Lost Royalty by Kaitlyn Barnett (ap literature book list txt) 📖

She looks a certain way. Familiar, perhaps. I fled for that reason along with not wanting to put up a fight. My camp was very near to the females' camp. It was a short walk, a very few minutes. I also heard her footsteps which is another reason in which I went to check. Shall I become her acquaintance to see if she would help me or I can perhaps help her? Again, could be very hostile.

As I sat at my camp, I was currently thinking about this. I will in a second, I just need her to be calm; less paranoid. She could be of my aid, she may be a runaway too. She seems to be very, well, royal. Soon, I'll see her intentions. Soon.

***

It was currently the afternoon as I could see the direction of the sun, along with its sunlight. The trees surrounding me were swaying back and forth, it was a bit windy, not too chilly. I still had a sense of paranoia, I felt like someone was near me. I fear that it could be a guard from Iprellis watching my every move, or perhaps a crazy killer. I learned as of now to never trust anyone. Not a single soul. I have to protect myself, yes?
I was carving a fallen tree branch, I was sharpening it. My knife could begone, for whatever reason. I was mildly bored, wishing I was with Evelyn learning Crushah. Suddenly, it came to me.

Evelyn!

I shivered at the thought: What if Mother punished her? What if Evelyn is put in the secret basement of who knows what? What if she isn't with me anymore? I gripped my knife hard in one hand the tree branch in the other. I suddenly felt tears streaming down my cheeks. I stared off to the distance, my body slightly shaking. I felt shameful, but happiness. Shameful for Evelyn, happiness for me and possibly Evelyn could be happier in heaven now if she's not alive.

Get it together, Lyrosa.

I trust in Evelyn's decisions, she's smarter than I. I'm sure she knew what she was doing. I hope by me running early it didn't affect anything. Either way, I would have been gone. Right?

I was staring at the ground now, looking at my feet. Evelyn, if only I could finish telling her everything. If only she wasn't possibly punished. If only life was easy. If only Mother wasn't evil, perhaps Father too. If only-

"Hello!"

I jump up, my knife tightly gripped in hand. I look up. It was a man! He was taller than me, he was in some type of chest armor, brown hair, looked like he was in his 20s. Immediately though, I put my knife up to his neck, trying to stab him. His arm was holding mine, preventing it from moving.

"Woah! Don't be scared, 'Princess.'" The man said, emphasizing the word 'princess.' I glared at him, using all my might to harm him, but he was strong. I dropped my arm, as it got tired. I didn't feel like dealing with anyone, he could be an undercover guard for all I know! I ended up not responding to what he said.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, miss," said he, "I just want to know, where are you coming from to be in this abandoned forest?"

"Where are you coming from?!" I said, yelling at him. I take a step away from him, sitting down and crossing my arms. I really don't want this interaction. Anything but this, please.

"Well, let me be completely honest. Do you see my armor? It is the main part of the guards in Wrenwood, close to Iprellis. I, er, ran away because my father as the former guard captain was excessively abusive to me, as an attempt to motivate me, which did not. I rebelled along with a few other guards which I have not seen in a while. I wanted to show my father, who isn't even the guard captain now, that I'm not standing for any of it."

Believe him? Yes, I do. I do a lot. I've seen the upperclassmen uniforms of the Wrenwood Guards. I have. For some reason, I slowly start to think he's lying. It's obvious he's not, but I can't help it.

"Do you trust me?" The man said, kneeling in front of me. I said nothing, just stared at him to see if his expression will change to expose his potential lie.

He sighs, "I guess not. What city are you from?" I didn't answer that either.

"Answer me, you can't live your life in silence forever, you know."

He continued to ask questions and say things like this, in which I didn't reply to at all. I didn't want to talk nor did I want to listen.

"ANSWER!" The man said, provoking me by poking me hard and making me flinch.

"IPRELLIS!" I yelled out of anger. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. Dammit, he knows I'm from the future graveyard of a city.

"Why? I hear many good things from Iprellis. I hear the guard force is good, the maids are loyal, the King is good, and the Queen-"

"Shut up!" I said. He squinted at me and put his hands up as if I'm a guard telling him to.

"Jeez, all right, all right, what's so bad about Iprellis anyway-"

His eyes widen.

"Are you Princess Lyrosa?"

I glare at him. "No! No, I am not."

"How come you look so royal then? I also heard that before I left, that someone in Iprellis was missing."

