#deadmancrawling

            Davina sighs as she stares out the window of her tower; no eighteen year old girl should be trapped up in a tower for ten years. She’s lucky she has human interactions often, otherwise she’d go insane.

“Alright, Pierre, I hide, you seek.” Davina giggles, looking at her pet chameleon she’s adopted.

Davina sets Pierre down on the window sill and begins to hide before she hears someone shouting her name.

“Princess Davina! Princess Davina!”

Davina looks out the window and down towards the ground, spotting Captain Kit and General Liam riding towards the castle.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to see anyone until tomorrow!” Davina calls, smiling down at the men below.

“We just had to make sure you’re okay. There was another attack on the castle today.” Captain Kit says.

“You don’t have to worry about me. No one remembers I even exist.” Davina sighs, turning away from the window and facing the inside of her tower.

Books line the shelves all around the room, there’s several paintings on the walls and ceilings, dresses sewn that are being worn by mannequins, and several piles of blankets knitted by the Princess herself.

“You know, it would be nice if someone other* than royal staff would come visit. I haven’t been outside in years, Pierre. It would be so nice to just feel the grass beneath my toes again.” Davina sighs, spinning around. “It’s nice to dream.”

Pierre begins crawling along next to Davina as she gathers some paint and some paint brushes, she’s feeling a tad inspired to paint the scenery outside her window.

“You know what, Pierre? I’m going to escape. Who cares that I could get hurt? Isn’t that the exciting part of life?” Davina asks, looking down at her chameleon. “I can’t be stuck in this tower for the rest of my life! How do my parents expect me to rule a kingdom when I haven’t been outside of these walls for a decade?”

Pierre looks up at Davina. “Don’t give me that look, P. I’m just trying to make sense of it all.”

Davina walks towards the window, sets her paints down on the window sill, clears a spot, and begins to paint.

 -

 Calum pushes through the last part of foliage before stopping and taking a deep breath. Running for your life sure does wear you out.

Catching his breath, Calum looks at the scenery around him; it’s beautiful, breathtaking even. A big patch of grass, a waterfall that falls into a pond, and to his right, a tall, singular tower, looms over the area.

“Holy shit.” Calum mutters.

Could it be? Could this tower be his saving grace? What are the odds that the Hidden Princess really lives here? If he’s lucky, he could sell the crown, come back, and live here the rest of his life. Who gets a tower in Rysling, that’s also in a desolate area, for such a great deal?

“Hey!” Someone calls, distracting Calum from his main focus.

Oh no. He’s been caught.

“Hey!” The voice calls again. “Pierre, I think someone is here to say hi!”

Calum looks up to find a girl peeking out the window to look at him. Wavy black hair is the first thing he notices, a telltale sign that she’s a royal.

Perhaps the Hidden Princess?

“Come up here!” The girl, Davina, cries, gesturing for him to use the climbing wall beneath the window.

Calum does as he’s suggested; this is almost too good to be true.

Once Calum makes his way to the top of the tower, looking Davina in the eyes as he crawls through the window.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Davina cries, hugging Calum as if she’s known him for years.

“You don’t even know who I am. You’re cool with inviting strangers into your tower?” Calum responds, pushing Davina off him.

“Well it’s not like this tower is easy to find.” Davina says. “You must have some business with my parents.”

Calum laughs and shakes his head. “Yeah, that I do.”

“What’s your name?” Davina asks, looking at the boy leaning against her wall. Her eyes scan his face; dark brown eyes, thick eyebrows, curly brown hair, and olive toned skin; she hasn’t seen anyone with eyes that brown since her sister.

“I’m Calum. What’s your name?” He asks, raising his eyebrow.

“Are you kidding?” Davina asks. “You have no idea who I am?”

“No? I’m sorry.” Calum says.

“I can’t believe my own people have forgotten about me.” Davina sighs.

Calum looks down at the ground before meeting Davina’s eyes. “I sincerely doubt that.”

“It’s true. You’ve got to be around my age and you don’t even remember who I am. I’ve been trapped in this tower for ten years. Because of that, I’ve been forgotten.” Davina responds.

