Chapter 19

Raylon

‘Sakala Market’

I stomped toward my shuttle, fuming with anger. The guards caught up with me and walked at my side.

~How dare the men disrespect me like that! How dare they allow this woman to speak to me like that!~

We climbed onto my ship, and I spun around to the guards. “You all disobeyed me today! There will be consequences!” I shouted at them.

One of the men reluctantly stepped forward and spoke. “My Lord, we were following the king’s orders,” he said quietly.

“The king? What orders did he give?”

“To not touch the woman. To leave the ship, and to not say a word,” the guard said. I clenched my jaw and shut my eyes.

My brother was watching it all, and no doubt was highly amused.

I commanded the shuttle to return to the palace, and when we arrived, I stormed off the ship, went into the garden and found him sitting under the tree, waiting for me.

“Raylon, there you are. Walk with me, we must speak,” he said.

“Brother, why did you order the men to stand down?” I asked, biting my tongue so I wouldn’t say more.

“Why did you defy the rules of our peace deal and allow that ship to enter the kingdom?” he shot back.

“I had questions for the Fuls on board that vessel. It is the same one that watched the sun explode over a year ago,” I said, calming my tone.

“Well, now I have questions of my own. Perhaps they will be answered tonight, at the ball.”

“What ball? We are not hosting a ball tonight.”

“We are now,” he smiled and walked away.

~Great! Another pointless gathering that I have no choice but to attend.~

I left the garden and made my way to my room. I needed to prepare for this sudden ball my brother had announced.

I entered my room, stripped off my clothes, and sank down into the large hot bath. My anger was soothed in the murky water.

Her face flashed into my mind. The anger in her blue eyes. The messy, long blond hair, framing her face as she shouted at me.

She looked me dead in the eyes when she spoke.

No one in the kingdom dared to look beneath my mask at my eyes. Her tiny frame went rigid and ready to fight.

I smiled at how this tiny thing stood her ground in defense of her friends. Her friends, the Fuls.

~Was this the human they said they were experimenting with? If so, why did she defend them like that?~

She called them her friends, but Fuls did not have friends. They did not understand the concept of friendship. They used people and creatures to further their knowledge.

I quickly wiped the smile off my face as I remembered how tough and strong this little thing was, and how brave she was to speak to the prince like that.

The only logic that made sense was that she did not know who I was. If she did, she would not have dared speak to me like that.

I was smiling again—a silly, half-grin stuck on my face as I pictured her smooth skin, and the gentle features on her face scrunched into a furious frown.

I climbed out of the pool of water and dressed into the annoying royal robes my brother expected to see me in.

~What is this ball all about? What purpose is behind it?~ There is nothing to celebrate today, and to announce one so suddenly made me wonder what he was up to.

My mind drifted back to the blond hair and blue eyes of the woman the Fuls called Connie. This time, I did not smile.

I looked at myself in the mirror on my wall, at the scars over my skin, and my heart broke again.

Even this woman, from far away, and with no idea who I was, would still fear me and turn away in disgust if she were to ever see my true face.

I pushed the thoughts of her aside, and buried them away, deep down, where they could not cloud my mind.

There was no point in dreaming of something that could not be mine.

***

I stood on the balcony above the entrance to the Grand Hall, my usual spot before these events began, and watched the people coming in.

Once again Laylar found me and came to stand next to me.

“Do you know why my father has called for this ball, Uncle?” she asked.

She always looked so beautiful in her formal dresses. This time, a dark crimson color.

“No. I do not.”

“Well, whatever his reason, I am sure we will know soon enough. I will see you down there, Uncle.” She gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek and left me to my thoughts.

I turned back to the edge of the balcony, looking down at the people, and up to the sky at the ships bringing more.

The sun was setting slowly over the market, and her image pushed into my mind again. The fearlessness in her eyes. I shook the thought away and left the balcony.

In the hall, I found my brother on his throne, watching the door. “Are you waiting for someone, brother?” I asked, sitting down next to him.

He smiled at me without a word. He was definitely up to something, but I wouldn’t get the answers I sought from him.

“May I ask what you have decided to do about the Ful ship at the market?”

“Do not worry about that now,” he said. “We are having a party, and our duties can wait till the morning.” He stood and left me sitting alone on the throne.

~If he wants to act like this, then I can do the same.~ I made my way back out the Hall, to my balcony, and watched the sun set over the horizon.