We wandered for 5 minutes straight. Spirit turned another corner, and I followed him. He was gone! I searched around looking for the white fox. I twisted and turned many streets, but I was lost with the amount of art and buildings that was never the same.
I turned the corner and saw a Lumine Guard. I hid, waiting for him to pass, but what was connected to him made me wonder.
I peeked at the man out of sight. With him, he held a chain. The chain trailed behind him a couple feet before it lifted off the floor again. Attached to the chain was a rather small figure. It was a girl, she had long blond hair that went to the end of her shoulder blades. Her little wrists were handcuffed and attached to the chain. She saw me and her bright blue eyes widened. She was wearing a Lumine suit.
She yanked against the chain. Her eyes pleading for help. I didn't move worried it was a trap.
“What are you doing girl!” The Lumine guard said. He yanked the chain with such force that the little girl tumbled to the floor. She got up, and blood covered her knees and hands from the fall. Her eyes were indignant but pleading.
“Look at you, so weak, you will never make it through the trials, you will die, and I will love watching it” the man spat at her.
She pulled away from him again.
I slid against the shadow of the wall, the little girl's eyes never met mine, but I could see she knew I was there. I slid the knife off my leg and jumped at the man. He looked surprised but quickly retaliated by drawing out his sword. His left arm was attached to the chain and the little girl was yanking on it making it useless to use without getting hurt.
He swiped at me, and I lunged. I went for his chest but missed and stabbed him in the side. His sword had cut my arm but not enough to slow me down or ruin my dress.
I grabbed out my second knife and tossed it to the little girl. I was so busy trying to keep the Lumine guard from stabbing me I didn't notice what the little girl did until the guard screamed. She cut off his hand connected to the chain.
The Lumine let go of his sword leaving him defenseless as he cradled the stump of where his hand would be.
The little girl slid the bloody hand off the shackle with a face full of disgust.
I grabbed the sword and stabbed the Lumine guard in the heart.
The little girl stared up at me with big eyes. I grabbed up both my knives and made sure there were no blood stains on the dress, that wasn't fitting for a ball.
“It's okay little girl you're free now, go find your home and your family,” I told her. I turned around and walked back the way I came or the way I thought I came. I was out of breath, and my heart was pounding. I just got rid of someone's life to help another.
I heard a noise behind me and was surprised to see it was the little girl. She followed me, holding the chains in her arms. They clinked as she walked.
She stared at the floor and said. “I watched them kill my family, that man had me since I was 7 years old. Some people forget their families, but I didn't, I remember them like it was yesterday even though it's been four years. I guess I'm trying to say I have nowhere to go but follow the lady who saved me or become captured again.” She said still staring at the ground.
She almost glared at it like the soil of the earth had been the one to kill her family.
“Alright, come with me, I'll take care of you,” I told her, the girl followed me with her armful of chains.
“What's your name?” I asked her. She hesitated for a second. I smiled trying to get her to trust me.
She stared at the ground as she said “Rowan, It's what my family used to call me, and my friends. The Lumine guard just called me 158, I replaced the last 158, he died.” She said.
“Rowan is a very lovely name,” I said. I smiled down at her. I finally got to the gates of the castle. “I'm here for the royal ball,” I said to the guard. The man looked me up and down then nodded. I pulled Rowan behind me quickly. And put her out of the guard's view.
Rowan grabbed my hand in fear and held on tight. I squeezed her hand in reassurance. We walked into the long hallway of the castle. And I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
“It's alright, now you're safe,” I told her. I walked up to the guest room I was going to sleep in. I opened the door and ushered her in. I grabbed a small pin and tried to pick the lock on her chains.
“It won't work, I have tried,” Rowan said looking at me with her bright blue eyes. I nodded. I concentrated on trying to pick the lock. Then I looked up at her. She looked a little sad.
“Of course, you have tried,” I said. I ruffled her hair then stood up. I thought for a second then an idea hit me. “Stay here, I have an idea,” I told her.
I rushed out of the room and ran into the maid who had shown us to our room.
“Hey, do you have something that can pick a lock or break chains, my - Um… little sister got stuck, and I need help,” I told her. The woman looked a little suspicious, but she did a quick nod.
“Thank you so much,” I told her she just nodded again and led me to a giant underground storage room. She grabbed a strange object.
“Here's how you use it, You wind this up and then put the metal between the teeth of the mechanic and push it and it will snap the metal but be careful if you get a bone in there it will snap it also.” She said.
My eyes widened, and I nodded. I grabbed the small piece of machinery and took it back to the room.
Rowan stood where I left her, but she had set the pile of chains on the floor. “Hey there, I got something that could get rid of those,” I told her. I walked up to her, and she eyed the piece of machinery warily.
“It's okay it won't bite,” I told her giving her a small smile. I sat in front of her setting my hand on her leg reassuringly. She nodded but didn't dare smile back. I winded up the object.
“Okay, I need you to hold perfectly still for this to work,” I told her and she did, she didn't even nod in response. I put the teeth of the Machinery up to the chains and pushed on it. I heard it snap and the chain fell unconnected to the floor. I sighed in relief.
