The King Not So Royalish

For a moment, I doubted he was the right person for the job, as he seemed a bit detached from this fantastic reality, but not in the same way I was.

"Neither, nor that," I replied, confused.

"There's no other way to get here from the other world," Michael said, surprised. "And you're definitely from there. After all, you shot me, even though I was sure the gun was too old to even work."

"I was sure of it. I don't know how it went off," I muttered, wondering if the young king wasn't from here too.

"So how?"

"I don't know; I guess I died there and then somehow ended up here." I shrugged; it didn't matter to me now. "I was sitting on a wall, the sun was burning me, and I fell to the ground; that's why I injured my ankle. And what about you, Your Highness?"

"Nothing, I was born here." Michael smiled mischievously. "When we're alone, address me without those pompous terms."

"But…"

"This will all be a little easier to explain when we get back to the palace."

Instead of resolving the confusion in my head, everything became even more confusing. I couldn't figure out the young man walking beside me. He wasn't behaving like a king, though it seemed to me that if someone else were with us, I'd probably have to watch my behavior. I wondered if the palace would give me enough knowledge to finally make sense of everything.

While I was stressing about the whole situation, Michael walked casually beside me, probably taking advantage of the rare opportunities when he didn't have to behave according to some royal norms but could be completely himself, or at least pretend to be a man of ordinary status. I wondered what had happened that such a young person was ruling this country and didn't seem to have any constant sense of responsibility. At least I would have expected that; he didn't mind the wound and bloody clothes. Sure, if we passed any girls, they'd still swoon at the sight of him; blond hair and blue eyes are always on point.

"Just tell me, Kyo, did you really want to kill me or just hurt me?" he asked cheerfully.

"My goal was to help Renet, but I definitely wasn't aiming for your heart," I answered truthfully, anyway.

"And back to my initial questions: what connects you two? I want to know your history in this world!"

He acted like a child desperate to hear his favorite story again or force the explanation of a great mystery. Such interest in me was, of course, flattering, but I remembered – complete concentration not given up for a handsome face and a charming smile if it's not Renet. I had no choice but to share a summary of my stay, careful not to betray my feelings. However, I decided to find out one more thing.

"And what connects you two? Do you know each other well? You recognized Renet immediately." Michael smiled mysteriously. I felt a feeling of jealousy welling up in my heart and a twinge of fear that they might have some kind of history. Of course, it hadn't escaped him - so much for my hardships, so they wouldn't read me like an open book. It amused him immensely, but I knew I couldn't give in to this manipulation.

"Relax, there's nothing between us. I just caught him on our side of the Wall once. Luckily, I was alone, but we still had a bit of a scuffle, and then we talked calmly. We had an agreement that I would let him stay on this side and paint, even sell paintings, but he wasn't to go any further than the city. Not to cause any trouble, or else we had to apply the law, and I had to kill him." I sensed in his voice that he didn't want to do that at all.

"Thank you for not doing that." I instinctively bowed to him, surprising him. "He broke the terms of your agreement just to help me. Please, spare him; I'll accept his punishment." I hadn't even considered those words, but I felt I might actually be ready for it.

"Straighten up, and let's not return to that topic for now," the king muttered, and again asked me to tell about my beginnings in this world.

So I began to share the story, not realizing how cathartic this experience would be. Michael was a good, patient listener; he didn't interrupt me, though I could see him making a mental note to ask me a few more questions later. I didn't hide anything, except my feelings for Renet, because I didn't feel the need to mention this. When I reached the point where I desperately offered to be the princess' spy, the king laughed and patted me on the back for a long moment.

"Your will to survive is admirable," he remarked with a laugh. "I reluctantly admit she's right that you really wouldn't be of any use to any of us."

"I was afraid that if anyone found out, I'd be finished," I announced with relief, when, thankfully, my assumptions proved incorrect.

"People would sooner laugh at you." Michael suddenly became serious. "But they don't realize the seriousness of the problem. The Wall has been between us for so long that the Neighbors seem like nothing more than a legend or a mythical people, with whom war will be an adventure and an opportunity for glory." He stretched his arms up as if to stretch, but the wound flared up, and he winced in pain. "The point is, you have no intention of actually serving her."

"Why do you want to do this, meaning start a war?" Just to put aside the pangs of conscience.

"I don't know." The king looked at me as if awaiting my opinion. "I guess I felt this was the right time, and I was tired of living in anxiety about a threat that only I was aware of. Besides, your words only confirmed it, since the Neighbors were also planning to get rid of us in the near future. I'd like to say that great minds think alike, but then I'd have to consider that crazy princess my equal. It's enough that, as far as I know, we were born in the same year." He shuddered at the thought.

"I see a certain resemblance." I tried to gauge how much I could get away with joking with him. He shot me a furious look but quickly realized my intention wasn't to lash out.

"What puzzles me, though, is why she thought Renet was behind your appearance here." He looked at me again, his eyes narrowed. "Although there might be something to it, we probably won't know until he tells us himself."

"But he claimed he had nothing to do with it," I reminded him.

"I would have said the same if I were him. From what he said about her, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him if she found even the slightest excuse." He gestured ahead, then smiled at me. "It was nice talking to you, Kyo, but you have to treat me like a king for a while now."

I felt relieved at the sight of the carriage; I'd love to rest, but at the same time, it was hard to suppress my jealousy again. His supposedly only meeting with Renet must have been very intense, since he knew so much about him and, for example, they discussed his family situation, and I didn't even know who he was...