Banished!

A guard grabs my forearm harshly from behind pulling me away from Micheal who turns as the guard drags me towards the door. He immediately goes to follow but is intercepted by another guard who pushes him back. We lock eyes and I shake my head to signal to him not to fight.

As the guard drags me through the hall his hand painfully tight around my injured wrist. My free hand shakes violently seeming to match the pace of my erratic heartbeat.

"The king has graciously given you four hours to gather your things and leave" the guard, an older man with black but greying hair and brown eyes who I remember buying me gotten candy as a five-year-old, says coldly pushing me into my room before shutting the door.

The weight of what just happened bears down on me constricting my chest. Sliding down the wall one hand on my chest. My heartbeat deafening in my ears. I gasp for air tears welling in my eyes rocking back and forth. Burying my head in my knees I try to focus on calming my breathing.

Jerking away as a warm hand rests on my back. I see it's Micheal kneeling beside me his mouth moving but his words drowned out by my heartbeat. He pulls me to him placing my ear over his heart I faintly hear him telling me to try and match it. I curl up against him focusing on calming down.

"Shh you're okay. Everything's going to be okay" Micheal whispers softly running his hand through the unbraided portion of my hair. My breathing slowly settles to a semi-normal pace my chest rising and falling in sync with Micheal's other than a light gasp from time to time.

"Everything's going to be okay. All of your guard have started preparing to leave." Micheal says softly continuing to fiddle with my hair.

"You know I would never ask them or you to leave their families just to follow me" I say softly leaning into his hand that was weaving through my hair.

"We know that but we still want to follow you. We all swore an oath to serve and protect you." Micheal says untangling his hand from getting caught in a know. "Everyone will meet at the gate in just under two hours so you better get packing."

~

Present

My body freezes and I just stare blankly at my own picture. Dead or Alive.... A knock at the door startles me.

One moment" I call crumpling up the poster setting it alight with the flick of my hand fixing my hair I call for the person to enter. It's my advisor. Everytime he visits me the sight of his greying hair reminds me that he's not the young, take on the world, man that he was when he was my tutor but then again I'm not exactly the seven year old learning how to walk in a gown without tripping that I was back then.

"Your highness" he says with a light bow. I sigh turning to face him

"How many times have I told you don't bow and my name is just fine." I say. "You were my tutor as a child you pretty much half raised me." Which is true most of my life our kingdom was at war so my parents were often coming and going to peace meetings leaving Sage and I with our tutors. When our parents died in a peace mission turned violent they were 'promoted' to our advisors.

"As many times as I have told you that I always will. You need to follow the royal protocols" he says. I go to roll my eyes but halfway around my eyes land on my crown reminding me of all the lessons he taught me. Specifically the first time I wore a crown and his words and he placed it on my head "tilt your head too far either way and your crown will fall". Reminding me to keep my head up but not be snobbish. He follows my gaze and I know he's thinking the same thing by his next words.

"You've come a long way since then" I shake my head scoffing slightly.

"Doesn't feel like it. There's a bounty on my head in my own kingdom placed by my brother no less" I say running the pass of my thumbs under my eyes to wipe away the unshed tears.

"Hog wash. You've come a long way from the little girl who wanted to do nothing more than have servants read her stories." I laugh slightly thinking back to then.

"I still remember every stories. Especially my favorite" I start. "Which was the prophecy" he finished.

~~~

In the shadowed halls of time, where echoes of fate reside,

A hooded figure, cloaked in night, shall whisper secrets wide.

A kingdom forged in blood and tears, from ashes shall arise,

Its destiny entwined with stars, beneath the weeping skies.

When crimson rivers stain the earth, and crowns are lost to flame,

The hooded one shall stand alone, to speak the kingdom's name.

"Your time rests in the skies," they vow, "it's over once the sun dies,"

For when the final light is quenched, the fallen shall arise.

Thus heed the call of prophecy, where darkness meets the dawn,

And seek the truth in shadows deep, where ancient threads are drawn.

For in the end, when sun and star are swallowed by the night,

The kingdom born and won from blood shall claim its fated right.

~~~

I recite by heart. Smiling remembering the years I spent sprawled on my bed begging the maids for stories as they cleaned.
"I remember how excited you were when we finally got to it in your studies. I went to say it and you just recited it like it was nothing" he chuckles as I smile fondly at the memory.
"I still wonder if the prophecy has past or if it's still out there in the hands of the universe"