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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Jackson Taylor
Meeting the resistance? I had just got here.
Even with my protests, Liv opened my door and took my hand, dragging me through the hallways of the centre excitedly. Her hair sprung up and down as she weaved her way through the people dressed in black, rushing around. I looked around, taking in everything around me. It was a small corridor, the walls painted a bold black shade. Liv tugged my wrist harshly, looking back at me.
"Come on, you slowpoke. Are you made of lead?" She laughed.
I tried to hide my smile, speeding up with her to the point where I found I was excited to know where we were going too. I couldn't stop to watch the people around me in fascination, but I found myself impressed. It was as if the people here had built a life of their own. I was so entranced by them that I didn't notice the awe that followed my every move from the people I quickly passed. That is until I heard one of them.
"Is that Princess Lea?" I could feel whispers from all around me get louder as some people gasped. I looked at them, noting their faces of shock and wonder. Before I could hide my face behind my hair, Liv turned into an empty corner with a small brass door, turning around abruptly.
"Okay, Lea, do not get nervous about this okay? I know you won't but just a precaution. Deep breaths and smile." She smiled.
Before I could even ask her what she was talking about, she opened the brass door, pushing me harshly through it.
I was blinded by a room of eager faces staring back at me. I was standing on a stage, looking down at them. They all cheered, bright smiles on their faces. I looked up, met by a vast ceiling, enormous lightbulbs hanging from the roof. I couldn't see anyone I knew, but their cheers gave me confidence, their smiles contagious. I pumped my fist in the air, showing them that I wanted to free them, that I wanted them to be happy. Their cheers grew louder.
But then my fist dropped. All of these people. Every single one of them. They were all counting on me, waiting for me to return. How could I let them know that I wasn't who they thought I was? I wasn't princess Lea Grayson, the girl who tried to defend her kingdom, the girl who courageously would lead a rebellion that saved the lives of thousands. I was just Lea. My knees started to grow weak and I could feel my breathing start to grow shallow. I had to lead a rebellion. I had to free a country. All of this pressure was on me.
My smile faded and I looked back at the open door behind me, imagining Liv behind it, telling me I was doing great. No, I wouldn't leave. Not if it betrayed all of these people. In the sea of faces, I caught sight of Michael waving at me. He made his way to me, giving me a reassuring nod. He climbed onto the stage and crossed over to me. Then, he turned to the crowd.
He held one hand up. Instantly, the cheers faded and he looked back up.
"My daughter has returned." He whispered to himself and took my hand, raising it. A pin could have been dropped in the silence and you would have heard it.
"My daughter has returned!" He yelled, breaking the silence. More cheers erupted around him, ear-splitting.
"Liking it so far?" Liv turned to me, flashing me a wide grin. She spooned the Mac and cheese from her cracked bowl, still looking at me.
"If you don't look at your food, it's going to fall," I said.
"It's not going to-", she started. It slid off of her spoon, landing onto her lap. She looked down for a few seconds. I rolled my eyes, giving her my napkin.
"I don't know Liv, it's a lot of stuff"
She looked up from cleaning her pants.
"Stuff?"
"Yeah, stuff." I didn't really want to elaborate on it.
"Care to elaborate on that?"
"...not really"
I didn't need to look up to know that Liv was staring at me, waiting for me to explain. This girl did not take no for an answer. I sighed in annoyance, trying to find the words.
"I had to go up in front of hundreds of people today with lots of hope and happiness that their 'perfect princess' had returned. And you know what I was thinking the whole time that I was up on that stage, watching them cheer me on?"
"This is gonna be so much fun?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"How disappointing it would be for them when I let each and every one of them down by letting them know that #1. I don't remember ANYONE and #2 I can't LEAD A -"
Just then, a knock on my door interrupted me. I stared straight at Liv, giving her a threatening look. If there was another group of cheering people outside my door, I would strangle her. She just shrugged her shoulders, showing me that she didn't know who was knocking either.
The knocking became more and more powerful, making it seem like the door was going to break down.
"Okay, okay fine. I'm coming, geez." Liv put her half-eaten bowl on the floor, walking over to the door. Before she could scold whoever was on the other side of the door, he stormed in.
"I've been looking for you everywhere. Where the hell have you been?! I go to Liam and he says you're in room 317 but guess what, you WEREN'T THERE. You're supposed to be prepping for-"
"If you haven't already noticed, I'm off duty until 4 so technically I'm not breaking any rules. Besides, you wouldn't show Lea around so I had to."
"She's here?"
Liv nudged her head at me, standing there with a confused expression on my face. I had no idea what the hell was going on.
One glance and I knew this guy. He was the one who untied me from my chair when I first got here, gave me a bone-crushing hug. And then I remembered. He was the one who freed me.
He just looked at me like he had seen a ghost.
"Hey," I said. At that, he hardened. His eyes became narrowed and his arms crossed tightly in front of him.
"I know who you are," he said, making me wince. He looked annoyed with everyone, me especially.
"Thank you...for untying me before-"
"I didn't do it for you." He glared at me. Silence passed between us.
"Tell little miss princess over here to start learning protocol and the rules of this place. She doesn't need a babysitter so you don't need to 'show her around' Liv," he turned to Liv.
"Hey, watch it, Jay. She literally just got here" Liv said, getting offended. He looked at her and stalked towards me.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you need someone to hold your hand around the compound so she can show you where the forks and dresses are and so you can sit around all day and look at the birds?" He pouted his face, making fun of me. I don't think he knew that sexist people made me fill with rage.
"No, but maybe Liv can show you to the dresses? I mean, maybe you'd have a chance in looking nice with a dress on." I spat at his face. I heard Liv burst out laughing from the door but I didn't look away from the stare down him and I were having.
"Okay, okay Jackson. Get out. We were having girl time." Liv took his sleeve, dragging him out the door even while he was glaring at me. She slammed the door on him, sighing dramatically.