I look down, tearing up once again. I tried to cover my face with my hair, I don't dare let anyone see me cry. Especially not with this man.

"You are!" His voice was slightly more shocked. He made me put my head up as I wiped away the tears.

"We're both runaways, then, huh? Don't worry, I won't tell. I'm on your side."

His words sounded sincere, but I wouldn't know if he was being truthful or not.

"What else do I need to prove to you that I'm telling the truth?"

I said nothing.

"I pretty much told you my story and I'm in Wrenwood gear. The former guard captain is Zariem Ericson Wood. He is 52 years old. Ask Wrenwood if you still don't believe me."

Maybe he was right. I can't fend for myself, and I want him to help me. I think I do trust him.

"I believe you," I said quietly, staring at the ground. He smiled and took my hand and stood me up.

"I'm glad, thank you."

After a few moments of awkward moments of silence, he finally spoke:
"I'm going back to my camp very close from here to get supplies to bring back since you don't have much. It's the least I can do for making you startled or sad or whatever it is."

He turned to leave, then stopped.

"Also, the name is Boris, but call me Bo." With that, he went to his camp.

 

Chapter Eight: For The Night

 

I was back at my campsite grabbing supplies for the now lost princess of Iprellis, Lyrosa. I may stay with her for the night, learn more about her, the Queen, and see if we can help each other. I hope we can sympathize with each other, it seems she cannot trust. Maybe her Mother was just like my Father? Perhaps worse since the Queen would have way more power than a guard captain who isn't even apart of a certain occupation anymore.

As I reach my camp, I grab the supplies that I need for me and her. I want to give her as much as I can, as she is a Princess! Still a princess? She may be spoiled as I heard back in Wrenwood. Anyway, I grab my firewood, sword, knife, and the basic equipment needed for camping, with slight changes as being a runaway. I bring it little by little to her spot, she is not even showing any expression of thanks. Gosh, spoiled she probably may be. Or maybe she is just overwhelmed with everything going on in this time frame. I feel a bit bad for the girl myself. She seems weak.

"Well, are you going to thank me?" I ask as I finish the transfer of supplies, sitting in front of her. She was sitting on the grass, a few feet from the fire, slowly burning with flares struggling to stay alive.

The Princess looks up to me and makes an agitated look. She shakes her head and attempts to avoid eye contact with me.

"Seriously, the least you can do is say thank you. I don't know if you're spoiled or not but-"

"Me? Spoiled?" Lyrosa suddenly looks up and says, leaning back and putting her hand on her heart as if I offended her. I could tell she was being serious anyway.

"Back at my city, I heard many different things about the Royals of Iprellis."

She sighs and sits back, slightly relaxing, "I want to know what the stereotypes are."

"Well, the majority of the city seems to think you guys are spoiled because it is easier to acquire high-class things there; unlike us. I also hear the Queen is probably evil, but it's mostly a running joke after our King met with her about five years ago."

"How so? Evil?"

"Wrenwood citizens say that she only ruled because her mother made her or else she would die or something along those lines."

I saw that Lyrosa was a bit tense now. She just looked at me as if the joke were significant.

"Is it true?" I asked.

"Uh, well, I'm not so sure, uh, let's just come back to that topic later."

"Fair enough I guess."

We talked for a bit about each other before as the fire eventually gave out all the way.

***

Night came to play, and I got to know a lot more about Wrenwood and Bo. We both shared a lot of traits along with sympathy. I still wasn't fully sure if I trusted him by telling me on this, so I was still paranoid and never let my guard down. I really hope this isn't a mistake to tell him everything. Wrenwood was always ready for anything, so maybe it is a good thing. Should they battle with Iprellis, it would be because of me. I'm not sure how I feel about that. That could have its many pros and cons.

Boris shared with me about how he grew up to his mother passing when he was 3 because of his father's instincts as a guard captain when he thought a stranger was in their home. After what he did, he stepped down as a guard captain and slowly drank and became abusive. He also shared that training in Wrenwood is harsher. They say Wrenwood is good at fighting, but magic is a great weakness. I'm kind of glad to hear about Wrenwood. Mother never let me go out that much, now that I think of that again. I pretended to ignore the thought, I would like to have a semi-peaceful moment for once.

I look up at the sky because I don't think I've seen it because of the trees and I was more alert of what was around me. The sky was dark blue, with a few stars here and there. The moon was awfully dark tonight. Must have been a new moon. I smile at the moon as it