The Talamute Prince

"Your majesty, it's time to go." Marcy said. Melena stood by the door waiting for me. I glance back at the mirror as I stand to head out the door. I look ridiculous. How am I going to make it through this?

"I guess this is it. I wish my father was here. This would be so much easier to swallow with him." Tasha and Heather open the doors and Melena steps out in front of me. I follow behind her and two of the guards that had been right outside the doorstep behind me as we walk to the elevator.

Once we were at the throne room again, I am standing at one end of the very back of an overcrowded room and Patrick is at the other as some servant's swarm him with last minute touches. I have managed not to mess anything up, but I'm still approached by some servants who fussed over ever tiny imperfection.

"Leave it." I say as one of them reached for the flower in my hair.

"Ma'am it isn't allowed." She whispers. I shoot her an impatient look and she backs away immediately and fixes the stray strands of hair instead. A loud trumpeting music began to play, and Patrick walks forward. It takes me a second and a push from Melena to realize I need to move towards him at the same speed he moves and we met in the middle of the two separated crowds of people where a golden carpet runs up to the thrones ahead of us.

"Place your hand flat on top of mine don't squeeze though." I place my hand on top of his raises hand and watches as he placed his other behind his back. "Just leave your other hand at your side and look straight ahead." I take a deep breath as my heart raises up into my throat.

"I can't do this Patrick. I'm not ready to be the queen of your people." my handshakes on top of his as all eyes focus on us.

"Just take a breath and walk with me you will be fine." He said. I could feel my nerves rising and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be with Patrick as his wife anymore and now, I was being shoved into his world with no say so over any of it. I tried to slow my thoughts and to smile.

"Do you think they can see my fear?" I ask.

"I doubt it is your fear they're looking at, you're beautiful. Too beautiful to be with an ogre like me." His eyes find their way up to my hair. "The flower is inappropriate." I hear the disapproval in his voice.

"It calms me. I can't exist as myself in a monotone world. I need color, Patrick." My tone matches his disappointment. His gaze moves to his mother who has also seen it and sneers with disapproval.

"I'll smooth it over with my mother, but please, next time stick to our customs." I don't respond trying to fight back my tears as the fake smile falls from my face. We move forward now in a slow steady rhythm.

I'm sure that it's pointless to hide my thoughts to well. We walk through the center of a crowded throne room and up to the stage. I release his hand and grip the front of my dress to help make stepping up easier. I was walked through my responses by Melena. Nothing prepared me for what I see when I turn around to bow to Patrick. At the end of the isle where we had entered is the man with the razor-sharp teeth. He is aiming his bow with the sharpened point of his arrow aimed right at Patrick's heart. He releases the arrow and it flew at Patrick.

"No!" I shout and hold out my hand at this point everyone including Patrick turns to see the arrow freeze in midair. The guards seize the man and I cause the arrow to burst into flames sending only specks of ash falling to the floor. Everyone then turns and looks at me, but my eyes were on the man who is being held down on the floor. I stumble a bit with the weakness from using my powers. Patrick catches me as I almost fall from the stage and sits me on the ground beside him.

"Are you okay?" he asks I nod and return my gaze to the Talamute. I look at him, but he isn't looking directly at me. I return to my feet trying to hide my weakened state a secret. Patrick walks up to him holding his hand against me to keep me behind him. They lift him from the ground and brought him forward to face Patrick. He just smiles and looks at my hair the whole time he is being forced forward.

"How dare your people come here to attempt to kill me? I'm the new king of the Raspites and I won't be as lenient on you as my father. You spy on my queen, you frighten her, and now this. You shall be sentenced to death for these crimes." Patrick is so angry his face is red. I've never seen him so angry and it frightens me.

"Patrick, please." I whisper and look at him he can tell I didn't like the idea of killing anyone. He of course didn't really care at this point, but he wanted to calm me as he sees a tear start in my eyes. "Please not here, not now." I lower my head. He reaches up brushing the tear away and kisses my cheek.

"My queen is right. This is a joyous occasion for us and for our people. Put him in the dungeon he may prove to be useful in finding his accomplice then we shall carry out his sentence." I look at the man's brown eyes as he smiles at me. His teeth send shivers through me.

"Permintia. A beauty for a beauty. Truly it suits you." The man says looking at me then back up at the flower.

"You speak our language?" My eyes widen. If he was a savage, why would he take the time to learn our language.

