They Can't Be Gone.... (Weekly Prompt)
Nico was walking through the market to the tiger sanctuary. He saw some sort of commotion coming from the direction of the palace. He wondered what was going on. He walked closer to see what was going on. People were whispering with their heads close together. A few ladies were crying. Nico had no idea what was going on, but he was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He quickened his steps. ย He tapped someone nearby on the shoulder and asked them what was going on. ย
"Someone has broken into the Palace." He said. "I'm not sure how many people there were, what they did or their purpose, but I heard someone died."
Nico's heart froze. He didn't have a name, but he knew a lot of people in the palace by now, he would hate to have lost any one of them. He quickly tried and muscled his way through the panicked crowd to get closer to the Palace. He needed to get in and know what happened.
He was almost upon the gates when he overheard two old women walking past him. "It's such a shame... The Princess and her friend... They were so young. The Sultan and Sultana must be so distraught, but not as much as the poor Prince."
Nico stopped. His heart froze and time around him stopped.ย No... no it can't be... tell me it's not true... He thought. He kicked himself into gear, bowling through through the crowd, just barely holding onto his emotions. He needed to see for himself. He got to the gates and went straight to the guards. They recognized him and nodded at him sadly. One of them patted him on the shoulder kindly.
Nico rushed into the palace, looking around for someone,ย anyone who could tell him what was happening. He saw Carpet drooping sadly down the hall. He rushed over to him. Carpet gave him a hug, then led him down the hall. He turned into Zinnia's room. He saw the royal family gathered around two pallets that were laid out.
He walked slowly over, numb. He looked down and saw the broken and torn up bodies of Zinnia and Eudora. Nico collapsed to his knees, tears falling freely now. "No.... no...." He whispered. Cassim walked over to him. They wordlessly clung to each other. Both losing a sister figure and a love through the act of terrorists.ย
Nico learned that there was a group of men who had wanted to cause trouble in Agrabah. They thought they would just break in and steal some things of value. What they found was the Princess and her friend. They had put up a fight, and lost miserably. ย The men had been caught, but at the loss of Zinnia and Dora.
Years later, Nico still grieves over the loss of Zinnia and Dora. He and Cassim get together frequently to comfort one another. There is a constant hole in their lives. Both they and the families of the girls have suffered badly.
