The Banished Prince

Chapter 6

Hunter

     Hunter laid in bed and next to him, Chase laid down in his. Hunter held a quill pen and he twirled it around, his mind on Cassia, who he could still visualize illuminated by the fire that made her brown eyes melt into a pool of chocolate. Her eyes were on him with a look of fear mingling with curiosity, and that look was imprinted into his mind, flashing regularly to remind him there was something about her. Something that made him so fixated on her as if she was a mystery he desired to solve.

     She infuriated him. He was still annoyed with what she said about him being nothing but a poor boy, but yet, his mind was consumed by her. She was like a poison he couldn't treat.

     "I don't understand Cassia," Hunter blurted out. "Does she enjoy people hating her? What does she get out of being so unpleasant?"

     Chase shot Hunter a mystified look and Hunter flushed. Unlike Hunter, both Liana and Chase were bewildered by Hunter's fascination with Cassia.

     "Well, she's a princess," Chase said. "She has everything she wants and she's selfish and spoiled. It's to be expected."

     Hunter grumbled unintelligibly and Chase ran his fingers through his curls and sat up, his eyes meeting Hunter's. There was a look of wonder on his face.

     "She really does get under you skin, doesn't she?" Chase asked.

     "You have no idea," Hunter mumbled. Chase's eyes widened and Hunter quickly added, "I mean, I just don't understand her. I pride myself on reading people with ease, but she's like a book full of scribbles. I can try and decipher it, but it's merely a blur of words."

     Hunter rubbed his face as if he could erase Cassia from his mind, as if she could make more sense, but she didn't. Cassia was like a jigsaw puzzle with all the wrong pieces somehow sliding together to create an odd image.

     "Anyways, has your father contacted you recently?" Chase asked.

     Hunter shook his head. "He hasn't. Has he contacted you?"

     Chase shook his head and Hunter frowned. He rubbed his face again, remembering his father, who looked nothing like him. Because unlike Hunter, his father had black hair and these blue eyes that were incessantly cold.

     "I wonder what he would think of all this," Chase said. "Would he be happy?"

     "Isn't what I'm doing exactly what's expected?" Hunter asked. "Liana and you act as if I'm being outlandish, but I'm doing what we're meant to do at Camp Trillion."

     Chase shook his head. "I don't know how to explain it, but it seems different."

     Hunter said nothing. His eyes slid away and they fixated on the thin blanket over him.

     "Well, it's going to be hard, but I believe in you," Chase said, moving to him to slap his shoulder. "You got this."

     Hunter rolled his eyes, but smiled as Chase bowed towards him before leaving the cabin. But once again, Hunter mulled over Cassia.

*****

     Hunter sat with Liana and Chase at their usual table within the cafeteria. It was dinner time and Liana and Chase were bickering about who would win the next contest, and Hunter was barely paying attention. Because as always, his eyes were on Cassia.

     Cassia sat at the table closest to his with her guard, but neither of them spoke. Cassia was poking at her peas and taking nibbles of it, looking uneasy amongst a crowd of chattering campers, and all Hunter could do was wonder.