The manacles were still there, but I didn't think that would matter much without the chain. I got up, and she surprised me when her small arms wrapped around my waist in a hug.
“Thank you” I heard her whisper. I nodded while wanting to cry for the horrible fate I knew the little girl had gone through.
“I have to get to the ball, though, people are going to wonder where I have been,” I told her.
“Here let me take you to the dresser, and she can find you a dress that will fit you, then you can join us,” I told her.
She nodded with a bit of excitement in her eyes. I took her down the hall and found the room labeled the sewing room.
I entered, and many women and men looked up at me from their sewing.
“Umm, I'm looking for the dresser,” I told them. A plump woman wearing layers upon layers of clothes got up from a desk in the corner farther away from the others.
“That would be me,” she said. She walked over to us. She looked me up and down.
“What do you need me for, it seems like you have already gone through being fit for a magnificent dress sewn by us.” She said with a small, proud smile of her creation.
“It's not me that needs the help, it's umm my sister, she has no clothes other than the ones she’s wearing and she needs a dress for the ball. And a pair of traveling clothes if you have any,” I said. She nodded and looked Rowan up and down.
Rowan tried to hide behind me. “I can get her fitted in a dress immediately and headed towards the ball, but you better hurry along, the ball started an hour ago. Your sister is in good hands no need to be worried.” She said in a blur of words.
I wanted to laugh that the woman could believe were sisters. I didn't though because I knew Maggie looked nothing like me also.
With Rowan's golden blond straight hair and bright blue eyes compared to my dark black curly hair and dark green eyes. We were completely different, but I sm
iled thinking about having a sister again.
Tears started to well up in my eyes. I hurried out of the room before the dresser could say anything more.
Maggie's laughter rattled through my head. How she used to call me Amary even though nobody called me that other than her and Elm. Father said it wasn't pretty sounding enough for me. Magnolia always went by Maggie, she hated being Magnolia and loved being Maggie. She said Magnolia seemed too formal.
Everyone called her Maggie. She was my parent's golden child, she was way prettier than me and could handle all her responsibilities and her social life at once. She was the most mature 6-year-old anyone could ever meet. She stood with the straightest posture and said the nicest words in front of guests. But when she was alone with just Elm and me, she would laugh and play and be as wild as any kid could ever be. It's like she lived in 2 realities.
She loved every little thing about nature, and she taught me to carve wood. When she got taken, I never told anyone what happened. I was too ashamed of myself for not saving her. The maid that had lost her daughter and was teaching Maggie how to carve started teaching me after.
I remember how my parents reacted when they realized their daughter was gone.
. . . . .
When I had gotten home, I wouldn't speak to anyone.
I had stepped off my pony and walked towards the castle, dragging my feet. I opened the castle door and sluggishly pulled myself in. I heard people try to talk to me, but I couldn't answer. I watched as my mother rushed up to me with a scared expression, I didn't take any recognition of her. She stopped and stared at me as I walked right past her. She put her hand on my shoulder. My knees gave in, and I collapsed to the floor. My mother looked down at me and tears rushed down from her eyes. I opened my mouth and screamed as people's worried expressions looked over me. I curled into a little ball and covered my ears rocking back and forth. I shed away from every touch.
I was being picked up, I screamed as loud as I could. I kicked out until I was sprawled out on the ground. I started crawling away from the people. My legs gave out every few feet I traveled.
I looked back to see my mother's face full of tears. She was yelling, but I couldn't hear her, I kept crawling, faster to get away. A few people surrounded me and picked me up. Someone forced me to drink something.
My limbs wouldn't work, I couldn't move. I sat there staring at the ceiling, barely even blinking, barely even breathing.
The next thing I knew I was laid down on my parents couch in their sitting room. My father looked worried, and my mother cried into his chest.
When he saw I was awake, he looked at me with worried eyes.
“What happened Amaryllis, What's wrong? Where is your sister?” He asked.
I stared at him, I didn't move, I just stared. “They took her,” I whispered. My father leaned close to me.
“What did you say, sweetheart,” he asked. I could see his face looked more aged than normal and tiredness creased his eyes.
“They took her, I didn't stop them!” I screamed. I put my face on the couch and yelled out a cry, I pounded my fists on the sofa, “I killed her, she's gone, and they took her. I didn't save her. I didn't save her,” I sobbed.
My mother started to cry more. “Who honey, who did they take?” She asked. I could see that she knew deep in her eyes.
I stared at her emotionlessly. “Maggie, they took Maggie, and I didn't stop her, she told me to leave her, and I did, I didn't even try to save her,” I said staring at my mother.
My mom let out a silent cry. She got up dusted off some invisible dust off her dress and wiped away her tears. She walked out of the room.
My father sat there silent. After a few minutes, he walked out of the chamber too. He didn't look at me. I knew they blamed me. I could see the hurt in their faces.
I didn't blame them for blaming me. I blamed myself too. I sat there for a long time. Finally, my mother walked back in the room. She was wearing a fresh layer of makeup, and she had no sign of sadness on her face.
