Chapter 2

I was half awake by the time we arrived at the palace. It was a two days trip, and I hadn't slept a wink for the last three days. "My Lady, welcome to Kristina Palace." Benjamin says softly, half asleep also. I perk up and rub my eyes, trying to get at least an ounce of liveliness from the act.

I look out the window to see a white and gold palace, the castle looked like it was at one point gorgeous, but over time vines had grown up the sides of the stone walls, the nature looking beautiful somehow. The front gravel round-a-bout lead up to a grand marble stair entrance, the doors to the castle huge and tall, dark oak wood with black iron designs winding up to the very top, it was beautiful, even in the darkness of night. "What time is it Advisor?" I ask, wondering why it was night already.

"12 pm. My Lady."

"Then why is the day, night?"

"The sorceress cursed us to be in darkness until the curse is broken." The advisor says tiredly. I nod, picking up my luggage and stepping out of the vehicle, greeting the guards and staff stationed to greet me. "May I take your luggage to your chambers My Lady?" A maid who stepped forward asked.

"Please, thank you so much." I thank the blonde haired blue eyed maid. She looks at me with wide eyes, but covers it with a smile. I keep getting those looks, but I have no idea what the expressions mean. The widening of the eyes and the puzzled expression.

"Miss Valakia, please follow me to your chambers." Benjamin says, holding his hand out, inviting me inside the castle.

The foyer was gorgeous, tall white marble columns that, huge glass windows, two grand marble staircases that lead up to the second level, on the right of the staircase a huge entrance to what I'm assuming is a ballroom, I couldn't be sure because it was closed off. To the left an open area that had huge glass walls. And somehow, the inside of the castle was extremely bright, filled with orange fire-light. My jaw unhinged itself from the rest of my face. Just the foyer alone in this huge castle was the most expensive room I've ever been in.

The ceiling was painted in gold and pink clouds, little angel babies laying on the clouds, golden halos painted around their heads. "Miss Valakia." Benjamin says, bringing me back to the present.

"I apologize, just, it's beautiful." I tell him. "Do you know who the artist is?" I ask, pointing to the ceiling.

"This castle has been in the royal family's possession for centuries, we suspect that King Richard had this painted nearly 300 years ago. The artist is unknown." A man that had brown greying hair and wearing a black silk tuxedo had sauntered up behind Benjamin and stated, looking up at the ceiling also. "Do you paint My Lady?" He asks, smiling, making small talk.

"I used to." I tell him, smiling at the memories. "I don't anymore, and I also could never reach that level of talent." I joke. The man smiles.

"Would you like painting supplies brought to your chamber?" The Advisor asks.

I stare at him for a second, unsure if he was being sarcastic or not. "Yes please." I state, but it sounded more like I had asked a question. "My Lady, we are here to serve you now, picture yourself as royalty now." The butler-y person states.

"Well thats...great, and may I ask for your name?"

"Garth, My Lady."

"Thank you. Its very nice to meet you." I tell him. He smiles and bows deeply.

"Oh, you don't need to do that." I say awkwardly.

"You are now a respected member of the crown, its a form of superiority."

"See, thats the thing, I'm not superior to you. Well, not unless I break the King's curse."

"Yes ma'am." Garth nods, this time not bowing. I smile at him, thanking him subconsciously.

"Well, would you like to see your chambers My lady?" Benjamin asks, putting up his hand, gesturing up the staircase. "Please." I say, following both him and Garth up the staircase, my cloak seeming to be getting heavier the farther I walk up the stairs. The upstairs was just as light as the ground floor, the light bouncing off of the white walls, I see the edges of portraits farther down the hall, the dark wood of the edges contrasting with the white walls. I look around the halls, and notice three deep indents in the 'stone' wall. I lightly touch the indents, the more I look at them, the more they look like claw marks. "Ma'am? Are you alright?" Garth asks, looking behind him.

"Oh yes, I'm just admiring this portrait." I lie, staring at the portrait right next to it. There was a gorgeous woman with deep chocolate colored hair, bright blue eyes, her nose a cute button and her lips full and small. She was truly a goddess. Garth walks back to see the portrait I was staring at. "Oh, this is the late Queen Amalie."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know."

"It's alright madam." He comforts, smiling warmly.

"She was a beautiful woman. Inside and out apparently."

"Yes indeed." He smiles, gesturing with his hand again, letting me walk to a waiting Benjamin.

There was this cold rush that went over my skin, I shiver a little and turn, seeing if anyone was following us. Garth wasn't looking at me, so I didn't get the feeling from that. I see a movement and I snap my head over to the eyes of a warrior, I thought I saw...Blue, but the warrior painting was of a knight on a horse, in a helmet, his eyes not painted. I furrow my brows and turn back around, walking behind Benjamin. Keeping my eyes and ears on high alert. "Here we are My Lady." Benjamin states, standing beside closed brown and gold doors. Garth stands on the other side, they both grab a handle and push the doors open, revealing a huge lounge area with two white seats gold pillows placed in the corners on either side of a relatively small black table with a bouquet of deep purple roses placed with care in a green stem-colored vase.

