Out of Time

“THIS BLASTED ELEVATOR IS GOING TO GET US ALL BEHEADED!” The young boy hollers, kicking the sleek metal walls of the elevator. Worry and fury wrestle for control of his face, and it comes out as a yell while salty tears stream down his cheeks.

“Ow, ow, ow,” he whimpers, his blue eyes swimming with more tears as the kid holds his hurt foot. “That door was too hard….” 

“Then don’t kick it,” the only other passenger suggests. His blond hair partially covers his chocolate-chip eyes as he stares down at the child.

The younger boy snarls. “But we’re going to die!”

“Who are you?” The first boy asks, studying the other person’s face. The kid looks like a tween, with shaggy dark hair and tear-stained, flustered cheeks.

“I’m Miles,” he says, his voice shaky, “and this elevator is cruel.” He starts to pace. “Okay. Okay. The power went out. We’re stuck here. The Queen’s marriage starts in ten minutes. She ordered the whole Kingdom to be there. Even the River goddess will be there. If we’re not….” he gulps then shoots a look at the older boy. “Who are you?”

“I’m…Chase,” the blond replies hesitantly. Nobody knew the Queen had a son, so he was safe from Miles figuring out his true identity. “But my friends call me Ace.”

Not like he had any friends. Only his family, the Royals, knew he existed. And his baby cousin Bri didn’t count.

“Why the pause?” Miles asks, wiping more tears from his face with his robe’s sleeve. “And why aren’t you wearing the designated outfit? The Queen ordered all citizens of the Kingdom to show their loyalty to the Royals.”

Prince Chase inwardly curses as he scans Miles’ robe. It’s scarlet fabric draped over the small boy’s frame, embroidered with the silver outline of a star—the Symbol of the Kingdom. His own robe has a purple star in the center of the silver one, as a sign he’s a Royal. Chase’s not allowed out of the castle, as he’s a secret to the Kingdom, but he snuck out to watch the ceremony between the Queen and her fiancé, disguised as a Citizen. Chase couldn’t very well have worn his robe, because that would’ve given away his identity of a Royal, but he should’ve had a Citizen’s robe tailored to him. Citizens who don’t follow orders—in this case, to wear the Kingdom’s robes with the Symbol—would be beheaded, and disobeying an order didn't blend in very well.

“I have my Citizen’s robe under this,” Chase says, gesturing to his tunic and pants. “I’ll maybe sure the Symbol of the Kingdom is showing by the time we get to the ceremony, don’t worry.”

“I’m worried,” Miles says nastily, “because we might not ever get to the ceremony.” The young boy musters up his angriest face before it dissolved into more crying.

“I don’t want to die,” Miles says between sobs.

Chase pats his back. “How old are you?”

“Ten.”

“I’m fourteen.” The words fly out of Chase’s mouth before he can consider what to say.

Miles’ glistening blue eyes dart around the stalled elevator. The glossy elevator buttons of the Citizens apartment building are superstitious—they go 𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟐, 𝟏𝟒, no 𝟏𝟑 in sight. The entire Kingdom is packed in the one, huge apartment building, with the equally large castle for the Royals a courtyard away.

Miles slumps on the floor. He seems to realize he couldn’t do anything but wait for the power to go back one. “So, um…hi.”

“Hello.” Chase shifts his weight.

The word hangs in the air as an awkward silence covers the elevator. Miles’ tears have dried away, but his eyes are still watering as he inhales and exhales slowly. “Why aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?” says Chase.

“Of this elevator not hurrying up. If we’re not at the ceremony soon, we’ll be killed.”

“Oh, I am scared,” Chase says, “just not for that reason.”

Miles gives him the side-eye. “What reason is more important than life?”

Chase inwardly curses. He can’t very well say, “My mom is the Queen, I won’t die because I’m a Royal, but I’ll get an insane scolding and a grounding for a year”, but his mind comes up blank with new ideas. “Um….”

“Yes?”

“Urm….”

“Spit it out, Chase-but-my-friends-call-me-Ace!”

“I don’t know,” Chase admits truthfully.

Miles’ hard gaze fixes on Chase’s face. “You’re hiding something.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Chase-but-my-friends-call-me-Ace, you most definitely are.”

“First, please stop calling me that. Second, why are you so barky all of a sudden?!” Chase snaps. “You were sobbing and sad a moment ago, and now you’re accusing me of something that’s completely false.” True, true, false. ⅔ wasn’t bad when your existence is a secret.

Miles’ mouth opens then shuts. “Sorry. I’m just a little…worried? I mean, did the power have to go out right now?”

