The City of the Broken (Prince of the Broken) (17 page)

“
So how are you going to organize it this week, if you cant advertise? I ask.

“
Well all the group members from last week know the time and place to attend ,but since they wrote their details down I’ll contact all of them to reassure them that its okay for them to come” he says kindly.

“
Surely though, a Pro-Despair citizen at the meeting will report them to the King? They are enemies after all” I say, concerned that this meeting will result in a siege.

“
That’s a possibility. I’ll ask the Pro-Happiness group to dress casually and not to wear bright colours, for their own safety, not because I have any allegiance to the Pro-Despair group. Hopefully they’ll believe my motives to be sincere” he says altruistically.

My Calix, noble by blood, noble in
heart.

Chapter Fourteen.

The Black Hospital

I dress neutral to attend the secret City Reunited meeting, while last time I leant far more toward Pro-Despair, the oppression of The Smiley
’s makes me want to champion the underdog, but since its now illegal to dress colourfully, I opt for causal-white t-shirt and black skirt. I spot Calix at the entrance of the community centre, it seems he had similar ideas to me in terms of dress. He’s wearing black jeans and a light blue shirt, much different from his usual all-black outfits. I assume he’s done it to help make The Smiley’s feel more relaxed.

“
How’s the turn out Calix?” I ask, aware that as I’m late, the majority of the group should already be here.

“
Bad. Three Smiley’s who are leaders of the Pro-Happiness movement are not here, although I’ve been informed that two of them have been arrested. Anita is also absent and there is a lot of hostility between the two groups” he says, looking worried.

“
What, more than last time?” I ask, not believing that this group could get any more hostile.

“
Yes, last time was tame compared to the furore that just occurred in there. And don’t forget this is meant to be a
secret
meeting. I was hoping for quiet and stealthy, not a brawl that could be heard a mile off” he says ,sweat running down his brow.

“
Oh Calix, don’t fret. We all knew this meeting was going to be a little chaotic. Why isn’t Anita here?” I ask, wondering if the less than stylish venue was too much for her to endure more than once.

“
No idea. I did ask Frederick but he remained silent and looked like he didn’t want to talk about her .” he says.

“
Perhaps they’ve split up?” I suggest.

“
Maybe. Lets go inside, we’re missing all the action out here” he says, grabbing my hand.

As we w
alk in, I’m aware there is an atmosphere of hatred. The Smiley’s that are here look extremely anxious, as though they feel they are putting themselves in immense danger. Frederick looks on guard, as if he’s hiding a dark secret that he doesn’t want anyone to know.

We take our seats. Frank Speakman looks flustered and horrified ,as if amazed by the arguments that happened before I arrived.

“Right, we all know its been a little hectic in here to day. But if you can all calm down, we can try and get back to sensibly discussing the issues at hand.” says Frank, trying to establish order.

One group member, who I think is a Smiley dressed in the guise of an ordinary citizen, speaks up.

“Why is this group necessary anymore? The divide that was here last week exists no more. The King is yet again forcing us to be broken, making colour and joy illegal. Since he has criminalized the Pro-Happiness movement and all we stand for, I really don’t see the point in you holding future meetings” she says in a calm but dejected voice.

“
That is an excellent point. Prince Calix, do you think there is any point in holding the meeting anymore?” asks Frank.

“
While I acknowledge that Dad has changed laws to criminalize the Smiley’s, he cannot change peoples beliefs .I think that the argument that erupted today is evidence of that. There is continuing resentment and the whole point of this group is to reunite the city, to get us to work together and value each other as fellow citizens. It isn’t about changing people views. Therefore I still think its necessary, perhaps even more so than last week” says Calix charismatically.

“
I’d like to speak in support of the city” says Frederick, his eyes intense and mysterious.

“
Go ahead, please” says Frank, looking a little awe-struck, as though he greatly admires Frederick. 

“
This is a wonderful city. It’s a city that has its own values, its own culture. A city with an individuality that sets it apart from the rest. This city changed and perhaps saved my life. I represent it and it represents me .Who would want to change it? If you want happiness and colour, go to another city where you can legitimately embrace this without interference. Leave the city as it is, the way it was meant to be. That’s all I have to say on the matter” he says, returning to his sullen yet enigmatic silence.

A number of group members clap, cheer and whistle in agreement with what Frederick has just said. I think that I also agree with him. Yes the King can be harsh, but what makes this city remarkable is its uniqueness. The
Smiley’s want to make it the same as everywhere else and in some ways that would be a shame.

“
Everyone has this idea that we want to drastically change this city. We don’t, we just want to promote the freedom and
choice
to be happy and wear colour if you
choose
. At the moment people are forced, now by law, to be gloomy and miserable all the time. I think that’s wrong. I think that’s dictatorship” says The Smiley forcefully, reaffirming her point.

“
Okay, well both points are relevant and thank you both for speaking up so that the group can see two sides to the argument. You there, young lady, we’ve never heard from you before. Would you like to add something?” asks Frank, motioning to me.

Suddenly everyone’s eyes are on me and I glance towards Calix, not sure if I should speak as I’m not a citizen. Calix whispers ‘go on’, encouraging me to say something.

“
I’m very fond of this city. Yes its eerie and dark but that’s what makes it special. I can see why The Smiley’s feel frustrated. The King is nuts, but I think that it’s the
King
who’s the problem, not the city.” I say shakily.

Calix smiles and says
‘good job’, although I’m aware that he looks a combination of amused, embarrassed and shocked at my public King-bashing speech.

“
Thank you for that” says Frank animatedly.

“
Well. Everyone’s had their say. There are so few of us here today that I’ll think we’ll wrap it up a little earlier than planned. Here again, same time next week then I suppose. Thank you all for coming” says Frank.

