Rule the World

Recap:My smile had grown to a grin and my brain had seemed to freeze. All I could say was, "Alright."

It was so cold. Lying in the snow. Alone. I couldn't move. I just wanted to die, to escape the pain. I just wanted to...

"Miss Sollys!"

BANG!

I jerked up in my seat, eyes snapping open. My History teacher was glaring down at me, the vein in his head pulsing.

"You care to answer the question?" he asked between clenched teeth.

I shrank in my seat as I heard giggling around me. I didn't blame him for being upset; this was the third time I'd fallen asleep in his class this week.

The question...something snagged it in my conscienceness...

"The War of 2012 lasted for eight years, but a king for each continent wasn't chosen until six years ago after extended fighting increased between the seven continents."

Professor Lemarde's face changed from anger to pure annoyance and surprise. "Very well," he said and continued on back the aisle of desks, talking further about the war.

"Wow...I can't even answer a question when I'm awake," Ijs whispered.

"History's never been my strong point."

He arched an eyebrow. "Then I'd like to see you in a strong class."

"Who is talking?"

Ijs and I both ducked our heads. It'd help if I had pleasanter professor...

Roy

The flames flickered aimlessly in the hearth. No wood lit it(where would we get it from?). My hand stroked over Ulver's ears as he sat beside me.

You really should sleep...Everyone will start talking that you're unfit to rule when they figure out we've been wondering the halls.

I arched an eyebrow and looked at the beast beside me. "Do you find me unfit?"

Ulver shook his head, sending his fur waving down his back. Absolutely not. I'm just...worried. This girl has really gotten to you.

I said nothing. I was hoping he wouldn't notice, but what was I thinking? Ulver was intelligent, quick to learn. Him and I had a close bond, sometimes to the point of knowing what the other was feeling without saying a word.

Don't think I haven't noticed, he said. You sent me to watch her the day she went down the city. You've never done that to anyone else before. He looked at me, golden eyes flickering like the flames. Why is she so special? Is it because she--

"It has nothing to do with that," I replied quickly and when his eyes narrowed, I rose from my seat. "I sent you to watch her because...Does it matter? If you hadn't she and her friend would have been lost. I saved them. Isn't that enough?"

Ulver stood as well and walked over to me. "You could have came after her yourself, you know? You can't stay locked up in the castle forever. Its not healthy."

"I'm fine."

Roy... Ulver looked at me sympathetically. You had to do what you had to do...Keeping yourself locked up here...I hear what your people say. He hesitated and then carried on. They doubt you.

"I've done everything I can offer," I growled, turning to the window. The faint glow of the city rose from the valley's opening. "I've given everything I can without bankrupting us. Its nearly impossible to rule such a barren wasteland. They should trust me..."

That proves right there that you aren't right. You love this country and everything about it, no matter how barren it is. Your people...they do love you. But they're beginning to wonder if a king even lives in these walls anymore. They just...they haven't seen you for how many years?

"Three."

Three years is a long time. Plenty of time for people to doubt. I thought you were actually going to...return to normal.

I turned to look at him, shoulders slouched in anger. "Try living with what I have to," I replied coldly. "I was returning 'normal', but--"

That girl showed up.

I regrettfully nodded. "Its so complicated..."

Ulver let out a long breath. You're only making it that way. I saw what you did when she came into the room. Roy, look at yourself now. You don't even look well! But...when she came... The wolf shook his head. It reminded me of what you used to be like.

"I was happy."

You want to be happy again, don't you? So...I'm saying this because I find you to be a human I actually care about...GET OFF YOUR ASS AND SHOW HER WHAT YOU FEEL!

His sharp voice sliced through my mind and I winced.

Sorry. But do it. She suffers the same as you, I can sense it.

Sera

The shadows shifted and this time I did not recoil in fear when Ulver trotted towards me. Instead, I kneeled down and his tongue licked my nose in greeting.

I smiled and scratched his ears to which he groaned and leaned against my hand. I laughed and looked past him. There was no sign of him.

"Where's Lord Khan?"

Ulver cocked his head and then began to walk back down the hallway. I followed him until we reached the bridge.

"Ulver, no," I said. He took my pant leg in his teeth and pulled. "I don't think I should go to his castle without his permission!" I hissed.

He continued to pull, his backlegs braced as he looked up at me with mischief in his eyes. Sighing, I gave in and followed him. The entry hall was even scarier in the dark as we passed through it and up the steps. I crept up the steps uneasily.

