Me: Yes! Out of school! Woohoo!
Yami: Don't you have sumer workout?
Me: T-T don't remind me! And the few readers I have probably hate me!
Yugi: They don't hate you! They're just...impatient! And they need to understand that you've had tons of stuff to deal with; it's not your fault you've been depressed!
Me: Thanks Yugi! I needed that! I'm super sorry I haven't updated in so long; I've had finals and a bunch of other crap. Yami, will you please do the disclaimer?
Yami: Jessica does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. If she did, a few people would be dead...and a few of us would be in compromising positions.
Long ago, in a time where mythical creatures were believed in and existed so, there was a country. This country was named Pyhrenree; it was very peaceful and kind; anyone who passed through only spoke of good about it. Pyhrenree was prosperous; the many fish on its vast coast were to thank for that, along with the animals and fertile ground. The country was often envied for being an oasis to most, other rulers coveted Pyhrenree for this reason only.
The ruler of Pyhrenree, who kept peace and made sure every occupant was content, was a kind man; Balthazar Rochester, a handsome man, had kept his peoples' well being put first, then his wife Adri, then his beautiful daughter Amaryllis, then finally his own needs. But alas, it seems that terrible things always plague the good. Adri grew ill when Amaryllis was two; Balthazar tried to save his wife, who was a kind as her husband, and as beautiful as an angel. The loved Queen died when the Princess turned three; all across the land the citizens mourned for their late Queen. But Balthazar mourned the most. Out of all whom he kept close, he only had his Princess left.
Now, this may have seemed normal, but there were a few things the citizens of Pyhrenree didn't know about their Emperor and his family. Emperor Rochester kept completely honest with his people, but there were four things he couldn't bring himself to tell.
One: he was a vampire, and not just any vampie, but one of the oldest vampires across the world. Some perks to being a vampire were: highly evolved instincts, anytime Amaryllis tried to sneak up on her father, he could always make the plan backfire, which always lead to pouting and wondering how he could have known, she was quiet as a mouse?
He could go out in sunlight, that was mainly because he was very old, young vampires couldn't go out without being burned.
That didn't end the strangeness in the Royal family. Two: Adri was a fairy of the Kinh Forest, one of the darkest and most dangerous forests to ever be in. The Kinh Forest contained dangerous and malicious creatures that had killed many people in the past. Kinh fairies were the rulers of the forest, some were nice and some were mean. To bring in prey, they sang, danced, and tempted travelers with their beauty; the fairies were tied on the 'Danger' list with sirens!
Adri was one of the nice fairies, the princess of them in fact! Her clan heard Balthazar was passing through the Kinh, and set up a feast for him- all the blood from previously favored creatures of the forest. As it turned out, Balthazar fell for the fairy princess, and she for him. Balthazar stayed, and after a month, married Adri.
When she was taken away, Adri's younger sister, Nubila was next in line for the throne. Since the fairies weren't allowed outside the forest without the leader, there were no messages sent to Adri to let her know of her clan's success or failure; the only reason Adri was able to leave, well, nobody wanted to go against Balthazar…
Now, knowing the two parents, imagine the power Amaryllis would have. But, due to her parents' unwillingness and reluctance, the princess never knew her powers; sure, she knew her father was a vampire, but she didn't know what creature her mother was.
When the Queen died, Emperor Rochester, fearing his daughter would fall victim to the same sickness, searched the globe- of course taking his little Amaryllis with him- for something that would protect her later in the future. While in Gakopu- an island country far out in the Armetian Sea, the Emperor found a treasure, a treasure that would protect Amaryllis, and yet, nobody would know what it was. The treasure was three rings; one red, one green, and one blue. The red had a plain silver band with a bright blood ruby; the green had a plain gold band with a luminous emerald; the blue had an intricate bronze band with a twinkling sapphire.
At the time, Amaryllis was four, two years after her mother caught the disease. She was almost like a doll; big, shining deep blue eyes, a ring of yellow and green just outside the pupil; porcelain skin as white as snow, and soft as down; heart-shaped lips red as blood, always in a smile; a small, delicate body, usually running around or playing, never still; hair softer than feathers, caught between sepia and gold, it shimmered in the sun, falling in ringlets down her back.
