by A. Kingsley
“No, not at all. But Sage, I wanted to tell you that I feel a weird tingling sensation when I’m around Julius.”
“Clare are you infatuated with him?” Her voice wasn’t angry, rather disturbed.
“No! Oh my Oralee of course not.”
“So you think he has magic?”
“No, I mean not really. I don’t know what it is, but he’s different too.”
“What about Maximus?”
“Different, but not in the same way, Maximus is just Maximus.”
“I see. So you healed Cassius’s face?” Sage asked, changing the subject.
“I did, I covered for you.”
“I appreciate it, are you going to tell mum about your magic?”
“No, I’m going to try and figure this out on my own.”
A mutual silence settled between the two of them. Sage was studying Clare’s fingers, wondering if she could pick out anything abnormal about them, hoping to find an easy explanation for her magic. There were no markings on her fingers, no scars, no relics, they were just normal and the tips were painted bright pink. Sage had never believed in magic and she had never believed in fairytales. She had never even believed in the Goddesses like her sister did. While her sister would go to the temples and pray, Sage would wonder why she gave into such rubbish. While Clare was studying and reading novels about dragons and magic, Sage dismissed them as fantasy and not history. She thought the reason for this was their age difference. When she told her mother the obscure things that her sister was reading and had faith in, her mother just dismissed her. But her mother had not known about Clare’s magic, she was just defending her youngest daughter. Clare had never shown any blatant signs of magic when she was younger, but the more Sage thought about it, she realized this perception was false. Clare had always healed incredibly fast. One day when they were younger and they were playing in the yard, Clare had fallen down and bloodied her knees. Within a moment, she was healed and the blood was gone. Sage had always thought that her brain had gone delusional that day, but it all made sense now, Clare had never been normal. Whenever she got injured she disappeared and came back as good as new. Sage couldn’t imagine how frightened Clare must have felt all of those years. Now only Sage and Cassius knew of her magic. Cassius knew. Sage broke the silence. “Cassius knows. We can’t trust him. Blimey, we can’t trust him at all. We have to kill him.”
Clare grabbed her sister by her hands and yanked her forward so that their foreheads were practically touching. Clare was an inch or two taller so they did not painfully collide, but their eyes met. Clare was fuming, there was a venom to her voice that warned her sister not to do anything rash. “You will not kill my fiancé. That is FINAL!” She pushed Sage back, her eyes still glistening with rage. She didn’t like to raise her voice at Sage and she didn’t remember the last time that she had done it, but it was necessary in the current moment. “I will grow to love him,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t know what it is you hate so much about him, but you have to give him a chance. You can’t just write off every person that you see.”
“His parents—“
“Exactly, his parents.”
Sage pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear and huffed. “So what’s your plan? You said you were going to try and discover the reason behind your magic by yourself and from what I can tell you don’t have a clue how to do that. Would you like a couple of suggestions from your sister who is constantly dragging you out of your messes? And do not deny me, I have saved you from boys who are gawking over your looks plenty of times and I have saved you from danger. I know I can help you Clare.”
Clare didn’t seem so convinced. Though she had calmed down quickly, her arms were folded over her chest and in that moment she looked exactly like her mother. “You can’t save the day every time Sage, but you are my older sister and I should trust in you. Though clearly I was right about the whole magic thing, tell me, what is your grand plan?”
Sage leaned forward, she was now sitting in a criss cross position, her hands folded in her lap as if she were back in primary school.“You need an excuse to leave, for a very long time. Magic folk don’t live close to the palace, you’ll have to travel far. You are not going alone, but I can not go with you either. It pains me, but mum would never allow both of her princesses to leave for a long period of time. I say you can not go by yourself because you are a woman and the world is cruel. I know you’re capable, but I worry about your safety. I encourage you to read, read lots of books about magic before you go, do your research and then follow the clues you’ve collected. I really don’t know what else you could do. I don’t want you to leave, I’ll miss you.”
Clare leaned her head against the wall, watching as her sister returned to a relaxed position. “I’ll miss you too, but it has to be done. I was thinking that at the Demetrias’s event, I could talk to Julius. I feel deeply that he knows something. You are not going to like this, but if I can’t go alone, I am going to ask if he will allow Antoine to come with me.”
“It will never work, mum will contact Erebus and Antoine will be chained to a whipping pole within minutes. You have to take Cassius with you instead.”
“I can not. I wish to take Antoine.”
“Why? He is a servant.”
“Because he is intelligent and I bet he believes in magic. I will ask him to come and since you think it’ll cause a fuss, I’ll ask Cassius to come as well.”
“If word gets out that Antoine is on the mission at all, it won’t end well.”
“Then he can meet us somewhere along the way and we call it an accident. He can then accompany us on the rest of our journey.”
“Alright, if you won’t change your mind then I suppose that would be fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. When are you going to ask Cassius to accompany you?”
“Good thinking. I will make sure to ask him first so that way he feels special. Could you ask mum to draw me a carriage. I’ll leave in an hour or two. I will stay in Excidium until the event, then I will meet you in Deus.”
