This was just one of the many qualities I loved about my father. He wasn't greedy, and he raised me to respect all that was given along with this responsibility of ruling a powerful kingdom.
My focus returned to the man in question, watching as Father reached out to pull a red book halfway out of its spot. It moved out in a slanting motion and began to glow vividly as though its very presence was summoned.
A click echoed through the room, and the shelf began to move to one side, revealing a hidden path. My brows knit together, the change in development baffling my mind.
I'd snuck into my father's sanctuary plenty of times and pulled every book out of that shelf to inspect, but had never revealed a hidden entrance.
My star-struck expression remained on my face far too long, because my father's lips curled up into a rare smile of pure delight.
"You discover something new every day." His commentary irked my boyish pride.
He directed me to follow him, and the two of us ventured deeper into the hollow pathway. The stale scent in the air told me this wasn't a passage he used often, but it remained in perfect condition.
When we reached the end of the path, we entered a circular room with a platform. My puzzled expression was impossible to hide as I noticed two altars.
Both held a dome-like cover, and inside each of them was a single rose.
What led me to take a step forward was beyond me, but I gravitated to the one on the left, my eyes fixated on the glittering purple rose with bits silver glitter.
It spoke to my soul, resonating with my magic and spirit, and as I got closer, my heartbeat quickened in appreciation. The beauty of this rose spoke to me on various levels of magnitude, leaving me in a state of bewilderment.
This rose was dear to me, a symbol of what was meant to be mine, and yet, this was the first time I'd ever seen its radiant delicacy.
I would have stared at its fine petals, a lovely shade of lavender with hints of silver glitter, for years if it wasn't for the hand that landed on my shoulder, firmly squeezing me out of my trance.
"Easy, Xavier," Father's voice drifted to my clouded mind, and I finally snapped out of whatever I'd been neck-deep in.
"What..." I trailed off, something I, again, never did unless I was truly left in a baffled state of mind.
"That is how powerful your soulmate's connection will be when you meet her. Though you'll have to start training yourself now before you venture to the lower lands, or you'll look like a fool in love."
I immediately frowned at his words, and when I looked over my shoulder to peer at him, he laughed. "There's my son."
"This rose. It's a symbol of my connection with my destined soulmate?"
"Yes. With the princess and future queen of our kingdom. I'm sure you already knew why I'd summoned you this evening?"
"Yes," I replied. "How long till I meet her?"
"Are you referring to our time or Earth time?"
"She's on the human realm?" I asked for confirmation. I already had a hunch that she would have been on the lower lands in disguise, but it would be nice to know that my suspicions were accurate.
"Yes," he replied. "I won't reveal her location just yet. However, it's best you begin your training as soon as possible. It looks like another is after your rose."
"What?" My voice went up an octave out of anger.
Father must be on a smiling streak today, because he was beaming at my odd emotional reactions.
"Other individuals of higher power know of your rose, Xavier. You two are destined to meet by the winter months at the end of this year. However, it looks like we're going to have to speed things up or you will find her either taken by someone else or dead."
I gawked in horror.
"Do not worry. The universe says she is strong in her element and she can handle herself until your arrival. However, we must prepare, and we must begin tonight." He moved his gaze to the right, peering at the bright red rose that glittered under the moonlight that glimmered down from the stained-glass window above.
I'd been so transfixed with my rose that I hadn't even noticed the windows, all of them designed in variations of roses and bouquets.
"Father...what if I'm not ready?" I hated admitting my flaws, but this was something that lingered in the back of my mind.
"You are more than ready for this, my son. Do not let the enemy win before you've even ventured off to claim what is destined to be yours. She is powerful, but I will forewarn you, she is not what you will expect. Your judgment of her maybe your very downfall."
My hand clenched involuntarily and my mother's constant comments about my sour attitude and viewpoint on life were brought into play.
"I'm not sure I understand," I answered.
"You will when you two cross paths. We will have that discussion when the time comes, but before that, I need you to test someone down on the lower lands. You won't go in this form, and what I ask of you will seem rather peculiar, but trust in your father and you will get the answers you seek."
I bowed my head in understanding before stepping back and going down to one knee with my arm to my chest.
"Yes, my king. I will follow your advice and any orders you give me. In the name of the Fae Rose Kingdom."
"Excellent," Father replied. I lifted my head to watch him walk down the three steps to the bottom of the platform. I rose up and followed his lead, but the door closed without either of us requesting it to do so.
My eyebrow arched, and my father headed to the door. I expected him to open it or figure out why it had suddenly closed, but instead, he turned around and reached for his sword that always remained on the side of his waist.
I caught on faster than he must have expected because our swords magically clashed a second later; my iced blade summoned in a split of a second to defend its loyal owner.
"But first, why don't we have some fun in combat?" Father questioned with a chuckle.
"I always wondered who is the more cynical between you and Mom, and I've yet to determine a winner," I grumbled.
