The City of the Broken (Prince of the Broken) Read Online Free

citizens. I smile at the thought. He’s dressed head to toe in black and he looks smouldering hot. His eyes illuminate when he sees me. He says a final word to his peer and then walks over to join me.
    “ Hi, who was that?” I ask
    “ That’s Jason, he’s a boy in my class” he says.
    “ Were you scouting?” I ask
    “ Ha! Yeah, you got me” he confesses.
    “ My Father has given me a task of getting at least 15 new members. It sounds easier than it actually is. People don’t like you telling them that you think they’re depressed” he says sounding stressed out by this responsibility imposed on him.
    “ Do you still want me to be a citizen? I mean, don’t you think I’m too cheerful now we are dating?” I ask. And as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I feel I have said the wrong thing. He looks at me seriously.
    “ You think I make you happy?” he asks horrified.
    “ Well, yeah. Don’t I make you happy?” I ask feeling unsettled by his negative reaction.
    “ Seren, you don’t understand. You can only be a member of the city if you are unhappy, you can only be my girlfriend if you are broken”.
    “ How could I possibly be unhappy when I’m with you?” I ask frantically.
    He looks at me like an idea has struck him.
    “You are Prince of the Broken, so are you unhappy? Is your Father unhappy?”
    “ Of course, of course we are” he holds his head up with an arrogant defiance as if he has proclaimed a statement he is proud of. A badge of honour.
    “ This is so challenging. I’ve always been unhappy, people would tell me to cheer up. Now when for the first time I actually feel happy, I need to be broken.” I say feeling confused.
    “ Seren, its difficult I know. Come to the city today, it’ll help.” He says.

Chapter Three.
    The King
     
     
     
     
    He r broken heart is making her seriously ill. I see her weeping as the drivers rush her into the black ambulance. The sirens traumatizing alarm echoes into the distance and leaves a chilling atmosphere as the ambulance roars away to The Black Hospital. Its towering chimneys smoke continuously and crows circle around it.
    “ Can you die of a broken heart?” I ask
    “ It’s the third most common cause of death here”, a bystander tells me.
    I saw that woman ’s face, she looked broken. Everyone here looks unhappy, it’s the norm, but I maintain that she was the worst case.
    The crowd that gathered to witness the ambulance showdown has scattered and there is a song being sung in the local pub ‘The Broken Horse’. Its not one of merry-making. Its a painful, longing moan.
    I walk further on, keen to forget what I have just seen .A woman  is standing outside the hat store. She wears a purple coat and a flamboyant hat with a bow. She is doing a survey on hats. She approaches me and I try and escape. However she’s persistent, so I oblige, regretting it as soon as I contractually say ‘ok’. I’m about to divulge my hat habits to her when I’m distracted by the sudden noise.
    There is an explosion in the city centre. I hear people screaming and frantic whispers of “what was that?” Then I realize that the explosion was fireworks. Its difficult to see them in the midday sun but they are there.
    A big group of cheerleaders gather to the steps of The National Museum of the Broken. They are dressed in bright yellow with pompoms .They start chanting their cheer ,as they move in synchronized step with each other .
    “ Broken no more.
    Happy happy happy again,
    Injecting smiles into the city whoop!” They sing and jump frantically, with white toothy smiles.
    “ It’s a protest song by The Smiley’s, a group dedicated to a revolution of happiness in the city.” says a grumpy looking man who doesn’t seem to approve of their goal. I gape at him in shock .
    “ The king is adamant that they won’t succeed in their mission, seeing it as a threat to his crown and the whole city” he continues
    “ But is it really a bad thing to want