Death and Friendship

Alana sat in her room, against her will, and tried her very best to clean off her fathers blood from her hands. She could barely see what she was doing through the tears running down her face as she scrubbed and scrubbed some more. It wouldn’t come off. She tried her best not to, but all she could do was repeat in her mind what she saw when she entered her fathers office. She had followed the man, the one who did this, through the darkness of the shadows to the open window in which he had entered. She stared out the window only a second as the blood filled gasp her father made in an effort to breath diverted her attention to him. Pain and confusion filled his eyes as he struggled to speak even a few words. Blood ran everywhere from the multiple wounds in his chest caused by the knife that was still buried right where his heart should be. She tried to stop the bleeding, using her hands and whatever piece of cloth that wasn’t already stained in blood. One scream after another finally got the guards attention, but it was too late. The king, her father, spoke his last words to her before he passed, words she was not ready to hear again.

Now, under orders of the high priest and her brother, she was locked in her room as they attempted to discover what had transpired. It didn’t seem to matter what she told them, they seemed to doubt what she had seen. There was no one there to console her either, her mother being gone twelve years now would have been the only one besides her father who would have been able to do so. Alana was about to break down again when she heard her door swing open. She spun around, ready to pounce on whomever had entered into her room for what they had done to her until she saw who it was. The one person left alive who could possibly calm her down, the only true friend she really had, Trevor. The man who had seemingly grown overnight into adulthood who had been with her since she was a little girl was slowly closing the door to her room.

“Hey, don’t worry, it’s only me,” Trevor said after seeing the wild look in her eyes. Alana quickly got up and rushed into his waiting arms, head buried in his shoulder as she started crying. Gone was the usual tunic and cloak he wore around town and in its place was his musty hunting attire that she was staining with her tears.

“He’s gone. He’s gone and there was nothing I could do.”

“Don’t say that, you did everything you could. At the very least, he didn’t leave this world alone,” Trevor said. Alana could once again hear the words he said right before he passed and started crying anew. Trevor didn’t say anything, he just held her a little tighter.

“They suspect me, don’t they,” Alana said between sobs.

“That's part of the reason I’m here,” Trevor said as he grabbed her shoulders and brought her out to face him.

“Look, we already know that the high priest favors your brother over you, and with what has happened tonight, he will have more than enough to pin this on you and get your brother on the throne.” Alana slowly stopped crying as she thought about the implications of what Trevor had just said.

“What are you suggesting Trevor?”

“We need to get you out of here while we can before the council decides to put you to death for treason,” Trevor said. Alana was shocked by what Trevor had suggested. She knew he had his suspicions about the church and the council, but she never expected him to come to this conclusion.

“And what would running achieve? That would only solidify their beliefs that I am the one who killed my father,” Alana shot back with a little more attitude than she planned.

“I understand that, but this is the only way I can guarantee your survival.”

“It also robs me of any chance I have of continuing my life here. I’m sorry Trevor, I greatly appreciate you being here, but I choose to stay here and defend my honor and to find my fathers killer,” Alana said with tears stains still covering her face and a sense of responsibility replacing her anguish.

“And how do you plan to do that in your current situation? It’s not like they are going to let you track this person down on your own.”

“I haven't figured that out just yet, but I owe it to my father to find his killer.” There was a long pause before either spoke again.

“Alana, if you stay and they convict you of your fathers death like I believe they will, you will be put to death.”

“I understand the implications of both staying and fleeing. I, however, feel differently about the outcome than you.” There was a long awkward silence as they both looked into each other's eyes, a hint of urgency in Trevor's as he stood there contemplating her response.

“If I have to rescue you from the gallows, you will never hear the end of it I hope you know,” Trevor said after a long pause.

“If for some reason it comes to that, I would expect nothing less,” Alana responded as she leaned in for another hug.