Luke was talking to someone when I woke up again but I feinged sleep and listened, they were arguing.
But it was more of a one-sided argument, she was mad but he sounded like he didn't care at all.
"What are you going to do with her, if they find out who she is they will-"
He cut her off, " You're being too loud and they won't find out unless you tell them"
"The people don't like her already yet here you are, if they find out who she is they won't spare her" she said more quietly.
"Don't worry and let me worry about that, she is important to us for now"
I could feel her detest towards me in my fake sleep, what did I do her or her people?
After that, she stomped out of the tent leaving Luke to heave a sigh of distress. I didn't dare open my eyes although I wanted to, I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him.
It was unbelievable, he was just my guard there was nothing to be so nervous about. Pulling whatever he was sitting on closer to the edge of the bed, his fingers hovered my hairline tucking the stray strands back in place.
My breath was literally stuck in my throat that I coughed rather than just waking up and facing the man. "You have to wake up soon My Queen, nobody wants you here"
What was that supposed to mean? Why would he bring me to a place where nobody wanted me?
He stood up and left the tent.
"Is she still asleep?" I heard someone ask from outside the tent.
"No, she's awake"
Of course he knew I was awake, I just embarrassed myself by pretending to be asleep.
**
He sounded different, looked different and was impeccably handsome. He looked totally out of my league, I was the Queen so him being out of my league sounded ridiculous but it wasn't.
He looked awesome, Luke, to be precise.
I was hiding behind a tree some distance from where all the village members were gathered, they were few actually and not what I expected including the children playing at the back. He was telling them something but I couldn't here what.
I wanted to know what he was telling them but I couldn't find the courage to approach, I always had courage but not anymore not sure what happened.
After the earlier conversation about nobody wanting me around, I wasn't so comfortable around.
After a few minutes they all dispersed and this was my chance to talk to Luke and know where I was and what exactly was happening.
I approached him before he left.
"Luke?" I called.
He looked back, seeing me he told me to wait for a minute and that's what I did. Waited. The man he was talking to gave me a dirty look but I didn't dwell on it too much.
And finally Luke gave me the attention I needed.
"Yes?"
Why did he look different from what I was used to, back at the palace he was my door guard. He was always in uniform and I'd never paid attention to him before this tragedy befell upon us.
But now, he had a certain aura around him that made me kind of excited.
"Why do you look so different?"
He smiled, "I do? I thought you wouldn't notice?"
I gave him a squinted look, a normal statement with some underlying meaning, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You just never notice things around you" he said staring right into my soul. It was kind of intimidating actually.
At this point he was tickling my anger, "Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush anymore"
"How about you meditate on that, and on why you're not sitting on that throne and are here with a nobody who worked for you"
He was about to leave on that note but I pulled him back by grabbing his arm. He obviously knew something that I didn't and now he just piqued my curiosity.
"I'm not interested in meditating, tell me Luke"
He looked at me, a smile hinting his features but it didn't last for long, "That's the problem you always want to be told, you don't make decisions for yourself"
In silence I had to agree that he truly did hit a nerve but I would argue either way, "I do make-"
I stopped midway when noise from the forest stopped me. It wasn't just noise, someone screamed. My heart almost stopped, the screaming I'd heard a few days ago at the palace recurred in my head.
"Go back to your tent Lydia" Luke told me pushing me to walk back to my tent then he left.
But I was frozen, the blood had drained my hands and suddenly it was cold. I felt a shiver ran down my spine. I remembered walking but at certain point I stopped walking.
I couldn't move anymore, trapped in my mind.
I remembered the blood, the screams of people that day. The sun hadn't even risen when I witnessed the worst day in my life.
**
"Lydia?" someone was screaming my name in my head. My mom, I could see her but couldn't reach her.
"Mom?" I called out but couldn't reach her. She disappeared somewhere in those screams.
But someone was still calling my name, "Lydia?"
A man, it was neither my dad or brother.
"Hey, open Your eyes"
That's when it dawned on me that my eyes were closed, I opened them only to be met by this pretty boy.
I always had a thing for pretty boys, like the one before me. His eyes especially, my hands were on his face before I could comprehend what was happening.
"Who are you?"
"It's me, Za- no Luke"
"You don't look like Luke, he's-" he seemed alarmed by this and suddenly touched his ears then he became Luke, the Luke she knew.
"Oh!"
He smiled sweetly and that's when all consciousness came back to me. I blinked a couple of times, reading the situation around me.
I looked at Luke, he was smiling suspiciously but she wasn't wasn't in her right mind to think about him. "What happened?"
He stooped down to her heights level, "You tell me, I found you in tears and frozen here"
Right, I was crying.