Mismatched Eyes

"There weren't always dragons in the valley." Blastion paused, fighting his fear down so that he could say what was true. He tightened his arms and pulled her closer to his chest. "And maybe, there won't always be." Horror spread across Alessia's face. No, no that wasn't what he wanted.

"Blast! Don't say that!" Her beautiful emerald eyes gleamed, tears filling to the rim; they threatened to fall. Fall, fall, fall. He understood her fear, the Dragons were their gods. But why couldn't she understand? A world where they couldn't be together, was a world that needed to be changed. Why couldn't Alessia fall for him as he had for her? Did she not feel the same way? No, she did. He knew that Alessia had feelings for him. His eyes glowed as he reached to understand her. She is afraid for me. The realization made his chest swell with hurt and anger. He would change this world for her. If anyone could change their world it was him, for he was in fact, the King.

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"A gold dagger with a blue stone in the hilt? Sounds expensive." She smiled. Expensive was good; it meant a greater reward.

"It is of no concern to you." The man glared at her while blowing smoke out of the side of his mouth. The other side of his lips expertly held the fat cigar in his mouth while he spoke. "The value is of no consequence to me either, actually."

"Why so touchy?" Leaning back in the chair she stretched her arms into the air and and tucked them neatly behind her head. "I don't really care about the value of it." She smiled slyly, showing the points of her canines. "Just tell me how much you're willing to pay for me to retrieve it." The man took a long drag. He slowly wrapped his index finger around the cigar, cradling it in the pocket of his thumb.

"Well aren't you a cocky little bit-" The bodyguard seemingly appeared by magic and made a step toward her. The man sitting across from her barely raised his hand. The guard faltered, his honey brown eyes darting to his boss, flashing with fear; he stepped back into the shadows.

Pulling his cigar away, he looked her up and down slowly. Most men liked what they saw. Her honey blond hair and slim frame made her look like an easy target; years on the street had conditioned her not to be. "I like you," he pointed his cigar at her, "no bullshit from you." He leaned forward, his face still hidden in the shadows. "So I'll be straight with you, you little green eyed snake." He emphasized the word, causing her to wince at the derogatory term. "I want the gold dagger with the blue jewel in the hilt because it is a family heirloom that is rightfully mine instead of my prick of a nephew's." He leaned back into his chair and looked down at his cigar.

She closed her eyes, knowing that she did not have the upper hand any longer. These guys were the real deal whereas she was just a gutter rat looking for a way to pay for her next meal. "How much?" She kept her eyes closed, waiting for the disappointing blow.

"One million." Her eyes shot open. One million?! He was still looking at his cigar nonchalantly. The man slowly lowered it to his ashtray and stomped the cherry red end out. He looked up and met her eyes. She felt like a thousand daggers were aiming at her throat- waiting for the chance to kill. He leaned into the light and for the first time, she saw his eyes. They were a brilliant magic blue.. . and they were glowing. Instant terror coursed like lightning through her body. "Let me make a promise to you." He smiled a sickening smile. Her heart rose to her throat and threatened to beat it's way out. "You decide to take the dagger and run," he paused for emphasis and his smile grew with excitement, "and I will personally feed you to the dragons myself." His smile disappeared in a flash and his eyes returned to a dull blue. He leaned back into his chair. "What says you? Are you ready for the big leagues or do you want to stay a nobody forever?"

She had spent her whole life being a nobody. Being called a "green eyed snake" and kicked from one street to the next. All because of her eye color. If she had been born with blue eyes, she would be a Royal and no one would dare challenge her. Hell, even a brown eyed boot licker would be better than her green eyes. Brown eyes were known to be hardy and loyal. They made up the working class and military force. Green eyes were a cross between blue eyes and brown eyes. A disgrace of crossbreeding between the two colors. An abomination. With a million dollars, she may be able to have a Shiner remove the pigment from her eyes. It was an illegal operation and could leave her blind but if all went well, she would heal without pigmentation in her eyes that would eventually settle to appear blue. But if it was ever found out that she was not born with blue eyes, she would be killed.

She set her jaw and raised her chin, "I'll do it."

"Good." The man smiled a pleased smile, although not welcoming. She shivered. "Where you're going, you will need contact lenses." He produced a box from his bodyguard and slid it across the table to her.

She slowly opened the box. There were two contact lenses sitting neatly in solution. 'If I'm caught with this, I'll be fed to the dragons for sure.' She thought.

As if he could read her thoughts, the man calmly explained, "Do not get caught with those, they're rather expensive. Also, the punishment is death- if that is more of a consequence to you."

"And just where am I going that I need blue lenses?" A heavy lead stone settled in her stomach, she realized the answer just as he said it.

"The Palace."

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She could do this. She had been watching the guard's rotations for weeks now. Every two hours the guard would change. At quarter past midnight these guards would change posts from the servant's door around the corner to the front gate- that is when she could sneak in. Ten seconds. That is all she would have before two guards would disappear from view and the new-coming guards would have a view of the door.

