Free The City of the Broken (Prince of the Broken) by Ceri Beynon Page B

These are always delicious” I smile at him.
    “ What season appropriate beverage are you buying then?” I ask thoroughly annoyed at his disapproval of my drink.
    “ Not a showy slushy that’s for sure. A proper coffee, an espresso”
    “ An espresso?” I arch my eyebrow at him.
    “ I cant say I’ve ever tried one but I already know they’ll be horrible” I say, folding my arms.
    “ A grown up drink for sophisticated people such as myself” he says jokingly and I cant help but giggle. He’s adorable even when he’s getting on my nerves. We sit by a window so that we can chat ,sip and watch the world go by.
“Look I even get a free straw, you don’t get such perks with fancy espressos” I tease.
    “ I can have a free straw too you know, they’re not exclusively for those childish enough to buy frappuccino’s”.
    “ How dare you” I say.
    “ Childish?” I persist as he sniggers to himself.
    “ A  baby’s drink” he says with mock disapproval, shaking his head.
    We both giggle as I start sipping and my drink serves in humiliating me further by creating slurping noises.
    We head back to the bus.
    “ Did you enjoy the ice skating Seren?” asks Calix.
    “ I don’t know if enjoy is the right word, Calix, survive perhaps” I say.
    He smiles. He looks so intense, his sapphire eyes gazing into mine like he ’s thinking about some deep concept and just about coming to a conclusion.
    “ You’re so surprising Seren. There is an endless amount of twists and turns in the maze that is you”, he says suddenly.
    “ Besides Calix, am I really supposed to enjoy anything now that your father has banned you from seeing me? I was under the impression we now had to live life under the masquerade of misery”.
    “ That’s true Seren but we can be ourselves here. After all we’re not in the City of the Broken and father isn’t here so if you want to be happy, now is your perfect opportunity”.
    “ I am happy Calix, happier than ever before. I felt so lonely before I met you, everything seemed pointless. You’ve made me feel so alive, so full of joy, which is so ironic, since you are the prince of the Broken!”
    He looks at me enquiringly , exploring what I’ve said. This boy recruits people to join his world because they are unhappy, it’s the criteria for joining and I perfectly fulfilled it, until I met him and then I suddenly felt excitement, a sense of permanent hope and adventure. No wonder his father is worried. I stand out, looking alive while everyone else floats on a black cloud, dancing in their despair. Calix does seem to relish his role as the prince of the city and why should I spoil that for him. He’s always fulfilled his duty and I can understand why he feels torn between his father and me .On the other hand, I think ‘why should I allow his tyrannical father to rule our lives?.’ Calix isn’t a child anymore, and surely he can carry on with his stately affairs as well as be with me.
    “ Calix you don’t have to take me into the city again if your father doesn’t approve. We can just continue to see each other here, in college.”
    “ No Seren. I like taking you into the city. I want to make you a part of every sphere of my life, besides I thought that we decided we’d just act gloomy now?”
    “ Is that really the way to live your life, tip-toeing around your Dad, pretending to be something that you’re not?” I ask doubting that I could ever pull off a convincing performance when I have him at my side, giving me a reason to relish being alive.
    “ If you want to take me to the city Calix, that’s fine. I like spending as much time as possible with you” I say.
    The bus arrives back at college.
“So we’ve got three weeks off now Calix, when shall we meet up next?”
    “ Friday, I’ll pick you up. Dress in all black Seren, not a hint of anything flamboyant.”.
    “ Umm ,okay. I think I’ll just have to make my wardrobe entirely black for you” I tease.
    The Rolls