My Turn

I lay on my bed, under the fluff of the covers that were placed over me. My room was in the center of the castle, just like the rest of my family. A large bed was in the middle of the room pressed against the wall. The closet was on the opposite wall, no door to it, showing all of my clothes. The only other things in the room were two chairs and a small table in front of the large glass window. The window wasn’t real because we were so far into the castle. But there were make shift lights and a painting behind it to make it look as real as it could get.

The room was the hardest place to get to and the most guarded. Pelagius told me when I was really little that there were a lot of people in all the Nations that wanted the royal families dead for different reasons. When I had asked him why, he would never reply, always changing the subject.

Now that I am older, I figured it out for myself. Lots of the people of our Nation thought we did a poor job at running it. I didn’t really disagree with them. Some of the things my father did were so out there that I sometimes wondered if he should even be king.

Looking around the darkened room, I saw my gown from the tea party strewn over the back of the chair. I suddenly sat up, realizing I was too restless to sleep. Pulling the covers off of my body, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I stood up and went over to my open closet, looking through various articles in it. When I came across what I was looking for, I slipped the dark blue cover dress over my night gown. It fell easily over my body, covering up everything but my hands and face. Flipping the hood up, I tucked my hair inside and it was hidden as well.

Right before I left the room, I slipped on some light slippers, making sure they wouldn’t make any noise when I ran. Creeping down the eerie halls was something I had done numerous times, but I had never left the castle so late like I was about to do now. Fear was something I knew very well and it was starting to creep up on me. I looked so suspicious in my dark blue cover dress; if someone caught me outside of my room at this hour, I didn’t know what would happen. I had only been caught twice, but I silenced the guards quickly, telling them I was going to the kitchen to get a glass of warm milk.

They had to believe me even if I told them I was going to the market to buy a three headed cow. I was a princess and I had more power than they did.

I slid along the stone wall of the hallway, peering down the next one. There weren’t any guards. This was really strange for how late it was. Pelagius always had guards everywhere, making sure none of the royal family got hurt in anyway. If I coughed in my bedroom there was usually a nurse their by my side, making sure I was okay. Tonight should have been even more so. After tea parties and get-togethers with other kings, there were always more guards, making sure no one had planned anything.

Worry started to replace the fear inside me. Maybe there was already something wrong, that was why there were no guards here. Maybe they were all in a certain place in the castle where the real danger was.

I took a deep breath and started to run down the hallway, looking behind me to make sure I was safe for now. As I was looking behind me, I ran smack dab into someone, our heads colliding.

I groaned as I hit the floor, falling on top of the person I had run into. The person pushed me off of herself and sat up. I looked to my left and saw Gaia sitting on the floor, holding her head with her hand.

“What are doing Maya?” she asked.

I held my head as I stood, holding out my free hand to her so I could help her up. She ignored it and got up on her own. “What are you doing?” she repeated, dusting herself off. She squared her shoulders, sticking her chin out in a proper way. Her hand moved away from her face, grasping the other and keeping them low. The proper Gaia was back.

“I’m not doing anything.” I dusted myself off as well, seeing that my cover dress was now filthy with dirt.

“Why are you out of your room?” Her gaze was accusing, but I didn’t really care.

I started to walk away from her. “I just wanted to go on a walk.”

“Not outside I hope.”

I stopped in my tracks as she continued. “Because I know what the rules are here and no royal family member is aloud outside these castle walls after sun set. You should know that.”

Turning slowly, I whispered. “I really don’t think it is any of your business where I go.”

She didn’t say anything, just stared at me.

After a moment, I turned to leave but she spoke again. “Wait here, I’ll be back.” She slipped into her room and came back seconds later; holding her own cover dress, but hers was dark green. She walked passed me and went down the hall that I had been running down. “Are you coming?” she yelled back to me.

It was my turn to ask the question: “What are you doing?”

She did not stop, but kept going, pulling the cover dress over herself and turned the corner. I reluctantly followed her, catching up easily. I led the way then, sneaking around corners and dodging the two guards we saw in the castle.

When we came to the throne room, all was clear. I kept my hood on and my footsteps quiet, making sure not to make a noise. Gaia stayed in her proper position, making sure to look good and yet not making a sound just the same.