She had studied blueprints of the castle and knew her route by heart. In the servant's door, down the hall to the right, up the second stairwell to the left, take another left at the top of the stairs and follow the hall to the west side of the castle. That would be the tricky part- travelling while not being seen. Once in the west hall, there was another stairway. Once up it, the object of desire would be on the other side of the third door on the right. That was the King's chambers. The dagger was known to be in his room, stored within a chest. How the smoking man had known the intimate details of the King, she hadn't dared asked how he knew. It was true he had said that the King was his nephew but the Royals used the term interchangeably since they all had blue eyes. The previous King did not have any siblings so there were no actual uncles that had claim to the throne. She absent mindedly wondered what the smoking man's name was. She would never ask- in this line of work names were never exchanged. She certainly would never tell them hers.

The clinking of amour and chainmail ripped her away from her thoughts. Sitting up, she watched the guards. They were beginning to walk to the front of the castle to switch posts with the guards stationed there. Blinking away the unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling of the contact lenses, the girl descended down the tree she had been hiding in. Once the guards rounded the corner, she came out from behind the tree and ran for the entrance. In her hurry, she didn't feel the chill that ran over her skin as she opened the door. Hurrying to the right- she ran down the hall and up the second staircase. She was on the main castle floor now.

Here was where guest of the King came for social visits and parties. The first floor was technically a "basement" for the servants to travel throughout the castle without being seen. Pausing for breath, and to make sure no one had followed her from outside, she listened. All was quiet. Waiting for her beating heart to slow, she listened for noise inside the castle. All was silent. For being a castle that housed a King, breaking in had been rather easy. Leaning forward, she stepped out into the hall.

Rounding the corner, she was in the south hall now. Noiselessly, she crept along- the quiet was oddly soothing. Her eyes felt heavy and she suppressed an urge to yawn. She had spent many nights watching the guard, sleeping could come after she collected her reward. The money was so close- she could feel it between her fingers. Seeing herself in the mirror with blue eyes made her goal seem all the more real. She would have blue eyes, without the concealment of contact lenses.

Halfway down the hall, the room opened up to a ballroom and continued on the other side. Just as she was about to step out, voices boomed across the ballroom and footsteps echoed across the floor. One set sauntered lazily while another was rushed. They both sounded heavy. Stepping back into the hallway, she pressed her back against the wall and listened as the voices came nearer.

"King Bastion, someone has entered the castle!" A panicked voice pleaded, "You must go back to your chambers!"

Rats! If he goes back to his chambers.. . all the guards will be there to protect him. She felt her thoughts come slowly, like a rambling brook of water, I'll never get the dagger! Her brow furrowed as she tried to focus.

"If I scurried off to my chambers every time a bird flew through the window- I would be a prisoner there!" A laugh followed. King Bastion's voice was rich and threatened to pull her into a dream. She closed her eyes and smiled slowly. That must be the King.

The King was something of a novelty. His parents had passed when he was young and he was crowned King as an infant. His coronation was held ten years ago when he reached the age of twelve and he hadn't been seen by the public since. He was thought to be travelling abroad.

"My King, please." Their footsteps stopped.

"Rhys. What is the point of the spell safeguarding the castle if we do not have faith that it will work?" A pair of footsteps lazily continued, closing the distance between the King and her. Just before he stepped into view, Rhys caught up to the King and stopped him.

"I did have trust in our spells- before you had us change the spell from poisoning the intruder to putting them to sleep-"

Is that what is happening to me? The thought came slowly as she lost her balance. She had tried to peek out to see the King and stumbled into view.

"There!" The man named Rhys bellowed.

The King turned to look at her. His bright eyes shinned a magnificent blue that seemed to glow from his soul. Black hair crowned his head with dark brows and caramel skin; a sharp nose hung over full lips. Broad shoulders made of rippling muscles could be seen through his shirt. Wow, I can see why he stays hidden- he would start a mob amongst women, she thought as she fell. She couldn't stop herself, she was so tired.

Strong arms caught her. She opened her eyes to find a pair of blue eyes looking into hers. For once, she didn't feel afraid when looking into a Royal's eyes; they bathed her in kindness and she felt an odd sense of safety.

"Your Majesty, don't touch her!"

"She's fine Rhys- she's a royal. She must have come in secret for the need of sanctuary." The Kings voice purred. "I told you that changing the spell would encourage fellow royals to come here. Especially now that the neighboring kingdom is threatening war with us." He brushed strands of golden hair from her face softly with the back of his fingers. "You're safe here. I'm sorry, you'll only sleep for a few hours." He held her tight to his chest as he lifted her into the air. Noticing the way his dark hair curled at the base of his neck made her blush. Her hand rested naturally against his chest and she could feel the strength within. He tore his eyes from hers and she felt cold, like a warm fire had been stolen from her. "Rhys, I'm taking her to rest in my room." His voice was stern, not allowing a challenge. The King started walking, his gait rocking her farther toward sleep. He looked down and his blue eyes seemed to glow again. "What is your name?" His voice was warm as it bathed her skin, soothing her closer to slumber. She didn't want to lie or to hide, so she told the King her name. He would be the first to know it.

"Alessia." Feeling warm all over, Alessia smiled as sleep claimed her.