Should I really be following a wolf? This was a bad idea...I was going to get in trouble...

When we got to the hall that held the king's study, Ulver stopped at a different door and leaped upon the handle. The door opened a crack, bearing a dim light, and he slinked inside, leaving me alone in the gaping hallway. I felt like I was in the stomach of a beast.

"Ulver," I whispered. His head poked out the door and he whined at me. "No! I'm not going in there."

His head lowered in an almost annoyed manner and he came back out. Then he started barking.

"Ulver! Shhh!" I began to back away from him. He led me all the way here to get caught!

The door opened further and Lord Khan came to stand in the doorway, sillouetted by the light. "Seraphine?"

I bowed my head. "I'm sorry sorry, Milord. I--"

"Roy," he interrupted, but there was no anger in his voice. "Please, come in."

I looked up at him, evaluating what he was getting at, but his face was its usual pensive mask and I straightened, followed him inside.

It was his bed chamber. High vaulted ceiling that disappeared into the shadows and an enormous window that opened the wall to the starry sky. A bed sat to the side, seeming to be undisturbed and a large fireplace that crackled quietly. It was the only source of light in the room.

Lord Khan poured tea into a cup. "Elena brought me tea, to help me sleep. Would you like some?"

I nodded. He filled another one for me and nodded to one of the black, high-backed chairs. I wasn't as intimated by the king as I had been. He seemed to be rather hospitable and in some ways...sweet. There was something in his eyes though. They were cold, but not in a threatening way. It was as if his soul had been frozen over like the world outside. Something deeply troubled him and I found myself wondering what it was.

When I'd sat down in the chair, he handed my cup and sat down in the chair facing mine. In front of the fire, Ulver laid down between us.

"What keeps you awake at night?" he asked me.

I tucked my legs underneath me and took a sip of my tea. It was sweet, filling my insides with warmth almost immediately. "Nightmares," I answered.

He nodded and said quietly, to where I almost didn't hear him, "me too."

I decided to press the subject a little more. "What are they about?"

He looked at me with a coy expression. "What are your's about?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

A smile played at my lips, humored by his playful statement. He did have more of personality than I thought.

"My parents," I answered and my smile dropped. "Or really just what happened to them. It happens to me." I took a gulp of tea this time to show my uneasiness.

"That's terrible," he answered, looking over at the fire.

"Now tell me yours."

His face hardened, the shadows against his face becoming more jagged. Ulver raised his head to look at his master and I was afraid I'd said the wrong thing. His eyes were even colder now, frozen and narrowed to slits. The hand resting on the chair's arm was in a white-knuckled grip.

"I'm sorry," I said hurriedly. "I didn't mean--"

"Its fine," he said, returning his look to me. His eyes seemed to thaw. "Its...hard to explain, really."

He's just afraid.

It wasn't my own inner thoughts that said this, and I started slightly at the new voice. However, nothing else happened.

Dismissing it, I nodded and braced my head against my hand. I was beginning to feel sleepy, perhaps the tea would work.

"Tell me about your village."

I looked up at him; he was looking into the fire again. "Its small. There's only a few hundred of us...We're the farthest north...What else?"

"Living conditions." I backed slightly from the thought. I didn't want to insult him. Without moving his head, he looked at me. "Truthfully."

"Not good," I said. "Our solar panels are broken and we're out of electricity through half the year...We don't get anything shipped there until everyone else has had their fill...We're just out there on our own, I guess."

"You have no education." I shook my head. "How did you come to be here then?"

"I have a photographic memory. Gram always gave me lots of books to read because she knew I loved to."

Lord Khan nodded thoughtfully. "Tell me about your family. If you wish."

"I live with my grandmother and brother."

"Why doesn't your brother go here?"

"He's too old and he's mildly retarded." A sense of homesickness came over me. "He's actually very smart, he'll do anything you ask...But without an education system, he couldn't learn...and everyone thinks he's just a stupid boy. I should be home taking care of him and Gram instead."

"You've got a big heart, Seraphine."

"Thank you, Mi...Roy."

"People like you aren't found here. Most are here through money. Its corrupted more than when I went to school. But...you're special..."

The flames were moving in a lullaby and I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off them, or keep them open. As they slowly closed, I heard a hum that slowly formed into words as I drifted off to sleep.

You are one I'd give my life for...You are the one who is haunting my dreams...Oh how I long to be yours for evermore...