The Goddesses Throne

by A. Kingsley

  Clare tried not to look offended, instead she questioned him,“did you tell your parents what she did?” Her voice dropped to a hush and became fierce, “did you tell them what you know?”

  “No.” He said bluntly, he took the pitch black pointy crown off of his head and placed it on his dresser. The accessory did him no justice, it blended in with his black hair so well, that only the points of the crown were noticeable. He gestured towards her bag and she unzipped it. She had been hiding nothing, she knew she might not get away with it here. He moved closer and fingered his way through the clothes, the toiletries, the art supplies and the books. He undid all the pockets as if he was a guard himself and in the end, he had found nothing, but his eyebrows were still raised at the selection of clothes that she had chosen and the books that she had brought. “I have books here, why did you bring your own? I am not going to take them, I am perhaps just curious.”

  “Because I want to ask you something, but now is not the time, later tonight.”

  He eyed her and then shifted his gaze down to the ring on her finger, he supposed he should trust her. “Alright. Well I will have to take you shopping, but which outfit would you like to wear tonight?”

  Clare sat down on his bed and undid her heels. Without her asking, he swooped down near her feet and gathered them in his hands. He placed them neatly at the bottom of his closet where his collection of boots lay. “We can share a closet. There is plenty of space, my mum made me get rid of some things, she said they were out of fashion,” Cassius said.

  Clare couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his mother picking out his outfits. He smiled back at her and she thought that she could see his gentle nature slip back, but she knew it wouldn’t last long, ‘what was he trying to accomplish?’ Clare reached back into her now mess of a luggage and looked for something suitable to wear for dinner. She had brought an olive green dress that was dotted with small white polka dots and adorned with frills on the sleeves and at the bottom of the dress. She had a feeling that this would not be fancy enough for his household, but there was not enough space in her luggage to pack a ball gown.

  “Your dress is beautiful, but I do not want my parents to be displeased. How about, I lend you one of my cousin's dresses, she will not mind.”

  “Does she live here?” Clare questioned as she folded the dress and placed it back into the suitcase.

  “She does, she will be chuffed to meet you,” he extended a hand to her and she took it. She slipped on a pair of flats to wear while they walked around the castle. “Bear with me in your uncomfortable dress for a moment longer. I will finish the tour and then you will meet Cisily. Cisily’s mum is Adria’s sister and my aunt. While the main kingdom of Excidium is one big chunk of land, there is an island across the sea that my mum’s sister and husband govern. There are not many people on this island, but it is still under Excidium rule. My mum could not be there to govern herself, so she sent her sister and her husband who she made the rulers. Though they still had to obey and enforce all of her laws, they were the representatives. Their children were born on the island and raised there until they were ten and eleven years old. Noticing how lonely her children were with nothing to do, my aunt sent her children across the sea to live in the heart of Excidium, here. Though Theo and Cisily were technically a princess and a prince, my horrible father made sure that they were never called such and that no one would call them that because I was to have all of the spotlight.”

  Clare took his hand and walked with him down the hall.

  He stopped at the staircase and gestured upwards. “My parent’s quarters are up a flight of stairs. There is no reason to go up there besides for the rooftop deck. I will accompany you if you’d like to see the view sometime. The war rooms, the military planning, it is all up there and since you are not family yet, you may not see it.” He guided her away and down the stairs. He showed her where they ate and where the servants slept, fortunately they were nice conditions that did not disturb her. He guided her to the library which was nowhere near as large as hers, but cozy and pretty. He took her to the spa which they had set up in their castle and promised that he would take her there again when she needed to unwind. He took her to the outside gardens and pointed to the outside of the temple that they used to pray. This time the building wasn’t black, it was gold with all eight goddesses carved on the outside of the ancient style building. Next to it, he pointed to a small hospital for royal emergencies that was not in the shape of a cottage, but rather a steel building that looked like a prison. He explained to her the importance of staying healthy so that she would never have to have a stay there. Then what she had been dreading, he led her down the stairs, five flights, to the dungeons that were so far underground the temperature had dropped ten degrees.

  It was damp and muggy inside and the prisoners had all thrown themselves up against the metal bars to get a good look at the prince and the princess. Their faces were pale and ragged. The place wreaked of death and filth. There were three or four prisoners per cell, each cell was so small that there was no place for the prisoners relieve themselves. Clare had never visited her own prisons. ‘How foolish she had been. Were all prisons like this or were these conditions specific to Excidium? Did the people piss on one another because there was nowhere else to go?’ They were standing at the entrance and she could only see into one cell. A man in his fifties, naked, scabbed and bruised, a woman clothed in rags, her limbs bony, a man with a foaming mouth and another woman, naked, on the verge of death.

  “You may look away,” he said gently.

  She did, she buried her face into his shoulder and breathed in the sweet scent of cologne, attempting to mask the filth. “What did they do to deserve this?”

