Seventh Crown VI

Do not read if you had not read the previous parts.

Seventh Crown VI

~

The night was long, but still he could not find the right position in which he could fall asleep. There was a small broken window next to his dirty bed. From it, he was always looking up to the beautiful, but still so dark sky, filled up with many stars. Something was always on his mind, and thanks to it, he could not fall asleep that night. Around midnight, he choose to stand up and try to walk around the palace. Maybe it could help him fall asleep, if he used all his energy to walk around the whole building. Some of the guards were already sleeping stading up in their places, without caring what may happen or if someone tried to get through the gates of the palace.

As he made his way around the building, his thoughts turned to the trip ahead of him and the Queen. There would be so much time for them to be alone and talk without interruptions.

Maybe this would be the time to tell her what he really thought. No, he would not wreck her thoughts with this. If he tried to talk about this with her, it could distract her while she needs to be focused. He made up his mind to save this subject to be discussed towards the end of the long journey.

He finished his first circuit around the building, but all the nervous energy was still present in his system. How many times would he have to walk around? He started walking for the second time around the building, and this time he thought about himself. He thought about how people in the cities were afraid of him, and the things he had done to deserve a place in the dark, barred room he had to live in. Still, the next thing he thought about was the Queen. Would he ever spend a day without thinking about her? This was becoming a problem. He couldn't spend even a few hours without doubting that the Queen felt nothing. But these days, was she lettting her feelings come through? Maybe she felt at least something for him. No, he needed to stop torturing himself with this. But what if the Queen did the same thing? He mentally scolded himself, "Stop it Cage! You need to keep it together." and finished his second go around the building. He felt only the tiniest bit tired.

Walking around the building was like doing nothing. Maybe if he walked to somewhere he would tire himself somehow. As weird as it was, he wanted to go see the Queen. It was the dead of night, and he was thinking about seeing his Queen. Something must be wrong with him. Even still, he changed his course of direction and started walking towards Rebecca's rooms. There were palace guards, of course, but they were already sleeping. He would be able to sneak past them easily. He crept into the palace and made his way to Rebecca's room and turned the knob on her door. Locked. Was the window unlocked, maybe? It was worth a shot. Cage, swiftly but quietly, exited the palace and walked to the other side of the building. The stones were spaced a good deal apart on the wall, making it easy to climb them, so up he went, scaling the wall to get to the window.

It was unlocked, so Cage eased them open; trying to make as little noise as possible. He climbed onto her windowseat, watching her for a moment as she slept, then paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and make a plan. What was he doing? He couldn't sleep, so he came to see the Queen. How was he going to get back out? The same way he got in. Little mental checklists, such as these, helped him get a grip on what he was doing, and helped him make plans. He peered over to Rebecca from his perch on the windowseat, and saw that she was still sleeping. Cage smiled before he knew what he was doing and walked quietly to the side of her bed, still watching her. Was it creepy to watch people while they sleeped? Probably, but Cage didn't care. This was the only time he had ever gotten a chance to look at her, without her scolding him for not meeting her eyes. His hand met her soft warm skin. Was it wrong? Yes, it was. Looking at her, he knew this, what was spinning in his head, was wrong, but this was not stopping him.

"Maybe in another life, we could meet and fall in love again, we could be together, the way we can not be in this life. I will always wonder why you refused my love then, but that was so long ago. But it still hurts bad, it's almost a physical burden, weighing on me so hard and I can not stop thinking about it. Did you use black magic upon me, and made me fall for you, Rebecca? If only I could know, but you will stay far away from me." His smile was already gone. he could not stop at her face, and thinking of what it could be. A soft sound of someone mumbling was heard. Maybe, she was waking up. Of course, he was so careless, talking to her like he is here to start a conversation, rather than only looking at her pretty face. So careless he was, he could not believe that she had that affect on him. He pulled his hand away, but before he fully retract it, Rebecca started hugging his arm, not letting it go. Obviously, she was still sleeping, but the grip was still so tight. If he fought back, she was going to wake up, and then he is out of the game. The window was near, but he had no way to reach it without pulling his arm away.

"Rebecca, seriously, we have no time to play." He muttered, annoyed.

It was no use. She only started to pull him closer still.

"Cage," she muttered in her sleep, obviously dreaming. "I love you, Cage."

He did not do anything. She stopped gripping his hand, so he could escape. A big smile covered his face. He had nothing to say, well, maybe one thing, as a response.

"Yes, I love you, too." He mumbled softly in her ear and left her room, without doing or saying anything else. Down the wall, he touched the hard ground with his feet, and happily walked to his dirty room.

~

What was that?

 She wondered as she opened her eyes half-way and looked around. What was going on? Maybe, animals were rushing around the forest, which was near the part of the building she was in. She thought she had heard something. Her imagination was tricking her again, maybe. Cage's voice. Of course, it was her imagination, this was what she thought. It was impossible for her to hear his voice during the darkest time of the night. But the words that she thought she had heard were in her head, repeating all over again and again. She felt the warmth over her cheeks. "Oh, seriously, Rebecca." She said out loud to herself, so she stops thinking about Cage and these words.

"Sleep, Rebecca, sleep."She mumbled and rolled like a burrito in her big king sized bed, which was so big, that she needed a partner to fill it fully. If only he could sleep next to her, finally this bed was going to be comfortable, and these blankets weren't going to be so cold.