Green eyes meet brown ones and Calum sighs. “So what’s your name?”

“Davina.” She snaps. “Princess Davina of Rysling.”

Calum gasps quietly. “So you are the Hidden Princess!”

“The Hidden Princess?” Davina questions, looking at him.

The two make eye contact, and Davina quickly looks away: it’s almost as if Calum is staring into her soul.

“Yeah, there were rumors. After your sister, Princess Ayla, died, we’d heard rumors that you’d gone into hiding. So that way the rogues couldn’t find you.”

Davina sighs and turns away. “Pierre, did you know this?”

Pierre sticks his tongue out in response.

“You’re talking to a chameleon?” Calum asks.

“He’s my best friend.” Davina retorts, turning to face Calum and crossing her hands above her chest.

“Your best friend is a chameleon?”

“I can’t help it! I haven’t had a human friend in over ten years. He’s stuck around, unlike everyone else around me.”

“We get it, you don’t have friends because you’ve been trapped for ten years.” Calum responds.

“What are you even doing here anyway?” Davina asks.

“Honestly, I was running from someone.” Calum says.

Davina looks at him, and notices something peeking from the satchel that rests on his hip. The light hits it just right, causing the part that’s peeking out to glimmer in the light.

“Were you running from Royal Guards?” Davina questions, glancing between Calum’s eyes and the jewels peeking from his bag.

“No.” Calum states. His voice is firm and his mouth twitches.

Davina rolls her eyes. “What’s in the bag?”

“What bag?” Calum asks, shoving the bag behind him so Davina can’t see it.

“I’m not stupid, Calum.” Davina says. “Just tell me and I won’t turn you in.”

Calum sighs and shows Davina what’s in the bag.

Davina nearly breaks down in tears when she sees the tiara in Calum’s hands, but keeps her composure when she looks up to face him. Many emotions are running through her: anger, sadness, happiness… She hasn’t seen that tiara since before Ayla was murdered.

“Where did you get that?” Davina asks, pointing to the tiara in Calum’s hands.

“The castle.”

“Why do you have it?” Davina asks. “Who gave it to you?”

“I stole it.”

“That’s the last thing that belongs to my sister. You can’t have it.” Davina tells him. Her voice is stern.

“Too bad. It belongs to me now.” Calum smirks, looking at the princess standing across from him.

“No.” Davina says. “If you’re going to keep it, the least you can do is do something for me.”

“I don’t do negotiations.”

“And I don’t let people take stuff that doesn’t belong to them. So pick your battle, thief.”

Calum sighs as he puts the tiara back into his bag. “Fine. How can I be of service, Princess Davina?”

“Don’t think I’m going to take you seriously using that tone with me.” Davina retorts. “What you’re going to do for me is take me to the Firefly Festival tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’m going to do that for you?” Calum asks.

“It’s either that, or I report you to my contacts at the castle. It’s entirely your choice, Calum!” Davina smirks.

Calum can tell Davina is serious, so he sighs and agrees with her.

“Fine, I’ll take you. But you have to promise you won’t turn me in.” Calum says, sticking out his hand so the two of them can shake on it.

            “Are you two ready for a bedtime story?” Calum asks his two daughters as they settle into their beds in their joint bedroom.

“Yes!” Thalia, his oldest, exclaims.

“Tell us the one about the Princess again!” Lydia, his youngest says.

“Ah, you like the princess one, don’t you? It is a good one, if I do say so myself.” Calum grins, looking as his daughters as they get cozy under their blankets.

“It’s almost like you’re telling a story about Mommy!” Lydia smiles.

“It is, isn’t it? I heard this story as a kid, before I even knew your mommy. Before I even became King.” Calum tells his girls.

“Whoa.” Thalia says.

“But you changed it you and Mommy’s names?” Lydia asks.

“Yes, because it makes me and your mommy seem cool, little one. Are you ready? Are you tucked in? Because it’s going to be a good one.” Calum smiles.

“Yes! We’re ready!” Lydia exclaims again.