Father laughed. The joyful sound made me smile.
"Your mother will always win, even when I get the upper hand at times. Let us train, my son. Your purely divine rose awaits you."
"Yes, King Rose. Let us train."
I will protect my destined rose.
Just Another Day As Scum
"Feel pity for me, Chamomile!" My plea was full of sarcasm, my eyes looking straight into a pair of half-open silver ones.
"If you're using my actual name, that proves you aren't getting drunk any time soon. What number are you on? Thirty-six? Thirty-eight?"
"Forty-two!" I whined. "You can barely keep your eyes open!"
"That is clearly because I'm wasted, trying to keep up with your inability to get drunk," she practically slurred.
She lowered her plastic cup to the worn-out wood surface of the rundown bar before sliding it to the side. Using her left arm as a resting platform, she laid her down head and closed her eyes.
"Give me like ten minutes and I'll continue to listen to your sorrowful stories of how life sucks and you really need a boyfriend."
I frowned in disappointment as I stared at my best friend, Chamomile Goldstone. I normally called her Camille for short, but with my current frustration, it was far too hard to stress the importance of this matter.
Not like any of this was new.
Rosadette Campbell: seventeen-year-old orphan raised from the pity of the low-life village on the outskirts of Himalayan.
Himalayan was actually a filthy rich country in these lands. However, that was ninety-nine percent of the country. Our village was in the one percent, and was going to remain there due to our very existence.
See, Himalayan held some of the richest and most powerful mystical races in the universe. I wasn't sure what the different races were, but we all knew that the majority of the population were fae.
What were these fae individuals? They were currently the top race. Perfection
couldn't even define just how beautiful, radiant, and mesmerizing their looks were.
They were extremely intelligent, having the ability to obtain and maintain information for centuries. This led to them living for hundreds if not thousands of years, and the longer they live, the stronger they become.
What made them so powerful? The surging magic that ran through their very veins. Many of us knew of witches and wizards that were graced with a bit of magic from the universe, but fae were given the rest.
They were born into a world full of magic and could do things we couldn't fathom with our human imaginations. I only knew all of this from the stories of the village and the very few books we had in our crappy, dump-of-a-truck library that allowed me to get a visual of how divine they were. But I have encountered a few of them in my young adulthood.
There was only one occurrence where I met a fae woman in my childhood. It was one of those cherished memories because it was the only positive meeting I had with their kind.
A tall woman, one with pale skin, beautiful blue eyes, and gorgeous blonde hair that curled down in bundles. She wore a stunning dress that shimmered like it was made out of gold and a dazzling crown.
She was truly the definition of a queen.
Why she was here in the dumps of Himalayan would forever be a mystery, but her jeweled eyes took interest in me, the orphan little girl covered in mud and dirt after a long day of trying to find something to eat before my once-a-day pity dinner.
Since I had no parents, left in a dumpster during a rainy night and found by a good Samaritan, the village made the decision to raise me. It was completely out of pity since there weren't many children born or even raised in these parts.
There was no other place to give me to. None of those adoptive centers or services. No one would want to adopt a random child found in the scum parts.
Don't forget the most important factor: I was nothing but human.
With all that in mind, plus my low self-esteem, it truly was a miracle that this woman peered in my direction.
When she approached, I froze like a block of ice, unable to move and barely breathing.
Not only had I been acknowledged, but this woman also deemed me worthy enough to be approached. No one else was around to prove whether my interaction was true or a tale, but I knew deep within my soul that I'd met her.
She knelt down and smiled at me, the gesture bringing tears to my eyes. I knew nothing about royalty or how to properly greet someone of such status, but my heart told me to fall to my knees, and that was exactly what I did.
My soul submitted to her shining presence, and in return, the woman said words that are still engraved into the depths of my mind.
"You are smart. You are beautiful. You are talented. The universe is behind you. No matter the challenges that come your way, be strong like the woman who birthed you. One day, you will find your path. Remember that, always, and you will find your way home."
I never quite understood how I was able to decipher or understand those words at the age of six, but they stayed with me.
They motivated me whenever challenges did come my way.
It was my only encounter with her and was the only reason why I didn't completely hate the fae race.
There was one significant problem with the fae.
The majority of them were heartless, conceded assholes to humans. We were considered the bottom of the food chain. Animals were treated with utmost respect, better than our kind.
Sure, we humans didn't have the best reputation.
We'd reached a time and age where the middle and higher classes were more focused on heightened technology, could care less about how the planet was dying, and would wage wars on one another over two-sentence tweets on what was known as the internet. But the way the fae treated us was worse than trash itself.
Even trash was considered more valuable than us at this point.
I'd heard many stories about the fae kidnapping humans and using them as slaves if they dared disrespect them. That's why humans generally bowed down and hushed their mouths when they saw a person who looked like they could be a fae.
