Present, Olivia Frew

Present

by Olivia Frew

It was quarter past three. Prince Robert lay awake staring at the ceiling, memorising the decades old carvings of flowers and elaborate patterns with eyes that had grown accustomed to the darkness over and over as he chased sleep. It had been like this for weeks now, the sleepless nights, ever since his father had announced he was stepping down from the throne in the wake of his son’s wedding, an arrangement that had been made years before. Robert had no interest in being king, he longed for a life outside the suffocating walls of the castle where he could make decisions for himself instead of having them thrust upon him. He yearned for the freedom to discover who he was without the constraints of the lavish life he was born into.

His brother on the other hand was all but ready to take the crown and lead the country in the wake of his father abdicating; however, in light of the scandal surrounding the legitimacy of his royal blood, that was entirely out of the question. Robert would have to take it upon himself to fulfil this destiny and put his own wishes aside.

And yet, the closer he got to his impending nuptials, and all that came with it, the less he found himself caring about the consequences of leaving. It wouldn’t be too difficult, he could pack a bag, take one of the many cars from the garage and just drive. ‘It’s the middle of the night, who would see?’ he thought. He had connections all over the globe, it could be so easy to take that leap of faith but in spite of that, he was terrified.

Sleep was a long time coming.

Robert knew this and sat up, stretched, and reached for the glass of water that usually rested on his bedside table only to find it empty. On any other night he would call for one of the multitudes of servants to bring him water from the kitchen however he knew he would have servants answering his every demand for the rest of his life so he might as well do something for himself while he still had the chance.

Yawning, he climbed out of bed and slowly crept to the door, opening it quietly as to not alert anyone who may be lurking.

“That’s odd”, he thought, the hallway, which was usually illuminated by ornate lamps on either side, was pitch black. ‘Someone must have forgotten to switch the lights on’, he said to himself as he softly moved forward making sure to avoid any especially creaky floorboards.

He made his way to the main staircase and began his descent. Perhaps he should have

turned a light on after all because around the fourth step his foot slipped, the stair which had previously been underneath him was gone and there was only air. He tried to grab the banister but it was too late. His arms flailed around him as he soared through the darkness and tumbled down the remaining steps banging his head on the way down and knocking himself out completely.

The first thing Robert felt was the throbbing behind his eyes. He winced as he regained his vision, slowly adjusting to the brightly lit room he found himself in. Very quickly he realised he wasn’t alone. A girl, looking to be around the same age as him sat across from him looking worriedly at his face and, based on the pain he was experiencing, what he assumed would be a bruise forming on his forehead.

The girl was pale and wore a white frilled dress that, although lavish, looked extremely outdated. Gently, she leaned forward and pushed the hair from his eyes, looking at him as if she was searching for something. Although Robert had never seen her before, her presence calmed him and he sighed at her touch.

“Who are you?” he asked

She smiled slowly, “Who I am is not important Robert. The question is; who are you?”

“How do you know my name?”

She ignored his question, “I mean Robert, who are you? Who are you really?”

“I..” he didn’t know how to respond. It was a question he had been asking himself for years and was yet to find an answer. She didn’t wait for another response however and without warning grabbed his hand swiftly pulling him across the room towards the door.

She picked up her pace dragging Robert behind her. They weaved through the hallways darting around each corner and cutting through rooms filled with ancient artefacts from previous monarchs.

Finally, they seemed to arrive at their destination as she stopped abruptly causing Robert to nearly lose his balance. Dizzy from their journey, it took a moment for Robert to regain his bearings and realise that she had taken him to the portrait room. Paintings of his ancestors on canvases as big as himself lined the walls. Robert took a tentative step forward taking in each painting, there was something about them, erie almost, their eyes seemingly never leaving him.

At last he came to the largest, an oil painting of a family all dressed on white, sitting in the gardens together almost casually had it not been for the militant level of precision they were posed in and the stern looks on their faces. A girl around his age was posed behind her father, she was pale and wore a white lace dress. He was drawn to her, where had he seen her before he wondered. He looked closely at her face, expression neutral but something about her eyes looked sad. Lost.

Then it hit him.

He had been so absorbed in looking at the paintings he had forgotten the girl that had brought him there. The girl in the painting. He turned to look at her, the same sad eyes greeted him as she slowly moved towards the painting.

“I remember that day,” she said softly “the last day we were all together as a family. I was the oldest of six. I was supposed to become queen that year, but much like you, I couldn’t handle the pressure. It wasn’t the life I felt I was destined for. It was all too much for me and... I never made it to the coronation.”

Robert’s eyes widened as he realised what she meant.

“I’m sorry” he whispered not knowing what else to say.

“I didn’t tell you this for your pity” she laughed hollowly, “I’m here so you don’t end up like me. We are the same Robert, don’t you see. I can’t have history repeating itself.”

“I don’t have any other choice! I have to do this. If not for myself, for my father.”

Suddenly Robert felt a gust of wind hit his face. He looked around and saw the paintings and then walls falling away from around him. The city was now splayed out in front of him like a map. The glow of the sun rising in the distance illuminated the skyscrapers and buildings. He looked across from him to the girl and he noticed her eyes were damp.

“You do have a choice Robert, I thought I didn’t have a choice, one could say I took the easy way out instead of standing up for my freedom.”

Robert looked down at his feet.

“Is this where you…” he looked up but she wouldn’t meet his gaze

“Be brave Robert. Take that leap of faith. One that I never had the courage to. Please don’t let history repeat itself.”

His vision was getting blurry. He rubbed his eyes but the girl standing beside him continued going out of focus. He reached out to grab her only to be met with emptiness. And then suddenly, there was only darkness.