The dancing ceremony had come to an end, and May was seated at the head of a very long dinner table, next to her father and brother. It was customary after every ceremony for the royalty to have dinner together, while the nobility waited in the great room, snacking on caviar.
These dinners were more than just a formality, however. They were a chance for kings to discuss and negotiate terms, whether it be trade routes or border issues. Normally, the children would not be allowed to attend, but on special occasions such as this one, they were encouraged to join and observe. But only that. They could observe, but they were never to speak up. It was considered a great learning experience for them, especially for those soon to take over the throne.
May was absent-mindedly listening to her father and the King of Carrion discuss imports from their sea-faring neighbors. When suddenly, the King of Simone spoke up.
"Your Majesty, King Clarkson."
The entire table turned to the speaker.
"Yes, King Herreid?" May's father responded.
Prince Anderson also perked up at the sound of his father's voice.
"I think it is time we discuss the main event of tonight's negotiations." King Herreid wore a serious expression.
"Ah, yes." May's father stood and addressed the room, "My fellow rulers," he bellowed, "Tonight is indeed a special night. Not only is it the birthday of my beloved Princess May, but it is also a day for making history."
The king gestured to May when he spoke her name, and she threw up a little in her mouth in response to the fake sentiment.
"As you all well know, the Simone Kingdom and my own have been friends for many a generation, but we have never solidified our pact of friendship. While we remain on friendly terms today, if we do not make an official statement, I fear the future will not remain so peaceful."
May seethed, so your children are a statement now?
"In light of all this, King Herreid and I have discussed the possibility of forming a union. A bond stronger than a piece of paper, the most powerful knot, one that can never be severed! We propose... a marriage!"
The room full of kings erupted as they all started talking at once. May's father waited for them to calm down before raising his hands in a gesture asking for silence.
"I am aware this may come as a shock to most, after my announcement of my daughter's refusal to marry."
Refusal to marry, May thought, I mean it's true, but... I didn't think father made such a big deal of it.
"I am also aware this may seem unfair to those of you with eligible sons and a need for alliance, but you must understand, this union is of more than a political opportunity."
More than a political opportunity? What did he mean?
"My daughter has fallen in love!"
May almost choked on the bit of food she had been chewing. The room buzzed again, and murmurs could be heard from up and down the table. May wanted to scream, to run, to do anything! But she had to remain calm, or there would be hell to pay.
"And so, on this happy occasion, I announce the engagement of my daughter to Prince Anderson of the Simone Kingdom!" May's father held up his glass to propose a toast, and the rest of the room hesitantly responded.
May remained in a state of shock from her father's words, though she wasn't sure why it bothered her so much. She thought she ought to be more concerned about the fact that she was marrying a complete and total stranger. No, not a stranger. An asshole. If she had learned anything from her encounter with the prince, it was that he was not going to be a very pleasant husband.
"Well, I was certainly surprised to hear the news, but this is indeed wonderful your majesty! I'm sure both your lands will benefit greatly from this union. After all, the joining of your children will greatly increase moral, and we all know the people are in dire need of it." Said King Carmon of the Turdine Kingdom.
May perked up, the people are in dire need of moral, why?
"Yes, King Carmon," May's father said, somewhat agitated by his insulting undercurrent, "The war has taken quite a toll on both of our countries, we are hoping the marriage will help to please the people."
The war?! This was the first time May had heard of any war. She thought their kingdom was completely peaceful, but then, when she really though about it, she realized she didn't actually know very much about what was happening outside the palace walls. But still, how could she not know about a war? For the first time, May considered her people. The people she was a princess to. She thought about how she had been raised from birth to know the ins and outs of her country, and yet she had never seen her country. She considered the responsibility of being a ruler, and the weight she was placing on her brother's shoulders by refusing to marry. She thought about the lavish food in front of her and wondered who had worked to prepare it. She knew the castle staff had cooked it, but who had grown it? Out of nowhere, May was suddenly hit with the realization that she didn't truly know anything about her country, and somewhere inside of her, a small piece of her heart died.
Why? She thought, why does this suddenly bother me so much?
