Breaking The One Rule

There was only one rule that had been drilled into my head throughout my life. Never go out the window in your room with someone you care for, ever. If you take someone take your worst enemy. Never, never, a friend. I suppose it’s a good thing I don't follow rules. 

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I was 14 years old and anxious for any kind of adventure. Anything to distract me from my looming future. 

In 3 short years I would become king. 

I was already expected to sit at my parents' side during hearings, listening to the strife of my future subjects. Listen while my parents decide what to do. Listen while the king and queen that had brought the kingdom out of poverty, who had saved their subjects time and time again, told them that nothing could be done. 

The first time I had started with disbelief. The subject had been struggling to survive and the righteous king and queen said nothing could be done. My father had taken me aside to explain.

“Sometimes decisions have to be made for the greater good. I would love to help everyone, I really would, but how can I give that man money and not the one that comes after him? I can’t give handouts to some and refuse others. I can’t give resources to everyone either, so I must help only if absolutely necessary. Always for the greater good. I do the best I can, but must remember-utopia isn’t possible. Even the fairest king couldn’t make it happen.”

I had nodded, letting him lead me out of the room while he droned about the other hard lessons I would need to learn. 

I had already decided I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t refuse people the resources to live. If that's what ruling entailed then I wouldn’t rule.

So I ran through the palace halls, flashing a smile at anyone who caught my eye. A leather satchel dangled from my shoulder. I reached the large double doors, the guards opening them before I said anything. I threw them a smile for good measure too. I finally flew onto the rolling green hills. They managed to pull a laugh from me every time I ran across them. I was due for a hearing in two hours, but I would always make time to visit my favorite person. 

I pushed open the door of the stables, its whine loud enough to alert the whole kingdom of my presence. Her eyes peeked from behind a terrifyingly large pile of hay; I could practically feel the grin lighting them up. My lips mimicked the action somewhat against my will. She came out and began walking towards me. 

“Well, well, well your majesty,” Elaine dipped into a mock bow, “come to visit us commoners at last?”

She continued heading my way. Concern flickered in my gut, she looked thinner then usual. I made myself push the thought out of my head, my friend could take care of herself after all. I rolled my eyes instead. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get too excited, I was just unbelievably bored.” A flat out lie and she knew it. I wanted to see her; we had been best friends since before I could remember. I earned a shove for my lie.

“For real though, what brings you here? Any new plans to ditch the throne and become a lowly peasant?” Elaine had mastered joking about our social difference, she made sure things didn’t get too tense. 

“What? I’m not allowed to see my favorite friend?” she raised a brow, so I amended with a sigh, “only friend.”

She winked, still grinning, “Glad to know you're still a loner.”

I rolled my eyes again, getting a laugh from her. 

One of the many horses knickered behind her. She seemed to snap out of some trance. She gave me a look I knew to mean I gotta work, you gonna help? I gave her a look that said Yeah, duh. I set down my satchel on the musty ground and we got to work.

We talked and talked while we worked. Catching up on two days worth of drama was a lot more than I had thought. As we chatted a distant clock struck. I’ll leave in 45 minutes for the hearing, I promised myself.

Twenty minutes later Elaine was struggling to tame her hair into a knot in front of the dust coated mirror in the back of the stables. I took my chance to head over to my bag, still on the ground. I pulled out a dark blue work cloak and matching pants. She would need them as the air got colder, this morning had already been cold enough to make me shiver. I hung them over the sweatshirt hanging on a peg on the wall. I knew the girl would never acknowledge it and I would know better than to react when I saw her in them. 

“Guess what old man Fredrick said to Marlene yesterday, poor girl was reduced to tears,” Elain called from her place at the mirror. I grinned while walking to her to hear this latest gossip. I got so lost in the story Elaine told about the grumpy old gardener that I barely heard the clock strike again. Our eyes met. Without a word I sprinted from the stables, bending to get my bag, I managed a wave before bursting onto those cursed hills. 

I rushed to the throne room doors three minutes late. The guards wouldn’t let me in. No matter how much I insisted, pulled rank, and raged in whispers, they wouldn’t budge. I threw myself onto a seat just outside the door, glaring at them. 

The door banged open a while later and the subject walked out staring straight ahead. I knew she had just been refused. I looked at my parents and tried to look apologetic. My mother just shook her head, disappointed. The same look was on my fathers face. I felt a pang of guilt, but I wouldn’t trade my hours with Elaine for anything. Not even my parents' approval. I turned and made my way to my room. Darkness had fallen outside my window, the jewels adorning it especially beautiful at night. I fell onto my bed, my clothes still dirty from my time at the stables, and fell asleep. 

