The Prince

The young man screamed in terror, knowing his life was just seconds away from the end. I looked on, trying not to make eye contact or think of this poor human and how I couldn’t help him. I focused my eyes on the bright silver blade that glistened against the grey gloomy clouds in the sky. Before my eyes, the guillotine dropped, slicing his head clean off. The young man’s body, once full of tension and nerves, went limp.

I sighed. That was the 3rd one today. I hated it every time, but I’ve had it drilled into me to not show emotion to the peasants in Neo.

Neo was one of the only places in the world that actually had people in it. After the destruction of stonehenge, most of the cities in the earth were abandoned, as they became unlivable and manifested with vermin. Neo is the biggest city left, and has the most population, bustling with people and life. At least, that’s what is put out to the general public.

Our rival city, Skyhelm, had declared war on us over the continent of Europe. The war has been raging on for 6 years, making both cities much poorer, but pride was at stake. Everyone from Skyhelm had a heart-shaped locket to signify that they were not a spy for Neo. The metal was made out of a kind of copper that was only found on the outskirts of Skyhelm, so it could not be replicated.

Once you enter the city gates of Neo, you cannot leave again, unless you are a scout for the king, my father. We ration resources like food, clean water, and clothes. We have a weekly station in the town square that gives out vaccines of serotonin, making sure people have something to depend on us for. There’s so much pain and famine, it’s so hard having to watch people die and get injured without being able to do anything, but my role as the prince of Neo, I must not show my feelings publicly, or people would think I was weak and take advantage of that. *********************************************************************************

I awoke in my bed, the dismal light peeking through my windows. I lay back down, dreading the day. Today I had to visit the testing labs. The labs were a white, sterile room that smelled of disinfectant. 24 years ago, my father had the genius idea to take the 2nd born child of every family to test on and try and find ways to make the next generation more resilient.

I hated the lab, and my father knew that, but he continued to make me go for ‘character building!’ My job at the lab was to check the progress and report back to the king.

Exhaling deeply, I rolled out of bed to get ready for my day. Walking to the restroom, I turned on the shower and stepped in. The warm water felt good against my skin, waking me up and cleansing my body of what felt like a skin of dread.

Exiting my shower, I dried myself with a towel and got dressed. Making my way to the main hall, I nodded at my father, not saying anything. I walked out into the day, inhaling the air. It was so polluted I coughed, but it was better than the stuffy castle. Stepping into the underground subway, I sat on the seats, making sure to have perfect posture.

I had my own personal carriage, to not interact with the middle and lower classes. The peasants who were fortunate enough to afford the subway were all forced to sit on the ground, crowded on top of each other. I disliked that, as it just felt inhumane, but I was not allowed to invite anyone to my carriage.

Feeling the train come to a stop, I stood, brushing myself off. Stepping over the lip of the metal train, I walked over to the entrance to the lab, drawing myself up.

“Morning.” I said to the guard, who bowed in response.

“Prince Cane.” She said, opening the door.

The lab was louder than usual. Usually there were cries of children and infants, but there seemed to be more screaming this morning.

The children who were taken from their homes were called the obtained, and knew nothing but this depressing lab.

Grabbing my checkerboard from the wall, I strolled over to the main tester tp check the progress. I cleared my throat, getting the attention of the man.

“Anything to report?” I said, glancing around the dull room. The man, whose name tag read ‘Finn’, shook his head.

“No, sir, we’ve been trying to find ways to monitor how many people are giving birth, and ways to control that, but we have unfortunately found nothing.” I nodded, beginning to wander around the lab.

The children there know nothing but these walls. I wanted so badly to help them, but I know my father would punish me accordingly. They hardly got enough to eat, and were very obviously scared of what was coming for them. I felt so useless to assist them, even being the prince, I was constantly monitored by everyone, so whatever I did was reported back to the king.

Feeling the uselessness well up in me, I decided it was time for me to go. I hated it, I was such a coward for not standing up to my father, but the public eye needed a perfect royal family.

On my way back, I slumped down in my seat, looking through the clear glass into the next carriage. This one was filled with Remoras, who were middle class citizens, and usually sucked up to the government.

Walking out of my carriage after it came to a halt, I looked at my watch. I had time to spare, as I left early from the lab.

Darting into a nearby alleyway, I sprinted into a square, abandoned and hidden by the surrounding buildings.

I looked around, sighing. This was the only place I could semi-escape from my issues. Jumping over the ledge of a fence, I knocked on a rusty metal door and waited for a few minutes. The door opened to reveal a teenage girl with dark ebony hair, pale blue eyes, and dark olive skin. She smiled, opening the door wider and engulfing me in a hug.

