He slammed me against the wall, his face angry.
"Don't think for a second that you can try to get inside my head." He growled, breathing heavily. A moment of silence passed between us where I could feel the tension in the air. I looked down, afraid...
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Micheal
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I quickly let go of our hands.
"You know my name?"
His smile dropped as he realized something but looked away to hide his face. He turned his back on me, wanting me to follow as he navigated through the corridors. I tried to memorize every twist and turn we were taking so I could have an escape route if I needed to, but it was nearly impossible. The place was never-ending.
Finally, we stopped at a brass-steeled door. The only reason why I had carried on so easily until now was that somehow, I knew this place. I didn't know why, but it was slowly eating away at me as I tried to remember. I couldn't just keep silent.
"I really don't know why I'm here. Seriously, I won't tell anyone, just let me go."
The man took a deep breath, turning straight in front of me.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," he simply answered, turning around again. Pulling out a golden key from his pant pocket, he swung the door open.
He looked back at me, gesturing for me to go into the room. I hesitantly walked in. The room was painted all black with a bed in the corner, a night table and a bathroom. Nothing fancy.
"Sit down," he gently touched my back, guiding me to one of the chairs. I sat down.
He walked behind my chair, gently pressing the wall behind until it slid to the left, revealing another room. There was a kitchen behind the wall.
"Want anything?" he called from the kitchen.
"No thanks."
He came back a few seconds later with a cup of water for me and him and sat down.
"You really have no clue who I am?" he looked straight at me, setting his cup on the floor.
"You'd think the confused looks and blank stares would have answered that for you."
He rubbed his hands together, seemingly stalling. Whatever he was going to say seemed to be taking a toll on him.
"If after I tell you this, you want to leave, I'll let you. You can walk out and you'll never hear from us again," he said.
"You're letting me go? What kind of a bad guy are you?"
"Let's just say I'm not the bad kind."
I crossed my arms. "How can a bad guy not be the bad kind?"
"Well...maybe it's because I'm not the bad kind here. Ever think of that?"
In my eyes, whoever kidnapped teenage girls was considered bad to a certain extent, but he didn't seem like the mean, malicious sex-trafficking kidnapper I thought I would have to face. He seemed like a normal guy. There were purple bruise-like bags under his eyes and wrinkles from stress lined his forehead. Clearly, something was plaguing him.
"Wow, you mean...but that would make the good guys really the bad guys and the bad guys really the good guys," I said.
"Exactly. You're getting the picture." He seemed impressed by me.
I slowly nodded my head, gesturing for him to continue. I was ready to hear it.
"I'm gonna start from the beginning. And sight tight, it's a long story. There is a kingdom called Fera. It is distinctive from other planets because everyone's blood is milk-white when they're born, but as your sins grow, your blood darkens. Whoever's blood is jet-black has the ability to harness black magic, but whoever's blood is fully white harnesses good magic."
"Magic?!"I scoffed. I stood up, heading for the door, but his hand on my arm stopped me.
"Just...listen. Please".
His saddened face pierced me somehow. I felt for him, but I didn't know why. I didn't know him. Either way, I sat down warily. He resumed his story after taking a deep breath.
"One year, two twins are born into the royal family, polar opposites. Lena wants to put the country into labour to get more done, and the other just wants peace. Since Lena is so interested in politics, she agrees to travel to one of the neighbouring countries to negotiate a peace treaty between them. There, she meets the prince of Corona and he convinces her to take over the throne so she can control everything. And..."
This story was actually kind of interesting. Without even knowing, I had moved to the edge of my seat. He looked to be reminiscing about the story, at a place where everything went wrong.
"And?" I said.
"And she said yes," he whispered.
Without even thinking, I placed my hand on top of his. Clearly, this was hurting him immensely, but I had to hear the rest if I could understand what was going on. He looked up at me, nodding his head as if to say thank you.
"Lena and Raymond took over the country, enslaving thousands and killing whoever protested against her. Using Raymond's black magic, they made an army and stormed the palace. Her orders were to kill anyone in her way. The queen tried to stop her, tried to get through to her, but she was killed by Lena's army."
His voice wavered and this time, his eyes glazed over as he took a sharp inhale.
"You and the queen seem...seemed close" I commented.
He just nodded his head somberly.
But then it sprung to me. Maybe this was a ploy. He wanted me to sympathize with him so when I left, I wouldn't rat them out to the police. I let go of his hands. I was getting too comfortable.
"A boy named Jackson came back into the palace after the takeover so he could make sure the other princess was safe, only to find that she was arguing with Lena, angering her. She angered her so much that Lena used her black magic and tried to kill her. It didn't work because her sister had some white magic that she harboured, so instead of killing her, Lena erased her memory and banished her out of Fera."
"But this has nothing to do with -" I argued.
"But it does. So much more than you realize." he insisted.
"Stop confusing me, giving me these little hints about how I fit into here," I said.
I was starting to get annoyed, and he could tell by the tone of my voice. He was stalling, wasting my time. Who the hell cared about a childish fairytale. We all knew it would end with justice prevailing and everyone in perfect condition.
"Okay, I'm sorry," he held up his hands to calm me down. I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to steady my breathing and sat back down with my arms crossed.
"Are you gonna tell me now?" I asked him.
He paused before answering me.
"Your full name is Princess Lea Amberly Grayson and you are the rightful queen of Fera."
