7. The Mentality

2.24.20

Kody's POV

As some work of a miracle, we didn't start any fires. However, we did make a huge mess that would probably take the better part of an hour to clean. We were both covered in flour and laughing loudly. What had we been trying to make? Macaroni and cheese. I don't know how something as simple as putting it in the microwave ended this way. Maybe a food fight... Or two... Yeah I can see how it got here.

When we had both eaten, he wanted to go upstairs. "No, we have to clean the kitchen," I protested.

"But that's what maids are for!"

"No buts, princey, you want the adventure of the real world then you can't leave messes everywhere."

He groaned before getting up to go clean. I hopped over on one leg since my right one was still completely useless and leant heavily on the counters while I wiped them down.

It took a long time, but we got it done. I would venture to say that it looked better than it had when we entered earlier. James picked me up and walked out, and there was an army of maids outside. We tried to walk around them, but no one would budge. "Your father demands your presence in his office. You may not go anywhere else before you go there," one of the maids demanded with the most empty voice.

James's breath got a lot quicker at that, and his arms held me tighter. He walked slowly towards our certain doom, and his whole body was shaking at this point. Finally we stood outside of a wooden door, but it seemed like James wasn't even in the same world as me.

"It'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen?" I reassured.

"What if you die?" he fretted.

"I think I've been running away from fate for a long time. I'll be fine, trust that."

"But what if you aren't? What if I lose you forever. I don't want that to happen for some reason!"

"I'll be fine."

James shoved the door open with a shaking arm, and I held my breath. His father was facing away from us, but I could tell he was fuming. "You are a disgrace to this family. You refused to listen and shot me for what, a silly alley cat?"

"I am Prince of Carbuos, defender of my people and the innocent," James declared his rank with a form of triumph.

"Not anymore. If you love rats so much then you can go live with them. You have ten minutes to be out of this castle."

James turned and ran out. He put me onto the bed before grabbing two items. One was a small, leather bound, beaten up journel, and the other was a wallet full of money. "Open the window, we don't have time to leave out the front!"

I detached the screen with a bead of sweat rolling down my face. He was supporting my at the hips from behind, so I was able to do it quickly.

James leapt out of the window first and stood on the ground with his arms out. I forced myself out of the opening with my arms and landed into his. "Hold this so I can carry you," he demanded before pressing the book into my arms. I pushed my face into his shoulder so that I wouldn't get sick while he ran across the grounds, and we reached the crest of the hill that overlooked the town soon.

James put me down on the browning grass, and I could see him unwinding like a toy mouse. "Kody... Can I?" he trailed off before he finished, but I knew what he was implying.

"It's okay. You're overwhelmed."

He pushed his head into my shoulder and just started balling. I turned so that I was facing him and wrapped my arms around his own shaking shoulders. His long fingers dug into my back through the fabric of my shirt, and his entire body was wracked with sobs. I ran gentle hands through the hair on the back of his head to comfort him.

"I'm sorry," he hiccuped a little bit later.

"You're allowed to be upset. I'm not going to ask you to suppress any of your emotions whether they're happy or not. I-" I stopped myself before I could say it. I was going to say that I loved him, but he deserved to find his pairing and be with them. I wasn't going to force him to be plagued with guilt for following destiny.

"Just say what you want to say. Don't you think that I've noticed that you've been holding something back from me? I know that I've only known you for a few days, but I feel like I know you better than my own family."

"I can't say it, it'll be inappropriate."

"I guess I understand your right to privacy. Just know that you can talk to me about anything in the world."

I smiled slightly while being glad that he didn't force me to tell him. I didn't want to bomb our relationship that was slowly developing by making it wierd.

"Well... What do we do know? I've never been outside for a long time."

"We need somewhere safe to sleep. You're the prince- or well, previous prince- so you'll have a huge target on your back if we live on the street. Also, likelihood is that you don't have enough in there to pay for a hotel."

"I probably have 150 harishes?" he answered.

"That isn't nearly enough. Most places have a nightly rate of 300."

"What will we do?"

"Sleep here and pray that it doesn't rain?"

That's how we ended up here. I was wrapped tightly into James's arms to conserve out heat, and I had pushed my nose into his neck. Anyone who wasn't dying would assume that we were being intimate, and I have to wonder why he cared so much about me. I resolved to not care, and rested in the silent, cold night air.

***

My entire body was sore, and it felt so familiar. However what really woke me up was James laying beside me groaning like a little kid. "What's wrong with you?" I asked into the morning air.

"Why does my body hurt so much!?" he complained.

I sighed quietly. "Your back hurts because you spent the night on the ground instead of your fancy little bed. Get used to it. The first law of street living is that you take what you can and don't complain."

"We should eat."

"We only have a little bit of money. If we spend it all on the first day then where will we be?"

"Why are you so much colder out here than in the castle?"

"It's an attitude that you will develop if you stay out here long enough. Survival is the most important part of our lives; I am simply placing it at the front of our agenda."

"We need food to survive!"

"You can wait. We don't need 3 meals a day!"

"Is this why you're so thin?"

"I've gone weeks without food. Trust me that money is our best friend."

"Fine, you have experience... Teach me how to survive. I need to learn how to fight and how to adopt your mentality."

"Deal, princey."

Sorry about the lack of notes, I've been on a writing streak and keep forgetting.