I rolled my eyes at her, thinking how dumb she looked right now. Why had she even come in the first place? She knew I was leaving the castle grounds. Did she want to get into trouble—or did she want to get me into trouble? I always had a feeling she hated me, but never had proof. Maybe I would have some soon.

Some guards should have been in the throne room as well. This was just too easy of a get away. Maybe we should stay here, I thought, see what was going on. I could almost feel that something was wrong or wasn’t exactly right. I never got that feeling; it was all new to me.

We both ran to the large double doors in the front of the throne room and opened them, heaving with all our strength. No wonder the guards needed to be strong to open these doors.

I let Gaia out first, then closed the door behind me. She did not protest as I led her down the large stone steps, going father down and away from the castle. I didn’t know what to think about this. Maybe she was planning something and I didn’t know it.

What was I thinking? She wasn’t some deviant spy that was out to get me, maybe she just wanted to tag along and see what kind of adventure I was going to have. She would be disappointed if she expected some kind of amazing adventure with all kinds of danger; not like she would ever think of that. She was too high strung.

“Why are you here?” I asked quietly, stepping off the last step and turning left to the horse barn.

She answered just as quietly. “I don’t know.”

“Seriously, I don’t get why you followed me.”

“I don’t know I was just curious I guess. The last time I was here, you left during the night and came back like you had a fun time.” I looked behind me and saw her shrug. “I just thought…maybe I could have some fun too.”

I laughed as I pulled on the wooden door that was to the horse barn. All the horses stomped their hooves, ready to do something, anything that would get them out of their stalls. The horses didn’t get taken out much, but when they did, they knew what to do. I went almost all the way down the rows of horses, looking at each one in turn, trying to find Windsor, my personal horse.

He was all the way to the gate, pushing it with his chest, welcoming me to his home. I smiled broadly when I saw him, going over to him and putting my arms around his neck. “Good to see ‘ya boy.” I patted the side of his neck. He pushed the gate again with his chest, trying to get out.

“What was so funny?” Gaia asked, watching our exchange.

“I just…I don’t know. I guess I never pictured you having fun. You are always so…”

“I am supposed to be that way. We are supposed to be that way.”

I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean that we have to follow all of the rules. Breaking them every now and then won’t kill you.”

“It could.”

I turned around, looking away from Windsor to gaze at Gaia. “You just need to know what rules to break.”

Her face was stone, unreadable. I went over to the wall and took the saddle from the stand and brought it over to the door. “Get that for me?” I asked Gaia. She quickly unlatched the door and let it swing open. I struggled with the heavy saddle as I squeezed into the stall with Windsor. His hooves clomped up and down, ready to begin our journey. “Hold on a minute.” I said, patting his rump, trying to settle him down.

I hoisted the saddle on the top of his back, reaching underneath his large stomach for the strap. As I hooked up his saddle and bridle, Gaia watched intently. I was sure she had never done that before. We princesses had people that did this for us. As we hardly ever rode on an actual horse. We were always in the buggies being pulled behind them. For me, the thrill was riding the actual horse.

Windsor was one of the most energetic horses in the stable. He always wanted to be ridden, but mostly he wanted to run. His dark grey coat hid his light grey dapples, but you could see them up close. A long pointed piece of ivory stuck out of his head between his eyes on his forehead. His eyes almost spoke to you when you gazed into them. I use to call him my magic pony when I was younger because I use to believe he could speak to me; I still believe the same thing. He was given to me by my father, but I never got to ride him then. I was always stuck inside the castle. But now I rode him every chance I got.

I gave Windsor a good pat on the neck, then left the stall in a hurry, making sure that I closed the stall door before he could come out as well. A loud whinny exploded from his throat, making an uproar in the stable, the other horses responding to him.

“Windsor!” I yelled over the noise. Grabbing his reins, I pulled his head down to my eye level. “I need to do something first. Be patient, will ‘ya?”

He huffed a large breath in my face, responding. My hair flew back from the force of it. “Thanks.” I grumbled to him. He blinked, making me think he was laughing at me.

I turned and went to the stall opposite Windsor. Helle, a female paint with dazzling blue eyes gave me the same greeting as Windsor did. She pushed up against the door, wanting to get out. She was the only horse Windsor would actually ride side by side with.

