Chapter 3
"It's official!" Tylen shouted to the ceiling, "We are betrothed!"
Ariene threw her hands in the air and squealed.
"I'll go tell Hayden!" Tylen said before he ran out of the playroom, a s.p.a.ce they converted to help the princesses bond. Often times, they sat on the floor reading. Alkas would be buried in books about history while Ariene would pick out storybooks.
The Younger Princess would reenact a few scenes with the toys. Other times, she would drag Tylen and Amelia—sometimes Hayden as well—to play with her.
"Sister!" Ariene called when she noticed Alkas, "How was cla.s.s?"
The Elder Princess crossed her arms, a scowl on her face, "You would know if you had attended."
Ariene pouted. She skipped over to Alkas' side and wrapped her hands around her sister's elbow, "I'm sorry. I'll go with you next time."
Alkas sighed and changed the topic. She patted Ariene's head, saying, "So you're engaged to Tylen?"
Ariene nodded, a big smile on her face, "Yes!"
"Do you know what that means?" Alkas asked further. Marriage was something she learned when she had a lesson about the monarchy. Another cla.s.s Ariene didn't attend.
"We'll be together forever?"
Alkas froze for a moment to think, "Well, that's one way to put it."
Then, Ariene pulled her sister away from the playroom, "Want to eat a cookie? Let's go to the kitchen!"
Alkas's stomach rumbled at the mention of food. She took her arm back, walking next to Ariene. She cleared her throat and straightened her back. Ariene followed her example and walked as if she floated.
They pa.s.sed by the long hallway to reach the center stairs that lead down to the main ballroom. Maids were scattered all around dusting the various vases and paintings that decorated the place.
When they reached the bottom floor, Ariene murmured, "Sister, am I ugly?"
"What?" The Elder Princess turned to Ariene. Her little sister's eyes stayed on the path ahead of them.
"The maids always whisper when I pa.s.s by. They don't think I can hear them but I do."
Alkas heightened her senses. The sensitive hearing she inherited from her mother allowed her to hear subtle sounds a normal human wouldn't pick up.
She could hear some of the maids on the second floor talking to each other. Alkas clenched her fists at their words. How dare they forget their place? She thought. To speak foully of a royal was blasphemous.
While Alkas's head throbbed by their servants misconduct, she checked on her sister. Ariene's impa.s.sive expression didn't change.
They turned a corner and reached the pathway to the kitchen.
"Ariene, don't list—" Alkas began to say but her little sister cut her off. There was a new light in the younger princess' eyes.
"Also, I heard the Duke of Quora wants to sell a part of his land. He has several buyers too. All of them have been trying to outbid each other for over a week."
Now that they were away from prying eyes, the spring in Ariene's steps was back. Not once did she returned Alkas' gaze. Instead, she frowned curiously as if deep in thought.
"If it was me though, I'd rather rent out the property. That way I have steady income that will flow in for years. Land also appreciates over time. As more lands are taken, the land I own becomes higher in value so I can charge higher rent every few years."
Alkas shook her head at Ariene's low attention span. It was a recurring habit that got her in trouble during cla.s.s.
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Just when she was about to reprimand Ariene about eavesdropping, darkness surrounded the castle. The princesses stopped walking. They looked around. All their eyes could see was pitch-black.
"What happened to the lights?" Ariene's small voice echoed into the empty hallway.
Alkas quivered. She stretched her arm to hold her sister's hand, "Ariene, are you okay?"
"I'm okay" the Younger Princess squeezed her sister's hand a.s.suringly.
A few minutes pa.s.sed and no sign of light appeared. Alkas felt Ariene's hand began to shake. A low whimper also came out of her little sister's mouth. She checked their surroundings. No one was near them. Good. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her free hand tingled. She raised it in front of her,
Slowly, a flame grew out like a blooming flower.
Ariene gasped at the sight, eyes wide and mouth open. She moved closer and stared at the fire. It was small and it danced in her sister's hand. It gave them a gentle light inside the gloom.
"Sister, you know magic?" Ariene exclaimed breathily.
"Yes," Alkas replied, "But don't tell anyone. It's a secret. You know we're not supposed to learn yet."
Ariene remembered. The elders agreed to not kindle the powers they inherited until they were 10. Ariene had attempted magic but she had failed every time. To see it first hand astounded her.
"Okay, I won't" Ariene's voice dropped to a whisper. Then, she looked at her older sister's face, "Is that why you have a tattoo on your shoulder?"
Alkas's eyes widened, "How did you know?"
Ariene responded with a giggle, "It was only a guess."
The Elder Princess was dumbfounded. Only she and her mother knew about the tattoo. Her ladies in waiting had seen it but they never asked. Alkas wondered when Ariene noticed the mark.
Alkas squinted her eyes at her little sister. Ariene answered her stare with big innocent eyes. Her lips were pressed together as if hiding a secret.
"Do you want to try?" Alkas asked.
"Yes, please!"
