I smiled and took his hands in mine. "I'd absolutely love that, can I count on you?"
He rubs my hands gently with his and nods, he seems like such a sweet old man. "I'll be back princess, I must get the step ladder." He let go of my hands.
"Do you not have any help?" I asked as he was about to carry on with his duties.
"Oh no miss, you see my wife couldn't bear us children so it's just her and I, but she is not doing well you see she's sick so it's up to me," he says as his smile fades.
"This is unacceptable, I must get you some help." My heart hurt at his words of a man with such a kind heart to care for his wife so deeply.
"That's not necessary, I promise princess I can do this," he pleads as if I were to replace him.
"Don't mistake me, I'm not replacing you, I'm getting you some help, someone you can train, it must be lonely for her all by your lonesome." He looked at me with a small huff, and nodded.
"I have worked here for a few generations, and not once have I been offered to be assisted by royalty, I am forever grateful." His eyes welled up with tears as he wiped them away with stubby fingers.
"We will be on a search, even volunteers would be enough. Alot of townsfolk would do almost anything to work in the castle." I boasted excitedly.
"Maybe your previous Castle miss, but our reputation here isn't all that great. King Geoffrey made sure of that." The man had a glint of pure hatred for barely a moment.
"King Geoffrey, and Queen Kora will no longer be in charge starting tomorrow, instead it will be Prince Senya and I in their place. I can't promise I can fix everything but what I can promise is that I'll try." I explained trying to ease his mind.
"Thank you princess, I'd never ask for anything more," he gave me a small smile looking from the stoned walkway to me.
"What's your name sir?" I asked, trying to put names to faces so I remember later.
"My name is Articus, but you may calle Artie if you'd like, milady." Artie answered.
"Well Artie, it was very nice to meet you and I will see what I can do in such a limited amount of time, okay?" He looked so proud to be called his nickname I couldn't help but smile as I patted him on his shoulder.
"It was my pleasure, Princess Celeste, and please don't hesitate to visit again, you are welcome here any time." That's when I saw him genuinely smile for the first time.
"Artemis, you aren't bothering the princess are you?" A man's voice boomed from behind the fountain.
Artie began to cower away like an animal in trouble, shaking his head and backing away from me.
"He is doing no such thing, and his name is Articus, not Artimis." I corrected the unfamiliar voice.
"Is that so?" He came into view, as I should have known it was the king.
He looked as if he waited for me to cower from his intense gaze like the rest of his subjects, but I am not one to cower, nor am I one of his subjects.
His face twisted into disgust as I didn't do what he was waiting for, his crown leaving indent marks on his forehead.
"Do you not realize who you're talking to?" He says beginning to get red in the face.
"The crown squishing that brain of yours definitely doesn't give you away sire." I know I'm using unnecessary sarcasm but stupid questions deserve stupid answers.
"I am king Geof- wait a minute, how dare you mock me?" He asks unbelievably.
"You make it quite easy to do so your majesty, but don't get too excited you might pop a blood vessel in that big head of yours." I replied carelessly. "Now if you don't mind I have a wedding to plan and right now it's obvious you rather see suffering than actually help so please see yourself out sir."
He stood there flabbergasted as if no one had stood up to him before, he just stood there frustrated and trying to find words to say. "Is there anything else, King Geoffrey?"
He shook his head and spun then walked out the door with nothing else to say.
"My thirty years working here I have never seen him so speechless, you're certainly something else, milady. I am definitely curious to see the way you rule our country." Articus laughed.
"As am I, my friend, I have a feeling there are a lot of changes needed here." I say half jokingly.
I know I will be talked to about this later tonight but it's not like I was lying.
"If the king does anything before I am ruler just know I will do everything I can to help you and your wife." I smiled as I turned to leave with Asiya following behind me.
"Thank you again, I'll keep you informed." Articus called after me.
We made our way going back to walking throughout the halls, and I noticed there were children playing with dolls while their mother was cleaning the room.
The woman is wearing her black and white maid uniform, with her thinning hair in a tight neat ponytail.
It reminded me of my days as a child when Isla had to bring Aris, and we would play together as she worked. I smiled at the memory and walked over to the young girls.
They were dressed in purple and blue frilled dresses; the youngest had pigtails and bows holding them in place, the other a ponytail with a large purple bow to match her dress.
"Hello there," I smile as they turn their heads to see who I was.
They gasped and stood up dropping their dolls on the cool tile. "It's the princess!" The older one loudly whispered to the other.
That's when they quickly attempted to curtsey.
I smiled at their attempt and did it back.
"What are your names children," I ask gently, a smile still stretched onto my face.
"Avari." The younger one nervously introduced fidgeting.
"My name is Ivory." The oldest announced confidentiality pointing her thumb toward herself.
"Ivory and Avari, what have I told you about bothering the royalty?" The maid scolded with a duster in her hand and both hands on her hips.