His ‘girlfriend’ I called her. I saddled her up, making sure she was safe for Gaia to ride.
I led her out first, putting the reins in Gaia’s open palms. “Please tell me you know how to ride a horse.”

She glared at me for a few seconds, then with ease, swung one leg over Helle’s side and adjusted herself there, all ready to go. I was surprised that she had known what to do, but didn’t show it. Letting Windsor out, I got on top of him, inching him out of the stable. Other horses huffed and puffed, slightly angry that they hadn’t been chosen.

Windsor left the stable, transforming his walk to a straight gallop. Gaia and Helle were not far behind. Windsor led for awhile, taking us around the back of the castle and through the garden. The smells of the flowers and plants seemed to float in the air as we passed, the smell of roses, dirt, and leaves all wafted together to make a nice comforting woodsy smell.
I closed my eyes for just a moment, letting my body become free from everything around me. I couldn’t really see in the blackness anyways. It wasn’t much different from having my eyes open.

The even bounce of my body on Windsor’s was soothing to me. My hips ached a little from the ride; it had been about a month since I had taken him out. No wonder he was going so fast.

Noises reached my ears over the pounding of the horses’ hooves on the ground. It was voices, joyful voices. I pulled on Windsor’s reins, making him slow to walk. Helle did the same, not needing the command from Gaia.

I had Windsor turn left and follow down the edge of the castle gate. Once we got closer to Takumi and farther away from Nanami, I knew what the sound was. All of the town’s people were celebrating like they always did on Friday nights. Saturday was their day off from work and they always stayed up late, celebrating with friends and family.

Windsor picked up on the celebration as well, starting to speed up his pace.

Gaia’s voice floated up to me, fear dripping from her words. “Are you sure we should go that way?”

I nodded, then realized she probably couldn’t see me. “I’m sure. Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.”

I made Windsor go as fast as he could; making me feel like I was flying. A large orange glow was up ahead of us, showing me the outline of the small hut the people lived in.

There were some more cheers and a large bang, making Windsor whinny in fright. I leaned forward against the wind, patting his long neck.

He slowed down to a trot when we rounded the houses, showing us the party. There was a large ten foot high fire in the middle of a small field. Dozens of people surrounded it, holding rum and beer in their hands. The smaller children were off to the side of the fire as if to protect themselves from the heat.

I looked around at all the joyful faces, looking for the one person I wanted to see. Alton’s laugh rang out over the others, making me look around. I didn’t see him, so got off Windsor and tied his reins to a tree trunk that was close to the fire, but not too close so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable about the heat.

Gaia stayed on an anxious Helle, not sure what to do. “I don’t think we should be here.” Her proper women poise was gone, replaced by fear. Her gaze was focused on a group of seven men, all dress in Miletus armor. All of them had the same hair, the same eyes, and the same rum bottle in their hands. They all sang a song, completely off key, most of them just babbling from all the alcohol.

I smiled at the group, thinking they were having a fun time. “I come here all the time, its okay. Nothing is going to hurt you.”

I didn’t really care for Gaia so I left her there on Helle, and walked into the crowd, listening for Alton’s voice. I heard his weird corky laugh again and turned in that direction, passing lots of people that were drunk. Some didn’t even look at me, but others saw the dark blue cloak and stared, wondering who was underneath. If they knew who I really was, they may report me to the Miletus and I would get escorted back to the castle.

The crowd around the fire thinned, making it easier to walk around. Alton appeared in my vision, standing next to Meredith. He was laughing while Meredith looked a little annoyed. Maybe they were making fun of each other like usual. As I walked closer, I watched both, observing them together. Meredith put her hands on her hips, and said something that made Alton stop laughing immediately, a frown replacing the grin.

Once I was a foot away, they were both glaring at each other, their hands on their hips like they were angry. They didn’t seem to recognize me in the cloak, my face covered up by the hood. Looking quickly around for people watching, I pulled the hood away from my face, showing who I was.

“Hey!” Meredith said, realization enveloping her. “I didn’t know you were going to come tonight. Did you just get here?”

Gaia came up behind me, appearing next to me. She did not reveal who she was, knowing she was in enemy territory. Her dark green cover dress even hid her from me. “I really don’t think I should be here.” She whispered to me.

Alton and Meredith looked from me to Gaia, wondering who the stranger was. I did not answer their unspoken questions, not wanting to get in trouble for bringing her here. I would let Gaia do whatever she wanted. She could handle herself.

