The City of the Broken (Prince of the Broken)

by Ceri Beynon

  “I can have a free straw too you know, they’re not exclusively for those childish enough to buy frappuccino’s”.

  “How dare you” I say.

  “Childish?” I persist as he sniggers to himself.

  “A baby’s drink” he says with mock disapproval, shaking his head.

  We both giggle as I start sipping and my drink serves in humiliating me further by creating slurping noises.

  We head back to the bus.

  “Did you enjoy the ice skating Seren?” asks Calix.

  “I don’t know if enjoy is the right word, Calix, survive perhaps” I say.

  He smiles. He looks so intense, his sapphire eyes gazing into mine like he’s thinking about some deep concept and just about coming to a conclusion.

  “You’re so surprising Seren. There is an endless amount of twists and turns in the maze that is you”, he says suddenly.

  “Besides Calix, am I really supposed to enjoy anything now that your father has banned you from seeing me? I was under the impression we now had to live life under the masquerade of misery”.

  “That’s true Seren but we can be ourselves here. After all we’re not in the City of the Broken and father isn’t here so if you want to be happy, now is your perfect opportunity”.

  “I am happy Calix, happier than ever before. I felt so lonely before I met you, everything seemed pointless. You’ve made me feel so alive, so full of joy, which is so ironic, since you are the prince of the Broken!”

  He looks at me enquiringly , exploring what I’ve said. This boy recruits people to join his world because they are unhappy, it’s the criteria for joining and I perfectly fulfilled it, until I met him and then I suddenly felt excitement, a sense of permanent hope and adventure. No wonder his father is worried. I stand out, looking alive while everyone else floats on a black cloud, dancing in their despair. Calix does seem to relish his role as the prince of the city and why should I spoil that for him. He’s always fulfilled his duty and I can understand why he feels torn between his father and me .On the other hand, I think ‘why should I allow his tyrannical father to rule our lives?.’ Calix isn’t a child anymore, and surely he can carry on with his stately affairs as well as be with me.

  “Calix you don’t have to take me into the city again if your father doesn’t approve. We can just continue to see each other here, in college.”

  “No Seren. I like taking you into the city. I want to make you a part of every sphere of my life, besides I thought that we decided we’d just act gloomy now?”

  “Is that really the way to live your life, tip-toeing around your Dad, pretending to be something that you’re not?” I ask doubting that I could ever pull off a convincing performance when I have him at my side, giving me a reason to relish being alive.

  “If you want to take me to the city Calix, that’s fine. I like spending as much time as possible with you” I say.

  The bus arrives back at college.

  “So we’ve got three weeks off now Calix, when shall we meet up next?”

  “Friday, I’ll pick you up. Dress in all black Seren, not a hint of anything flamboyant.”.

  “Umm ,okay. I think I’ll just have to make my wardrobe entirely black for you” I tease.

  The Rolls pulls up for Calix and just as I begin to wave him goodbye and start walking off, he doubles back and kisses me.

  “Bye Seren” he says and departs. Yes, it shall certainly be difficult to act unhappy when I am intoxicated with glee from his kisses.

  Chapter Six.

  BlackBall

  Calix arrives at the cafe we decided to meet at precisely on the second it becomes five ’o’ clock. He’s punctual to an eerie degree.

  “No car?” I enquire.

  “No. I thought it would be romantic to walk” he says and I smile at him enthralled.

  We walk from the café to the graveyard. One gate leading to the dead ,the other to the black city of the living dead. Calix opens the gate, the black key the only hint of the awaiting destination.

  There is a unique atmosphere here, its not excitement but even these gloomy citizens seem to have a whisper of expectation in their eyes. They all seem to know some important secret and I cant help but wonder what it is. I look at Calix quizzically. He smiles, holding out his arm to usher me into the city. There are huge banners everywhere, silver with purple lettering.

  ‘Tonight SuperBall-Eternal Blacks VS Purple Predators’

  This feels like a huge event, there are crowds of people, dressed in black as usual or all-purple.

