lost chapter 3

3

Joy just stared at her food not feeling hungry or happy after her undermining conversation with Julian earlier that evening. She could tell that people where starting to notice how she was not being as cheerful as her happy go lucky brother was. And the guest weren’t the only one’s who noticed.

Nick sat back down next to his sister after a song had ended. He was short of breath and panting but still managed to talk. “What’s up? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Joy said bluntly not really wanting her brothers’ untimely advice.

“Nothing my butt!” Nick yelled. Joy could smell the liquor on his breath. She could tell he had already had one drink to many.

“Nick your drunk and I really don’t feel like scraping you off the floor, or telling you what’s wrong with me.”

“Oh come on sissy!” He practically yelled in her ear as he wrapped his arm around her hugging her tight to his chest. “You can tell me anything, and to be nice you won’t have to scrape me of the floor Patrick will do that for you. Right buddy!” He yelled to Patrick who was whispering something to a girl he had met.

“Nick let go of me!” Joy yelled right back at her brother. She wasn’t afraid to hurt him and he knew that. Joy was just about to elbow him in the stomach when Julian ran over.

“Hey there Nick, how about you just let her go. Let her do her own thing?” Julian asked while trying to get Nicks arm off Joy while Nick starred him down.

“Is it cause of you? Did you make her sad?” Nick stumbled up dropping the cup that was in his hands.

Joy stood up quickly, knowing what her dumb drunk brother was about to do. “Okay, hey Nick how about we go up to your room and I’ll show you something really nice.” She said pushing her brother back.

“Your lucky punk!” Nick yelled as he and his sister walked down the long empty corridors and the sound of cheerful music vanished in the distant room.

Joy opened the door to her twins’ room. The windows were open letting in a light breeze that felt good on Joys’ face. She led Nick to his bed and he fell on to it with a thump. Joy sat on the hope chest at the end of her bed and smiled to her self as she laid her head on her knees. “You may be the king, but I’m always the one who has to watch over you.”

Nick sat up, a sly smile on his face. “May the bridges I burn light the way.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Joy asked confused.

“Figure it out.” Nick said as he lay back down.

That was Nick, always full of riddles and metaphors that Joy just never seemed to understand the meaning of. She knew he was just trying to help but his strange way of helping never seemed to really help her. But apparently according to Nick it did help her, in more ways then she knew.

“Nick?” Joy asked as she starred out the window on to the kingdom below.

“Yes.”

“Do you think you will ever get married?”

Nick sat up quickly at this question. “Yes, why?”

“Well, if you get married and have children I wouldn’t ever have to become Queen would I?”

“I suppose not. Do you really hate the idea of ruling a kingdom that much?”

She looked down feeling inadequate. “Yes.” She said in a simple answer.

Nick was about to reply when there was movement out side of the bedroom door. They both stood up. They both knew that everyone was down at the party even the guards and all of the cleaning staff. No one knew they where there, except a few people. Nick stumbled for his sword which was sitting on the bed where he had left it. “Stay here.” He mumbled as he staggered to the door. Joy cursed, why had he got so drunk that night. “Who’s there?” Nick yelled at the door. There was no answer only more shuffling. Joys heart skipped a beat and she reached for the unlit candle holder on the desk. I’m going to open the door, be ready. Nick mouthed to Joy. She held the candle stick up ready to strike at any moment needed.

Nick swung open the door. His sword drawn ready to fight off any intruders that dare set foot in his castle and try to hurt him and his sister, but there was no one there. “What the?” Nick asked when a sudden screaming came from behind them and a man burst in from the window and three more from the balcony. Fighting started. Nick held off two while the other two went for Joy. She hit one hard on the head sending him down on the first hit then she hit the other in the stomach making him double over in pain. He grabbed her by the ankles and she was trying to get him off when she heard Nicks’ sword fall to the ground. Then she felt something hit her hard on the head. And a throbbing pain went through her body. And she was once again surrounded by the one thing no one can ever escape, total utter blackness. Again.

***

Joys’ eye’s fluttered open, her head was throbbing. She was in a wagon that smelled like lord knew what. The continuous movement of the wagon going up and down made her feel sick she heard pounding and could hear Nick yelling. “Nick, stop it you’re only making it worse.” He ran over to his injured sisters’ side.

“Are you alright? How are you feeling? Oh god you look horrible.”

“My head just hurts I’ll be fine.” He starred at her like she just said she could fly.

“Sis, you’ve got a huge gash in you head and your still loosing a lot of blood and these idiots wont stop for nothing. If we don’t stop soon and get you help. You’re going to die.” He said bluntly.

She sat there for a while after that. She never replied to him, because there was nothing to say. She let the rhythmic movement of the cart sway her body back and forth. Nick had insisted on letting him hold a towel up to her gash so it could slow down the bleeding. So as they sat there Joy tried to remember what had happen the night before.

“What happen last night?” She asked finally breaking the silence that sat in between them.

Nick gazed over at her his worried face creased with wrinkles and crows feet. “Well to be honest, I don’t remember a good chunk of it. All I know is that I woke up in this fowl smelling wagon and you were bleeding badly.”

Joy laughed. She had forgotten that he had been drunk the previous night and wouldn’t be able to remember anything. “Well how’s your head? I bet you have one major head ace.”

“Yeah.” He laughed.

She thought back to what Nick had said the night before, and decided now was as good a time as ever to find out what he meant. “Last night Nick, you said ‘May the bridges I burn light the way’ do you have any idea what that might of meant?”

“Depends, it depends on what we were talking about, or what the double meaning of something holds, all you need to do is look harder for that meaning.” Joy stared at Nick. He never made any sense to her. He always spoke in double meanings and never said the plain thing. Joy pondered this for the rest of the day before she finally drifted into a light sleep.