And the more she thought about it, she soon realized all the signs had been there. Signs of war. The constant stream of new guards that Jason was always busy training, the "drills" practiced during make-believe raids on the castle, when she was hurriedly ushered to an underground safety bunker. Her stomach turned. Those had not been drills, they were real. Her life had been in danger, more than once. Suddenly, she didn't think she could take any more, ready to throw up, she tried to think of a way to excuse herself without appearing rude. But she never got the chance. At that moment, a guard came crashing through the enormous doors of the dinning room. His face was panicked, and he was out of breath. The king waited patiently for him to explain his sudden appearance, and he didn't have to wait long, the guard was supposedly in a hurry.
Still out of breath, he managed to choke out a few words, "Sir... fire... castle."
The king was growing impatient now, "Speak up lad! You'd better have a good explanation for this intrusion!"
That's when they heard the screams.
The guard looked the king dead in the eye, something no man would ever dare to do unless he was on equal standings with someone so regal, and said, "A fire has taken the castle."
Suddenly, the room was a flurry of motion.
"A FIRE?!" someone screamed.
"What were the guards doing?!"
"How did this happen?"
"What do we do?!"
Then, one voice rang out over all the others, "CALM YOURSELVES!"
It was May's father. When the room had gone silent again, he continued.
"This is why we have drills, for exactly these types of situations. We all know what to do, we just need to calm down and do it."
That seemed to settle everyone for the moment, because they then started to move towards a tapestry on one end of the wall. A maid came to move it aside, revealing a hidden door. Single-filed and anxious, the crowd of royalty streamed into the passage whispering quietly. May was ushering her brother towards the door when she suddenly remembered Jason. She bent over to assure Clementine everything would be alright.
"Clemmie?" she asked, and he looked up at her, "Everything's going to be alright, you know that, don't you?"
He stared at her with sad, scared eyes and solemnly nodded his head.
"Good, because I have to go away now and find Jason, but you're going to be just fine, you hear? You'll go with daddy and be safe."
He looked mortified, "You're going away? No!" he screamed as May tried to hush him, drawing her father's attention, "I don't want you to! It's dangerous!"
She kept shushing, "Hey, hey, look at me," he did, and May said, "I'm going to be perfectly fine. You know how strong Jason is, he'll protect me."
The child nodded assent at her mention of Jason's strength, but still appeared reluctant, "Do you promise?"
"Promise what Clemmie?" May said.
"Do you promise to come back?"
May swallowed hard, then closed her eyes and shook her head, "Of course, of course I'm coming back." A lump was forming in her throat.
"You promise?"
May was choking back tears, "I promise."
Suddenly, Clementine enveloped his sister in a hug, wrapping his tiny arms around her. She hugged him back, then stood to go, but her father's voice stopped her.
"And where do you think you're going young lady?"
May stopped and turned around slowly, "I'm going to find Jason."
"Why? He will be fine, and besides, he has my army to command. He's doing his job May, he doesn't need you interfering with that."
"I don't care, I'm going to find him."
The king sighed, like he was done dealing with her, "Don't be ridiculous, just come along to the shelter now."
May almost listened, she almost turned away from the flames, into the safety of the hidden passage. She almost gave in to years of conditioning, making her respond to her father's every command. But at that moment, something inside her clicked. She thought about all the events of that day. Her engagement, the war, and then the fire. And her birthday... suddenly she realized how old she was. I'm twenty years old, she thought, why does he still govern what I do?
May turned to her father, "No."
"What?" he said.
"I said, no."
The king's eyes flew into a blaze, but outside he remained calm, if only for the sake of appearances.
"What do you mean, no?" the king's voice was nearly quivering with anger.
May too, was shaking, "I mean, no. I don't have to obey you anymore, I'm going to find Jason and you can't stop me."
"Oh, really?"
The king started to move towards May, looking as though he was ready to strike her, but before he could, Clementine moved between the two.
"NO DADDY STOP!" he screamed with about as much volume as he could manage.
"Move out of the way Clementine," he said gruffly, his eyes boring into the young boy. If he hadn't been scared before, he certainly was now.
