Darius.

I felt my lips pull up at her thought. She certainly did have alot of questions. Quite curious, this one.
She stuffed another handful of nuts in her mouth, and her eyes fluttered closed, savouring the bittersweet taste of the Brazel.

I smirked. She was the exact opposite of what I had expected from a pampered princess.
Mouthy, violent, and curious. This was going to be interesting. I thought, tuning in to her mind again. It happened to be a pleasantly surprising place, her thoughts everywhere but still sorted in some kind of organized chaos.

She was thinking about what I had said, and wondering if we were part of that outside civilization. Her thoughts were swirling endlessly, more questions filling her head. I decided to give her some reprieve, knowing that her questions would only grow with each answer I gave her.

Sighing in satisfaction, she leaned back against the wooden pole behind which her hands were previously tied, and her eyes snapped to mine. She flushed a pretty pink when she saw that I was already looking at her.

'Why is he looking at me like that?' She thought, puzzled. Then, embarrassed and agitated, 'Asshole.' I stifled a laugh with some effort. She seemed to like calling me that, much to my and Fern's amusement.

He'd sat down on the dusty floor, his head tilted in fascination as he watched her. He turned to me, a crease in his brow. I quickly tuned in to his thoughts too, unaware that I hadn't been listening.

'How much are you going to tell her?' He asked me, but his chocolate brown eyes were back on her. 'Miann said that she mustn't know too much- it could be dangerous.'
I nodded in agreement to my father's order. 'Yes. I'll just tell her the basics, because you can see as well as I do, that she won't stop until she gets some answers.'
He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.'She's going to bombard you now.' He paused before adding, amused; 'And she doesn't seem to be feeling particularly polite.'
'She never does.' I retorted and I heard him chuckle in my head.

Since he couldn't speak, we mostly communicated through thoughts. It was one of the times being able to read minds was a good thing.

"So are you going to tell me who you are and where I am, or not?" She asked impatiently. 'Asshole.' She added in her mind. I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my lips, and I heard Fern's ringing through my mind too. 'I like her.' He decided, a wide smile on his face.

She just stared at me, annoyance clear on her well defined features. She was quite cute when she was mad. And I was enjoying her reactions way too much.
I folded my arms and leaned back, doing my best not to laugh at the hilariously bloodthirsty thoughts running through her mind.

'Oh. So the cocky, arrogant asshole finds me funny, is it? Well, we'll see how funny it is when I wrap my hands around his throat and give him a pretty black eye to contrast his blue one.' Then she imagined it, and I smirked at the picture her mind had painted. She was a violent, delightful little thing.

"You know who I am." I finally replied to her question, though not giving her the answer she wanted. "And you seem to have figured out what you're in, if not where."
I saw the thought pass through her mind a second before she voiced it. "Am I," She cleared her throat, "Am I outside of the city?" Her voice waivered slightly, and I wondered how she would react to my answer.

"Yes." I told her, my tone cautious. "You are beyond The Gates, in what we call 'The Outlands'." I watched her face when I continued, looking for any sign that she might burst into tears, or scream, or both. She stayed frozen, but her mind was anything but.

Questions and concerns arose in her head like clouds, and I was shocked to find that excitement held the most space in her mind. 'She's exited?' Fern voiced my thoughts, sounding as surprised as I felt. 'Maybe she has a death wish.' He suggested doubtfully.

I studied her clear, mesmerising green eyes and found nothing but wonder and anticipation.
She gazed back, and I could feel her questions burning me. She wanted me to tell her more.
I reached a hand up and began fiddling with my earring unconsciously. It was a habit that she'd noticed. I saw her gaze flick to it before landing back on me, heavy with questions.

"And?" She prodded, her voice cutting. I sighed, giving in. "And that Tale of Curiosity or whatever it's called is completely fake." I knew what it was called from reading her mind earlier, and I almost couldn't believe the lies that were told. It made my blood boil.

My fists clenched and I forced myself under control. My voice was still icy when I elaborated. "Theodore Hane was my grandfather. He didn't decide to leave the city- he was forced to, because the king at that time didn't like the riots he was causing."
Her eyes widened with disbelief, but she didn't interrupt.
"And he caused the riots because, when the whole world was suffering, your beloved king locked himself away and didn't bother to help anyone but himself."

Her mouth fell open a little, and she stared at me, horror twisting her features. Horror at what I was saying, or horror at me for saying it? I scanned her thoughts. She was having less trouble believing me than I would've thought. In fact, she was taking it extraordinarily well.

"But there was no one to help." She finally found her voice, but it seemed like she was talking more to herself than to me. "All the people that survived built the city, and lived inside it. There's no life beyond The Gates." "That's what they told you, and what you decided was the truth." I retorted, harsher than intended.
She winced, raising her head, her brows furrowed thoughtfully, and looked me in the eye.

"I didn't believe that that was the truth." She said softly. Once again, I was baffled as to what she felt, and tuned in her mind. She was confused and hurt, unsure of what to believe.

"And then what happened?" She asked, bringing me out of her thoughts. My body went stiff. "He found gold. Mountains of it, spewed from the earth. And you know what the king did when he found out?" A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "He took it all for himself, kicked my grandfather out of the city and made up that ridiculous story to keep people from leaving and finding out exactly what he had done. He built his kingdom up, and everyone was happy." I spat the word like it was poison.
"Then, later, when the sickness came along, and his people started dying, he threw them out too, not realising that the world was no longer the dangerous place it had once been. They all survived, but with complications." I paused, stopping myself from telling her of our abilities.

As different as she seemed from the rest of them, she was still their princess, and their lies were rooted deeply in her. I hope to have uprooted some of them, but she still could not know our secrets. I bent down behind her, reaching forward to grab her wrists and tie it securely behind the log.

She didn't flinch when I wrapped the rope around the torn skin on her wrists. I didn't think that she needed to be restrained; she couldn't get out of here anyway, but the more she couldn't escape, the better I would sleep.

I peeked around to catch a glimpse of her face. She was still staring at the wall I had vacated, her eyes cloudy and unfocused.
I wondered if she was close to tears. It didn't seem like it. She just looked numb.

'She's probably in shock.' Fern's calm voice entered my head. I'd almost forgotten that he was still here. That was his speciality- blending in. He was like a human chameleon.
'Yeah well, anyone would be if they were told that their grandfather who everyone worshipped is actually a mass murderer.' I muttered back.

He strolled to where I was behind the princess, and jumped up through the hole inhumanly fast. I stood and, after giving the princess one last glance, followed him.