Balthazar, wary of the power the rings contained, kept the rings to himself, learning the power and writing it down for Amaryllis, should anything happen to him. After finding the rings, he and Amaryllis returned home to Pyhrenree for good, well, Amaryllis did; the Emperor was busy and had to travel to countries to become allies.
The only one who knew of the rings was Balthazar's most trusted advisor, and Amaryllis' teacher, Mahad. He had been there since the Queen came to the palace, and both of the magical creatures trusted him with their lives. The reason was this; Mahad was also a magical creature, an elf in fact. Adri often called him the kingdom's 'Dark Magician' from his magical aura being a deep purple.
When the Queen died, he took over as teacher and caretaker of Amaryllis for the Emperor. He went with them on the travels, and taught Amaryllis everything he knew; magic, plants, animals, geography, politics, magic; anything Mahad knew about, he taught the young princess, one topic at a time.
Now, the princess always thirsted for knowledge, and loved her teacher to death, she soon got bored as she got older, and wanted to explore the village. She didn't have any friends her age aside from her servant, Mana. Mana also attended Mahad's classes, but she grew bored, and took to pranking Mahad and others in the palace to keep her and Amaryllis amused.
The tricks always put a smile on the young princess' face and a laugh in her throat when Mahad would come into the classroom with a scowl on his face and Mana in tow with a pout on hers. The only reason she was not thrown onto the streets was the princess. She had nobody else, and Mana was her personal servant, and was the only real entertainment in the palace for her. The fun part was Mana would teach her some pranks to do, so now there were two mischievous kids in the palace. But one day, when Amaryllis was five, she had a sudden urge to do something she'd never done before, and told Mana about it…
"Mana! Mana, Mana, Maaaannaaaa! I've an excellent idea!" I cried, bouncing on my bed. Said servant jumped in surprise, her bright green eyes wide and round. She smiled and crouched to retrieve the sketchpad I had asked for.
"Oh? And does this idea involve Master Mahad? Or perhaps one of the chairmen? I would like to partake in it if it does!" We both giggled with smirks on our faces about the fun things we could do to everyone. As she came toward my four-poster canopy bed, I scooted over to make room, gathering up the skirts that went with my light blue dress.
"Not this time; I think we should wait for a while so they think we have stopped, then, we strike after this break!" I grinned at my faithful servant, who was only a year my elder. She skipped over to my bed, handing me the desired item and settling in front of me, her black taffeta skirts fluttering about on the dark purple coverings.
"Princess; you must tell me this instant; I grow more and more impatient each second! Just what is this idea?" Mana took my hands in hers as she pleaded for me to tell her. I giggled and took my hands back. I picked up my sketchpad and opened the leather covering to a blank page; after took the black stylus offered to me by Mana, I began to draw. The main objects I drew were flowers, scenery, even people caught in a moment I remember. Mana was present in many of my drawings, as was Master Mahad, and Father. This time I was drawing a night lily; the petals were bright compared to the midnight water below it.
'Oh Mana, if you insist! But do come closer; there could be too many ears, if you know what I mean.." I beckoned her close to me, whispering into her ear of my intentions.
"I plan to go to the village outside the palace. To Rigalda." Mana gasped and shot back, her dark brown hair flying from behind her shoulders in surprise.
"Oh, Princess Amaryllis, why would you want to go there? And how will you? I'll go with you!" She took on a determined look, and smiled at me. She pulled me off the bed and grabbed a brush. She began to brush my dress, smoothing out the wrinkles in the blue linen and resetting the petticoats underneath. As she was doing this, I thought.
'Hmm, if Mana did come along, it would make it a little easier to get out, and she's been into the town more than I; she could show me around,' I nodded my head and smiled. Mana had grabbed a different brush and was brushing my hair, twirling my curls around her finger to make them even curlier. I smiled and closed my blue eyes. I thought some more. 'I never realized, I sound a lot older than five…I guess it's from Master Mahad and everybody telling me how to say this, how to say that. Come to think of it, Mana sounds a lot older than six! Well, the servants were trained…Gee, why, just why do I have to wear these troublesome skirts?'