  “What is all this Calix?”

  “The SuperBall, the biggest sporting event in the city. It only comes around every eight years”.

  “Eight? Wow that’s a long wait, what sport do they play?”

  “Blackball, the signature sport of this city”.

  Everything looks cinematic, a blur of black, purple, and silver. There’s a distant echo of a slow motioned chanting. The Blackball cheer of the Broken, a faded memory in the subconscious of a premiership football match. Its like a party’s taking place in a shadow world. Its still an old black and white film crackling from dust, but more vivid than before as if a little colour is fighting to break through.

  They march to the beat of a different instrument, one that I never knew existed. I can hear what a harpsichord and see stalls selling mini banners. The black fountain in the centre of the city is spouting its glorious water. The dark lullaby sounds its musical notes through the whole city. Its eerie yet wondrous, sang by the BlackBall fans, the closest to passion they could ever hope to touch.

  “This is amazing Calix, why didn’t you tell me?” I enthuse.

  “I wanted it to be a surprise”. I can see he is dressed up in his regalia, all pomp and pageantry.

  “Are you on duty tonight Calix? You look so…”I pause not quite knowing the correct word. “Regal, like a Prince” I continue.

  “Why thank you Seren, I’m introducing the games .I’ve reserved a seat in the Royal Box for you”.

  A surge of joy turns to panic.

  “The royal box! Calix what about your father?”

  “Actually Seren ,father doesn’t get involved with these sort of events. He knows they are good for the city, uniting everyone and bring a sense of patriotism but he’s dubious regarding the amount of excitement they bring on. He worries they might cheer everyone up too much, so he made me patron of this event and I’m always the official face of the games. It’s a great honour, my absolute favourite duty to perform. That’s why I invited you. I had to make sure you could be a part of it”.

  “Oh Calix, this is wonderful. Who else will be in the royal box?”

  “Well there will be my Dads secretary…”

  “What? She’ll only tell him that I’ve been here”

  “Hmm, there is that. I know, why don’t your wear a disguise?”

  “What kind of disguise?

  “There are BlackBall cheerleaders back stage. You can dress up as one of them”.

  “Will this work? Even with a costume she will know my face.” He stops for a moment, trying to think up another of his master plans.

  “Well to be really convincing I guess you’d need some kind of wig. There’s a costume dress shop across the street. We’ll try there. Come on.” He grabs my hand and leads me away from the great stadium .I’m temporarily dumbfounded as I see a zeppelin floating above my head with ‘Eternal Black’ written on it.

  In the shop window, there is an Elizabethan style black dress. It looks like a collection of antique dresses.

  “What kind of shop is this Calix?

  “They sell very elaborate, one-of-a-kind, hand made clothing and accessories. Its where a lot of people get stuff for balls and special occasions. They sell wigs as well, come on”.

  We walk through the door and are greeted by a tall, elegant looking woman. The shop looks like a boutique, the costumes seem haute-couture.

  “Good afternoon your Royal Highness, what a pleasant
surprise. Is there anything in particular I could help you with?”

  “Well Seren needs a wig” he says, motioning to me as I blush .

  “A wig? Her hair looks perfectly lovely to me, all those auburn tones” she says kindly.

  “Its for the SuperBall, I’m dressing up” I say quickly and truthfully.

  “Oh I see. Well we stock only the finest wigs here Seren. Is there any particular colour or style you are looking for?”

  “Umm” I look at Calix, not really knowing what style I’m meant to be choosing myself.

  “Can we see your selection?” he says in a non-committal tone.

  “Yes, follow me please” she walks briskly through the parlour, her exceedingly high shoes clip-clopping all the way through.

  On a wall at the back, wigs decorate it like a form of hairy wallpaper, each a work of art displayed beautifully. Strawberry-blonde bobs ,a Marie Antoinette heavy looking hairpiece, long jet black hair, curly purple hair and edgy platinum blonde tresses.

  “A lot of the cheerleaders had blonde hair, Calix” I whisper so I’m inaudible to the shop-keeper.