Sage wanted to tell her sister no, she wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs, she wanted to pull her back into her arms and cradle her so tight that she would never be able to leave her arms, but instead she found herself nodding her head. She couldn’t control Clare, she couldn’t protect her forever. She was old enough to take care of herself and old enough to marry. Sage was sure that their mum would also love the idea of her daughter spending time with her future husband. “Alright,” she said quietly. She stood up from the ground and extended a hand to Clare, “let me help you pack.”
The two of them moved around the room and gathered Clare’s belongings. Sage had packed her toiletries and her art supplies, while Clare rummaged through her large closet to pick out a few outfits. She had designated three nightgowns, two fancy dresses and six casual outfits for her stay. She was sure that she could guilt Cassius into buying her more outfits if she ran out of clothes to wear, so she wasn’t worried. Sage had gathered her a few books about magic and placed them inside of her luggage. She helped her zip up her bag and carry it down the stairs. Gracielle was sitting on the sofa and reading a book. “Mum, Clare wants to go spend some time with Cassius. Do you think you’d be able to call for a carriage?”
Gracielle put down her book and her stern eyes turned loving. All her anger had seemed to fade away, this request had made up for both of their mistakes. “Well of course, some quality time together will bring Clare and Cassius closer.” She stood up and flattened out her long, olive green ruffled dress. “What a nice surprise. Tell Clare to go take a bath and get ready. Phoebe will help her prepare and you can help me prepare the carriage.”
Word traveled quickly in the palace. As soon as she heard, Phoebe had drawn Clare a bath and laid out a dress for her. It wasn’t a color that she typically wore, but it was a color the Antias family loved, black. The dress was made out of a thin satin fabric that would cling to every curve on her body. It had mesh
sleeves and would stop just below her knees. After Phoebe had made sure that Clare was clean, she handed her a bathrobe and let the girl dry her hair and fluff out her curls. She then helped her into the tight black dress that made it hard to breathe and a bit hard to walk as it went down past her knees. She felt like a clutz in the tall black heels that her mum had picked out for her. Phoebe had done her makeup smokey and dark, she looked nothing like herself, but if this is what it took for Erebus not to hate her family and let her drag his son into the woods, then so be it. Phoebe helped her down the stairs and to the carriages where her mother and Sage were waiting. Sage looked horrified while her mother clapped. “Mum, you’ve dressed her like a prostitute.”
“I have not. I have dressed her like a lady ready to seduce the man she is going to marry.”
“I planned on strolling the gardens with him, not seducing him,” Clare said in annoyance as she took her sisters hand and heaved herself into the carriage.
“Well he will like that as well, be safe my darling,” Gracielle said as she kissed her daughter's cheek.
Clare pulled both her sister and her mum into a hug, not letting them go until a minute had passed. “I will be safe, I will see you at the event!” she shouted. The guard shut the carriage door and the carriage took off at once.
Sage stood staring as the carriage rolled away. “I hope they treat her well,” she whispered.
The antias family
The carriage ride was rather dull. There were only two things that Clare could do and the first was to look out the window and stare at the passing scenery. The pine trees turned into beach coasts and the beach coasts turned into cities built in the middle of the desert as they got closer to the castle. If she got bored of looking out of the window, she could read the books that she had packed. None of these options were too exciting, but reading about the origins of magic gave her the energy to stay awake and distracted her from her nerves. It had been years since she had visited the Antias’s in their own home. As they pulled into the main city, she placed the pale floral bookmark in her book, set it down and peered out of the blush pink curtains. The city was darker then she remembered. Almost every building was painted the color black. The trees lining the cities weren’t green, they were pale and yellow. The atmosphere of Excidium wasn’t village like either, instead there were big cities. The castle was an hour away from the heart of Excidium. The afternoon had turned into evening when her carriage finally arrived. The castle was pitch black and gothic, the gates were black bars with intricate diamond points at the top. There were guards outside garbed in black and holding spears. ‘Would there be any color in this city?’
A normal carriage from Pax et Lux, would have been white with olive green accents, but Clare had taken her own. A blush pink carriage with rose gold embroidery and white horses, her presence stuck out like a sore thumb and had the royal family out of their doors in a matter of seconds. The carriage came to an abrupt stop and Clare jolted forward, her hands resting on the guards knees. She carefully removed them and handed him her book so he could put it with the rest of her belongings. Her eyes latched onto Cassius’s confused face. He was standing outside, dressed in a clean black suit with a gray wolf fur collar. His hands were relaxed against the front of his body and he was starting to smile as the realization that Clare had arrived sunk in. If Clare had not felt so uncomfortable in her own skin, she would have smiled too, but the dress she was wearing was making it hard to do so. She waited until the guard pulled the carriage doors open and then carefully stepped out, taking his hand for balance. There was silence as everyone took in the sight of the princess who looked strikingly gorgeous, but nothing like herself. The only thing that made her recognizable was her kind face and the crown of silver that was twisted with white metal flowers upon her head.