“
I’d just like to add that this meeting is now strictly confidential .If the King finds out about this group, he’ll have the meetings stopped. So I’ll ask everyone to keep your attendance here secret and be wary of telling anyone about this group. Please understand that this step is necessary for the safety and well being of all group members. We can only achieve positive steps if we can keep these group  meetings going for a consistent period. Thank you all again” says Calix.

As we leave the meeting, Calix walks alongside Frederick.
“How’s Anita Freddie, will she be here next week?” asks Calix in an almost concerned tone. I’m baffled why he seems so worried.

Frederick remains silent and looks away.

“Frederick! It’s the ballet, isn’t it?” asks Calix ,more demanding and less friendly this time.

“
Yes Calix. If you really want to know, it finally happened. The way we always knew it would” Frederick finally snaps. I have no idea what they mean.

“
What’s happened to Anita?” I ask, now worried myself, but they both ignore me.

“
They took her then?” he asks.

“
Yes.” says Frederick, blocking all his emotion. He becomes cold and robotic. His eyes hiding a sadness ,a dark memory that fascinates me, just as much as Anita’s disappearance.

“
When Frederick? When did they take her?” asks Calix, frantically.

“
Last night. She was there at the ballet, as usual. Every single performance. Then sometime during the interval she began crying and screaming manically. The Theatre staff led her out as she was disturbing the other audience members. But she didn’t stop. The crying, the screaming continued. She kept saying ‘My broken dream, my broken purpose’ over and over again, so I’ve been told. So the Theatre staff, not knowing what to do and being unable to contact me as I was training and had switched my phone off, called The Black Hospital. They came to collect her in an ambulance and that’s where she is now” he says, looking almost ashamed.

“
Oh poor Anita” I say feeling sad for her.

“
I hate to say it, but if I’m honest it’s a relief. She was like an addict. We had no relationship. Her only love was that ballet. We barely saw each other and when we did, she’d only ever talk about the performances” he says sadly.

“
Why didn’t you leave her?” asks Calix.

“
I wanted to. I had to stop myself everyday from calling her to say this wasn’t working. But I felt sympathetic towards her. She’s a shattered human, as am I myself, but I channel it into a better form than she does. I needed to protect her, from something like this happening. I guess it wasn’t enough. If I didn’t have Black Ball, I would end up the same as her” he says.

“
I’m sorry Freddie, really I am. I knew something was wrong when Anita didn’t come. Unless she was at the ballet, I could think of no other reason for her to miss the meeting. I always feared this would happen to her. I saw her eyes at the ballet. I could see she had become a zombie, a shadow” says Calix, sadly.

“
We all knew it would happen one day. The only person who didn’t was probably Anita herself. She believes herself to be a Prima-Ballerina, not a woman having a nervous breakdown because she was never the girl she thought shed be” says Frederick.

“
Do you think that they can help her?” I ask, trying to see the situation from a positive angle.

“
No. Its kind of a taboo to ever talk about that place, but unofficially everyone in this city knows that the hospital is where people go to die-metaphorically, if not literally. Its for those with no hope. Those who are too broken to even be broken citizens. It’s a prison, not a hospital” he says strongly.

“
Frederick we must help her. What you say about that place is true and we cant leave her there. Anita is troubled, I wont deny it, but being in a place surrounded by people who are much worse than she is isn’t going to help her” says Calix.

“
But what can we do? They’ll never let her out. They don’t let
anyone
out” says Frederick.

“
We’ll have to break her out. She needs us, or she’ll be stuck there forever” says Calix, sounding worried.

Frederick, Calix and I get into the back of the Rolls-Royce and Alfred is instructed to drive us to the Black Hospital. He doesn’t question this command, but answers simply “Very well, Your Majesty”.

The Black Hospital is situated at the top of a hill. As we drive nearer, the surroundings
become more sinister. Crows line the roads and high walls block every escape route. The gate to the hospital is locked and a sign reads ‘No Entry or Exit’. It feels more like a high security prison than a hospital.

“
How are we supposed to get in Calix?” I ask.

Calix, for once, looks clueless.

“How do the visitors get in?” asks Calix, baffled.

“
There are no visitors. I phoned this morning. They wont let me see her” says Frederick hopelessly.

As we all stare helplessly at the lock on the gate, Alfred steps out o
f the car.

“
Are you troubled by the lock Your Majesty?” asks Alfred.

“
Yes. We cant get in Alfred” Calix says.

“
I hope you don’t think that I’m interfering in your affairs Your Highness, but I can quite easily pick that lock if I had a small pin” says Alfred modestly.

“
Really Alfred? That would be amazing. Where can I find a pin? We’ll have to go back to the palace to get one” says Calix irritated.

“
I have a hair grip” I say, removing a light brown hair pin which was camouflaged in my hair.

“
Brilliant Seren. Will this do Alfred?” asks Calix, handing it to Alfred.

“
I think this might just do…the trick” he says as the open lock falls to the ground.

“
Alfred, you are a genius! Where did you learn to do that?” asks Calix, impressed by Alfred’s hidden devious side.

“
The King likes to make sure I’m prepared for all possible circumstances Your Majesty” says Alfred professionally and humbly.

I smile and we walk through the gate. Alfred remains behind with the car, although I think it would be useful to ha
ve him with us.

“
Okay, be very quiet everyone .Remember we are not supposed to be here” whispers Calix.

The moon shines brightly, illuminating everything and usually it makes me feel safe, but not here. The very building is traumatic to look at, as though
it holds the memory of every patient past and present ,their desperation to escape entrenched in its walls.

As we get closer ,I realize there are bars on every window. I hear distant cries of
‘Help, help me’ and someone frantically rattling the bars. ‘Let me out’.