“Alright. It’s starts off with a young man named Calum, who had dreams of seeing the castle up close one day.” Calum begins.

 -

          The sun is just barely rising over the horizon as Calum and his two friends, Jacob and Jack, follow him towards the kingdom.

The three friends stop and take in the view before them; the magnificent Rysling Castle stands before them in the distance, as if it were taunting Calum to just try and take the crown jewels.

“Well would you look at that!” Calum exclaims, gesturing to the castle. “I can’t wait to own one of those one day. God, I’d make an excellent King, don’t you think?”

“No.”

“Absolutely not.”

“As King my first rule would be to celebrate me as soon as you wake up.” Calum says.

“And that’s why you’ll never be King.” Jacob responds.

Calum rolls his eyes and the three men all continue to walk into the Kingdom.

It’d been years since Calum had crossed over the bridge into Downtown Rysling, but it was like nothing has changed.

Most of the time, Calum spends his time stealing from the rich on the other side of town and giving back to the poor. He’s done it since he was young and has no plans to stop soon either.

“Do you think it’s going to be easy to do the job?” Jack asks, as soon as the three are on the roof of a building.

“Do you think I’d even consider doing it if I didn’t think the job would be easy?” Calum asks, raising an eyebrow at the man. “That’s such a dumb question. Of course, I think it’s going to be easy.”

Jack shrugs as the three of them hop from building to building, getting closer to the castle, while still trying to lay low. If they get caught now, then the entire mission is compromised, and Calum desperately needs the money that the Crown of Rysling is sure to give him.

Soon, the three men are near the castle, and Calum begins to survey the area around the building, making sure not to get caught. You can’t be too careful when you’re attempting to steal the crown jewels.

Calum gestures for the brothers to follow him, and they bring their equipment with them, moving quickly and quietly, doing their best to avoid being spotted and heard.

“Okay,” Calum whispers. “Hoist me up.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jack asks, looking between his brother and Calum.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to back out now.” Calum says. “Come on, think of the money! We’ll be able to buy one of our own* castles!”

Jack sighs and helps his brother hoist Calum up, and Calum begins scaling the building to find the window to the crown room.

After several minutes, Calum gets up to the crown room window and carefully nudges it open just enough so he can slip in and out without notice.

Luckily, inside, there’s not many guards keeping watch of the crown; they’re either asleep or their backs are turned to it, and Calum laughs at how easy it’s going to be to steal the crown.

Slipping in the window, Calum steadies his breath and is light on his feet as he sneaks into the room to get the item he’s desperately wanting.

A quick grab and the crown is suddenly in his satchel. He looks around to make sure no one is looking at him, and then carefully climbs back through the window, and slams it shut to get their attention.

The guards suddenly look at the pillar where the Late Princess Ayla’s crown once sat to find it missing, and immediately begin racing out of the castle to quickly find the missing item.

“Five of you, go west. Another five go east, you three go south, and I’ll go north with Captain Kit here.”

“Yes General.” The men respond.

“Do not* let them find Princess Davina. If she’s found, the King will have our heads.” The General says.

The men begin to disperse on their horses, traveling in all directions to try and catch Calum and his partners with the crown.

Calum, Jack, and Jacob end up splitting up once they leave the castle grounds. Calum heads north, Jack heads east, and Jacob heads west.

Calum, who has the crown still in his satchel, runs for his life as fast as he can. Dashing through trees, switching directions; right, left, right, left, straight, downhill, uphill, it’s fight or flight mode for him right now.

He can hear the General and the Captain nearby, and as a last minute attempt to not be found, he camouflages himself underneath some fallen branches and leaves, steadies his breathing, and stays as still as humanly possible.

“I saw him run west.” The General says, stopping his horse to think for a moment.

“Should we go west?” Captain Kit asks, looking at his superior.

“Let’s go check on the Princess first. Make sure he hasn’t found her.” The General says.

Then, the two men are off and as soon as they’re out of ear shot, Calum climbs a tree to see where they’re headed. If the Princess is nearby, he’s sure to be able to get some cool stuff from her that he can sell and get money for.

