Once Upon a Time/6

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

It had been a while since she had seen him by the waters. Still, she'd go in herself and lay on her back, staring at the trees above her, as the sound of the water below splashed around her ears and the wind moved the leaves on the trees. She laid on her back there for a long time, floating, try to keep her thoughts blank, she was confused that he had not come. When it had been an hour and he still was not there, she decided to go back home.
After shaking off the water and looking up to the see that the sun was helping her dry out. She took her solitary walk back home. On impulse, she went by her biological parent's home. She had done it a lot more when she was a teenager, often wondering how her family lived. She hadn't done it in a while.
As she neared the house, she realized that the house I had been invaded. The windows were wide open, one of them barely hanging from its screws. The door had been smashed, as if having been opened by brute force. She didn't know where the impulse came, but she ran to the house. As soon as she had gone in, she saw the cluttered mess, broken dishes and papers everywhere.
She peeked around, perplexed, something seemed seriously wrong. Without knowing, her heart started to beat rapidly and she turned quickly around and rushed out the door.
She power walked on the trail to her house, hoping her adoptive father would know something. When she finally arrived, she saw that he was there. He was wearing the royal colors, his clothes looked expensive, she stared at him in confusion, not breaking her stare until he came closer.
He looked at her for a moment than said in a far-off voice, "You are probably wondering why I didn't come today."
She blinked and replied, "Not really. I'm curious about the colors," She pointed to his clothes. They looked like they were trimmed in gold.
He hesitated, opening his mouth to respond. She had never seen him this way but waited patiently until he finally said, "I am a prince."
"You mean the prince?"
"Um, yeah."
She nodded, his words not completely sinking in, "You don't perhaps know why my birth parent's home  is a complete mess?"
His eyes darkened, "They were exiled."
"What?!" She hadn't meant to shout, but the words were out before she could stop them.
"My father has implemented new rules and the way they treated you for the way you were born. They had to be punished."
"No..."
"It's justice," He said simply.
She was too angry to say anything. Instead of heading to the house, she turned her back on him.
He tried to say something again, but instead he remained stuck in the same spot, his hands to his side.