  He had an arm around her waist, holding her close up against his side. He was staring off into the distance, “Personal or offensive crimes earn public executions, those criminals are killed instantly. We are not alone in that, even Deus still performs public executions on occasion, Pax et Lux is the only kingdom who has outlawed that form of punishment. Minor crimes such as theft, are just public whippings and then they are released. But there are people who keep committing crimes or they are such bad crimes, it is better for them to suffer. They stay here. The reason why some are naked is because they have lost their minds, or their clothes are too itchy and filthy. I am sorry that you had to look at their bodies. No one comes to bathe them. There are people assigned to bring them meals once a day and there are people who collect the bodies if someone passes. They don’t get visitors, they don’t get to see the light of day, there are no windows, everything is lit by small flames that eventually flicker out. Clare, remember this is not my doing. I did not choose this. Chin up, I was instructed to show you the rest, I promise I will tell you when you can close your eyes again.”

  She lifted her head up from his shoulder and let her eyes gaze back out into the prisons. Hands were reaching out of the bars in attempts to touch her, to feel royalty. people were angrily shouting at the prince, but he ignored them and focused on keeping Clare out of their grasp. The walk felt like it would never end and whenever someone had passed away, Cassius would nudge her and she would bury her head back into his shoulder.

  At the very end of the prison, he pointed out a trap door underneath their feet. “People who commit treason and help our enemies go down here.” He pointed to the hole, underneath and very far down there was no light, no food and a silhouette of a man screaming to himself. Even Cassius’s face was twisted with disdain. “Let us get out of here, you have seen enough for a lifetime.”

  She hurriedly followed him up the stairs, practically running. The farther she climbed, the faster she went, hoping to reach the top as quickly as possible. The scent never left her nose, it still lingered and clung to their clothing, the smell of his cologne was now masked with something much worse.

  “I am sorry for that, but as a princess and my future wife, you must know the conditions of the people. We will go see Cisi
ly now. She will excuse our filth and then we can bathe before dinner. Come on, she will distract your mind.”

  Clare wanted to retreat back to his room, huddle in a corner and draw everything that she had seen, but Cassius was right, maybe Cisily would be able to distract her and maybe she could befriend the girl. If they became close she would have an ally in the castle and she could get more information on which version of Cassius was real. They climbed the stairs that led to the row of bedrooms and Clare felt her calves shaking on the way up. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was nervous to meet Cisily or if she was still scarred from the prisons. She kept close to his side as they walked. Sure he was a new important figure in her life and he was quite the alarming character, but out of everyone in this castle, he felt the safest. Cassius stopped a few doors down from his own and knocked.

  The door flew open to reveal a beautiful woman. She resembled Cassius, but gave off a free and loving energy. She was a fairly tall woman who was Clare’s age. She had tight black curls that coiled up like springs. Her hair was down to her shoulders, her jaw was sharp and her face was sculpted. She had the same deep brown eyes as Cassius, but her skin was warmer than Cassius’s, a beautiful shade of walnut brown. She was smiling brightly at the sight of Clare.

  “She’s finally here!” the girl beamed as she pulled Clare in by her hands and spun her around. “She is so gorgeous and look at all of the bright color in her hair,” Clare was blushing as she let the girl examine her ginger hair. Nothing this bright had run in the Antias family. Cisily’s father had moved from central Asia to Europe. Her mother, Adria’s sister, had been from the lower parts of Excidium where the people migrated from South America and were less fair as they were more exposed to the sun. Red and blonde were not common hair colors in Excidium and Cisily was fascinated with all things out of the ordinary.

  Cassius let out a baritone laugh. He moved inside of the room and let the door close behind him, he exchanged a hug with his cousin and then sat down on the bed examining the two women. “I want you two to get to know each other, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Clare needs something formal to wear, she could not pack anything elegant because it would not have fit inside of her luggage. Would you be able to find her something and make it fit?” Cisily was still beaming, she opened up her closet to reveal dresses of all different colors and styles.

  Clare was smiling as she came close, finally someone who appreciated a variety of colors.

  “Take your pick, I don’t have anything formal to do tonight. Oh I can get you ready and all dolled up for Cass, it will be so fun!” Cisily laughed at the horror in her cousin’s eyes. “You’ll need a bath, you two smell, where were you?”

  Clare’s smile faded as the memories came back, thankfully Cassius had filled his cousin in on her arrival and their tour of the castle including the prisons.

  Cisily had put her hands on Clare’s shoulders, rubbing them warmly. Clare melted into her touch, leaning against her, she already took comfort in having the presence of another woman near. “I’m sorry you had to go through that darling.”

  She felt as if she could stay in Cisily’s arms for a long time and listen to her babble on and on about whatever she wanted. There was a comforting feeling about having a girl her age near, but Cassius was also near and they had things to do. She gently removed herself from the girls embrace and thumbed through the dresses. Eventually she found one that suited her perfectly. The dress was a shade of deep pink. The dress was cut across the shoulders with white frilly lace attached to the front. It fit the top of the chest tightly and then spilled down into a large puffy gown, with pink ribbons and more white lace trimming the ends. “This one, I will dress in this one.”

