Made For Gold

Join or Die

Present Day.

My mom always told me that whenever I have a difficult decision I should flip a coin. She said that while the coin was in the air, I would know what I truly wanted.

I flip my spare coin in the air a couple times, willing for the letter to disappear. Of course, it didn't. I guess I should be happy. My mission of five years has been completed. There are no more heirs to the throne. The queen died the same day as my mother, the king was killed by someone else, and now the princess is dead.

The death of the king was a huge deal, as you would expect it to be. But just after an hour of the time of death the killer was caught. He spoke a few words and then was arrested, no resistance. But one thing that has bothered me about him ever since that day. He did the last thing my mom did. The hand signal. Right before he handed himself over he did the same gesture as my mom did before she jumped. I brought this up to Jax but we never really got any answers.

If I wasn't so worried we'd be celebrating right now. We'd be glad that this was out of our hands, out of my hands. I never directly asked him if he would help me with my mission. I ran it by him and he took it upon himself to help. I guess when you know somebody for years you develop the need to help them. I know I would help Jax out in a heartbeat. I made sure that I always try my best to, especially after his father died. It was hard on him so I tried to be there for him. That's all I could do.

I pick up the letter written in silver ink. This is the fifth time I've read it since I took it out of the envelope. I know that I need to tell Jax about the princess and the offer but the note specifically says that if I tell anyone about the situation I'll die. As extreme as it sounds, it's true. If I spill the secret I'm no use to them. They'll kill me and anyone I told on sight. But Jax is also really clever. Being my housemate he's learned a lot about me, so it wouldn't be that hard to tell if I was lying or not. Which I would never lie to him. He's been nothing but honest with me and I've always been honest with him. Telling him that I have to go to the palace would be even more suspicious without a reason. So my hands are tied.

The door to my shop opens and I instinctively tuck the letter under the desk. I straightened myself and put on a phoney smile. I give a standard greeting to the customer as they look in my direction. They're new, which is odd since the interest in machinery has fallen even lower than it was when I was a kid. They poke around for a couple minutes then leave empty-handed. No surprise there.

As they leave Jax pushes through the door, practically soaring up to the desk. I laugh at him as he tries to catch his breath.

"The last time I seen you this excited you fell into Comrose Lake and almost drowned."

"Shut up." We laugh. I give him a minute to catch his breath so he can tell me why he's so excited. I'm glad he's finally, truly happy. I wasn't joking when I said I hadn't seen him this happy in a long time. I missed his small gap and dimples that appeared when he smiled or laughed.

"So remember how during the summer festival last year you seen that small metal bear?" I was more than shocked at the question. I'm surprised he even remembered it.

"Yeah, and how I didn't buy it because I didn't think I had room."

"Well, I was talking to Mrs. Apfront and she told me that the welder was back in town. So I did the righteous thing and, voila!" As he speaks he reaches into his pocket and remove the metal bear. For it's small size, it was heavier than you'd expect. I stare agape at Jax.

"I didn't think you were paying attention." He gives me a careless shrug. He smiles once again and I can't help but feel happy myself. "Thank you, Jax. What do I owe you?"

"Geez River, you don't have to pay me for a gift. It's fine, really. And if you don't want to accept it as a spontaneous gift then count it as an early birthday present." He pushes his glasses up again and I laugh at him.

"Thank you, dork." I stand to hug him over the desk, but the feeling of the letter stops me. All my happiness is wiped away in a second.

"Judging by your face I have a feeling we have a more serious matter to talk about," he says calmly. I nod my head solemnly, rubbing my thumb over the small bear. I pull the letter up from underneath the desk, the palace marking gleaming in the fluorescent lights of the shop.

"I've been given a proposition by the palace. I can't disclose what because they're always listening and I don't want you to get hurt because of it." I study Jax to see how he reacts. I tap my foot nervously as we wait in silence. He screws his lips to one side and then the other.

"Can I ask questions about your task?"

"I don't see why not."

"Does it involve your mad skills in mechanics?" I laugh and nod at him.

"Yes, I'll be doing my normal job there." He nods to himself trying to piece together what's going on. "Jax, I know recently you've been putting a lot of trust in me, we both have, but I need you to trust me even more on this, please. If I do this the outcome could make us legends."

"You know I trust you with my life, River. There's nothing I wouldn't believe for you." I let out a sigh and all my worries melt away.

"Thank you, you have no idea how long I've been stressing over this."

"You're welcome, besides, it's nothing more than what I owe you."

"What?"

"River," he begins, "You welcomed me into your home after my father died. You showed me support when I thought that I was doing the wrong thing. You've shown me nothing but kindness ever since I met you. I owe you a lot more than trust."

I feel my eyes tearing up. I lean over the desk and hug him fully. The letter falls out of my hand, temporarily forgotten. I inhale deeply, savoring the moment. It's times like these that I truly believe that we're going to be okay. That maybe there's a chance for us.

"Thank you, thank you," I whisper as we continue to hug.

In moments like these I know I truly love him.

~*~

The rest of the night is spent by us just hanging out. We are still teenagers after all. Even though after eighteen your considered an adult, you don't feel like one. You just feel like a kid who everyone is expecting to do magnificent things.

After Jax goes to bed I go to my room and pull out my mom's journal. I found it shortly after her death, wedged under a loose board in the floor. In this journal I learned why my mom had such a hatred for the royal family. Why she killed the queen.

Day 0

The Autumn Festival

Everything we've built up for, everything we worked up to, ends tonight. It will probably get me killed in the process, but I'm fine with that. I just hope that they can move on too.

Dearest River, if by chance you find this, please know that what happens tonight isn't your fault. These are my decisions, so please don't blame yourself. I know you don't understand this all right now, you're just following what I say, but let me explain why everything is going to happen.

When I was six months pregnant with you the war was in full swing. We were losing so many men we had to resort to the draft. The queen had sent that godforsaken letter saying that the royal family pick him, your dad, personally for the war. I pleaded with them on my hands and knees not to send him away as I was of a child.

They laughed at me.

To this day you cannot convince me that your father's death was not by their hands. And I won't let everyone continue to suffer by their wrath just because no one wants to do anything about it.

River, my girl, I know you are smart and will understand why I'm doing this. I cannot get caught, that would be worse than death. So please don't be angry with me, though I won't blame you if you are.

I'll see you again, my darling, I just hope not to soon.

I rub my thumb over the drawn hand signal. It almost feels like a taunt. I close my eyes and breath in deeply. Tomorrow when I go into the palace I won't be their friend, I'll be a mere citizen that is a threat with the knowledge I have. I'll be treated like a bomb.

Fragile but could ruin you if treated the wrong way.