“Yeah I just got here. I couldn’t sleep so I came here tonight.”

“How did the party go?” Alton asked.

“Not good…just like the others. But this time, it was my fault.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t…” Meredith and Alton began, but were cut off by Gaia.

“Oh believe me, it was her fault. Disrespect is the worst thing you can do to another royal. She went way over the line today and I am sure that we will all pay for her mistakes. The war will be all of her fault.”

We all looked at the blackness under the hood that was supposed to be her face. I couldn’t believe she had just said that. She was talking about disrespecting royals when she was doing the same thing. Alton seemed more upset than I was. With quick steps he closed the gap between him and Gaia, ripping the hood from her head.

She gasped from shock, backing away from us, but didn’t pull her hood back up. Alton didn’t seem surprised to see her, but angry. He folded his arms in a defensive stance. “What are you doing here princess Gaia? You don’t belong here.”

Gaia didn’t look like the Gaia I knew, or thought I knew. She looked liked an aggressive girl that was about to kick some butt. Her fists were clenched and she stepped closer to Alton, getting in his face. He did not flinch away, liking the challenge. “What does that have to do with you? I can be where ever I want to be, whenever I want to be. I am the princess of the Earth Nation. You are just some dumb peasant who means nothing to this world so get out of my face.”

Gaia had a mean temper and I could feel what the anger was doing to her. Her power was radiating from her body, making me feel like I needed to defend myself. Other people around us felt the same charge, turning to find the source. Alton took a ready stance, waiting for her to strike. The dirt under our feet started to shake slightly, small slivers of weeds starting to come up onto the surface. I was sure this was unintentional.

Alton’s hands were twitching with the strain of holding in his anger. “I really don’t think you should be saying those things to me Princess. This is my territory, not yours. You are on our land.”

I went between them, pushing Alton’s chest so he backed up a few feet. He did not fight me on it, knowing that he would more than likely get killed for doing so. Once we both were away from the staring eyes and the glow of the fire, I stopped, took off my hood and punched Alton in the chest.

A puff of air came from his mouth in a low grunt. “What the…”

“What did you do that for?” I asked, hitting him again.

“She was the one who started it.”

“What are you, six? Of course she started it! She is Gaia, the one I told you about, the one who is always proper and never does anything to make notice to herself. She had to blow up sometime!”

Alton put his hands in the air like he gave up. “She was more than disrespecting you. I wasn’t just going to sit there and let her do that.”

I tried to punch Alton again, but he caught my fist. I got my hand free and said, “Well it was true. I was the one who made everything tense and unnecessary. You didn’t need to make everything worse. Now she’s probably going to go tell Yuuna and I will be in even more trouble.”

Silence followed what I had said. When I went through our conversation, I realized I sounded like I was blaming Alton for my problems. He must have picked up on that because he was quiet. Since we were in the shade of a tree, I could not see his face. Right before I was about to apologize for my actions, Alton spoke.

“I’m sorry I make everything worse for you.”

I could feel him leaving and I reached around the darkness, trying to grab him, but all I got was air. Once he got into the fire light, I watched him pass Gaia, Meredith trying to calm her down, and he disappeared into the crowd.

I collapsed onto the dirt ground, hating myself. I always said the wrong things, never really thinking about how it would hurt the other person. This was the first time I had ever done it to Alton, and I didn’t like the feeling I got by doing so.

I watched Meredith and Gaia from the shadows, a small patch of weeds underneath their feet. Gaia still seemed steamed, but she was not as bad as before. Her hood was back up now, but I could tell by her stance.

Meredith seemed comfortable around her, not really caring where she had come from. Meredith was always that way, not really caring about a person’s background, but caring about who they are that day. That was why she was one of my friends.

And what Gaia had said, Kendall had said as well. Is that what everyone thought of me? Was I just some random girl who screwed everything up and made everything go down hill?

Gaia looked into the shadows where I was. Her and Meredith came over, their eyes strained with the effort of trying to see me. “Maya? You here?”

I stood up silently, coming out from the shadows. “Yeah I’m here.”

“Where’d Alton go?” This was a weird question coming from Meredith’s mouth. I thought she hated Alton, was I wrong on this like I was with everything else?

