The Burden of Breaking Hearts

Darion

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Th--clunck--ud! Th--clunck--ud! Th--clunck--ud!

The royal guards led Diana through the halls of the castle without once stopping, her footsteps standing out from their synchronized march. She was scared; worried that she was called upon by the royals only to hear that Darion had died the night before. From the carriage she'd been carried in on, she saw the wreckage of the previous night's chaos. Smoke still curled up towards the sky, carrying with it the tale of what actually took place.

There had been horses roaming around the palace grounds. The stable was completely destroyed, now nothing but a pile of ash, yet not a single horse had been lost. It was a miracle. Diana remembered a horse looking up at her as she passed by. Darion had never liked horses; he never liked the aspect of having to trust the animal. He liked things he could control; it's why he learned to control magic. Diana smiled at her memories of Darion shying away from the majestic creatures, trying in vain to act as if he wasn't afraid.

Her smile melted away at the thought of losing him.

They were now walking down a long hall lined with guards to a set of double doors bigger than any doors Diana had ever seen before. They must've been the doors to throne room that Darion talked about at times. A shiver ran down Diana's back, the hairs on her arm rising up. The only time she'd been this nervous was when she'd met Darion.

The market street had been crowded that day. A couple loaves of bread were in a sack she cradled to her body as she tried to slip her way through the crowd. Diana never liked crowds and had to keep herself from panicking as people, aromas, and shouts bombarded her senses from all directions.

"Watch out!"

She whirled around to see a cart headed her way and jumped to the side to avoid being ran over. A deep grunt came from behind her; she'd bumped right into someone. Normally, she would give a quick apology before slipping back into the crowd, hopefully before anyone could get angry. This time, however, she froze. The man was tall, his eyes dark and filled with anger--that is until they met hers and immediately softened. Diana tried to avert her gaze, but her eyes just flicked down to his body. His attire consisted of dark colors despite the hot day; his arms stretching out the fabric of his sleeves. She quickly looked back up at his face.

"I'm sorry," she said, shifting her hold on her sack of bread. "There was a cart and...I didn't mean to run into you."

He seemed to shake himself from a trance as he spoke. "It's okay, don't worry about it." He gave her a smile and she returned it. She turned to leave and he spoke up once more. "You want to see something cool?" She liked the smile he had on his face after asking the question; his teeth exposed to the sunlight.

"Sure," she said, shrugging her arms. She had a little bit of extra time before she had to get home.

"Wait one second." He turned to the merchant working the stand they were in front off. Diana hadn't even noticed the rows of spices next to her, the sharp scent surprising her. He bought a pound of cinnamon, handing over the money before turning back to her.

"Why are you getting so much cinnamon?"

"It has to do with what I want to show you. Follow me."

Diana found it much easier following behind this boy than facing the crowd alone. People seemed to make way for him even though--from what she could tell--he wasn't royalty. They were soon out of the crowd and behind a building where no one else was. Diana knew she should've been scared about being isolated from the public with someone she didn't know, but she trusted him.