Especially Rose.
Fairy girl doesn’t deserve to suffer.
None of us do.
“I have a button,” Peter says. He rips one off his shirt and hands it to the wizard through the little hole. They both turn, looking at me expectantly. They know I’m the king and they know I’m supposed to have all of the answers. Great.
The problem isn’t that I’m the king. The problem is that right now, I’m apparently a very shitty king. Not only did I not know about the dungeons, but I have absolutely no idea where I can get a knife or an amulet. Not down here. Not unless...
I sigh and move once more to the opposite side of my cell. If I keep this up, I’m going to lose those five pounds that have been giving me grief. Even a king wants to look attractive. I look through the hole that leads to Rose’s cell.
“Yes?” She says without looking up. She’s still doing something to the walls. Picking at it, maybe? I can’t really tell.
“Do you have a knife and an amulet?” I ask with a sigh. I realize how stupid it sounds. In fact, it’s so stupid that I hate myself for even bothering her. She stands and turns around. Her skin glimmers despite the darkness. The afternoon light is still streaming in the tiny windows that line the tops of the cells and for the first time, I can see her face quite clearly.
She’s lovely, albeit a little dirty. Her face is smudged. Her hair is a mess. Her dark cloak is bound at her neck and it’s covered in mud and a few tiny tears.
“Yes, of course,” she says. She unhooks her cloak, letting it fall, and I hold in a breath when I see her ample cleavage. Beneath the cloak she has a thin sleeveless shirt on. Obviously, it’s so she can easily unleash her wings if she wants to, but I don’t see those. I just see her lovely, creamy breasts.
The amulet is tucked safely in her cleavage and she reaches for it, pulling it out. Then she catches my gaze.
“Edward,” she whispers, and she takes a step forward. Is she feeling this connection that I’m feeling? Does she know just how terribly attractive I find her to be? Does she realize that right now, it’s taking everything I have not to tear down this wall and just kiss her over and over again?
“Rose,” I whisper back.
“Here you go.”
She hands me the amulet through the tiny hole. I accept her offering and as I do, our fingers brush against each other once more. I accept it and look at it. She seems a little surprised that I’m taking the time to examine the necklace she handed over, but of course I am: it’s rare that an amulet makes it to Dark Falls. It’s even rarer that a king has a chance to touch one.
I’ve only touched an amulet once before and that was as a small boy. My mother used to wear one. That was a long time ago: before the vampires and the monsters. That was before the trolls and the demons and the dragons. That was a lifetime ago.
“Where did you get this?”
“Is that important?”
“I’m just curious.”
“It was my mother’s.”
“It’s pretty,” I tell her.
“Thank you.”
“Where is your mother now?” I shouldn’t ask, but I suddenly can’t help myself. I want to know everything there is to know about this girl. What makes her tick? Why is she here? Why is she so desperate to find the king?
“She’s dead.”
“Mine too.”
Her hand reaches through the hole again and this time, she touches me for a long time.
“It’s not easy,” she says.
“No, it’s not.”
“It doesn’t get easier.”
“People say it does,” I tell her.