  “Shall we take the blonde wig then Seren”? he says out loud.

  “Yes, the platinum blonde please. I’d like to look as different to myself as possible!” I say enthusiastically.

  “An excellent choice Miss, bold yet still effortlessly stylish” she says theatrically.

  She shows me to a seat in front of a mirror that has Hollywood style light bulbs all the way around it. I sit down excited as a child in a dressing up box. Calix stands looking on. The shop keeper aids me in putting the wig on. I put a less than glamorous rubber cap on first to gather all of my natural hair, then she places the razor cut wig on my head.

  “Oh Seren, it looks amazing. You would barely recognize you” says Calix.

  I look in the mirror and I certainly don’t look like myself. I like it, though its so different to the usual me. I look edgier.

  “I’ll take it”.

  “Very well. You look fabulous darling, the perfect hair do” says the ever enthusiastic shop keeper. We buy the wig and walk swiftly back to the stadium.

  Its grown dark, louder and busier since we’ve been in the shop. There are crowds everywhere. I have the wig on, and Calix is smiling at me like he’s impressed and fascinated to be walking around with a girl that is me and yet doesn’t look like me. We’re holding hands. People are bound to think that Calix is dating somebody new.

  “Don’t you think I should get some new clothes? I still have my same old look. I wont quite pass as a cheerleader in this” I have to shout because its still so loud.

  “Yeah you do look too much like you dress wise. We’ll look for a clothes shop”.

  Calix chooses to go in the most upmarket shop in the whole shopping centre, but as a girl I’m much more shopping savvy so I grab his arm.

  “Hey Mr! Cheerleaders don’t shop in places like this. Didn’t you see what those girl had on? Miniskirts and tiny vests.” I lead him to a shop that seems to sell mainly party wear, glitzy and short .Exactly what I’m looking for. Upon entering ,I spy a sequined black skirt.

  “I think this would be good”

  “Isn’t it a bit too long? I mean for a cheerleader?” he asks.

  “It is, but it’s the shortest I’ prepared go. I can be a cheerleader with modesty” I say and he laughs. I search through the rails and come across a pretty top that’s sparkly and black.

  “Perfect”!

  I think I’ll pass as a cheerleader. I only hope the Kings secretary doesn’t recognize me from before.

  “Shouldn’t I wear make-up as well? She’s used to seeing me looking natural. After all Calix she is bound to pay attention to me, just because I’m with you. She’ll think we’re dating and wonder what happened to me, you know the real me ,what with you being seen with another girl so soon”.

  We pop into a chemist, which is old fashioned and quaint with bottles of aromatherapy liquids everywhere. I choose a plum lip gloss which is cheerleader-esq, while at the same time retaining a little of myself.

  “This will do. Please try to keep her away from me though Calix”

  “I will Seren, I promise. You really look different, but I don’t know if she’ll fall for it. Besides, even if she doesn’t, she wont with absolute certainty be able to tell father you were here. I’ll just deny it saying I brought a cheerleader”.

  “Okay, Calix, we’ll do it. I cant wait to see this”.

  We walk out to hear ‘Welcome to the Black City’ by My Deathly Romance playing in the stadium and hear the vast crowd singing along.

  “That song could be the anthem of this city” I enthuse.

  “ True” he agrees.

  “Its one of my all time favourite songs” I shout.

  “Mine too. Come on Seren, this is it, the event to be at. I’m so glad you’re here. You’re making this moment perfect for me, even though you don’t look like yourself” he says and we both giggle.

  We go backstage. Calix is obviously a V.I.P, not simply because he’s royalty but also because he’s contributing to the game as well.

  “We’ll go and meet some of the stars of the sport”.

  “The stars? I don’t even know who they are. I’m sure it would mean a lot to some people Calix, but I’m afraid that it wont to me. For all I know they could be any old players”.