           Three. That’s your magical number. Three drinks, three minutes, three months. Three drinks in, you found Calum in less than three minutes, and now, your period is three months late.

It’s not like your cycle to be this late; you’re on birth control but when you do have a period, it doesn’t skip without you taking your pill.

You look at the pregnancy test that’s flipped upside down on your counter. In another minute, you can flip it over and see if your thoughts are correct.

Thoughts are racing through your head – you know exactly how this happened yet you couldn’t fathom that you are still in the position so many girls would want to be in right now.

It’s as if the time is ticking slower, it’s the longest minute of your life before the timer goes off.

Beep, beep, beep! The timer goes off and even though you’ve been holding your breath for what seems like forever, you can’t exhale until you look at the test.

Deep breath in. Flip the test over. Exhale when you realise you aren’t pregnant, and your mind is playing tricks on you. Sounds easy enough.

Flip the test over.

Two positive pink lines stare back at you.

Hell no. No way. This is not happening to you.

You hide the tests and race out of the bathroom and head to the kitchen to drink more water. You’d bought multiple boxes of tests, and you’re about to use the remaining two.

You can’t be pregnant. You refuse to believe it until the other tests say so.

As you chug your water, you hear Calum in the other room on the phone with his Mom. How are you going to tell him you’re pregnant while he’s on the phone with his mom? You shake it off and continue chugging water until you have to use the bathroom again.

*

Pulling the tests out of the boxes, you hold one in one hand and one in the other. You’re not sure how you’re going to pee on them at the same time, but you’re going to figure it out, damn it.

You take a deep breath and begin doing your business, and immediately put them upside down on the counter before you set your timer.

Three minutes. That’s all it takes.

In three minutes, you’ll know if not only your life – but Calum’s life – changes forever.

You begin to think about being pregnant for the next six months, and how Calum would be there with you every step of the way. How his friends would be so protective of your little baby and automatically insist on being called the baby’s uncle.

How excited Mali would be, because you two are super close and she’s always saying how she needs a niece or a nephew. How proud and excited Calum’s parents would be – they’d be the proudest grandparents ever and always make excuses to come see you guys, even if it meant leaving work for a few days.

Calum going to the doctor’s appointments, singing to your belly when the baby is restless, always having his hand touching your stomach in some way, and being so in awe that you’re carrying the life you two created together.

You sigh and sit on the counter, looking at the upside down pregnancy tests. If these two say you’re pregnant, you have no choice but to believe it.

Baby names race through your head quickly, but you don’t even have time to think about it before your timer goes off.

Now or never.

You flip the tests over and see the two little pink lines staring back at you for the second time today.

You’re officially pregnant.

You begin to tear up, not sure if they’re happy tears or angry tears; happy because, oh my god, you’re gonna grow a family with Calum! Angry because, oh my god, you’re pregnant at 21 and this wasn’t a part of your plan.

You look at yourself in the mirror and take a deep breath, collecting your thoughts and gathering the two tests from the counter, and walking towards your shared bedroom.

Calum is laying on his stomach on your bed, facing the window which is opposite your bedroom door.

He’s FaceTiming his mom still, which you don’t want to interrupt but if you don’t tell him now, you know you’re not going to tell him until he asks.

He’s wearing his headphones, and you try to speak up, but you’re so nervous your words are silent.

“Calum,” you call out. He laughs at something his mom says, and you can tell he’s smiling from ear to ear.

“Calum.” You say again, standing in the doorway, pregnancy tests in hand.

“No, Mum, everything’s great. We tour again in the fall and it’s going to be so much fun.”

“Calum!” You try again, speaking a bit louder.

He still doesn’t hear you, and you begin to wonder if your boyfriend is deaf, because you’re speaking as loud as you can and you know he’s heard you before.

Last effort, you chuck the pregnancy tests at him, and they hit him smack dab in the middle of his head.

“Ow, babe! What the hell?!” Calum exclaims, turning to face you.

He looks down and picks up one of the tests that are on the bed, taking a good look at it.

“Wait, what is this?” Calum asks.