Avari became even more quiet then she did before and Ivory pouted and crossed her arms frustrated.
"Oh they aren't bothering me, I actually came over to them, I wanted to introduce myself." Explaining this it began to feel like deja vu.
"My apologies princess, however there is no need for that we are very aware of who you are, milady." She bows her head apologetically.
"No need for such an apology, however I'd like to know your name as well." I tried to lighten the anxiety in the room by smiling.
She began to look around as if she could get in trouble at any moment.
"Y-You want to know my name?" She fidgeted with the duster, mother like daughter I guess.
My smile slowly began to fade and turn into a worried frown, all the workers in the castle seemed so worried and… scared?
"My name is Euri." Her voice is quiet even in the silent hallways.
"It's very nice to meet you Euri, I hope I see you and the girls more. I'll let you get back to what you're doing okay?" I smile again and this time she smiles back when she realizes she isn't in any trouble.
She pats her daughter's head and goes back to dusting the paintings hung on the wall.
"You two, be good girls okay?" I call out to them as we walk away.
I looked back at Asiya who was following quietly. "Why is everyone so timid?"
"Because of the king, Princess, I mean Celeste, sorry." She blushed at the mistake and I stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile.
"There's no reason to be afraid anymore." I let go of her shoulder and we continued to walk.
"The change will take time to get used to, I'm surprised he didn't order for you to be executed." She whispers.
We made our way to the living room, the fireplace was lit and the wood burned and crackled.
It was warm in here, I walked over to the fireplace and placed my hands above the flame.
"Please be careful I wouldn't want you to burn your hands." She called over my shoulder.
Thats when I remembered I was wearing my mothers dress and the tricks she used to play when I was little, she taught to me before she was murdered. 'I wonder if I could still do it,' I thought to myself.
I let the amulet take over again as I felt the flames through my veins and my eyes turn a fluorescent fiery red.
The flames from the fireplace snaked their way up around my wrist, up my arms and around my body.
I spun around as the fire danced on my body as Asiya watched in horror not knowing what to do or say.
I grinned at the intoxicating feeling of of my power swallowing me, but when I noticed her panicked face I put down my arms and let my flames go out.
"You're a magic user," it was a statement.
"Yes, I am." I nodded.
"You're…" There was a long pause. "You're like me!" She yelled in a hush tone, running over and taking my hand excitedly. "I'm a magic user too." She let go and grabbed one of the blocks of wood.
"Watch," she whispers, and I watch her focus for a brief moment then the wood becomes liquid dripping on the floor and it quickly begins to melt the tile.
"Oh no, oh no." She repeats to herself as she thinks of a way to fix her mistake.
She put the now liquified acid into the fire. "Asiya wait it will,-" it's too late the fire becomes higher and it begins to smell like poison.
"We have to get out of here." I began to cough on the poison she created.
"What do I do, I made things worse." She started to pace, not paying attention.
"Asiya let's-." I started coughing again and instead I took her acidic hand holding her wrist, pulling her out of the room and closing the door behind us.
Instead I took her acidic hand holding her wrist, pulling her out of the room and closing the door behind us.
I choked on the smoke wheezing to breath letting go of her hand. "I-I'm so sorry, princess I didn't mean to."
I shook my head as I coughed and sputtered. "It's okay."
Hello Amazing Readers I'd like to thank you for reading this far and if you enjoy it please don't forget to leave a review or maybe a gem. I hope you all have an amazing day.
