Garden Talk

Katarina's POV

"Have you ever wondered what the future is like?" I asked the prince who shrugged.

"I've learned from the greats that I'm supposed to leave the future to the people who actually live there," he said. "I won't bother trying to see what awaits me there as it would be a waste of time."

"But what if there were things which would marvel you. Things you never thought were possible. What if they were possible!"

He thought for a second before looking at me with intrigue in his eyes.

"Things like what?"

I shrugged. "How about instead of using horses and donkeys as modes of transportation, we had a large metal carriage that could move on its own?"

That seemed to blow his mind. 

"Then what pulls it?"

"Engines, steam… a lot actually."

He tilted his head as I laughed. He didn't get the concept of what an engine was.

"What are some of these you're talking about? Now I think you're just making words up. Talking about a moving carriage that moves on its own. You might as well talk about a carriage that flies on its own with no bird pulling it."

If only he knew.

I wished I had the power to take him to my time in the modern world? Maybe I could show him a thing or two and actually show him what he was missing.

"Why does your family not love you?" He asked. "Why do they want to kill you really bad?"

I shrugged. Even I didn't understand why anyone hated Jane the way they did. It wasn't like the blind girl had done anything to warrant the hate she was getting.

I had opened my eyes in a world where she had become hated for no apparent reason.

But that was always how it had been. Even during my time, I had always seen myself being hated by my peers for no reason at all.

"I don't know," was all I could muster up. "Maybe it's all because I've had so many good things happen to me lately and they are jealous of it. Maybe it's because I actually don't care about them or what happens to them. Maybe it's something that must have happened while we grew up together. I don't know. Or maybe they just hate me for no apparent reason."

"I might take the last one. But I don't get it. What have you done to warrant such hate? What if we all sat around a big ole fire and talked about the differences we all had. Would that work?"

I shrugged. "It could if you're willing to go in that direction but I doubt that would work."

With a sigh, I looked at the skies while stretching before tapping my cane onto the ground.

"I have to go inside," I said. "I've got to work on the cure."

"You've been working on the cure for quite some time now. Shouldn't you have come to a conclusion by now?"

"It takes time. And besides, you know I told you to keep on exercising and learning new skills. You need to do that if you'll be strong enough to take the cure I'll give you."

"I'm a bit confused on why I should exercise before taking the drugs," he sighed. "That doesn't sound like a real thing."

"Some drugs need you to exercise before taking them," I said with conviction. 

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Name one drug that needs you to exercise before you take it."

"This one you have."

"Haha, very funny. Fine, name two."

He caught me. "I've forgotten some, but you have to know that these drugs work with your insides to make you feel better. If you don't do the exercise and you're too weak, then you might die."

He raised his brows. 

"I've heard stories of unhealthy people who still have unhealthy habits that were cured of the disease by your father. Now it's my turn I have to go through some kind of army, new skill training?"

"Yes," I said.

I was stalking the prince. I had already claimed that he needed to have some fighting skills first before the cure would be administered. I needed to keep up this pace or he would find out that I was bullshitting him this whole time.

I didn't want to get on his bad side.

That would be horrible.

"There are other things on this list…"

"Oh come on!" He sighed in exhaustion. "You already got me doin things I don't want to do. I can't take this anymore."

"You either do this or you succumb to the fates calling you. It's your choice."

He looked around in anger before looking back at me.

"This had better work," he said to which I nodded, closing the gap between us.

"It will, trust me prince Kirigan. You'll be well within seconds of me giving you the cure."

"So do you have it?"

"I'm almost done with finding the cure."

"But the last time, you said you were still researching the cure."

Oh shit! I was telling so many lies I was losing track of what to say. I had to do something and fast.

"I was just messing with you," I chuckled.

"Messing with me then or now?"

"Then. I was messing with you then. I'm almost done with the cure. Just a few finishing touches here and there and I'll be done. You on the other hand haven't even started the curing process yourself. Your body is not ready for the cure yet."

"When will it be ready?" He sounded desperate. Like he would do anything. I had to prey on that weakness if I was going to buy me sometime.

"When you've completed the challenges that I want you to complete."

"And how many challenges would that take?"

I thought deeply about it but knew I had to give a definite answer or risk exposing myself as a fraud. He would have my head for this.