"You can't hurt sissy," he squeaked.
The king's mouth turned up in an evil grin, and with a sickeningly sweet voice, he lied through his teeth to his own son, "Hurt her? Why, I would never do that Clementine. She's my own daughter after all."
Clementine's eyes were wide with fear, he had never seen his father act this way before. That sinister look in his eyes, the fake tone of his voice, it was as though he had become another person. The little boy didn't want to believe that this was his father standing in front of him. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Clementine's instinct took over, and almost like reflex, he ran to his sister for protection. She welcomed him with open arms, wrapping him into a hug and lifting him off the ground. As she cradled him protectively, she stared down her father.
"On second thought," she said half to herself and half to her father, "I think I'll take Clemmie with me."
That was the last straw. The king erupted and started to run towards May and her brother, screaming profanities at them. But before he could reach out an arm to grab his children, guards were pulling him away, trying to usher him towards the safety of the passageway. May took that as her sign to run. She turned and bolted towards the dinning room doors, still carrying Clementine in her arms. When she was about halfway there, her father managed to escape the grasp of his guards and began again towards his daughter. Had May ever acted like a real princess, and refrained from venturing outside to play, she might never had gained her proficiency in running. Living in the castle, it would have been easy for her to gain weight and lose her athletic abilities. Any other princess might have done exactly that, not realizing what was happening to their bodies. But May had always been different, and it was that which saved her from her father's grasp now. Even with the heavy load of her brother in her arms, May easily outdistanced her father, who after years of sitting at a desk doing paperwork, had lost his speed and agility. Before he had even made it across the first chair of the dinning table, May was out the doors running through a screen of smoke.
She coughed and sputtered when she entered the hall but stopped when she realized the situation surrounding her. It was almost too much to take in. To her right, a grand fire was blazing, covering the walls and floor and ceiling, radiating waves of heat. To her left she could hear screaming and the distant clank of metal on metal. She couldn't see through all the smoke, but she could hear the fighting. She knew which direction she could find Jason.
As she gained her wits back, she readjusted Clementine, who was still clinging to her for dear life, then looked down at her dress. It was a bother. In the next instant, she had ripped off the green fabric from the knees down. She also tore away the constraining sleeves, which made their way down her arm from a puffy shoulder piece, all the way to her elbows. She was secretly satisfied when she ripped away the unseemly dress, the thing had been hideous. With everything in order, she turned on her heel and ran to her left.
As she made her way down the hall, she tried covering her mouth with one hand, while the other held her brother, and she wished she had kept some of that fabric to make a handkerchief for her and her brother. She hadn't thought about it and was chastising herself for forgetting something so obvious. But it was too late to dwell on it now, so she decided to find more fabric to tear away. Her dress had been made in layers, so all she had to do was rip off the top part of the bottom of her dress. Still running, she somehow managed to rip the fabric in two and fashion some sort of make-shift bandannas for her and Clementine. First, she tied one around his head, and then her own. It wasn't perfect, but it kept some of the smoke out.
May was about to round a corner when she was suddenly pulled away by a strong arm. She immediately started struggling, shifting Clementine to the floor and telling him to run. But he just stood there, looking as if he wanted her to calm down.
"What are you doing Clemmie?! RUN!" May screamed.
She continued to struggle against the grip on her arm, kicking and punching without actually contacting anything. She couldn't see very well in the smoky haze and squinted, trying to make out her attacker. She stopped as soon as she heard their voice.
"MAY! MAY, it's me! Jason!"
May relaxed and turned to look at him. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with emotions at seeing him. All at once, she let out the stress, anxiety, and fear she had been holding tucked away in her heart. She burst into tears, letting out heart-wrenching sobs and collapsed into Jason's arms.
He wasn't sure what to make of the situation. He felt sorry for the princess, he couldn't even imagine what she had been through in just one day, but this was no time to be giving into emotions. They were in the midst of a raid. Probably the worst one they had experienced so far. He wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't let her die. He swallowed hard, fighting back tears of his own and took May's head in his hands.
"May," he said, "You need to snap out of it."
"What?" she said in between choked sobs.