"What do we do?" She panicked. "It will go out eventually, we can just keep people out of the room for now," I breathed heavily. "Okay but how?" She asked, shaking her head. I walked over to one of the guards. "There has been an accident in the room over there, please don't let anyone in for at least two hours." He nodded without another word and took a stance at the door. I began to hear footsteps coming down the hallway, and I turned to see who it was. "Barinor, hey." He eyed Asiya for a moment and took me by the arm. "Come with me." He says pulling me down the hall. I looked behind us as we left Asiya behind. "I'll be back in a bit." That's when I turned and went with Barinor down another case of stairs. "Where are you taking me, Barinor?" My voice echoed as the walls and stairs were turning into rubble stones in the circular stairway. "We need to talk, it took me all afternoon to find a place, bu
"Did,. Did you just say bring her back, is that even possible?" I looked between the two of them. Barinor frustratingly threw his hands in the air and rubbed his temples. "No, it's not." "Why are you lying to her?" She sounded annoyed with him. He clenched his teeth together and turned to face her. "I don't have that power anymore," he raises his voice. "You don't have the power anymore?" I repeated. It seems to get him more agitated because he begins to pace the unswept floor. kicking up dust as he walked, a tiny window on the other side of the room made the dust look like glitter, sparking in the sunlight. "Okay fine I made a promise to myself that I'd never bring back the dead again, alright is that a good enough reason?" He finishes his rant by putting an irritated hand through his black beard. "You did it once, and it was fine no one got hurt, and you said you loved this woman right, why wouldn
'Last night was a mistake.' I thought to myself as I stared at myself in the mirror in my wedding gown as Asiya and Aris hurried around me, touching my hair pulling the dress down to show no creases on my now sore body from the night before. 'Last night was a mistake.' I kept repeating it over and over in my head, I had only shame and guilt as butterflies began to fill my stomach sickly. 'it wasn't my fault, he looked so, so pitiful, so hurt, fragile yet strong as he took my body as his, it's too late, I am physically his, I belong to him now.' "Princess, we must be on our way or we will be late." Aris says as she picks up the long laced train of the veil that laid lazily on the floor behind me. I said nothing and let them lead me down toward the throne room, I looked nowhere else but the floor ahead, I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with anyone. My brother would be waiting in the throne room, and my father would be ready to g
"Queen Celeste," he whispers, and I looked up at him, I knew my makeup was running. "None of this is your fault." He continued. "Barinor, did you find her?" He sounded anxious, scared even. "Yeah, she's right here, safe." He slowly let go, my tears black streaks down my cheeks, they just won't stop. I was shaking, all I could feel was fear and anger. "What are you doing here, Senya?" My voice portrayed my emotions. He shouldn't be here, he should be in the throne room making a plan to find that man's family. "I got worried about you," he was sincere behind his words but that made me even more angry. "Don't be, I'm fine." I growled. "With all due respect, milady, but I really don't think you're fine at all." Barinor defended him, and he was right. I'm not okay but I'm the last person that he should be worried about right now. "I'm, I'm fine." My voice broke. Senya stepped forwar
I opened the large iron door squealing against the rubbled floor, I hated that sound. Asiya helped me open the door all the way and ran in before it shut loudly behind us. "Queen Celeste, is that you?" He called out from somewhere in the room. "Yes I'm here." I called back, walking around the room trying to find him. "Where are you?" "I'm in the other room." He hollered out again, he sounded muffled. Asiya walked over toward a large cloth, she pulled it back revealing another room. She held it open and I curiously walked through. "Any more secrets I need to know about this place?" "Probably, the castle was here before the Alastaine's showed up." He said as we walked to where Barinor and a knight were sitting. Barinor had a sewing needle tightly held between his lips as he rubs alcohol onto a deep cut in the Knight's abdomen. "What happened?" I asked, pulling out another stool. "The king and I were practicing spa
I threw his hands away from me and began to walk away, how dare he act that way. How dare he force those words from my lips when he already knows the truth? He ran to catch up to me. "Where are you going?" I spun wildly to face him, my cheeks red with anger. "Away from you." I snapped as I turned to leave again. It all happened in a blur and he quickly grabbed my wrist. "Stop." I tried to get out of his grip but he tightened it. "Celeste stay with me?" I didn't respond. I struggled trying to get out of his hold. "Please?" it felt as if I were to pull away anymore my wrist would surely break. "Senya, let me go, you're hurting me." I whimpered, attempting to pull away again. "Then stay." That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. "Fine." I groaned letting my arm go limp. He gave me a look that suggests he doesn't believe me, but slowly let go anyway. I rubbed my poor sore wrist, it was all red from how tight he was
"Go get a cart ready, I'm going to change into something I can move more easily in." I ordered Asiya, making our way out the door. I remembered watching my brother spar in the courtyard under my window, listening to the clanging of metal when each sword clashed against one another in only their Long Johns and sweaters in the fall, I never understood sparring; it seemed so unnecessary, fighting for nothing but domination of your opponent. Nothing more, nothing less. "Yes, Milady." Asiya bowed and smirked as for the first time since yesterday she called me by my title, it felt foreign on her lips, making me smirk sheepishly back. I was no longer only Hierarchy, but her friend if you could call us that, does this make us friends? She scattered along and made way to get ready for departure, as I seem to need help picking out something to fight in. Aris suddenly caught my eye and I waved her over. "Aris." "Yes, Milady?" She ask
Finlin made sure the horses were at a full stop before getting out of the seat behind them, they snuffed their nostrils in protest as poor mister Finlin waddled over to our carriage doors and opened them with a slight bow, holding out a hand to help us out. One by one we exited the carriage, I looked around for a moment to take in my surroundings. I haven't been around, nor in mystic forest much, I just never had the need nor want to leave the castle. "Your highness, I shall wait here for your return if that's alright, I'm not one for exploring." He laughed halfheartedly gesturing to his leg, but to my surprise it was not a leg, well not a flesh and bone kind, instead it was a wooden peg in its place. 'makes Sense why he had been waddling like this.' I thought to myself. I saw enough injuries from fights and war to not be bothered, he must've been a knight to get such an injury, either that or he was once a pirate. I laughed at t