Page 2 of Imbalance
I wasn't positive when I had fallen in love with her. It was before we'd ever kissed. Before I'd ever lied to her. Before I'd ever hurt her.
Something that I would spend every single day apologizing for if I had to. I would do anything I could to prove to her that I'd made a mistake. That I knew the truth now.
I loved her. I loved Ama.
And if she didn't open her beautiful pink eyes, I was going to absolutely lose it.
I grunted as I hit solid ground, feeling cool, soft grass beneath me and rolling onto my shoulder keeping Ama against me. Almost immediately, I righted myself and laid Ama out on the ground, her eyes closed and a twisted expression of pain on her face. I clasped her face and pressed my lips to her forehead as I murmured a plea for her to wake up. I would do anything for her to wake up. Fuckinganything.
I wasn't positive why, but all of a sudden, the memory of our first meeting slammed into my head, the moment burned into my consciousness.
"That's the princess,"one of my friends whispered as my gaze snapped to the left. Of course, I'd heard rumors about the princess, but I'd never seen her before. She was kept somewhat of a secret, and whenever anyone asked the adults about her, they seemed to almost get angry.
"That's her?" I frowned, wondering why she didn't look like the rest of us. It was the first thing I'd noticed. I may have only been eight years old, but I'd never seen anyone like her before. She was beautiful and almost glowed with a pink light that radiated off her. She was wearing a light pink and red sundress, sitting near her father in the large castle pavilion, smiling up at him as he pointed toward a bird on the ground. I felt my chest squeeze and wished that my parents took time to hang out with me like that. They were always busy.
"My parents said she's a hybrid," my friend whispered. "She's really pretty."
Without meaning to, I growled at my friend, and he jumped back, staring at me with wide, confused eyes. I looked back at the princess and frowned, not understanding why his comment made me so upset. The princess was pretty. She even had really pretty horns on the top of her head.
"I'm going to go talk to her." I walked forward, but I felt my father's hand come down on my shoulder, tugging me back.
"Don't, boy. You have no need to talk to the princess. She's not like us."
Because she was a princess?
"Honey," my mother said quietly to my father, "maybe it's a good idea. Nothing wrong with getting to know her better. Any information is good information regarding her situation."
Her situation?
"Fine," my father sighed, "Go on then, Drayven."
I didn't question it. Crossing the space, I stopped a few feet away, feeling the eyes of the king inspect me with curiosity. Suddenly, I felt nervous, but it wasn't because of the princess looking at me, at least not completely. No, the king was someone my parents feared, and it made complete sense as his presence felt terrifying.
I swallowed and hesitated.
"Drayven, right?" he asked, and I nodded.
"I came to meet the princess," I squeaked out.
His eyes narrowed before darting behind me, "you came to meet her, or your parents wanted you to meet her?"
I had an answer to this. "No, they didn't seem to want me to meet her."
His eyes jumped with something as he nodded, "Come on over, Drayven."
When I got closer, the princess looked up at her dad and spoke, "Who is this, Daddy?"
"This is Drayven. His parents are people who work here in the castle."
"Oh." She nodded and turned towards me, jumping off the bench and almost stumbling as she thrust her hand forward. "My name is Princess Ama, it's nice to meet you." She was so little. She had nearly hurt herself getting off the bench because she couldn’t touch the ground. I felt worry permeate my emotions. Why did that bother me so much?
"It's nice to meet you, too," I offered quietly. "Do you want to play with us?"
"Can I?" she asked her dad.
The king looked at me then nodded, "Stay close and within sight."
"Come on!" Ama grabbed my hand and led me behind the bench, where the king's private garden sat. There was a play area there, with a slide and everything. She put her hands out as if showing me something amazing, and she was, but I was far more focused on her.