===
Outside the palace, Tylen found Hayden in the stables. His best friend held a bundle of carrots and fed it to a white horse.
"Hayden!"
At the sound of the Crown Prince, Hayden jumped and dropped the carrots. The horse whined at the empty arms of the boy in front of him.
Hayden huffed and picked up a carrot. Then, he tossed it in the horse's direction. It was gone in one bite.
"Hayden!" Tylen yelled again as he came closer. When he reached Hayden's side, he grabbed his best friend's shoulders and shook him forcefully.
"I'm engaged!"
Hayden became dizzy from his Prince's actions that he pried off Tylen's hands.
"Calm down!" He scolded Tylen.
"I can't! I'm too happy!" His Prince merely laughed, bouncing in place.
Hayden sighed. When he was about to scold Tylen again, the electricity went out. The moon and the stars became their only source of light.
"Gah!" Tylen screamed and tackled Hayden. The boys tumbled to the floor filled with hay. Hayden laid on the ground and spat out the strands of hay that entered his mouth.
Tylen was on top of him. To save himself from an awkward situation, Hayden pushed Tylen to the side and sat up. He stretched his arms then, rubbed his right shoulder.
"Tylen, are you okay?" He asked.
"I smell like manure" Tylen grumbled as he sat up too. The Prince wiped off the hay on his clothes.
"Great. You're one step closer to your natural habitat."
"Why you—"
When Tylen lunged at Hayden who laughed at his own joke, a servant's voice rang over the palace grounds.
"FIRE!" She yelled, "Fire! Inside the castle!"
Collective shouts echoed as the west wing of the castle ablazed. It spread quickly to the center. Various people came out and crowded the courtyard. Servants and soldiers ran around to find water but it did little to put it out. It was too big.
The boys stood up and watched the fire engulf the walls and windows of the palace. The roof began to collapse. An asphalt s.h.i.+ngle fell onto the gra.s.s patch. People immediately showered it in water.
The nerves in Tylen's body froze. He stepped forward. The flames flickered in great heights. The smoke seemed to blend into the night sky with the clouds. He had never seen anything like it.
Then, something clicked in his mind.
He shot off the stables and to the nearest opening of the palace.
"ARIENE!" He shouted, his throat hoa.r.s.e from the volume he used.
"Tylen!" Hayden called after him, hot on his heels.
The boys went inside a doorway that had its door destroyed. The inside looked worse. Broken vases covered the floor. The pieces pierced their shoes. Light bulbs exploded from the intense heat. Beams from above had fallen to the ground and blocked the paths.
Hayden lost Tylen easily.
The Crown Prince felt the overwhelming heat hit his skin. There was fire everywhere. The intensity blurred his vision but he pushed through. He jumped over broken wood and ceramic. He crawled under openings.
"Ariene!" Tylen screamed once more.
"Tylen!"
He stopped running and turned towards her voice. He was at the main ballroom, the big chandelier on top cracking as its binds burned away. Tylen headed to the kitchen just before the chandelier crashed behind him, gla.s.s spreading out on the marble floor.
The pathway was empty except for paintings and lamps that had collapsed off the walls. Tylen hissed as his feet stepped over them, the soles of his shoes torn from the various fragments.
The end of hallway had two corners, one led to the left, the other on the right. He found Ariene in the center of it, facing the right corridor.
Tylen pumped his legs faster.
A beam fell off the ceiling and landed between him and Ariene. As soon as he reached the barrier, his little hands tried to lift it up but they stung at the contact. He landed on his bottom, arms raised and blisters sprouted on his palms.
A flower vase fell down from a table, spilling water onto the floor. When Tylen tried to stand up, he slipped, landing on his hands and knees. He cried out and squeezed his eyes closed, suppressing the pain.
His breath labored. Air barely filled his lungs. He choked on smoke. He forced his tear stained eyes open.
Ariene was only a few feet away from him but he couldn't get to her. He tried to shout but no sound came out. He watched as his fiance took a step back. Red blazing fire behind her in the left corridor. She was speaking but Tylen couldn't hear it.
The next second pa.s.sed by slowly in his eyes.
A pair of hands came out of the right corridor and touched Ariene's upper body, pus.h.i.+ng her. His fiance closed her eyes as she flew backwards into the awaiting fire.
Tylen's heart stopped. He screamed the last of his breath. More tears welled up in his eyes as his small world crumbled around him. The need to run to Ariene and save her pushed him to try and stand again. His left knee hit the floor, bruising it further.
His eyes found the last spot he saw Ariene. Tears continued to flow down his cheeks. He couldn't look away, hoping she'd magically appear unharmed.
But she was gone.
A hollow hole burned in place of his heart.
Tylen forgot the fire around him. The pain in his hands and knees were numb compared to the one in his chest.
His eyes closed as he tried to breath. When he opened them again, someone else stood in Ariene's place.
Alkas stared at the left corridor with an emotionless expression. Her blank eyes were the last thing Tylen saw before his vision blacked out.