  “Shh…don’t say that and actually Seren, I would like to meet them. I’ve met most of them before, some are pals but they have a couple of new players who I’d like to be acquainted with, even if its just for the sake of duty”

  Calix can be my perfect date, a romantic hero but whatever time it is, he really does seem dedicated to his royal duties. His father’s probably drummed it in. We walk into their changing room and the boys are all kitted out in black shorts with black sport shirts. Each shirt is emblazoned with a silver ‘EB’. They look so fierce and determined, a team ready to win.

  “Hey Prince Calix, great to see you again” the most striking (in terms of looks and charisma) team member steps forward and greets Calix with a special handshake. They must know each other better than I thought.

  “Seren, this is Frederic Forefront” Calix introduces me to the one man that could rival him in looks, although I get the feeling Frederic Forefront is more arrogant and rebellious than Calix, so not my type anyway.

  “Pleasure to meet you” he says gazing me fixedly in the eye. This is not a man to be messed with.

  “Our team are just getting prepared for the game. Its very much a mental thing. Our physique and stamina are what we work on all year round after all”. He has an interesting speaking voice. It sounds foreign, although his English is perfect, better than that of most English natives. I wonder if he was recruited for being broken. He looks focused and extremely disciplined but I still get the feeling of a dark secret lurking somewhere underneath. It would appear that the whole team are in awe of Freddie. Every word he speaks they listen intently, obeying him as one would an army general or commander in chief.

  “Well, you really go for it tonight, give it all you got. I’m backing you one hundred per cent, but don’t tell the other team” I say.

  “We always give it one hundred per cent Seren. Tonight we ramp it up to one thousand” says Frederic seriously.

  “Great, we look forward to seeing you win, although as a patron of the games I’m meant to be impartial”.

  “Come on Seren, time to face Dad’s secretary” says Calix marching out into the stadium.

  “Enjoy the game” says Frederic.

  “Thanks and you too. Bye” I say, finding Freddie intimidating without Calix by my side.

  “Do you know him well?” I ask Calix as we make our way up to the Royal Box.

  “Yes. We used to be close friends. We’d see each other everyday, but Frederic started travelling a lot with his BlackBall so it was more difficult to stay in touch. He really is a fascinating human being. He’s supremely fit.”

 
; “Did he join the City of the Broken because he was broken?” I ask intrigued.

  “Do you mean was he recruited?”

  “Yes”

  “I didn’t recruit him, because we’re both similar ages. He was actually one of the first people to join, not long after my mother died and Dad sank into a deep depression. Freddie was an abused child who turned to football as his only way of coping. He was really sad and lonely. My dad recruited him and he didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’. Football became Black Ball. This city saved him Seren.”

  “Wow, I guess I always see all this depression and melancholy as a bad thing, but it certainly wasn’t in his case”

  “He’s a great star now. If he’d carried on as he was, his talent never would have been nurtured enough to make it in football. But in BlackBall, he’s number one”

  The chanting from the crowd is immense, and they participate in a Mexican wave of misery.

  All around us is a sea of little black diamonds studding the seats of the stadium. The Royal Box is positioned in the perfect location. We accessed it from stairs that led from the changing rooms, after all I’m sure Calix doesn’t want BlackBall fans heckling him. We open the door to the box, which only has five other people in it, although the secretary isn’t one of them. She cant have arrived yet.

  “Good afternoon Prince Calix. How wonderful it is to see you again” a red head with pillar box red lips lurches forward and smooches Calix on the cheek. I expected this from the mass of BlackBall fans, but the royal box I thought would have a little dignity.

  “And who is this?” she looks at me with disapproval.

  “Anita, this is Ser…” I cough remembering that tonight I’m not Seren.

  “Oh I mean…this is a cheerleader”.

  “A cheerleader?” she changes her expression from disgust to surprise in an instant.

  “Why, my dear Calix, would you want to be seen at the social event of the year with a cheerleader?”

  “Well she’s…um”

  “His date” I blurt out annoyed at this woman’s insolence.

  “Oh I see. Lucky little thing to be seen on the Prince’s arm, that will score you many a future gig I’m sure”