The Third Eye

Chapter 4

"With all to respect, princess, none of us pushed you. You jumped." Landon told her.

"We all saw you," Cole confirmed. Prince Lucas and I nodded along with the boys.

"Shall we make a deal then?" Princess Heather asked straightening out her dress as best as she could. "You won't tell anyone I wanted to jump and all keep all of your secrets." she proposed.

"You don't know our secrets!" I laughed. Heather's white eyes flashed.

"Yes, I do." the princess pointed at me once again. "You're a golden eye and no one knows. Oh wait! Should I have said that out loud? You've been hiding it all of your life and flunked out of school. Now, good-guy Prince Lucas over here is taking the blame for you. So, you followed him in the hope that he would somehow fall in love with you on the way. But, he's loyal to his kingdom and he's going to turn you in any way. And you know that don't you?" she finished. She cocked her head. I nodded. Each and every sentence she spoke was true. I looked to Prince Lucas who didn't look back at me. He probably didn't want to see my face, because he knew she was right, too.

"And you-" Princess Heather said pointing to Cole. "You pretend you know all there is to know about magic, although you have never been to a magic school a day in your life. Why? Because your mommy can't pay Wisehall's tuition. You're a mutt white eye whose daddy was sent to jail, because of the gold in his eye. Let's see... oh... I almost forgot! Your brother had to go with him because he's a golden freak too! Now, you are trying to support your sick mother who can barely walk, while finding time to search for your lost long brother although you know he's probably dead by now. And to get away from it all, you became a pirate and a bigger disappointment to everyone around you." the princess snickered a little bit. Cole's cocky posture slumped. She was right about him, too.

Princess Heather turned her head to Prince Lucas. "You're the runt of the royal family. You just got kicked out for something you didn't do and took the blame because you're too nice to ever stand up for yourself. You're running and running away from a kingdom that will be yours someday... oh wait! No, I was wrong! Sorry! It will go to your older (and much smarter) sister, Princess Abigail! As I was saying, you'll be running and running hoping to somehow get welcomed back into the royal family because you can barely put on your socks without help from your royal servants. And you came for me for ONE REASON ONLY, because if you saved me you MIGHT possibly regain your semi-admirable reputation." the princess spat each word with more sass than the last.

"And you, Landon! Oh, Landon!" the princess stroked the young man's hair. Landon smacked her fingers out. "You just came from the dump that is Dimmer's Prison Island. Your goal is to try and survive for as long as you can without going back there. And maybe -just maybe- you might just find your father, who NO QUESTION got hung six months ago when he went missing from your prison cell. But, wait! It's gets better! You're my favorite, you see! You knew that I was jumping off of that cliff with your... your demon magic, so you came to save me. Why? Because you think I'll spare you off another year in that prison. Well, maybe that would work with my dear friend, Prince Lucas over here, but not with me." Princess Heather dusted her hands off as if she just finished a hard day's work.

"Alright, so you do know our secrets." Cole exhaled.

"Believe me, I know much more than you could ever imagine," Princess Heather spat.

"What do you want from us?" Landon asked.

"Just silence. That's it. I prefer to stay hidden. There's much less to think about here. I will keep quiet. I promise. And Landon must come with us." Princess Heather smiled.

Prince Lucas, Cole, Landon and I looked at each other and silently agreeing that Princess Heather knew too much. "Follow me, then," Cole said. Prince Lucas and I followed him. Princess Heather tugged me back by my arm.

"Don't get in my way," she huffed.

Our newfound group was trying to get along. It was easier for some than it was for others. Prince Lucas paced the deck. "You are sure you know where you are going?" he asked Cole.

"Positive. And we would get there quicker if someone helped me with the sails..." Cole snapped.

I tuned out Cole and Prince Lucas's bickering and walked over to Landon. He was staring out at the sunset looking at the land we had left behind. The sunset was beautiful. The yellow and orange sun merged with the pink clouds. These completely different colors merged together to create something beautiful.

"Hey!" Landon and I said at the same time. We laughed. I loved his smile. It was ten times more beautiful than that pathetic sunset.

"It's Vera, right?"

"Yup! That's me. Vera," I confirmed. I shivered a little bit. I had to ask him. I just had to. I had to know.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

    "Anything. We are apart of the same tribe after all. Us golden eyes have to stick together!" he laughed awkwardly.

    "It's stupid..." I realized.

    "Nothing's stupid to me! What is it?" Landon asked.

    "Can you teach me about golden eye magic?" I sighed. I expected him to laugh again; he was always laughing. His laugh was like a big wall he puts between himself and disappointment.

    "Of course I will!" Landon smiled. He hopped up onto the lookout and looked down on me. I figured that learning from a real live golden eye would be much easier than reading than big book Cole gave me. Plus, I have to admit; Landon was gorgeous. We sat down on the deck side by side. "It's called, Sparkette. It's not like the white eye magic where you wave your hands around. You simply just feel. Try this. Close your eyes." he commanded. I stopped. I hadn't closed my eyes since I left Gwenie's Angels. By close my eyes, I mean trust. I haven't trusted anyone. And I can't. I can never trust anyone, not Prince Lucas, not Landon. No one.

    "I can't." I cried.

"Trust me," he calmly told me in the sweetest voice.

    "I can't." I cried once more.

   Landon jumped down from off the top stair and walked toward me. I looked up at him. "Vera, I know how you feel. You always need to be alert because you know there's always a possibility of someone betraying you. I have been there countless times. There's people on this ship you should never trust, which is all of them. You can't trust anyone because around here a golden eye is worth more than a dozen actual gold coins. They'll sell us like fruit. Just know this; once you get out of your head, the magic is effortless. You are unstoppable." Landon said in a wispy tone.

    He pulled me closer.

    "There's one rule you need to follow. The golden rule. Never trust anyone and never let anyone trust you." Landon told me. His eyes contradict his words in a million ways. His eyes begged me to jump into his arms and run away. They begged me to just let myself fall and they begged me to understand that he will always catch me. They begged me to know that he and I; we; we're on the same team.

And I know this might sound crazy (because it is) but at that very moment I felt something. Something that told me Landon was important. I don't know what it was but I just knew. He and I were on the same wavelength, like our souls were connected. I had never felt that before with anyone. We talked like we've known each other for years.

    I didn't need to say any words. Words are something engraved in a golden eye's head. He knows that just as I do. Words. Words. Words. Words circled and circled until they dropped. Billions of words circled my head at that very moment. Yet, I didn't need to speak any of them, at least not with Landon. I took a deep breath.

I let my eyes do all of the talking.

I closed them in a single stroke.

Thank you so much for reading! How do you like Princess Heather? Landon?

I have been so happy with the nice comments on these chapters!! Thanks so much! If you want to get nofied for each time I post, follow me or add this story to your library. But seriously though I love your comments!! You guys are sooo funny. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Ava