“It’s okay, buddy,” Chase says, patting the boy on the head. “I’m sure the elevator will get moving soon.”

“And if not?” Miles sniffles.

Chase hesitates. “I’ll protect you from the Queen’s rage.”

“How would you do that? And why?”

“I like you, and nobody deserved to die because of a power outage that wasn’t their fault, much less a ten-year-old. And about how…I don’t know.” ….a way to protect you without revealing myself to my mom and the kingdom, Chase silently added.

“Thanks,” Miles says. “I feel much safer now.”

Chase cocks his head then realizes Miles is joking. The small boy sniggers. “But seriously, thanks. I just really hope it won’t come to that.”

He jumps up. “STUPID ELEVATOR!”

A moment later, Miles is back on the floor, not having enough hands to put pressure on all the places that were injured. “ARRRRRRGH!” was the attack with his foot. “I WILL DIE BECAUSE OF—” was him punching the elevator wall. The continuation of that sentence, “—YOUUUU!”, was Miles ramming into the wall at full speed, with his full body.

“Ow,” Miles moans. 

“Sorry,” Chase winces. “How much does it hurt?”

“I’ll be dead soon, so that doesn’t really matter.”

“Don’t say that,” Chase says. “I’m sure the power will be back on soon.” He glares at the sleek walls, like, Power, you better be on soon. 

“You know,” Miles says, his gaze fixed on 𝟏𝟒 taking the place of the button 𝟏𝟑, “It’s funny to imagine there’s a building that is completely made of all the level thirteens, and it has awful luck.”

“Funny indeed,” Chase nods, “but not possible. The other buildings don’t have levels. The school, the library…they’re all flat.”

“Yeah, but the castle has floors,” Miles says.

“Maybe so, but no level thirteen.”

Chase immediately regrets his words. Miles will find out he’s the unknown prince before the end of the elevator ride. He tries to swallow the hard lump in his throat as Miles glares. 

“How do you know that?” Miles asks, his brows furrowed and a frown painted onto his pale lips.

“Just a guess,” Chase lies, hoping the cover-up would be enough. “Anyways, urm, you must be pretty smart to think of that level-thirteen thing.”

“Really smart, or loves to daydream.”

“Hmm. What else do you know?”

“Digits and digits of pi, way too much mythology, and an insane amount of random facts and ideas, among others. But I know—”

Chase’s face flashes white. That sentence could definitely end “I know…you’re the prince that’s a closely guarded secret from everyone other than the Royals”.

“What?” Miles says, interrupting his own sentence as the sight of Chase’s paled face.

“Na…nothing.”

“Were you nervous about how I was going to end that sentence?”

Chase nods. “Yes.”

“How did you think it would end?”

“How was it going to end?” Chase counters.

“Hmm,” Miles says. He was going to say, “I know how to write in Hebrew, too”, but all of Chase’s behavior had given him a hunch that he needed to test. “The end starts with a ‘p’. Is that what you were afraid of?”

That could mean anything, Chase tells himself. “Yeah.”

“Then ‘r’.”

“Um….”

“‘i’.”

“Yeah….”

“Next is ‘n’.”

Chase takes a deep breath. “Yes. So you, know, don’t you?”

Miles smiles. He thinks he did, but he doesn’t know, and he was making his fast-friend-in-the-making nervous. “Yeah. I know how printing works.”

“Thank the Royals,” Chase burst.

Miles smirks. “What did you think I was going to say?”

“That. Exactly that.”

Miles sighed and glanced at his watch. “Well, it was nice knowing you, Chase-but-my-friends-call-me-Ace. We’re dead. Very dead. Extremely dead. In fact, we’re so dead we’re—”

Creeeeeak.

Miles jumps with joy as the elevator starts moving. “YES! The power’s back on!” He raises an eyebrow at Chase and says, “Why aren’t you celebrating?” before going back to hollering, “YES!”

Chase starts to celebrate too. He wouldn’t die anyways, but he was afraid Miles would. Besides, Chase’s cover would be blown if the Queen said she was going to kill them.

Miles’ face fell as he glanced at his watch. “We’re out of time.”

“Huh?”

“We’re out of time—the ceremony started a while ago—and we’re out of time as in, we’ll die because of that.”

Miles looks like he’s holding back tears as the elevator doors ding! open.

Guards, dressed in shiny armor fitted over red jumpsuits and armed with sheathed swords, stand in front of the way out. Ahead of the guards, the giant courtyard is packed with thousands of Citizens, staring ahead at the stage in front of the castle on the other side of the courtyard.

