Nothing Left to Lose

Neylon

I shivered in the chilling dusk, my white mask once again perched upon my nose. It was growing dark around me, signalling my time to lurk.

The whole forest quivered around me with calming darkness, but it still made me fill to the brim with anxiety. I tried to push it away, knowing it would do no good. Jalen is forcing me to come see him so he could help me.

I didn't need his assistance. He was a nuisance and hardly a king-to-be, obviously no help to a person like me. But I couldn't risk being exposed. I was lucky enough that he wasn't telling anyone just yet in the first place.

The wind blew harder, whipping my hair around my face like I was caught in a tornado. A light snap of a twig made my muscles tense under the smooth interior of my skin. Was there someone there?

"Halt!" A voice screamed, proving my suspicions to be correct.

I cussed under my breath and leaped away from the voice, drawing my knife from the spot in my belt where it had made a home. Adrenaline rushed through me as I ran, hearing the clumsy thumping of the man behind me, trying to keep up with my lithe figure.

Pushing branches out of my way, I took a sudden turn. Deeper into the forest where I would be taken off guard by the sudden loss of trees, exposing me for the world to kill.

A series of gunshots almost made me yelp in surprise. One after the other.

Boom.
Boom.
Boom.

The last one sent pain through my shoulder, one greater than I've had to deal with before. I let out a quick gust of air at the blossoming brutality. I stumbled, barely catching myself on a branch.

I needed to get to safety. I will die.

That realization is what pushed me through.

Gripping my shoulder, I felt the blood pour out like red ribbons before grabbing the tree in front of me, starting to climb. I resisted the urge to cry out at the usage of my arm, feeling the bullet nudge deeper into the wound.

I needed to do this. If I didn't, I would die. There was no doubt about it.

The clunking of hasty footsteps was nearing closer. I could see the castle robes through the brush. A guard. But why was he out here?

He passed, never looking up. For a brief moment, I felt a humorous air around me. He didn't think that the most wanted criminal would be caught that easily, did he?

But that humor faded when the pain forced my hands to slip from their hold on the tree, slamming me to the ground. Blood spurted from my wound at the excruciating impact, making me moan in pain.

I stayed there for a while, all my will to live now leaving my body. The stars were bright tonight and I wondered how it would feel if I died staring up at them.

"No," I hissed, sitting up. I won't die as easily as my mother did. I will live.

It was a struggle, trying to get up. The wound in my shoulder made it so I couldn't move my whole left arm. My arm was now a dead weight, a burden.

I got to the castle slowly, but with no trouble. The castle guard had disappeared and I hoped that a bear had found him.

Now the problem was getting up to the second floor, to Jalen's room. The white bricks loomed over me. I cringed, thinking of the height awaiting me.

I decided to suck it up and clench my teeth against the unbearable pain, forcing my hand to clasp the bricks to safety. I almost cried out - almost - when dots clouded my vision. I. Will. Not. Cry.

It took much longer than normal to climb the tower; my grasp kept slipping, almost plunging me to the ground. When I reached the balcony, sweat was balling on my forehead, soaking my hair. I collapsed onto the ground in a stupor.

There was movement in the room, but I paid no mind to it. I couldn't think of anything but the sickening agony. I felt like I was going to throw up from it.

"Neylon!" A voice I vaguely recognized as Jalen's exclaimed. A hand snaked around my waist, trying to pull me up to no avail. I was like a dead body to the skinny arms of the Syria Prince. "Please help me out, Neylon," He begged, sounding close to tears. "Just a few steps so I can get you into my room."

I groaned, trying to lift myself to my feet. It kept getting harder to stand the more blood I lost. By now, I just wanted to sleep.

But somehow, I ended up in Jalen's bed, my shirt off to give the wound room to breathe. I didn't know where Jalen went. I kept blacking out. One moment he was there, the next he was gone, and my mask was too.

My breath was coming quickly, like I didn't have enough of it and sweat had formed on my body in a slick sheen. I closed my eyes, wanting to get rid of the torment.

Jalen appeared then. I could feel his presence next to me like a shadow. "Eyes open," He ordered me. I forced them open the best I could, watching as the dark-haired boy gathered some supplies, glancing at me on occasion. His violet eyes were filled with worry.