“Go back to your room and freshen up, We have to plan a funeral. “ She said. She didn't even look at me. She looked past me at the window. When I didn't move, she said, “Go on girl.” My heart shattered at that very moment, She didn't even recognize me as me, I wasn't her daughter in her mind today.
After that day my mother forgot she even had children, I hadn't talked to her like a daughter since I was 5 years old. She was emotionless and hated children. She pretended like it was her first time meeting me anytime we crossed paths.
The only person she loved was my father, King Saffron. My father had grown cold and callusing. He spent all his time after that in what was best for the kingdom and training Elm, my twin brother to be the next king.
We were punished badly if we said anything about Maggie, and we had to follow all the rules. He had always been crueler to me than my brother. I had once asked him why.
He told me it was because I broke too many rules. I asked him if it was because of Maggie and he yelled at me and slapped me across the face then walked away.
He told me to never speak of his daughter again.
. . . . .
I realized I was sitting in the hallway crying.
Rowan stood there watching me wearing a beautiful vibrant gown. I wiped my tears away and got up from the ground.
I gave her a sad smile and said: “Let's get to a ball.” I wiped off invisible dust off my dress and left my sorrow in the hallway, well for a little while anyways.
XV The Last Dance Of The Night
Nate
I walked across the dance floor looking for Amaryllis. I had seen her in the corner of the room with a man only an hour ago, but now she had disappeared.
My eyes hadn't left her all night as she danced across the chamber from man to man. She had a happy smile on her face that nobody could take from her. She was wearing her long beautiful black hair down from her usual braid. She actually looked like an angel.
Sometimes it was hard to tell myself that I didn't care for her. But I knew it was just because she was so much like Joy. I walked over to the side of the room and leaned against the wall looking through the crowd of people. I had already talked to the King Daryn of Animaux, and he was packing his bags immediately to get back home to find his war planning wife. He had two children with him, a boy and a girl. The girl would be the next heir.
I felt a cold hand rest upon my shoulder.
I turned around to see a woman in a bright, colorful dress. She was wearing a small mask upon her face. It covered her eyes and fell across the bridge of her nose.
“Hello sir, you look a little… Lonely, would you like to dance?” She asked.
I shook my head, “I'm good, and I’m looking for someone.” I told her.
A smile lit her face, “Let me help, I know everyone of importance here, after that you can honor me with a dance.” She said it more as a statement than a question.
I gave a small huff, “No thank you, ma'am, for the person, I'm looking for is nobody important. So I won't need any of your help.” I stared past her ignoring the woman who wanted a dance so bad it was almost sad.
She didn't even look slightly hurt by any of my comments. “Well then, I would have to find one of the politer of men,” she said. She gave me a small bow and walked up to a tall, gangly man. I stopped paying attention to her and finally spotted Amaryllis.
Her wavy black hair was hard to miss in a crowd full of people in colorful outfits. Amaryllis was holding a little girl's hand.
The girl had light blond hair and bright blue eyes. The girl's eyes scanned the room in a familiar way, and she was standing in a guarded stance that nobody would notice other than a Lumine like himself.
I advanced towards Amaryllis; I pulled the little girl’s hand out of her grasp. “This girl is a Lumine, she's probably a spy from the Queen, and what are you doing” I whispered in Amaryllis’ ear.
She pulled the little girl close to her “I know, I saved her, sh
e is no spy, and she will do no harm.” She said loud enough that only I could hear.
“I'm Rowan,” the girl said. Her eyes scanned my body, “you are highly trained.” She said. “Almost as good as the evil man who kept me prisoner and taught me, he was someone you didn't want to argue with,” she said. I knew she could see how good I was at fighting just by my stance.
We were taught to always stay alerted. Her eyes met mine, and I felt my cheek twitch into almost a tiny smile, something I never gave anyone.
I nodded my head with appreciation that she could notice more things than usual Lumine could. She must have been trained by the best. “How old are you,” I asked her.
“11,” she said. Her head bowed down in a sad way, and I understood her. I put my hand on her small shoulder, and her bright blue eyes looked up at me.
“You're an all right kid,” I told her. A small smile lit her face.
“You too,” she said. Similar half smiles played across our faces, we understood each other.
I watched as a man's hand snakes across us and grabbed Amaryllis’ wrist. A big burly man was connected to this arm. He took a step forward.
“Dance with me lovely lady,” the man said showing her a toothy grin and completely ignoring us.
I could tell by his stance there was something off about him, and he wasn't one of these fancy people attending the ball.
Amaryllis must have seen it too because she pulled her wrist away, “maybe later, I'm in the middle of a crucial conversation” she said.
She turned away from the man, and he swung her back around. “Dance,” he expressed in a stern voice.
She let out a small worried sigh but walked away with the man. My back stiffened, and I watched them. I didn't move, so not to cause a scene. I could see Rowan do the same. It was almost laughable to see such a small girl look so dangerous, but also scary in a way.
I saw Lady Pandie walk up to us. “Hello kind, don't pay attention to the girl she will be just fine, George and I have known each other for a long time.” Though her words seemed reassuring my back never unstiffened.
Without Joy Page 10