“I don’t know. In the crowd I guess.”

Gaia came closer to me, whispering. “I would like to go home now.”

I nodded. “Sure.” I stayed where I was, looking into the crowd.

Gaia stayed as well, obviously waiting for me. “I want to go now please.”

“No one is stopping you.” I officially disliked Gaia now. I wasn’t just going to jump to her ever demand and bring her home when she was fully capable of doing that herself. I was not going to be playing babysitter.

“You are not coming with?”

I just walked away from her, Meredith following. I didn’t look back and plunged myself into the crowd, trying to find Alton. I went around the camp fire twice, with no luck. I finally sat down on a large log that was very close to the fire. I studied the fire, thinking of the power it held.

The orange and yellow flames licked the logs underneath it, the embers and ash below glowed a brilliant red, flashing a little. The top of the fire was blue, the hottest part. I had always wanted to feel the fire in my hands like the Fire Nation could, the power inside it was more than I could have imagined. Sometimes I wished I was something else, someone else, and I would be able to start fresh, no one knowing who I was.

Maybe that would be better for me, a fresh start. No one could hold me being royalty against me. I would be a free person, able to do what I pleased, when I pleased. Maybe that would be good for me, a new beginning.

Ten minutes later, I thought I had seen Alton. I stood from the log I had been sitting on, clearly seeing Alton on the other side of the fire. I made my way over, still deep in thought. When Alton saw me, he didn’t seem mad, he seemed undecided about his feelings. There were three people standing next to him, Meredith, his mom, and his little sister. His mom had amazing blond hair, not a piece out of place. Her dress was covered up by a large apron, a small food stain on the white fabric.

His little sister named Mira was three years old, her little body covered with a dress that looked like her mother’s. When Mira saw me, she reached her arms up and screamed a little happy cheer, wanting me to pick her up. Even though I had my hood up, she knew it was me. I grabbed the little girl under her arms and hoisted her up on my hip, kissing her on her forehead.

“Maya!” Mira said in her squeaky voice, clapping her hands together.

“Hello Mira. Have you been a good girl for your mommy?”

She nodded proudly, placing her hand on my cheek. “Good girl, good girl.”

I turned to Alton’s mom, smiling under my cloak. “Nereida, how are you?” I asked, still holding Mira to my hip. Nereida bustled over to me and put her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hugged back with the one arm that was free.

“I’m okay honey. How are you? Did the tea party go okay?” she asked, breaking away from the hug.

I set Mira on the ground, so she clung to my cloak instead, looking up into the blackness where my face should have been. “It went okay I guess. It could have been better.” Nereida patted my back and gave me another hug. I watched Alton who was standing only a few feet away. “Can you excuse me a moment?” I asked her, breaking away from her second hug.

She smiled and scooped Mira into her arms. “Of course Maya, see you later.” She left me then, going back to her home that was on the other side of Takumi. I stood there for a moment, watching Meredith and Alton. They didn’t seem to be making each other agitated like usual, but they were talking in low voices.

Slowly I made my way over to them, wondering if I should or not. When I was standing next to Meredith, she gave a small smile then said, “I should go home. My mom probably needs me.” She quickly left Alton and I alone by the fire, knowing we needed to talk.

Alton sat down on the log nearest him, and picked up a stick, poking the large fire in front of him. I stood a second, feeling the tension he was sending me. I sat down next to him, our sides touching each other. I decided to just go for it. “I didn’t mean to upset you Alton. I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”

“I know you are.” He said, tension still in his voice.

“You’re not mad at me?”

Alton sighed. “No.”

“It doesn’t come across that way.”

“Sorry.”

I slumped my shoulders in defeat. Alton was always this way, never really telling me anything about anything. He was too closed off sometimes. I knew no matter how many questions I asked him, he wouldn’t give me a satisfactory answer. He never did. But I also knew that he would be his normal self tomorrow morning, pretending like this had never happened.

That was just who he was and I had learned to accept this little fact about him. I playfully grabbed the stick from him and started to play with the fire like he had been doing. He chuckled and let me have to stick, watching the fire with me. It was somewhat calming, watching the flames slowly burn away the wood underneath it.