The guards grab Miles and Chase as they try to bolt out of the elevator. The men hoist the boys in the air. “What do you think you’re doing?” one of the guards demands in a deep voice.

“Trying to get to the wedding,” Chase answers, nodding towards the music coming from the stage.

“You’re late,” the other guard says. “Also, why aren’t you wearing your robe, young man?”

Chase winces and Miles whispers, “P-p-please spare us.”

“No,” the first guard says. “Actually, it’s the queen’s judgement.”

“Chase-my-friends-call-me-Ace,” Miles whimpers, “what are we going to do?!”

The boys struggle to get loose as the guards march towards the stage just as the wedding is ending. People are just started to disperse, and the Queen and the new King are still on the stage.

“What do we have here?” the Queen booms as Miles and Chase are dropped into the floor.

One of the guard bows. “These Citizens refused to attend your wedding. They were very, very late. Also, the older one isn’t wearing his robe!”

“The power went out in the elevator!” Chase protests. “And my robe isn’t on because—” 

The Queen pointed to the ground. “Bow before your Queen!”

Chase and Miles kneel on the stage for a full minute. Chase wonders when he should rip off his hood and reveal he’s a Royal—not yet, not now.

Eventually, the Queen says, “Rise, so we may address your punishment.”

The boys silently get up. The entire crowd has now returned to watch the sentencing. The tall Queen, dressed in a white robe with the Symbol of a Royal and draped in expensive accessories, glared down at the late kids. “You’ll die,” she decides after five minutes of sweat trickling down Miles’ neck.

Chase and Miles both scream and flail as the two guards pick each of them up and start in different directions. Miles freaks because he’s about to be killed, and Chase screams because Miles feels like a little brother by now. No. A friend. 

“STOP!” Chase roars.

Both guards stop and stare at the Queen. Her eyes focus on Chase, who thumps to the floor as the guard drops him. “Twice now you’ve spoken out of turn. Citizens don’t—”

“I’m not a Citizen,” Chase snaps.

He rises and pulls off his hood, smiling at the Queen. “Hi, Mom.”

There's a pause as Queen’s jaw drops, and the crowd’s jaws drop with it. Chase turns to the whole Kingdom. “Hello, Citizens of our Kingdom! I’m your prince, Chase. But my friends call me Ace. Anyways…yeah, hi!”

He beams at the shocked people then twists back his mom.

“You didn’t,” the Queen says in a hushed voice.

“I did.”

Miles’ eyes bug out as he looks from the Queen, to the guards, to Chase. 

“Well….” the Queen struggled for the right words. Finally, she points to the young boy on the floor. “That one will still be beheaded!”

The guard picks up Miles again and Chase says, “No.”

The guard stops again as the Queen says, “What?” 

“No. I said, no,” Chase repeats. “Miles stays alive. It wasn’t his fault the power went out and he deserves to live. You’re not killing him.” 

“Why aren’t I?” the Queen says innocently. 

Chase tosses his blond hair as he rushes over to the vacant guard. Before the metal-clad man can react, the prince grabs his sheath.

Chase takes the sword out and matches over to the Queen. He holds up the blade, then puts it at his own neck. Chase knows his mother doesn’t care if a Citizen dies. But a Royal? The prince? Her son?

Oh, the delicious way Chase’s action takes effect on the Queen.

“N-no,” the Queen stammers as she stared at the sword resting on Chase’s throat. “You wouldn’t.”

Chase doesn’t break eye contact as he presses the sword a little harder. “I would.”

“What—”

“Let. Miles. Go.” Chase says, gritting his teeth in determination. 

The prince’s brown eyes lock with his mother’s as she spits out the words, “Fine.” She motions for the guard, and the brown-haired ten-year-old drops to the floor. “We’ll discuss this later,” the Queen sneers.

Chase nods and Miles sprints over to him. The crown, once again, starts to disperse and the Queen and King leave the stage.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Miles breathes as he hugs Chase.

“Neither can I,” the prince admits.

“Thank you.”

“No problem!” Chase smiles. “Will you be okay?”

Miles’ features tighten. “Yeah.”

“I need to go now,” Chase says. “My mom will literally kill me and I need to be early for that. Goodbye, Miles,” he says as he starts walking towards the castle.

Miles sets off towards the apartment buildings, but not before pausing to say goodbye. He’s about to say “So long, Chase-but-my-friends-call-me-Ace”, but his own words surprise him.

“Goodbye…Ace.”