Mistake

Rafael didn't move. He stayed perfectly still like a statue. His lips felt cold and dry, yet somehow I couldn't stop. I placed my hand on his neck and pulled him closer.

"Mff..." he muttered as I deepened the kiss. At first, he didn't respond at all. But I tried harder. I nibbled lightly on his lower lip and kissed him gently. Still no response.

Right when I thought it was a lost cause, he closed his eyes and kissed me back. It was a nervous, shy response. Maybe I had a chance after all!

I took that moment to gently remove my hand from his neck and place it on his hand. The hand that was currently tightly wrapped on Lionel's throat.

Rafael didn't notice, so I lightly pried his fingers away. Then,

*CRASH!*

My lips felt cold with the loss of contact. The man I was kissing deeply a second ago now lay on the floor, a broken plate on his head.

Lionel stood over him, panting.

"That... was... not ex...pected," he said in between breaths.

He raised another plate over his head and brought it down. I watched in horror.

"DON'T!" I yelled.

The plate was inches away from Rafael's face.

"What?!" yelled Lionel. "This traitor deserves to die!"

"No!" I yelled back, "Don't be so rash!"

Rafael whimpered. Blood streamed down his head, matting his normally pristine blonde hair.

Lionel screamed, "Do you not see my father?! He's DEAD!"

I looked at the limp body of the King laying on the small chair. A pang of sadness struck me, but the adrenaline flowing through my blood overrode it.

My head raced with confusion. I needed to figure out what to do. But then, Rafael stirred.

Weakly, Rafael said, "Where... am... I?"

Relief flooded me. I crouched in front of him and looked at his pupils. They returned to it's original violet color. Rafael tried to muster a weak glare.

"What... are you doing here?" he coughed. "What happened?"

It was as I'd suspected. He had no recollection of the earlier events.

Lionel yelled, "DON'T YOU DARE PLAY DUMB!"

I flinched. Rafael may not have known what happened, but that didn't change his actions. The King was now dead, and no doubt that would cause an irreversible amount of damage to the people.

But when I looked in his sad, pathetic eyes, somehow I couldn't bring myself to get mad.

In the most calm voice I could manage, I said, "Lionel, open the door and get a healer."

Lionel looked shocked, "For this crazed lunatic?!"

I breathed deeply and replied, "No, for the King."

Now Lionel just seemed confused, "But... he is... " He couldn't finish the sentence, so I finished it for him.

"He's not dead." I replied firmly. I reached onto Rafael's belt and took the ring of keys from it. Rafael looked like he wanted to protest, but said nothing.

I threw the keys at Lionel. "What are you waiting for?!" I yelled. "Move it!"

Lionel froze for a second, but then moved into action. He quickly unlocked the door and left running.

Rafael stared at me, shocked. "Did I... I didn't!"

I looked at him clearly, "Yes, you did. Do you know how to stop it?"

I pointed to the King's limp body.

Rafael tried to stand up, but then clutched his forehead, "Ow... owww!"

I reached out to grab his hand, but he slapped it away.

I glared at him, "You sure you should give me that attitude after I saved your life?"

He gasped and clutched his head harder, this time with both hands. "I won't... You can't! I won't let you!"

Lionel was back, this time with a frightened young woman behind him. She looked wide-eyed at the King and immediately started chanting something.

The room filled with bright white light. But Rafael started screaming in pain. I didn't know what to do. The light grew brighter and brighter, but suddenly Rafael stopped screaming. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Finally, the light faded.

"What happened?" Lionel asked, desperate.

The healer replied in a shaky voice, "I-I was worried for a minute. But it was just a simple paralysis poison that leaves him with all the characteristics of a dead man for 24 hours."

Wasn't that the poison in Romeo and Juliet? Why would an assassination attempt use such a useless poison?

The questions quickly left my mind when I saw Lionel shoo the healer out of the room. He whispered something to her and went back to the King.

"I told you he'd be alright," I said. I couldn't keep the smugness out of my voice, but I tried.

Lionel's face was a mixture of annoyance and confusion. "You did. Good for you."

I assumed the conversation was over, but then he asked in a small voice, "How did you realize?"

I pretended I didn't hear, "Hmmm?"

Annoyed, Lionel yelled, "HOW DID YOU REALIZE?!"

"Jeez, you don't have to yell, you know? I'm not deaf!" I said, sarcasm dripping from my words.

He wouldn't understand how I realized anyway. The King was a good looking character, and good looking characters were never killed off in the first 5 minutes of a game. That just didn't happen.

Lionel just shook his head. He carried his father's body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I noticed his body was toned, but I didn't realize he was that strong. It looked kind of ridiculous.

He glared at me and said, "You're coming with me."

I looked at him and back to Rafael who was passed out on the floor. "What about him?"

Lionel looked at Rafael with scorn in his eyes, "Just carry him."

I looked at Rafael's body. Maybe I could try? I tried to lift his arm, but barely lifted it an inch before I had to drop it.

Lionel shook his head. Stay put. Don't you dare make a move. I've ordered the healer to station guards all over the castle, as well as mages to put extra wards.

He narrowed his eyes, "You won't make a foot out of here alive."

He walked out of the room and slammed the door shut. Oh crap, he has the keys. Guess it's just me and this unconcious guard now.