imagined fiction in my head. welcome to my fiction writing blog.

Adri knelt on the white marble floor. The polished surface reflected her tanned, youthful, slender form. She was dressed in a fine, long, black silk gown, soft, black leather slippers, and delicate jewelry ornamented with black obsidian. Her hair, streaked with grey hung loosely at the nape of her neck, head bowed and dark brown eyes directed on the ground immediately in front of her.

Supple brown leather boots with intricate gold details stepped into her view and a hand ringed with gold and amber lifted her chin. The touch was surprisingly light and the hand was large but smooth and untarnished.

Adri’s dark brown eyes met the Prince’s cold, grey-flecked black staring directly into hers. Decked in his formal attire in browns and golds complimenting his fair skin and dressed brown hair, he was both a beautiful and imposing figure. He had to bend down a little in order to look closer at Adri’s eyes and he frowned slightly at what he saw. When he lowered his hand, the only warning Adri was given was a slight frown before her vision ceased for a fraction of a second and her head went spinning. When her consciousness returned, she found herself lying on her side a few steps from where she originally was. She lifted a hand to the side of her face and found wet warmth oozing out of the numbness the Prince’s backhand had created.

“The Succession approaches,” he said, looking down at Adri as he wiped his hand on a silk handkerchief one of his servants produced. “The first one in decades to have more than one Companion attending and this is what I’m given!” For a bare second, Adri witnessed the smoldering hate behind his eyes before the Prince turned his back on her. “I will not tolerate any sign of weakness.” He waved her away as he began walking towards the terrace. His two other Companions only spared Adri uninterested glances with their darkening eyes before they followed, black, silken gowns embracing their fair forms and greying hair flowing behind them. The Prince’s knights in their wake with their shining, polished gold-plated armor.

Adri could hear the loud cheers of multitudes in the Castle’s expansive square, opened to the public on the joyous and momentous occasion of their Prince’s presentation of his Companions. It was the beginning of a new era and the Prince’s rejection of her did not allow for her to witness it.

She was abruptly brought upright by some burly Castle guards and her vision once again went dark for a moment. When the stars finally cleared from her eyes, only then did she notice she was not being taken to her chambers.

The guards opened large, ornate double doors and deposited her unceremoniously onto plush, cream colored carpet. The deep gashes on her face dripped slowly, staining and seeping into the threads. Adri looked up to find herself in the sitting room of the King’s chambers. Bright light poured into the room from its large windows overlooking west towards the docks and the waterfront. It was a magnificent view – blue water sparkling like diamonds surrounded by the emerald of forest evergreens on two sides while colorful ships dotted another on the docks. Adri would have been amazed any other day, but today she hardly noticed even the beautiful dark-stained, hand-carved furniture, exquisite paintings hanging on the walls, and the gold plated details that touched everything in the room that were more immediately in front of her. Not today. She could not appreciate her surroundings today. She looked down and in front of her, clenched her fists into the carpet. Her jaw clenched unconsciously at the same time and the pain she felt meant that feeling had started to come back to her face. She struggled for control as her body also began to shake. There were more pressing matters at hand and yet she had no idea what to do about them.

Behind her, the large doors opened and closed quietly and a stooping old lady hovered into Adri’s view.

“Oh, my, my,” the elderly woman clucked at the blood she found journeying towards and creating small pools on the floor. “This will not do. Definitely won’t do.” She shook her head. “Now child, in my age my body no longer allows me to do all the things I wish to do. It would do the both of us good if you let me inspect your face.”

Adri looked up at her visitor and the blood diverted down her neck and chest. She recognized the old woman named Oddette who had served the royal family so energetically even for so many decades. People wondered if she could live on forever.

The old, stooping woman took Adri’s chin in her hand and tilted it until she had a good view of the damage. Her hazel eyes, framed by numerous wrinkles, were still sharp and missed nothing. “Well, with care, it will heal fine. The swelling will be gone in a few days,” she deduced, “but I cannot promise it won’t leave scars.” She frowned. “Now, if you just heard the Calling, it would have stopped bleeding by now and by tomorrow there would be no trace of it.”

Oddette rummaged through the hidden secrets of her apron and brought out a small pouch. When she opened it, a rotten stench like molded cheese wrinkled Adri’s nose and woke her up a bit out of her brooding.

“This won’t do much for the scarring and it will sting quite a bit, but it will help clot the bleeding.” A humorous twinkle shone in her hazel eyes as she said, “maybe then, My Lord’s rug would still have a chance to be saved.” She took a scoop of green, odorous paste with her finger and smeared it on Adri’s wounds, eliciting a sharp yelp and then gritted teeth from the girl. “There,” she said, surveying her work after she finished. “It will dry and crust over. Do not try to remove it. It should come off on its own. It may sting some more from time to time, but it will help keep infections at bay.”

Adri stopped her hand before she unconsciously touched the putrid concoction and looked up at the old servant with tired, resigned eyes. “Does it matter? The Prince has declared me Traitor. I will be executed at his convenience if I do not perform the deed myself.”

Oddette looked at the girl sympathetically. “You don’t have to accept that fate, you know.”

The younger brought her hand limply to her side and sorrow shone on her face. “The others may be able to do so, but I cannot abide by the Prince’s cruelty. I cannot lie for my heart. My eyes betray me. They have begun to grey to show my choice and my fate. It is death now or waste away first and still die only little later.”

The old lady smiled sympathetically and whispered confidingly, “But what if you find a different master to serve?”

Adri felt her insides lurch at the though. “I have no use for false hopes Ms. Oddette.” Would that there be even the slightest possibility.

“But I do not speak of falsehoods,” her eyes smiled kindly along with her lips this time. “You were not meant for the Prince Keston.”

“What do you speak of,” Adri frowned.

“Hope,” she said simply. “And before we are to lose it, you must be on your way.”