of here immediately."

"And that." I threw any sort of durable fabric mateiral I could find at him. 

"Tie those together. We're climbing out of this tower."