It was difficult to tell with some of the fae because they used their special magic to blend in. Sure, they still looked gorgeous, just minus the immaculate glow of their skin and perfect radiant eyes. But there were some really beautiful humans out there who could have magic or were just blessed by the universe.
I wasn't a very religious person. There were many religions among our kind, some referring to a higher power, such as the Almighty, God, or Jehovah. I definitely believed in a higher power, a force strong enough to create all of us and plant us in this universe for whatever purpose we had to serve and fulfill.
I personally liked to refer to that power as Mother Universe. I'm sure she was a mother because she created all of us and gave us a chance at life.
Even with my life being a sad story of forsaken abandonment, it helped just a tiny bit to know someone was watching over me in the sky above.
It was harder when I was younger and wished I could pray to this Mother Universe and life would change. Being a scum in these parts was hard as a child.
One meal a day, maybe two if I was good. There wasn't anything to really do besides manual labor and the pay was so atrocious, you’d rather sit down and beg for your daily coin.
If it wasn't for my chance meeting with Camilla, I would have probably died at some point.
We'd met when I was ten in the most peculiar timing.
I always had bad luck, and that didn't change when I got my lovely "time of the month" early. There was always something weird that happened during my monthly period.
Many girls would say they dealt with pain like cramps or aching parts of their body. Like bleeding for no reason wasn't enough of a struggle.
For me, I felt like the world was ending in my body. Exhaustion, sensitive hearing and scent, hearing tiny whispers, and there was always something odd with the weather.
Thankfully, I'd been taught about the whole period thing by the village nurse before it happened, but when the other symptoms came along, it freaked me out.
It wasn't like I could afford to be seen by a doctor or even the same nurse. I only got to see her twice a year for free due to my "pity" agreement with the village.
Instead of seeking help, I hid in the forest, waiting for all of it to go away. That was when I met Camilla, who was strolling through the forest.
The first time we met, I thought I'd died and she was the angel here to take me up to what people called Heaven. Her long, brunette locks hugged her slightly tanned skin, her sliver eyes popped out, even in the low-lit forest, and her lips were dark red, almost like she'd been wearing lipstick or something.
She wore a white dress, one that flowed and didn't have a hint of dirt on it, and when she walked up to me, it was as if I could finally breathe properly for the first time.
I knew she was older than me, but what caught my attention and still lingers in my head, even today, was the long, glowing sword she carried in her right hand.
Like a maiden warrior coming to fight a battle, she'd entered my life unexpectedly when I needed her the most. Her entrance was far too much for my senses, and I'd passed right out.
I'd woken up in the medical room and was told all the bills would be paid whenever I experienced such events during my monthly periods.
Overly generous?
That led me to be suspicious and wonder where on earth Camilla even came from, but when I finally got the opportunity to meet her, she explained she was the daughter of an officer on the border between my poor village and the small section of middle to higher class humans.
I never knew there were humans in those parts that were so close to fae, but again, if they fit the part, no fae would bother them.
That was how we met, though she never admitted to carrying a sword. I was hallucinating, or so they say, but that was one thing I'd never forget.
Since then, I grew up with
Camilla. She didn't live in these parts but would make the journey every day to come see me.
And now, as we drank in this rusty old bar, she wore black leather jeans, a silver-white blouse, and dark red boots. The bar reserved a special black, polished stool just for her, like her presence was a blessing to the rundown shack.
Everyone in the village knew she was only here on my behalf, but they would spoil her with the fanciest things they owned. Whether it was their best wine or a meal, she would be treated like the queen of the village.
I couldn't complain, seeing as I benefited from it. Her beauty was on another level when compared to me, and that wasn’t considering her 6'0" height.
Maybe it was due to my lack of milk growing up, but I was 5"4" with a small waist, slightly wide hips, and small breasts. I really wished there was a spell to increase the size of my girls, but alas, Camilla said the last girl who tried to increase them with magic made alligator heads.
Not pleasant at all.
I had long blonde hair that was extremely curly. It was a pain in the booty to manage, which was the reason it remained in a high ponytail every single day. I had plump rosy red lips, which only needed some gloss to make them look less dry and hideous.
I was paler than Camilla, but for my sixteenth birthday, she got me this tiny makeup kit and showed me the art of contouring. It helped to make me look a little more decent before my manual labor job.
What deemed me a bit of grace was my striking purple eyes. They were a mix of lavender with hints of striking silver. The color was such a rare commodity, that it may have been the very reason the village took me in. No one else in the village had purple eyes.
The fae commonly had blue, silver, green, and even red, but purple? No one had ever seen a shade like that, and I for one had never read about the color in any of the books that described fae or human characteristics.
I wasn't sure if there was some type of test someone could take to confirm whether they were fae or not, but from the few other encounters with fae, I'd proven to be human, like the majority of people here.
Fae Rose Academy: Year One (For The Purely Divine Book 1) Page 2