"We'll leave you to get settled then, we'll send someone to collect you for supper" Benjamin tells me. I can only nod, still taking in the gorgeousness of the room. I draw the beige curtains to see a white full moon, giving the room a glow. I see two black and gold doors on each side of the room, I open the one closest to me first, it was a study with deep mahogany wood as a desk, bookcases filled with decor and decorative books. The study also had a deep black chase right next to the window, a tiny table next to it with a quill and ink sitting on top of the green epoxy.

My smile almost couldn't get any bigger. I step out of the study to see what was behind the other door. I run over to the opposite black door, and fling it open, It was a bedroom suite that had a huge bed in the middle, a deep purple bedspread with black designs tracing over the purple cloth. there were black and white throw pillows on top of the real pillows for decoration, I touch the bed, feeling the purple bedspread was a soft wool, I've never felt wool so soft before. I pull back the covers and touch the black silk sheets. I throw myself on the bed, laughing at how comfortable it was to lay on. I unclip the silver clasp of my cloak, leaving it on the bed as I stand up, seeing a single white door to my left. I walk through the doorframe, stepping into a huge closet packed with clothes that were covered with a white sleeve, protecting them from the dust in the air. I see three mannequins wearing hoop skirts and corsets. I snort, I will never be wearing those ever.

I walk past all of the clothes, and the little plush seat in the middle, seeing a thin sliding wood door that pushed into a slit into the wall. 'Innovative,' I think, smirking at the find. I look around, seeing the fanciest toilet bowl ever, the bench was quartz, the toilet bowl a white porcelain. I look into the deep hole curiously, seeing a big pipe running diagonally and then straight down, I'm assuming straight to the plumbing. I stand up straight again, noticing a stitched sign behind the seat, 'If you have discharged facial matter, please pour a bucket of water into the bowl.' Below the curly lettering was an arrow leading to a gold bucket filled with clear water.

There was also a shower, the curtains hung around a big black bucket, gold pipes running up above my head to a half circle with a bunch of little circles on the head, facing toward the bucket. I furrow my eyebrows, seeing a chain with a handle next to the pipes. I pull it, jet streams of water coming out of the circles, spraying water all over my clothes. I gasp, and then chuckle at myself, pulling the now wet shirt that clung to my chest. I had a smile on my face as I walked back into the bed area. I see my case set on a light purple seat placed by another window, so, where is my clothing trunk?

I look in the closet, finding my empty trunk, but I couldn't find my clothes. I look at the mirror, seeing my still wet shirt clinging to my chest, my hair still in a perfect messy bun I had done yesterday. My eyes catch something on the edge of the mirror, closest to the wall, it was a black wooden handle. I pull it towards me gently, but it was another one of those sliding doors. I step into the dark room, the light from the closet illuminating the small room. I see a dresser closest to the wall, I pull out the top drawer, seeing my familiar underclothes. I check in all of the other drawers, noting all of my clothes were in the drawers. I grab a new white dress shirt and pull off my wet one, throwing it in a woven brown basket with black cloth lined on the inside.

I walk into my bedroom again, flopping on the bed face first, kicking off my leather work boots and putting my feet on the bed, pulling my knees close to my chest. taking a quick rest before Benjamin has someone collect me for dinner.

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The icy winds were nipping at my nose, My whole body shivering from the harsh environment. For some reason, I knew I had to keep moving, towards Something, I just don't know what. My legs were knee deep in the cold snow, the solid making its way into my pants, burning my legs from the cold temperature. I see a light up ahead, only about four yards away, I trudge my way into the streetlight, trying to not fall into the snow, knowing if I take a break I would die.

As I trudge into the light, my body became heavier and heavier until I finally went to my knees, physically not being able to stand no longer. As my knees touch the snow, the whole environment disappears, and I open my eyes into a familiar setting, me behind the invisible shield, watching my parents as they fight the invisible attacker. I weakly hit the wall from my position from the ground. As I see my mothers blood pooling on the ground, I look up to see a face staring at me, I jump back, the face disappearing as fast as it appeared. The face was very defined, I didn't get a good enough look at the person to recognize any of their identifiable features. I only saw the defined angled face with short black hair, shaved on the sides, the black hair roofing out at the top.

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I wake up breathing deeply from the nightmare, my new vision fresh in my brain. The faceless being with the sharp defined features looking extremely familiar. But I couldn't place a name to the face. Or lack of a face there was.