As the wind brushed by his head gently, Luke reminisced of the day his brother left. It had only taken Matthew disappearing from view for uncertainty and anxiety to nestle within the younger sibling.

The rainy days were solemn and melancholy, but they managed to put Luke at ease. He enjoyed sitting beside the garden square with the princess, admiring the flood as it drenched the fauna. Luke had worried about the water rising into the castle, but Elizabeth assured him the drains on the side of the garden would send all the water into the sewers.

Once Autumn arrived, it meant another a year of school, and the place was as noisy as ever, but the boy wasn’t ready for what had come. He had kept an eye out for Carem, a man -an adult- he trusted and empathized, but a new teacher had taken the room. Luke had scoured the building in a hope of finding the man, but to no avail. Where? When? Why? He didn’t know, but it was the least of his worries.

Returning to the castle after the first day of school, Luke couldn’t take his mind off losing his teacher, until he noticed how empty the building seemed. The silence was deafening, no guards or tourist walked the halls. After pondering a few moments, it hit him: the chancellor was absent as of late. Even pressing the men guarding the entrance, all they would say is that Edward had left on official business.

With a heavy heart, Luke proceeded to the garden square, but it was empty. Searching high and low, he couldn’t find any trace of the princess.

“Why hello, Luke.”

A familiar voice chimed with the last word drenched in venom, causing the boy’s skin to crawl. Turning around, Luke saw his mother standing behind him, leaning against one of the pillars that created a stripe pattern around the garden.

“Mom? Why are you here? What did you do with Elizabeth?”

“Me? I wouldn’t do anything to that little darling.” The woman’s face curled into a snide smirk. “I have a life outside of the queen’s chamber and the kitchen, you know?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“You do?”

Luke had felt a small thrill as his mother sneered at him. In an instant, her expression returned to her prideful smile as she approached him, making him uncomfortable and forcing him to retreat backward.

“Yes, you little shit. I like to look over the princess’s garden; it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” The woman passed the boy, kneeling over and pulling a rose close to her, sniffing it before letting it return to its natural position.

“Yeah, it is beautiful.”

The woman’s neck snapped to face the boy as she got up and walked over, this time bending back down so that their faces were mere inches apart, her eyes gazing into his soul. Putting her hand against his cheek, it glided across his face. Luke didn’t care about the hand, instead he fixated on the long fingernails that hovered a hair away from his eyes and were pressed lightly against his skin.

“Roses have thorns Luke, but if you pick up a rose with a gentle touch, you aren’t likely to be pricked. You, as a man, as a boy… I know you aren’t capable of such finesse. You’re violent and clumsy, the kind of person the princess needs least in her life.”

“Why are you such a jerk?” Luke almost regretted those words, but to his surprise his mother’s grin widened.

“I grew up, I saw the world for what it was, for it what it could and would do to nice people. I was once like you, believing one day I would be strong, respected, and for a time I was. But those days are over. If I ever did, if I ever will teach you anything, let it be this: don’t expect kindness from this world. If someone offers you anything, they expect more in return.”

The woman stood up, turn her back to her son, and walked toward the throne room.

“The princess will be here shortly. Remember, the princess is a flower and you are poison. Don’t contaminate her.”

Luke didn’t respond, instead fixated on her ‘lesson’.

“Luke?”

The boy snapped out of his stupor, not realizing the princess was now standing in front of him.

“Your mother said you were waiting for me. Sorry about that, my tutor really likes to talk. And talk. And talk.”

“Elizabeth, I wanted to ask you…but you’ll think I’m crazy.”

“Ask me what? I can’t know if you’re crazy unless you tell me.”

“Do you mind if I live with you from now on?”

“Oh, I’d love that! But, my mom might not. I don’t know where you’d sleep. But if you could stay here, that’d be great! We could see each other all the time.”

Luke had laughed at the girl who violently shook her arms in anticipation. Looking over her shoulder, he was determined to anger his mother as much as possible while also distancing himself from her.

“I guess we better start by asking the queen.”