“Cane!” She grinned, unlocking me from her arms and stepping into the square. I smiled, all of my stress and problems washing away.

Mikah and I had become friends 3 years ago, when I had decided to explore Neo and ended up getting lost. Mikah, a lower class kid, helped me find my way back. We had continued to meet up, and became best friends, twin flames. Mikah was the only one who actually listened to my problems with my father. She told me her problems in return, and she was the only person that I truly trusted. If my father found out I was friends with a peasant, he would have her killed and me severely punished, so we had to be very careful.

“Cane?” Mikah’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. I looked over to her, her hair shining in the setting sun. She squeezed my hand, knowing I had zoned out.

“Yeah?” my voice croaked. I had hardly spoken today, and yet my voice felt like I had just been screaming at a rock concert.

“I asked if you wanted to go to the clearing.” Mikah clarified, and I nodded. The clearing was a place that we discovered about a year ago, one of the smaller patches of forest inside Neo had a clearing where you couldn’t see any part of the city. It was nice to not be able to focus on what was going on with the war and all of my upcoming responsibilities.

We took off, abandoning my velvet cloak on the ground in front of Mikah’s door. Hand in hand, we jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following the path we had made to the clearing. Seeing it appear on the horizon, I laughed in joy. Joy was a feeling that I felt only when I was with Mikah. She had ways of cheering me up that nobody could.

Walking through the birch trees, Mikah and I took a seat on the grass, leaning against each other. We sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. This was my favorite thing about our friendship; we didn’t need to be talking constantly to be able to bond.

“What if,” Mikah started, “we ran away? We could make it pretty far?” I snorted. At least once a week she brought it up in conversation. We both knew it was impossible. I had royal responsibilities, and she was only a peasant. It didn’t stop both of us from hoping that one day, it could be true.

A conversation sprouted of where and how we could escape, the possibilities getting more and more insane as the night progressed. We were out much later than usual, not realizing until it was around 2:30 in the morning. When we did finally realize, a look of unease passed between us. Standing silently, we began to sprint back to her house.

Becoming closer, I began to see flashlights around where Mikah’s house was. I stopped, dread filling my stomach. As I looked over at my best friend, we realized what was happening. Turning quickly, we screeched to a halt again, lights coming up behind us, and closing in on us.

I had left my cloak. They had found us.

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Guards flooded up onto the rooftop, pinning our arms behind our back. I looked desperately around for Mikah, who made eye contact for a split second before we were torn apart.

“Prince Cane, we have orders to bring you back to your father immediately.” the guard pinning me said. I struggled, quickly realizing it was pointless.

“And you,” a voice behind me said, talking to Mikah, “You are under arrest for not turning in the prince as well as interacting with him.”

My breath left my lungs. The penalty for something as severe as this was death. I couldn't even do anything. She was going to die.

Being transported back to the castle, I was thinking desperately of something, anything that could save Mikah, but came up short. The latest she would have to live was maybe a day, and I could do nothing.

Walking into the throne room, my father stood, arms crossed. I looked up.

“Cane.” His voice echoed through the room, and I knew what was coming. I would be locked in my room or a cellar for days, maybe weeks on end.

“She’s your friend, huh?” My father boomed, and I knew better than to lie. I nodded, dreading the next words from his mouth.

“Not for much longer. You knew better than to interact with scum.” He spat, advancing on me. He swung his arm at my face, and all went black.

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I awoke, hoping for anything that was a dream. I felt the welt on my face and knew it wasn’t. A maid walked up to me and handed me clothes.

“The execution of Mikah Willans is in 1 hour, your majesty.” She said, and my heart stopped. What could I do? FIght? Guards would kick me down and I would get punished even more.

“Please,” I begged the maid, “Please don’t make me go. I can’t do it.” The maid shook her head.

“I’m sorry sir, your father has made it mandatory.”

I stood in my room for half an hour, time passing too fast for my liking. I needed something to do, but legally there was nothing I could do. 15 minutes before my best friend’s death, I was taken to the pedestal where she was to be executed.

A crowd had gathered, not knowing what happened, and expected that she was just another citizen that had done wrong.

Mikah walked onstage, covered in chains, head down. I did my best to try not to cry, but tears slipped over my eyelids and poured silently. I inhaled, as emotions were shunned upon in the city.

The executenour stood up, making the crowd go silent.

“We are here for the execution of Mikah Willans, who was a traitor to the royal name.” The man said, and the crowd booed.

I made eye contact with my best friend, whose eyes portrayed something I didn;t expect; guilt. Before I could think of why, Mikah was asked to kneel before the chopping block, and a small item fell out of her pocket. Seeing it, I gasped. A small, copper heart shaped locket.

She was a spy.