"Do not address my queen take him away." The man is drug out of the room. His words, that word what was it? "Laoonica are you okay?" Patrick turns to me placing his hand on my cheek as our eyes met. He knows all too well that such demonstrations of my power leaves me weakened.

"I'm okay just a bit weakened from it." I take my dress into my hands as my eyes search it over. I'm surprised to see that my dress wasn't charred or burnt anywhere. I'd focused everything on the arrow itself. It's strange to me to be able to do such things since I hadn't been privileged to test my control back home.

"Can you continue?" His expression is soft and kind. I'd almost forgotten he had such a look. I want to say no, but not because I'm feeling weak. I really want to run after the man and ask him what that word meant, to ask him about the other Talamute. I watch until he is out of sight

"Yes, I will be fine." I nod, fake a smile, and everyone goes back to their places. Melena was right about the long speech and the rest went off exactly how she said it would. I wanted desperately for it all to be done with. So far, I had all I could take for one day.

Once Patrick is crowned, he takes a smaller more feminine crown from a man who looks weird in his long gown and turns back to me. I curtsied and he places it on my head. He then grabs my hand as we both now turn to the crowd then take our seat. He looks over at me after a minute Studying the flower in my hair.

"Where did you get the flower?" I stare straight ahead as I'm already prepared for the disapproval, he is going to spit my way.

"It was in my garden. I thought it added just enough color to this outfit to make it bearable." I respond, but he didn't seem very happy that it was there.

"When we get a moment, you will remove it. I don't want it anywhere near you." He says I give him a glare of pure anger. There is no reprieve from his word or his rules. The fact I'm not allowed to be myself even for a moment is far worse than what my own parents had done. At least with them I was allowed my personality.

"I will not." My face feels heated. I try my best to contain my anger at the thought of not being allowed to be myself.

"That heathen seemed to know what this flower is. That means they put it on your balcony. I do hope it isn't poisonous. I'd be most appreciative if you removed it till, we know if it has any effects." He tries to manipulate me into handing it over, but I can see his teeth clinched together as he speaks.

"The effects would have been felt by now. I feel so out of place in this world and you won't give me one small item to make me feel just a bit more comfortable?" My eyes are adorning a glaze of moister ready to spring free. I don't wish to tear up in front of all these people, so I try to withhold my emotions. It's torture to have to pretend to be happy just to save other people's feelings that everything is okay when in fact it isn't. My smile is long gone at this point and I'm not sure I want to try to fake it anymore.

"I only asked for this day to be perfect if you feel as though I've been unfair then please by all means keep your silly flower. It's but a wilting piece of the land below and a slap in the face to the traditions long standing in this hall." I want to scream at him but that might be a step to far. If I could make him understand my point of view it would be amazing. Sadly, he has never suffered my infliction so telling him that faking a smile doesn't solve anything won't work. He's to stuck in his ways to care how it affects me. The crowd disperses into the dining area.

"A slap in the face is to wake up and realize you're trapped inside the enigma of someone's lie unable to get away for fear that the unknown is far worse than the illusions placed before the naked eye." My cold stare causes him to shift uncomfortably next to me. He looks away as he stands and reaches out his hand towards me. I do not take it I simply sit firm in my throne. I can tell he is furious as he walks away but doesn't say another word about it. He stops by the exit as I slowly stand still feeling lightheaded. I step down and walk to his side.

"I'm sorry, my queen. Please?" he holds his hand for me to take it. I don't want to, but I do. I feel a sharp pain in my chest as I touch his flesh.

There was a huge feast and lots of people. I watched as Patrick was swept away into a group of men and women in uniforms his mother and two of his sisters set over to the side entertaining other women with wine glasses in their hands I was sick at the idea of being around all these people. My eyes flutter and I lose my fight with gravity as I grip the closest thing to me to hold myself up. My head is spinning as I try to catch my balance. Patrick looks over to see me almost tumble as Melena rushes to hold me up.

"Are you okay Laoonica?" Melena asks as she sees the look on my face and the off balanced way that I move. She sits me back down in a chair to the side of the room.

"No, I need to rest, that took more out of me then I realized." I say. She looks over to her brother and motions for his attention. He came over straight away. He had seen the entire incident but in his frustration with me he didn't react until she did.

"What is it?" He asks I can hear the tension in his voice. I know all too well he still angry that I wouldn't remove the flower from my hair.

"The exertion of my powers was more than I said." I manipulate my head so that I can observe his glare without detection. He is silent for a moment and I'm unsure what to make of the blank stare that comes over him.