"You can't throw in the towel yet. You have to keep going, for your sake, and for your brother's," he nodded toward Clementine.
May removed herself from his arms and looked up at him drearily. It took her awhile to comprehend what he was saying, but when she finally understood, she shook her head violently.
"You're right," she said, "I don't even know what I'm doing." Despite the situation, she laughed lightly.
Jason's heart broke a little at seeing her pained smile.
"You two need to get to safety, I know a passage that leads outside the castle. I can take you there and -"
May cut him off, "What do you mean 'you two', you're coming with us." She looked up at him with serious eyes, her smile had faded, and she now wore a concerned expression, her brows furrowed.
Jason hesitated, "No, I'm not."
May pushed back from him completely, disgusted with his answer, "What do you mean you're not coming?! I came all this way just to look for you so we could escape together! I'm not leaving you now!"
Jason smiled, "May, I have to stay here and fight. My men need orders and I'm the only one who can deliver. Even now, I shouldn't be wasting time here with you, it's too dangerous."
Her father's words came rushing back to her, "He's doing his job May, he doesn't need you interfering with that", is what he said. She dismissed the thought and returned her attention to Jason. Then she made up her mind.
"I'm going to help," she said with determination.
Jason was stunned, but only for a moment, "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm going to help you fight," she said, not budging an inch.
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
Jason sighed in frustration, "May, you don't even know how to."
May didn't falter, "I've read about it. I'm sure I can manage a few swings with a sword, let me see that," she reached for his blade.
He jerked back, "Reading is not the same thing as experience. You wouldn't last a second out there."
May was growing impatient, "Well, what am I supposed to do? I can't exactly make up for years of training right now, I'll just have to wing it."
Jason didn't want to have to play this card, but he said, "What about your brother?"
That was when May finally stopped to think. He's right, she thought, I can't just leave him.
"Fine," she said begrudgingly.
Jason breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for Clementine, he would have had no way of stopping the May from moving forward with her crazy plan. He bent down to pat the boy on the head.
"You hear that, Clementine? Your sister is going to take good care of you now."
"You aren't coming with us?" He said in his childlike voice.
"No, not this time, but we'll see each other again," Jason said, uncertain of whether that was really true.
Clementine's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Really."
Jason stood back up and turned to May, who was still sulking.
"Hey," he said, lifting her chin, "It's going to be alright."
May gave him a weak smile, then her eyes flew open in surprise. Jason dropped to the ground and rolled onto his side. There was a sword sticking out of his stomach.
May gasped and immediately went on her knees, crouching beside her best friend. How had it happened? He had been fine just a second ago, why was there suddenly a sword sticking out of him? She looked up, tears streaming down her face, at the man who had stabbed Jason. He was tall. And strong, extraordinarily strong. His bald head was covered with tattoos, as was the rest of his body, which was nothing but pure muscle. His clothes were old and coated in grim. Signs of wear were beginning to show where the seams had come undone, creating large holes in various places. A broadsword was slung across his back, waiting for it's turn to be used. His eyes were mean and scary, and his mouth was curled in a vicious grin. It reminded May of her father.
Without a word, the man reached for the sword on his back and unsheathed it slowly, grinning at the princess now slumped in defeat on the floor. May was stunned, unable to move, and scared for her life. But her grief for Jason had taken control, and the fear was overwhelming. No amount of adrenaline could save her now.
As the man raised his sword to strike, she wondered, is this it? Is this where I die? I don't want to die. But then, what do I have to live for? My best friend is going to die. But what about Clemmie? That's right, I have to live. For Clementine! Suddenly May was snapped back to reality, but it was too late, the sword was almost upon her.
Out of nowhere, May was pushed to the ground in the split seconds before the sword made contact with her body. Then she was being dragged to her feet and made to run. She panicked, her eyes searching for Clementine, but he was running right beside her. She calmed slightly at the sight of him, but then wondered who was dragging her away from the scene. She looked to her savior and was more than shocked to see Prince Anderson's face. He was focused on the sights ahead of him and didn't notice the princess staring, but she was. Prince Anderson had just saved her life.