Whoever’s knocking on the door is extremely persistent. I awoke from my fitful sleep to the thought. I managed to stand, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and opened the door.  Elaine stood there, panting slightly. Wearing that dark blue cloak. I had never seen her in the palace before. I opened my mouth to ask questions but she just pushed past me into my room. There were shouts coming in the distance. 

“We need to leave. Now,” she was striding to the window looking at how far the drop would be, “the kingdom's poor are rioting. They’re trying to kill your parents, they’ll come for you next. They’re tired of being refused help over and over.” I stood stunned and tried to wrap my head around it-this was so sudden. Or was it. I remembered the straight staring subject, not a hint of sadness. Just furious determination. 

“They’re here? In the palace? How did that happen?

“I don't know the specifics, all I know is they're here and you're in danger.” She pulled the sheets off my bed, twisting them to create a thick rope. I still couldn’t believe this, but the yelling had grown louder. Angrier. Her eyes darted to the door while she tied the end of the thickened sheet to a leg of the bed. The other end she threw out the window. The gold detailing that surrounded the jewels sparkled. 

“Wait, wait, we’re just going? Surely there has to be a better place to hide.” The shouts seemed to be at the bottom of the stairs that my chambers sat atop. Panic was gripping Elaine's eyes now. Nothing else could’ve prompted me into motion. Those beautiful eyes that always had a smile in them, even when she was going through the worst of situations. Even when she was orphaned. Even when she had to live by herself when she was just 12. I came to her side at the window and swallowed my fear, for her sake, “I’ll go first. Catch you if you need it.” I gripped the white sheet with clammy hands. 

“How chivalrous,” she rolled her eyes even as her mouth twitched. I flashed a half-hearted grin, now sitting on the ledge. Here goes nothing. I pushed off the ledge and slid down the sheet.

The wind threw my hair upward and caressed the skull underneath. I had to refrain from letting loose a yell of delight, before my legs slammed into the ground hard enough that I fell over. 

I righted myself. 

Looked around.

 My brows came together.

 A small yell rang out above me, Elaine was sliding down the makeshift rope much faster than I had. I couldn’t move away in time before she fell on me, sending us both to the ground. 

“Quite the gentlemen,” she muttered with a glare, pushing away from me. I threw her one of my own while I dusted the sand off of me. Sand. Not grass or dirt. Elaine realized it at the same time. We met eyes. Looked around again. 

We weren’t on those rolling green hills.

A desert stretched out miles and miles in front of us. Nothing but large domes of tan powder. 

“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” the girl murmured, her eyes wide with awe. 

“Ever the comedian,” I shot back. She flickered a smile, out of habit I guessed. Because this was not a situation to laugh at. Nothing remained of the palace; not even a ghost. After Elaine fell on me the sheet had vanished too. She was now spinning in circles, looking for anything to break up the sand. There was no fear on her face, she was simply looking around curiously.

“How did this happen,” I asked her, my voice surprisingly even. Dread curling in my gut. There was no way she knew what was happening, no way she knew something and didn’t tell me.

She looked me over as if deciding whether or not to answer before saying, “The window is a portal. We're not in our time period anymore. The palace will be built right here, the ground will be made fertile, it’ll be the way you know it to be. In another 100 years. Long story short we’re in the past. When my parents-when they… died, some people came and told me about the portal and asked about the soon-to-be king. I told them about you, they seemed to like you. They said to bring the prince if we needed a safe place to hide. I wasn’t allowed to tell you anything. I didn’t ask too many questions, but when I heard the rioting I knew nowhere in the palace would be safe. The rioters are angry.” She shuddered a bit as if recalling some horrors.

I just stared at her. She had kept this a secret for two years, two years, of gossiping and chatting and laughing and trusting her. I took a deep breath. I wasn’t being fair, how would she have told me? It’s not like I would’ve believed her. I nodded, “So, where are these people?”

She opened her mouth to respond when two figures appeared in front of us. I startled, backing up a couple steps, but Elaine barely looked surprised. She gave them a hesitant smile, “I brought the prince. Like you told me to.” 

The people in question were beautiful. One was clothed in all black, the other in white. One with dark hair, the other with light. They looked like embodiments of night and day.

They simply nodded. 

“Yes, he’ll do nicely. Now come, the Event is happening in an hour,” the dark one said, already starting to leave.

Elaine and I exchanged a look before I said, “An hour. What is it you need me to do? What Event? I’m going to need an explanation.”