The stick I was holding slowly burned with the rest of the wood, becoming smaller and smaller until it was too short to hold any longer. We stayed on the log, listening to the drunken Miletus and their wives trying to get them to go to bed. I didn’t want to go to bed, and I had the feeling Alton didn’t either, but when the sky started to get lighter than it was dark, I decided it was time to go.

Standing, I stretched my arms over my head, a small ache in all my joints from staying in the same position for a long period of time. Alton’s head snapped up to look at me. “You are leaving?”

“I have to. I don’t want to get caught.”

Alton stood as well, dusting off his behind with his hands. “Will I see you later on today after practice?”

I nodded. “I’ll be home; I’ll tell the guards to let you in.” I started towards Windsor who was waiting for me by the trees, but Alton grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s no big deal Alton, really.”

“That is what you think.” Someone said beside me. I turned my head to see Gaia on top of Helle, the hood of her cloak off, showing her long brown hair that was braided in one big braid going down her back. You could tell she was from the earth territory without a doubt.
I patted Alton’s hand that had tightened around my arm. He let go quickly, apologizing with his eyes. “I thought you left.” I said bitterly, walking over to Windsor, untying his bridle from the tree branch I had tied it to earlier.

“I was going to, but I decided to stick around.”

I swung my leg over the Windsor’s back, taking my hood off as well. “Well I’m leaving now so if you want to come…” Giving a small wave to Alton, I turned Windsor around quickly, galloping past all of the houses and down to the horse barn. Windsor seemed reluctant to go in the barn again, making me bring him to the pasture in the back of the horse barn. Helle always followed Windsor, no matter what the consequences were. That was going to get her into trouble one of these days.

I took his saddle and bridle, balancing them on the gate surrounding the pasture. Gaia just got off of Helle and watched as I did her as well. Then, I ran. I knew Gaia would not be able to keep up with me, so I ran back to the castle, up the front steps, and slowly opened the doors to the throne room. I waited in there for her, a smug smile on my face, unable to hide it when she entered.

She was huffing and puffing, her chest heaving. “What—is—your—problem?” she wheezed, trying to catch her breath.

“It looks like you are the one with the problem. You have to get into shape girl!” I turned and hustled through the side door in the throne room, laughing to myself quietly. As soon as the door opened, I heard voices, but it was too late turn around. About thirty Miletus were standing in the hall, all talking amongst each other. When they had heard the door open, they all turned to look in my direction.

I froze in my tracks only to have Gaia come through the door and run right into me. “Humph.” She grumbled as she collided with my back. She was just about to reprimand me when she looked over my shoulder and saw all of the Miletus in front of us.

I stepped a foot forward and looked around. No one was saying anything, and they didn’t make a move to go and tell my father I had been out of my room this early in the morning. The leader or the commander of the Miletus was to my immediate right. His name was Guadalupe; but I have always called him Lupe. I glanced at his strong face, trying to see what he was going to do.

What he did startled me. He winked, a small smile crossing his lips for the briefest moment, then disappearing.

I walked on, keeping my head down and to the floor, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone, or they were sure not to make eye contact with me; I was not sure. But I went through the hallway filled with soldiers, and down the hallway of Gaia’s room.

I stopped in front of her room, turning around to confront her. “Did you have fun?” I asked, still not really caring.

She ran her hand over the top of her head, fixing all of the loose hairs on her head. “Not really.”

I smiled. “I’m glad.” I began to turn around and walk back to my room, but Gaia’s hand grabbed my arm gently, stopping me. It was odd when she did so, only because she had repremanded Terra for doing the same thing just hours ago.

“Why do you hate me so much?” she asked sincerely.

I thought about it before I turned. “I don’t—hate you. I just don’t like—how you handle things I guess.”

She didn’t seem to believe me. “You don’t hate me?”

I had to think about this again. Did I hate her, or did I just not like her? “No, I don’t hate you.” I said, thinking it was the truth in my mind, but the words sounded a bit unsure. Maybe I did hate her, but if I did, I didn’t have very many reasons to do so.

“Then why…” Gaia’s voice trailed away as she placed her fingers lightly over her lips, shushing herself. She shook her head as if to say she wasn’t going to continue on with her thought. Terra was suddenly at the bedroom door, her eyes drooped from sleepiness.

“Gaia? What are you doing out here?” Terra asked, her fist rubbing her eye as if to rub all her sleepiness away.

