The Tristesse princess

3

I opened my eyes slowly with a pain in my left shoulder and the sun in my eyes. I heard the rattle of a wagon tire as I took in my surroundings. I saw metal bars in front of me. "Hey boss, she's waking up" I heard a voice whisper as I leaned forward. I looked down to see my hands handcuffed. My eyes widened in fear, and I looked around frantically. I couldn't be caught! I can't be held against my will like this again! No matter who it is! "H-hey boss. I think something's wrong with this girl" the same voice said as my breathing got heavy. "Not again. N-not again. Anything but this please" I muttered to myself. An abrupt stop made me fall to my side, making me hit the metal bars. I groaned as I looked up, and saw a man standing in front of me. He grabbed my left arm and pulled me up, dragging me out. "Lucky you. We've arrived, so you won't be stuck in there" he said with a smirk on his face as he began leading me somewhere.

I glared up at the man who forced me to sit on the ground. Only, I wasn't the only person. Multiple females varying in age sat in a line with me. "Heads down" a voice said. I saw the others do as the man said, however, I did no such thing. "I said head down!" they yelled at me and kicked me in the back. I didn't budge as I looked straight ahead if me with an emotionless look on my face. He kicked me multiple times more, but to no effect on me. "Why do I see one of my subjects abusing a womans' back, hm?" I heard. The voice seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. "Rise to your feet" the man who seemed to appear from thin air said. I rose to my feet and looked up with just my eyes the slightest bit. I saw a smile etched on his face as he looked at me. He was much older than me, possibly older than my father. He then used his left hand to lift up my head, forcing me to look at him. I watched as he smirked, "She'll do. Take her" he said before a woman walked up to me. She had a smile on her face as she grabbed my right arm and began taking me somewhere. What happened next... I can't seem to remember.

The moment I had my eyes slightly open, I closed them again. Why was it always one of the two in my dreams? One was an absolute nightmare, and the other could be compared to peace or heaven. I sighed before I opened my eyes again, "Why do you look different this time. Every single time before, you've looked exactly the same down to a strand of hair" I said. "Ira... I haven't seen you in over four years. I'm not going to look the same" he said. That was different. He's never said something like that in my dreams before. Either I need something different from him or.. or he's really in front of me. "Maxwell.. is it really you? Or are you just my imagination?" I asked. He reached out and touched my cheek with his thumb, "It's really me" he said, touching his forehead to mine. As the first tear rolled down my cheek, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I-I've missed you. So so much" I said as he pulled me up to a sitting position. "Ira, you're safe here. There's no need to worry. I'll keep you safe" he said" "Just me is not enough. I must free my country from my father's ruling. My brother will only do the same. I must find a way to stop them" I said. "Is that why you left?" he asked, "It's part of it. Not the whole story, but it's all I can tell you today" I said. He was silent before standing up. Taking my hands in his, he smiled at me, "Come with me. I know you can't stay long, but I want you to relax while you can" he said.

While Maxwell led Ira along, Nuck watched from above with a smile on his face, "We should let her have today with him. It won't hurt for her to have some happiness" he said, "Yes. Let's leave them be. She deserves it" Aaron said as he crossed his arms. Suzie smiled at the two, "So! What should we do? We can't just sit around all day" she said. "I don't know about you, but I'm heading to the library. This place is more advanced than Tristesse. I'm taking my chance to learn about what they have" Aaron said, "Of course you would want to do that. That's such a you thing to do" Suzie said as she crossed her arms and turned her head away from him. "Pout all you want. It won't stop me" he said, walking passed the two. Nick smiled down at Suzie, "I'll stay with you. Where would you like to go?" he asked. Suzie smiled softly up at him, "I'm not sure. I think they have an exotic garden here. I'd love to see that!" she said. "Let's see if we can enter it then. I-" but before Nick could finish his sentence, he had to quickly pull Suzie out of the way as a bulled zoomed towards her. Barely missing it, the two had no idea what it was. No land had this type of weapon. Especially not Tristesse. Nick held onto Suzie as they looked to the only person nearby. "Why are you here? Who are you spying for?" the person asked, and their eyes widened in surprise.