TWISTED

15: Falling Apart

"I miss my family." Princess Charity was pouring out her heart to Ella one evening just before bedtime.

The sadness in the girl's voice tugged on Ella's heart.

What a pity. Everything must have come as a pretty shock to the Princess. One minute she was lying on her bed, the next minute, she had to run away to a faraway land.

Ella rubbed Charity's fingers. "Everything will be alright, Charity. You just have to believe."

Charity regarded Ella wistfully. "How are you so sure?"

"I just know that. Storms come once in a while to test our courage. We just have to be courageous enough to get to the end."

Charity nodded, her eyes skipped to the door which had opened. Prince Eric was standing in the doorway.

"You should practice the habit of knocking. What if I was-"

"-Charity, there's nothing I didn't see when you were a baby." Eric grinned at his sister, then his gaze darted to Ella, who was looking oddly pale.

Charity scowled, sliding into her bed and throwing a blanket over her head. "You're such a creep!"

Eric chuckled. He reached Charity and started messing with her hair.

"Oh God! Eric, do you know how many minutes I spent braiding my hair-"

"-just to sleep?" He interjected.

Ella laughed silently at Charity's discomfort but she froze when venomous eyes landed on her.

"Could the both of you just leave before I shoot you?"

Eric chuckled and fled the room with Ella. Ella giggled and let Eric tug her along with him.

"Where are you taking me to?" Ella asked.

"You'll see."

And with that, he pulled her into the maze adjoining the garden. Mazes were complicated. With each twist and turn, Ella got more confused at this sudden outburst of playfulness.

Then Eric stopped. Ella gazed around her. There was a large fountain of water somewhere and a bench somewhere else. The night sky was littered with stars and the moon.

"Arthur and I used to get lost in this maze when we were boys."

Ella met Eric's steady gaze. Although there were shadows on his face, his blue orbs gleamed in the night.

"No wonder you were so confident about getting lost in here."

Eric glanced down at his feet. Ella immediately sensed something was off. This was not the confident Eric she knew.

Tenderly, Ella reached out to his right  upper arm. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Eric ran a hand over his face. "I shouldn't have brought you here to pour out all my problems."

Ella again smiled as they sat on the bench. "But you did. Tell me."

Eric again regarded her for a long while before he made up his mind to tell her what was bothering him.

"I feel like I've failed my family, I've failed everyone, I've failed Aria."

Ella relaxed hr grip on his arm. "Eric, don't say that. You haven't failed anyone."

"I ran away."

"You ran to save your life and your sister's."

And yours. Eric added in his mind.