“Nothing Terra. Go back to bed. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Terra nodded and closed the door again, not really caring why Gaia was up so early—or late—however you looked at the time.

There was an awkward pause between the two of us; neither knowing what to say to the other. I thought of things to say, things that would tell her why I felt the way I did about her, but they all seemed too mean to say to her face.

I just turned around and walked away, not knowing what else to do. She did not stop me this time, but she went into her room and closed the door. I felt a sudden need to lie down and go to sleep. I hadn’t been sleeping very well the past week, unable to forget that the tea party would soon arrive. Now that it was over, I had thought that when I went to bed, I would have fallen asleep easily, but it was the complete opposite. I had been more restless as I had lain in my bed, unable to close my eyes.

Turning the corner down the hallway to my bedroom, I almost ran into Conway, my younger brother. He was taller than he should have been for the age of twelve, his hair cut short which was costumed if you were a prince, and his night clothes weren’t covered up which seemed odd.

I gave a small squeak of fright when I saw him, but his hand covered my mouth. He brought it away quickly and placed his index finger over his own lips to show I was supposed to be quiet. Following him down the deserted hallway, we slipped into the darkness of my room. I felt my way to the table and lit the candle that was in the center.

The orange flickering glow filled the room, a soft and calming smell wafting from it. Conway went over to one of the chairs and sat down, ruffling his fingers through his hair, messing it up completely. “Did you see?”

“See what?” I asked, feeling like I needed to whisper.

“When you were outside, did you see them?” he asked, his eyes wide with anticipation.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The prisoners the Miletus captured. Apparently a few Fire Nation peasants were in the woods, trying to get a closer look into Nanami. They captured them and brought them into the dungeon. It was sweet!”

“Prisoners?” I asked. We had never had prisoners before. Why would we be having them now? And why would Pelagius be so cruel to another human being? Conway must have been messing with my mind, he was sometimes good at it when you were least expecting it.
“Yeah, he put all six of them down with the rest of them.”

My thoughts must have been dead wrong. “The rest?”

“Yeah, all the others we have in the dungeons. What did you think the dungeons were being used for? To store corn?” He laughed at his own joke, being a little louder than I wanted him to be.

“How do you know about this?” I asked, moving closer to him automatically.

He leaned on the edge of his seat, his face close to mine. “You aren’t the only one who leaves their room at night. I see things around this castle.”

Even though that had to be the creepiest thing Conway had ever said to me, I decided to ask more questions about it. “How long have we have prisoners down in the dungeons?” Truth was, I had never been down past the first floor. I just thought that the dungeon was where all of the high Miletus lived, and I didn’t feel like going to explore their disgusting where-a-bouts.

He shrugged. “First time I saw them hauling some in there was maybe five years ago. But that was the first time I had ever left my room at night so it could have been earlier than that, I’m not sure.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. I didn’t want Conway to be playing around here when I was already freaking out.

“Would I ever lie to you?”

I cocked my head and raised my eyebrows, clearing showing how I truly wanted to answer that question.

“Okay, I would. But I’m not lying; seriously, I saw them bringing more in.”

I stood from the chair I had sat in and went over to open the door for Conway. I needed some time to think and some time alone. “Thanks Conway.” I said, excusing him from the room.

He stood up and rushed to the door. He stuck his head out, looked both ways, and dashed out of the room. I closed the door lightly, trying to be as quiet as I possibly could. The Miletus should be taking their spots around the castle again, securing the grounds.

Prisoners—in the castle; I just couldn’t believe it. Have we had starving, homesick, innocent people below my feet the whole time and I hadn’t even known it? Was my nation so unconfident that we needed to torture others to get the satisfaction we needed?

I bent low over the table, my face close to the candle that was making a calming motion as it swayed back and forth.

Maybe my Nation is worse than I thought we were. Maybe I had been wrong this whole time about my family. Kendall would make a better queen if this is what I was going to be handed. If this was how I was going to have to live the rest of my life, enslaving others, I would not take it. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this royalty stuff.
Or I could take the thrown and change everything.

Would I be able to change such a dramatic thing even if I was queen? The king would have more power than me so if we did not have the same views, what would happen then? Too many thoughts rushed through my mind, making me even more exhausted than I already was.

With a quick breath, the candle blew out and the smoke started to rise, bringing with it my wishes for the future.