  Cisily took the dress off of the hanger and then turned around to face her cousin with a harsh look. “Well go along now. I am going to chat with your fiancé. Go wash up and I will have her returned to you by dinner.”

  Cassius stood up and bowed his head, waving to Clare before sliding out of the door and disappearing. Clare would have plenty of time to ask Cisily questions and get a better read on Cassius. He could not hide.

  A Servants task

  Antoine had the entire carriage ride home to think about his experience with Clare. It was lovely and he was foolishly delighted to spend more time with her, when he got the opportunity at the event in two weeks. She would be in front of him again and he would know that it wasn’t a dream. He could tell her about the books that he had read and he could see the piece of art that she had made for him. No. These were all terrible thoughts. He was a servant and she was a princess. They could not have any informal relationship, he could not think about her like that. He would continue to keep his thoughts of her a secret, or so he had thought. When they returned back to the castle, he was placing the books that she had given him on his shelf, when he heard a bell ringing in the distance, Julius must have needed him. He got dressed in his servants outfit, a cream pair of pants, a white button up shirt, a pair of white shoes and a frilly blue collar to signal his allegiance to Julius. He raced up the stairs and was prepared to knock on the door, but it was already open.

  “You may come in Antoine.”

  Antoine shut the door behind him and gazed at Prince Julius with questioning eyes. “You needed me?”

  Julius gestured for him to sit down, an innocent smile plastered to his face. “Clare,” was all he said.

  Antoine put his hands over his face, fingers pushing up against his glasses, he took a seat on the bed. ‘So Julius knew. How had he seen, what had he seen?’

  “I will not punish you and neither will Maximus. I told him that you two had been out together, so he wouldn’t get angry at you if anything slipped. Though I’m personally not mad, I wanted to warn you that you’re playing with fire, you’re playing with flames and I’m not just talking about Erebus. But, keep in mind that king Erebus has a temper too, but one that is violent. If you are in the way of their prince, if one can call him that,” he said, “it won’t end well for you.” Antoine was about to speak, but Julius kept rambling as he often did. “There is something odd about Clare. I feel different around her. I need you to find out what it is.”

  “What do you mean? Wouldn’t Sage tell you if there is something wrong with Clare? You’re even close to Clare herself, so couldn’t you just tell her your concerns?” Antoine said in confusion.

  Julius shuddered and his face went pale. “No, not about this. I am clumsy, I might … well I just can not.”

  “What do I ask her? We have only met once. I'm not sure she’ll trust me.”

  “Ask her about the green glow. She’ll understand.”

  Preparation

  Sage was pacing in the sitting room. Her sister had probably walked right into hell and there was no way of reaching her, except by letter, which always took too long. She didn’t have Julius to confide in or yell at because he was at home and if she yelled to her mum after already irritating her, Gracielle might scream and send her into another dimension. So instead she went outside and took her anger out on the dummies. She grabbed her trusted sword. The hilt was sleek, shiny and silver, with cross guards. The blade itself was made of steel and had the logo of an elephant carved at the base. She had polished her sword recently, so it would slice cleanly and it did. Each dummy came apart with one hit, stuffing and hay spilled out onto the floor. She didn’t expect to be interrupted. She continued slashing and striking until there was nothing left. As she was staring down at her mess, she heard a familiar voice clear her throat. She spun around to see Gracielle, arms crossed against her chest, chin held high.

  “Sage it’s late. Come inside, we need to talk,” the queen said.

  Sage and her mother never had small talk. They didn’t sit and chat about the weather or how their days had been. Sage put the sword back into its cover on her belt and followed her mother inside. “Why what’s wrong? Did I do something else?”

  Gracielle shook her head as she led her daughter to the r
oom that was used to strategize for war. Sage couldn’t help but feel alarmed as she sat down in one of those emerald green cushioned chairs. Her mother sat across from her. “I don’t like to think morbidly, but I’m getting older and the world is becoming increasingly more dangerous. It's about time that we have this conversation. If anything happens to me or I can no longer fulfill my duties effectively, you are well aware that you are first in line for the throne. You would rule our kingdom. I would like to discuss with you everything that you need to know.”

  “Mum is there anyway Clare can take over instead?”

  “No my love, that’s not how life works,” she reached across the table and took her daughter’s hands in her own. “It can only be you.”

  Sage took her mother’s hands and slumped over, she was sweaty from her outburst with her sword, but her mother didn’t seem to mind very much.

  “I want to teach you how to run a kingdom. How to put the citizen’s needs before your own, but first you must learn our complete history. Though you know some of the basics you do not know it all.” She let go of Sage’s hands and reached underneath the table. She grabbed a stack of five books and set them in front of her daughter, a loud thud followed the motion. “Read them all before the event. These books cover everything that you need to know about the three kingdoms and their history. They also discuss the Goddesses because as a leader you must care or pretend to care about them. They will be vital to your success wether you want to believe it or not. I want the books finished the day before the event. Then I will be able to quiz you. Once you are better educated, I will teach you how to run a kingdom.”