Burden Ridge

Communication

Crossing the corridor, waiting to see somebody I hear a "spts" sound and I turn to see Dane standing and leaning on a pillar. He is in new clothing and his hair no longer a ratchet mess. His smile, a small smirk with little dimples showing through. I turn to face him and start to lean towards him.

"Princess," he starts and looks around, seeing if we were alone, and for the first time since birth, we were.

"It's Ayeth," I say and he nods, walking to meet me in the middle of the hall. "So, you were trusted to leave?" I ask and his face stares at me and then down to the floor.

"I mean if knocking out your dear Meriall and Jaymes, so I could see you, then yes." I felt my heart drop and I walk faster toward him. "Princess, I'm kidding," He says and I give him a sour look. "I snuck out," Dane states calmly. I look at him and give him a smile.

We sit in my room, away from everyone. He tells me about his life in Odelia and the soldier who I shot with my arrow. The soldier who is now dead. His friend. He seems to be really mad at me for it, yet I still wonder why he is being kind to me, considering I killed his best friend. 

 I tell him about the castle and the life I've lived in Burden Ridge. We laugh at the ridiculousness of the kingdoms rivalries. and I look at him, really look at him. And a spark of happiness flies across his scratched up face. I feel my cheeks get hot and anger towards myself rises in my stomach. I look away eagerly and towards my door. I'm about to get up and dismiss myself when Dane grabs my arm. I turn back to him and he gives me a concerned smile.

"Ayeth," He starts "Your sister is trying to kill you."

I can feel the panic set off like a bomb into my body, staring from my chest and spreading outward to my limbs. Its crushing my heart and I have this pit in my stomach. I need to get out. I have to get out of here. Please get me out of here.

I'm running down the hall and I'm shouting for Jaymes. Eventually I see him running toward me and grabbing my hand. Tears blurr my sight but not falling, and Jaymes grabs hold of me and is begging me to tell him what's wrong. He's screaming and grabbing my face yelling for the guards to grab Dane.

"Ayeth, what happened?" Jaymes asks holding my wrist bound and his hand on my cheek.

"I knew it," is all I could get out with my anger and frustration. "She can't, she couldn't." I yell my anger rising up from my toes to above my head. The heat is traveling into my cheeks. 

I'm gonna lose it-

One more thing thing thrown at me and I'm going to lose it-

Calm down, Ayeth, not again-

Too much. Too much-

My blood is boiling and threatening to spill over, the overall fear built up inside me is an overcoming threat to my well being. Jaymes hands go to my waist, adjusting my weight so I shand properly upright. 

He holds me their as air seems to get harder to breathe. His face is moving and the lights around me seem to spin. I close my eyes for a brief moment and open them again once I hear Dane talking.

Dane is in the guards hands and is being escorted in my direction. Jaymes arms get tighter around me once he enters the vicinity. I stare up at Jaymes and his eyes spark red with fury. I remember the feeling I had while talking to Dane and my cheeks burn a little. I squeezed my eyes shut and feel the hate inside me burn at myself.

"What's going on?" Jaymes practically yells to Dane and though I can't see Dane's face I can tell he looks guilty. Just as he is in the main hall and just as he did in the chamber. His natural face seems to be a bringer of death and hatred. My air passage is getting weaker. 

I can't handle stressful situations. It usually ends with me panicking and on the floor. Come on Ayeth, BREATHE. It's not even that big of a deal, you're being dramatic. Yeah, dramatic, your sister is trying to kill you and you're being dramatic. 

Hearing becomes quiet and I can no longer focus I grab a piece of Jaymes' tunic and he places a hand on my back, knowing I might go down.

"What's wrong with her?" I hear and the rest of the ability to hear comes back too. Dane's voice sounds annoyed. Jaymes' grip is harder on my back as I feel him push me up once again. The room stopped spinning and I lifted one of my hands to my head.

"Take it easy, Ayeth," Jaymes whispers in my ear and his hands slowly release me, until I'm standing on my own. My breath is heavy and takes a while for me to regain a steady breathing pattern. "Okay, what's going on?" Jaymes looks to me first and then Dane who is still in the hands of the patrol.

"Dane said, Avice is trying to, trying to kill me." I say and Jaymes' face turned red. He put a hand on my shoulder and put his mouth to my ear.

"Don't you believe anything this man has to say." He whispers and I feel his hot breath down my neck, making me shiver. I pull myself back and stare at both Dane and Jaymes. 

The guards unhanded Dane when Jaymes dismissed them. We stood alone in one of the many corridors. I still was unable to say much and my heart pounded desperately. The words Dane shot at me had been playing over and over again in my head. I can hear the faint noise of Jaymes and Dane talking and I can feel the tension rising.

"What proof do you have of this, huh?" Jaymes confronts and Dane looks at him with equal disgust. Dane and Jaymes are almost the same height but Jaymes still takes the crown height wise. Both have a very strong build. Jaymes who has been fighting in the Guard since he was seven years old, looks just like Dane with their body types, which leads me to believe that Dane has experienced training similar to Jaymes'.

"The Queen told me, you sour piece of-"

"And when did she tell you, and for what reason?" Jaymes yells and I look to Dane who is physically shaking. I could see the anger rising in him as he steps toward Jaymes, who instinctively grabs the handle of his sword. He looks down at the dagger in which Jaymes holds and looks at me.

"I don't have to explain anything to you, coward. I spoke with Ayeth. I told her the truth of what's going on. The Queen will ask for my removal, immediately. You cannot let her know I told you this. Ayeth?" Dane explains and looks to me.

"Dane, I don't know you all too well." I say, feeling stupid and I can tell he wants to trust me. But, I don't know this man. I can't just trust him, I don't know anything other than where he came from, his name, and the possibility that he is working with my sister to either help or murder me. One thing is for sure though, I need to explain things to the twins. But how?

Hey, Author here. Wow, we're almost done, with book 1. This has been insane. Thank you all for reading. 

Happy reading everyone! -MayaEverlast