But why would he be worried about me? I'm a nobody. He was the most powerful family in the kingdom.

Jalen started to press a gauze to the wound, making me whimper from the sting it left behind. "You're going to be okay, Neylon," He told me, mopping up the blood and leaving behind a trail of orange-red.

I watch him pick up tweezers, tensing as they got closer to my shot wound. I felt his hand slide into mine, a silent urge to squeeze it if it became completely unbearable.

It was like being shot again. I cried out, but it came out as a choked sob. I could feel blood begin to pour out again, surely staining the sheets red.

"Squeeze my hand," Jalen told me. I obliged, digging my fingernails into the smooth pale skin of his palm. He didn't flinch, but I did at the feeling of him prying the bullet out of my shoulder. "It's lodged in there really deep," He told me. "Your climbing made it worse so I'm going to have to give you stitches."

I honestly felt like such a wuss right then. Jalen was seventeen. Two years younger than me and he was taking care of my sorry arse. I could barely manage to keep my eyes open while he prepared the instruments. "How do you know how to do this?" I rasped, watching his eyes flick to my face. He had really pretty eyes.

A light smile formed on his pale lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. "All royals receive a bit of medical schooling." He handed me a small pillow. "Bite and squeeze that if it hurts. I need both hands for this."

Now, I wouldn't admit it, but I was slightly disappointed. His hand felt nice when I squeezed it. Although, my wound was definitely not hurting as bad anymore. I wondered if he had slipped me a pain shot of some sort. I barely even felt it when he actually did the surgery.

He pulled back with a smile on his face. "Done," He told me proudly. Reaching over to his desk, he took a muffin from on top of it, handing it to me. "I thought you might be hungry."

I stared at his suspiciously until my stomach growled, forcing me to take the stupid muffin. "Thanks," I muttered, stuffing it in my mouth. It tasted like heaven and made me nearly moan from the pure deliciousness of it.

Jalen grinned at me and sat beside me, on my left side by my new battle wound. "It's going to hurt a lot in the morning," He told me. "I'll give you some more medicine then."

"Um.." I mumbled awkwardly. "You probably won't see me in the morning." I brushed orange hair out of my eyes, casting a look at him to see him looking particularly confused. "I, uh, have to deliver my findings to someone and then go home."

"You're not leaving, Neylon." I glared at him lightly, making him roll his eyes at me dramatically. "Not with a wound like that, at least, and guards are littering the city like crazy. If you go out tonight, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be killed."

"But-!"

"No buts!" He exclaimed, glaring back at me. "I can't let you. No one will come in here and I'll sleep on my couch or something."

I nearly slammed my head on his headboard from his stupidity. "I can't let you sleep on the couch." Damn it, I'm going soft.

He looked at me with a taken aback expression and slightly pink cheeks. "What do you...?"

Frustrated, I groaned and ruffled my hair, winching at the pain that shot through my arm upon doing so. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"No!" He nearly shouted. I raised an eyebrow. The prince had a backbone? "I'm no having you sleep on the couch."

I laughed lightly, laying down so I was completely flat with my right arm under my head. I didn't dare move my left again. "Then I guess we will both sleep here." He grew quiet and I grinned with triumph. "So I'll just sleep on the-"

"Fine," He mumbled.

I blinked. "What?"

"I said it's fine," He snarled. "We'll both sleep in this bed."

Okay, that was not expected. To be honest, I was a little speechless. I really didn't expect that from him. Not to mention that I hadn't slept with anyone since I was five; And that was innocently sleeping in my mom's bed. I grimaced at the thought.

"What?" Jalen mocked, putting his face in front of mine and grinning down at me. "Fox got your tongue?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Not at all, Princess," I chimed, grinning back. His cheeks were coated with a furious red, making me coo at him. God, I was such a twat.

He snorted, pushing himself away so he was laying on the other side of the bed, far away from any contact with me. "Just go to sleep, Neylon."

But he didn't need to tell me twice. I had been struggling to stay awake for much longer than he thought. My stealing can wait until tomorrow.