make me stay.

three

♜

the wall was the halfway point in our journey.

it surrounded the higher kingdom, parting the two. the higher and the lower. having been build hundreds of centuries ago, it surely showed, but towering over the crowns of the woods by at least a few feet, it stood proudly.

along the weathered stone, ivy tendrils had grown, covering the bricks and rocks in dark green leaves. it looked to be part of the structure at this point, some of the oldest stems almost having turned the same shade of grey. it made the wall look like something out of a 'secret garden', considering most of the land laid behind this point, was indeed unknown to most.
the gates were only opened to lower kingdom inhabitants for the last week of summer every year, but most still didn't dare to go.

we hadn't met more than two runners in the woods; men part of the king's patrols in the woods. they hadn't even been fazed by us, but we hadn't been the only ones making our way up the mountain, meaning that checking up on our right to be here would be a waste.

today was the first day the gates would be open, and it had already become quite obvious why we had made it all this way, considering how many people had had the same exact idea. guards had been patrolling closely around the barrier, not a single glance shot our way as we made our way closer.

"birth name and registration, please." a guard, covered in light armor stood proudly at the entrance, checking a woman before us. a young child was clinging to her leg, scrunching up the long fabric of her skirt, as she showed their papers.

"harvey albelle."

harvey, or belle as we called him, had gone first. with a single nod from the guard, he was send through into the higher kingdom.
harvey was the leader of our group. he was always the one to come up with idiotic plans on how we would spend our weeks, and usually, the one to barely get us out of trouble when we agreed to his ideas. if it wasn't for him, we would all spend most days locked up in our houses, in my guess.

"lilium crezin,"

lily was next, the embarrassment of having to say her actual name out loud, clear in her tone.

i honestly couldn't remember back to a time where lily hadn't been in my life. we had grown up as neighbors, and had been inseparable before kindergarten. she had a kind of brutal honesty that tested most friendships, but i appreciated it. i always knew where i stood with her.

"graham walker,"

otherwise known as grumpy; the only person i wanted to smack every-time i saw him, mostly without having a reason to. he would usually give me those later on.
he'd always stick up for me in front of others, even when he knew i was wrong. then later on he'd let me know what he really thought, which usually ended up in another pointless argument between us. but i listened to him because he listened to me. sometimes he could loose his temper and be an actual moron, then it would be my turn with the sage advice.

"maire-grace cain,"

the name tasted sour in my mouth, as my heart seemed to shrink by the memories flooding. i had always stuck with maire, but one person had always called me both. it had been a long time since i had heard that name.

as the last end of the chain i stepped up, holding out my papers. the guard took them, running over the words written.

grey, the heartbroken one. i wouldn't know how else to describe myself. i had always had a hard time keeping my opinions to myself, or keeping my mouth shut in any situation ever, and at some point, i'm sure i was fun to be around. now, i just kinda followed along as the last person in everything, waiting for the painful past to stay there.