The light one looked me over, a brow slightly raised. I was suddenly embarrassed. “It is our job to monitor the Event. The king before you, presumably your father, came here the day after his coronation to participate in said Event. Every king must do it, if you fail to show up, the world as you know it will be destroyed. The catch is, you can’t train for it. The king can’t bring you here either, someone else must be your companion. You will go into a cottage where you’ll be given a choice. I don’t know what it is, but your answer will determine the future of your kingdom. When you return, things will either remain as they are, or your kingdom will become a utopia. The other possibility is that your choice leads to your kingdom being destroyed. Your predecessor managed to have things remain the way they were. Any other questions? I suggest not asking them, time is already tight.” She blinked at me, waiting.

I stared in disbelief. “My father really did this?” was all I could think to say. The dark one rolled her eyes. I took Elaine's arm, pulling a short distance away. I gave her a look, is this for real?

“That's why they told me," her eyes widened with the realization, "They knew you would only come if I told you to. I thought you would have to come when you turn 17, but it looks like it’s a choice."

“We need to leave. Now, or you won't have enough time to complete the task,” one of them crooned behind us. Elaine gave me a guess we have no choice look. I just nodded, still too shocked to speak. Without another word, the Event supervisors grasped hands. The dark one held mine with her free hand, the light one doing the same with my friend. We were pushed into darkness before appearing before a small cottage. I blinked, my stomach still churning from the dark. They simply motioned me to go inside. I met eyes with Elaine, those beautiful walnut colored eyes. She managed a tight smile and encouraging nod before I went in. 

Welcome your majesty. I was wondering when I would meet another king-or prince it seems.

My stomach turned. The voice spoke directly in my mind. “What-what needs to be done?”

So brave, little prince. It's simple really. Answer my riddle correctly and you’ll have utopia. Answer wrong, your kingdom will be destroyed, or walk away and things remain the way they are. If you walk away, however, your companion will die on the spot. 

Elaine. That wasn’t an option. “What’s the riddle?”

Elaine, what a lovely name. My stomach tightened. The voice chuckled. Well, well. Someone's eager. Another chuckle before:

What costs nothing but is worth everything,

Weighs nothing but can last a lifetime

That one person can’t own, 

but two or more can share

You’ve got 20 minutes, then your precious Elaine dies. 

“What? You didn’t say there's a time limit!”

The voice chuckled again. I’m saying it now. 

Dread curled in me. A realization struck, my father abandoned whoever brought him here. That's why he said utopia would never be possible.

I wouldn’t, couldn’t, let Elaine die. I thought and thought about the riddle. I asked the voice to repeat itself a couple times. Gold? No, that has a cost. A feather? No, that wouldn’t last a lifetime. I thought and thought and thought.

5 minutes, little prince

Panic gripped me in earnest now, I began pacing. My thoughts tangled with each other until I couldn't understand them. 

1 minute. Pretty Elaine is feeling a bit sick I believe. 

This couldn’t be happening. I begged my brain to keep pushing, but all I could think about was Elaine. Her eyes. Her laugh. 

30 seconds, your majesty. 

How she never lost hope, ever. How much I needed her. Laughing until we couldn’t breathe under the stars. Dancing horribly to the music that flowed from my mothers chambers, every movement at odds with the pretty notes. Her braiding my hair when it got long enough, me snapping at her to stop pulling so hard. How I would do anything to keep this friendship. This friendship that is worth everything to me. That I know will last a lifetime. 

5...4...Poor pretty Elaine. 

The breath went out of me. Friendship. Friendship. 

“THE ANSWER IS FRIENDSHIP, ” I yelled. I held my breath, hoping against hope. 

The voice chuckled in my ear. Not bad little prince.

The air around me went black, suffocating. I began to yell.

**

The blankets were so much softer than I remembered. The birds so much more cheerful. I woke in my bed, squinting slightly at the sunlight that draped over tile. The window didn’t have any adorning jewels. The night before rushed at me. 

I jumped up and bolted out the door but-no rioters, no yelling. No one acted like anything was out of the ordinary, the staff smiling like they always did. The guards opened the doors as usual when I got there. 

The girl was smiling in the stables like usual too, but I could tell she remembered what happened from the slight concern on her face. “Wanna talk about it?”

I thought for a minute, “Not today.” I knew I would never be able to look at my father the same again. He let someone die. I shook the memory from my head. She just nodded, sympathy filling those perfect eyes.

Music began flowing from the palace, so we danced. We were a clumsy mess, but kept going until the music stopped. Laughing all the while.

That night we laid on those rolling green hills and laughed until we couldn’t breath. 

The next day she braided my hair. She slapped my hand when I went to touch the elaborate knots. My scalp was tingling, “Stop pulling so hard.” She just tugged harder, I laughed anyway. 

After that day there were no more hearings. On the off chance someone needed aid, my father could give it without hesitation.

Maybe I’d give ruling a shot after all.