You walk closer to him and sit on the bed, grabbing his phone so his Mom can see his reaction.

“It’s a pregnancy test.” You tell him.

“You’re fucking with me,” He says, looking up at you. “You’re not pregnant.”

You shake your head. “I’m definitely pregnant. I took three different tests.”

Calum grabs the phone out of your hands and tells his mom he has to go.

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant?”

“So pregnant.” You respond.

You see tears in his eyes and he pushes you on to the bed and begins kissing your face all over. “Fuck. I’m gonna be a dad.”

Both of you are crying, and Calum is already laying on your belly and kissing it. “You’re gonna be the best mum.”

The concert you’re attending, Arctic Monkeys, is in full swing. A vodka pineapple in one hand, Calum’s hand in the other, and you’re busy singing along and rubbing up against your boyfriend, trying to make him hard in public.

You know full well what you’re doing, and you know that Calum’s going to make sure you’re aware he doesn’t like to be teased in public.

You sing along loudly, aggressively rubbing against Calum, and his hand immediately leaves yours and he tries to pull you closer.

You smirk, knowing your plan is working, and you turn around to face him, making eye contact with him.

“You’re going to regret messing with me, Princess.” Calum threatens into your ear, his voice resembling a grumble, and it turns you on even more.

“Am I?” You challenge, smirking before you throw the rest of your drink back. “Why don’t you show me right now?”

Calum pulls you away from the crowd, and now you’re in the back of the pit, a few other concert goers surrounding you but not too close.

He places his lips on top of yours, kissing you fervently. He’s wanting more and more as he keeps kissing you, and you’re unsure if you should palm him right then and there where everyone can see or if you should keep your hands to yourself.

As if Calum is one step ahead of you, he grabs your hand and places it in his boxers as he brings his hand to your lips.

His places his fingers on your bottom lip and you open your mouth, and Calum puts his index and middle finger in your mouth.

“Suck, Princess.” You swirl your tongue around Calum’s fingers and cup his dick in his boxer, causing him to close his eyes and let out a small moan.

You love that this is happening in such a public place, you’re sure you’re going to get caught and have be papped somehow but you also know that no one would dare disrespect Calum like that. He’d have it removed in an instant.

He starts lifting up the skirt of your dress with his free hand, and is shocked to feel you aren’t wearing underwear, and he smirks as he rubs his fingers against your clit.

Your mouth opens the slightest when he does that, and you grab on to his wrist with your free hand, to get better balance as he fingers you.

You wrap your hand around his cock and he moans as the song changes from Fluorescent Adolescent to R U Mine?, and you begin moving your hand up and down, going with the beat of the song, causing Calum to go wild.

“Please,” You hear Calum moan, and he turns you around and unbuttons his pants, pulling you close and inserting himself into you as the song plays.

Fans screams are loud enough to muffle your moans, and you feel one of Calum’s hands wrap around your throat, squeezing lightly, knowing that it’s going to make you closer to you end.

“Fuck,” You hear him groan as he’s moving himself in and out of you, and you begin panting for breath, one hand wrapping around Calum’s wrist and the other holding his hip to keep you semi stable.

You feel him release inside of you and immediately he turns you around.

One hand on the back of your neck, one hand between your legs, and he begins rubbing you off, making sure not to break the eye contact with you, as he knows that also gets you off.

You clench your eyes shut as you feel yourself being pulled closer and closer to your orgasm, but you’re missing something.

“There’s people watching, Princess.” Calum says. “What do you say we give them a show?”

You raise your eyebrow at your boyfriend and look around, noticing several people looking at you.

“Yes.” You smirk, and you wrap your leg around his waist and your arms around his neck, resting your head on his shoulder as he continues rubbing your heat.

You catch yourself moaning and bucking your hips into Calum’s hand more intensely the closer you get, and right before the song ends, you let out a loud moan as you release onto Calum’s fingers.

You pull your leg off of him and he pulls you in for a kiss, letting everyone know that you’re his and only his, and you smile.

“You might want to put your dick back in your pants, babe.” You smirk.