King Erebus broke the silence. “What a pleasant surprise. Did your mother pick out that outfit?” His gaze lingered too long.
“She did,” Clare said uncomfortably.
“Charming. Well, Adria, let’s welcome our new guest inside. She won’t need a guest bedroom, she can stay with Cassius. Cassius will show her to his room.”
If she hadn’t been recently engaged to Erebus’s son, she would have objected, but she didn’t want to be rude, so she forced a smile onto face and nodded. She wobbled a bit in her tall heels, but Cassius was right by her side to catch her. He linked his arm with hers and she leant up against his tall frame. “I am very surprised that you came to see me, especially after yesterday,” Cassius said. He didn’t say what had happened, his parents were still watching, but she knew what situation he was talking about.
“I thought it would be better for us to mend things, I don’t want to fight with you if I have to spend the rest of my life with you.” That was true.
“Well I’m glad you came. You know,” he whispered in her ear, “you don’t have to wear black.”
“I wore black to impress you, are you not impressed?” She was surprised by her own words.
“Consider me impressed,” he said.
Their banter was interrupted by his parents who were now walking by their side. “Clare you always look beautiful,” Queen Adria complimented genuinely. “Erebus and I would like to give you two time to get to know one another further, but we would like you to join us for dinner in two hours. Is that alright?”
Cassius nodded, about to answer for the two of them, but Clare had spoken up first. “It is alright with me.” Cassius glared at her as if she hadn’t any manners and gave her the look that suggested they’d talk later. “We will see you soon. I’m going to show Clare around the castle,” he told his mother.
He waited until his parents were out of sight to speak with her. “My father is strict and though I am glad you speak your mind, he will start tallying up every little thing that you do wrong. Talking out of turn would be one of them. I know our kingdoms work differently, but here, I speak and then you may share your thoughts. Now, would you like to get out of that dress first or would you like a tour around the castle?”
Silence filled the hot air. ‘What had happened to the version of Cassius who at least tried to be polite? Was he out of his mind?’ “I would like to change into something else, if that is alright with you, or are you going to dictate what I wear as well?” She saw a new anger in his eyes, one she hadn’t seen when he was visiting the Pax palace. Maybe he was more like his father than she had thought.
He composed himself as if there was not a prince in the world who could take him down. “You may change and now that you’ve said it, I’ll okay the outfit before you leave. I wouldn’t want my father to dislike you any more than he already does,” he said, his voice cold.
It was as if a switch had flipped. She hadn’t taken a liking to him at the party, but she hadn’t hated him either. If she wasn’t going to be free in his home, then she would fight to never live there. Maybe they could set up a compromise, or maybe he was only this way because he was being secretly watched. He was two faced and hard for her to read. She was quiet and observing as they walked the castle floor to his room. He had decided to start the tour on their way there as if nothing had happened, as if he was still kind and charming. There was a black skeleton like drawbridge that they crossed to enter the castle. Lit by flames instead of natural light or electricity, it was muggy and warm inside. The walls were all stone and had no color to them besides a cool grey. The castle was one big open space. Little furniture, no privacy. The kitchen opened up to a ballroom and a ballroom opened up to a dining room. Then at each corner of the grand room there was a stairway that split either up into the bedrooms or down into the lower floor of the castles, where she had heard they kept the prisoners. She didn’t wish to go see them, but she had a gut feeling that Cassius would take her down there anyways. The Pax family didn’t keep prisoners in their home, but she knew the Demetrias’s did. It was an odd way that her family would never understand, but she tried to keep herself open minded.
He guided her to
the front left corner and up a set of winding stairs that looked as if they would fall apart on her. She took each step slowly, leaning on him for support as she wobbled in her heels. He was odd, but she hadn’t lost complete trust in him yet. At the top of the stairs she noticed that the long hallway revealed over a dozen black doors all leading to private rooms. At the very end of the hall were two large double doors with vultures for knockers, the symbol of his kingdom. She knew just by looking at the door that it was the entrance to his room.
“I don’t show many people my quarters. If it were up to me, I would have had you sleeping in the guest bedroom next door, but my parents get what they want. I am just an adult living under their roof. Go ahead, after you.” He pulled open the vulture handle and let her inside.
Her eyes landed upon a clean sight. The walls were stone and on the back wall there was a large window. The glass was open and framed by black curtains, but the sight outside was nowhere near as pretty as back at home. She felt sick looking at all the black, but maybe that was how they felt with the Pax’s olive green or her blush pink. His bed was large, it must have been a king size and was topped with silk sheets and the fluffiest of silver covers. On his walls were paintings of knights and war. 'Did they have something in common?’ While she had paintings of roses and family on her wall, he had paintings of knights and war, but they still both had a collection of art. In the corner of the room she spotted a sitting area with a bookshelf. There was another door that he explained led to the toilet and the bath. Her luggage had been laid down on his bed.
“Make yourself at home. You may read any of the books you would like and come to relax in here when you feel stressed. I must check your luggage though. My father still does not like your sister, they are worried that she might have slipped something inside of your bag.”