ASRA

  Laughter bounces off my chest painfully, that is until I realize Tango is dead silent. I turn, sealing my mouth. He’s sitting/laying on the floor, propped up on his elbows with a wide-eyed, panic filled look in his eyes. Tears trickle down his face, though he makes no effort to wipe them away, the only thing that he seems to be doing, is breathing and blinking.

  “Tango?” My voice rattles off, worried.

  Despite the screaming pain stabbing through my stomach and thigh, I make my way over to him, about collapsing when I reach his now shaking hands. His finger nails sink into the ground. Forcing myself off my forearms, I lightly shake his shoulders, resulting in him screeching and lurching backward, flames erupting from his hands and scars. The most noticeable scar, is the one slashed harshly across his right shoulder.

  “Hey-wait it’s-”

  He screams, terror gripping his muscles as he erupts fully into fire. The power from the blast sends me bouncing back into the bed frame, heat searing around the room. I scramble back, genuinely hoping he doesn’t burn himself out with this, or burn the place down. Before I can do anything, Farah appears in my room. She looks tired and extremely annoyed.

  “Who is that- and why are they screaming at six in the morning.” She demands, pushing aside a stray piece of her black braid out of the way.

  “I- I don’t know!?”

  “You don’t know who he is? And he’s in your room.” She pauses, then busts out laughing.

  Somehow, that quiets Tango, and he’s reduced to a silently sobbing mess.

  “That’s- my gods Asra.” She chokes out through laughter.

  The temperature of the room drops significantly as the flames go out.

  “We can talk later. Shoo.” I grumble, hardly resisting the urge to slap her across the face.

  Farah simply nods and dissolves from the room. I sigh quietly and get up, moving forwards Tango.

  “You wanna talk about it?” My voice is shaken, scared and tired.

  He lets out a little, slightly nervous laugh. His head falls on my shoulder, fingers digging into his pajama pants. “Do you remember that time we met when we were kids? At the woods outside the Peaks?” He says after a few minutes of silence.

  “No, why?” The lie, is hidden in plain sight. I just gotta hope he doesn’t see it.

  He sighs contently. “You were so much more… skittish then. Hard to believe that was only six years ago.” A smile spreads across his face, voice thoughtful.

  “Six years is a long time Goober.” I say, poking him lightly in the forehead.

  “You were climbing a tree, and practically passed out when I walked by. Apparently,” he makes finger quotes, rolling his eyes.

  “I had startled you.”

  Tango smirks, and plays with his hands, rubbing circles on them.

  “You-you did. Just uhm-” I stutter out, heat flushing to my face.

  “So you DO remember it!” He cackles, doubling over from laughter.

  We both fall quiet after a while, and my face still feels hot with a heavy blush. A quiet sigh leaves me, and I get up, my finger nails digging into my wrists. Tango blinks wearily and gets up, yawning. I make my way over to the window, and lift it up, the panels crackling as I do so.

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  “What are you… doing.” Tango appears by my right shoulder, his chin resting on me.

  “Escaping.”

  “Oh.” His voice is tinted with a bit of worry.

  “What’s wrong?” I turn, wincing at the strain in my stomach.

  “Can we both get a change of clothes…? The suit looked great before- but it’s pretty much falling apart on you,” He pauses, now looking at the dark forest beyond the palace.

  “And you’re in pajamas.” A sigh rolls off my tongue.

  What would I be without you…

  A smile unfolds across my mouth as I turn on my heel, lightly pecking him on the nose before going to find us clothes. As I rifle through my bed stand, tossing Tango a pair of sweatpants and a baggy tee shirt that he left behind last time he was here. While he goes to change in my closet, I change into a pair of baggy cargo jeans, the faded black color dim against the warmly lit room, and a gray tank top. He exits as I finish pulling on the shirt.

  “Are we taking anything…?” His voice sounds by my ear, making me jump.

  I shudder, unsure how he moves that quietly.

  “Already got a bag of stuff at an old spot we’re going to. Come on Goober.”

  I duck out of the window, carefully treading along the gray, slanted rooftop. The usual dark clouds above the horizon seem extra dark. Granted, I’ve been in the sunlight for months. Maybe it’s just because I’m not used to the shadows…?

  We creep quietly across the rooftop, slowly climbing down. Souls march down the rims of the palace, guarding it like a bulldog guarding a bone. Their shiny silver and black medals glare at us, the markings each having different meanings. A few of them stop to chat, their voices bouncing off the empty air.

  “Yeah, rumor says that the boss is going to hold a conference meeting in a few weeks about the dilemma with her.” The taller one says, their eyes sweep over the palace.

  Tango lets out a surprised, and startled yelp when I stop in my tracks, slipping and ramming into my back. A startled gasp escapes me as my foot slides on the slightly slick tiles, and the world jolts, spinning briefly before I hardly catch my self, elbows digging painfully into the gravelly, sharp rooftop. Tango’s head snaps up, eyes wide as moons, and trots over, being more cautious than before. He reaches me, and helps me haul myself up, I glance over at the guards, who are now muttering quietly, “Did something fall…?”- Their voices fade out, caution and a touch of weariness ebbing onto their voices as the look around. We scramble up, briefly at peace. Tango lurches backward, his foot catching on a loose panel. I inhale sharply, forcing back a choked gasp as my face crashes sharply onto the stone by his shoulder, nose colliding with stone. A harsh, jarring pain spreads across my elbow, and the thick, metallic smell of blood wafts from my nose. Warm, runny blood trickles down my face, dribbling off my chin as I sit up at a 45-degree angle, and prop myself up on my left elbow, not wanting to strain my already mauled stomach, trying desperately to steady my breathing through shallow chuffs.

  I scramble halfway off him, a heavy blush covering my face, my fingers still twisted around the black sleeves of his tee shirt.

  “Crap-sorry…” My voice dies upon realizing the guards are staring at the two of us, their misty faces a mixture of shock and amusement.

  I freeze, fingers locking on the sleeves of his shirt. Panic and embarrassment rises up my throat, closing it tight. Tango lightly shakes my arm, sitting up himself and scooting back. As he does this, my grip on his shirt slips and drops to his wrists, knuckles. A confused hum sounds from him, head tilting slightly. The absolutely adorable nervous clicking he does sounds, my insides churning like butter.

  On the other hand, the guards continue having a stare-down with me. The highest ranked one, a short and stubby man drenched in medals locks his attention on me. I blink, confused. Why was he taking an interest in me?

  “Prince Asra. What a pleasure to finally see you after so long, and meet whoever your ‘*friend*’ is.” He says, voice reprimanding as an order.

  “Nice to see you as well, Nisfar. Me and Tango here are going on a task for my father. If you could please excuse us.” I pause, inhaling.

  “We need to get going.” I put as much seriousness, pressure and demanding into my voice.

  This guard, personally connects to my past in some way I don’t really know. Even so, it gives my gut this unsettling and nervous feeling. I focus myself on bending the shadows in the dark area, using that as a distraction from the creep.

  The shadows respond kindly, and bend, lighting a clear path to the nearest doorway. The other guards gulp, nodding quickly, their wide eyes shaking.

  “I see. We shall be going then. I’d love to hear more about your friend, your highness. But, that can wait.” The guards voice is venomous with a twinge of hate and anger, masked with a transparent smile.

  I nod tightly, and get up, my thigh throbbing dully. My main concern right now, is making sure I get the two of us down the palace.

  When we reach the edge of the roof, I glance back over my shoulder. Once I see that the guards are gone, I let the shadows melt away from there, and the relief is immense and immediate.