So lost was I in my thoughts, I didn't hear Mana calling my name. "Princess…Princess…Amaryllis!" I blinked and looked to her, "Yes?" She laughed.
"You can put your arms down now!" I blushed in embarrassment and lowered my arms; I grabbed the brush from Mana, and made her sit on the stool in front of the chair. Slowly, I began brushing the dark tendrils of hair that gently fell down Mana's back. Since I was so small, and Mana was so tall, every time I brushed her hair, I had to make her sit down so I could play with her hair comfortably. After every stroke, I ran my fingers through it, making sure all the tangles were out.
"So," Mana started, "how are we going to get out of the palace? It's not like you can just walk out of here, willy-nilly." I hummed in thought; I had finished brushing, so I set the ivory brush on the polished wooden desk that held all of my ribbons, clips, things that Mana needed to put in my hair. I grabbed a dark green ribbon, and began to braid her hair, going through the steps in my head on how to do it.
"Um, I think we can get out through the kitchen, if Oma doesn't have anybody in there right now…then, we could sneak through the South Gate; we'd be in the clear!" I finished with the braid, and tied a bow in the ribbon. "There," I said proudly, I backed away and let her feel it over.
Mana praised me for it. "Well done, Ryll! Your first braid, and you got it perfect! Soon, I will have to teach you the other ways!" She giggled, and let the braid fall back down her back. Her moss-green eyes sparkled as she sped around the big room, stopping at chest-of-drawers, then a closet, then back to the chair where I was sitting.
"Princess, since we are sneaking to the village, and people have never seen you in their lives, you will seem like a very rich baron or duke's daughter. I will be the kind Princess's servant that she volunteered to show you around. That way, if any of the market people ask about you, they will know." I nodded; she helped me don my socks and shoes, and handed me my hat. We stood and were ready to leave the room- and go to the village- but before we closed the door, I grabbed my purse.
Mana noticed. "Why Princess, why do you bring your money? You surely will not need it!" I shrugged, an un-princess-like motion. "Who knows," I said, skipping ahead of her in excitement. "I might need it! And how many times do I have to tell you: call me by my given name, or shorten it if you must!"
She shrugged and chased after me; when nobody was around, I dropped the regalness that I had to wear around others; I ran, laughed, skipped, just let go and acted like a normal five-year-old girl should act like.
Down corridors, around turns, we dodged servants carrying trays of food, advisors reading scrolls who shouted after us with a disapproving, "Princess don't!" We ignored them and ran faster, as fast as our legs could carry us.
After going down countless corridors and speeding around corners, we slowed down as we came to the kitchen, our cheeks bright red s we gasped for breath. Mana peeked her head into the doorway for any of the advisors or servants that would run their mouths to Mahad. The coast seemed to be clear as she held her hand out for mine and pulled me into the kitchen where Oma was humming as she chopped vegetables on the wooden counter. She looked up as we cautiously crept over to the door behind her. Her grey hair, put up in a tight bun on top of her head, swayed to the sides as she laughed quietly, her leathery skin crinkling together in a smile.
We looked at her, our fingers covering our mouths in a 'shh' motion. She nodded her head, looked to the door, and finished chopping the carrots as she whispered, "What are my two loving girls doing now? I've got some cheese and bread here if you would like to have it, I do not have a use for it anymore. Besides, you two might need it where you are heading, you might get hungry on the way!" And with that, she wrapped the bread and cheese in a linen cloth and handed it to Mana; she gently pushed us to the door. We smiled brightly at her as we nodded our thanks. She didn't say anything but to shoo us away with a shake of her head. Without another word, we charged toward the South Gate.
We followed the path through the little patch of trees, Mana pulling me along behind her, and me, panting from the effort to stay with her. Because of my short legs, and not being used to running much, it was a challenge; I tried my best though. After a few grueling minutes of running, we came to the South Gate; a twenty foot tall sod, adobe, and brick wall that had even taller towers at intervals, the wall was built long ago, when Pyhrenree fought wars every year. The wall stretched around the palace to protect it, and the towers had scarce men in it; we were in a time of peace, so we needn't worry of an attack, but they were there for Father's peace of mind…also to keep me in. I could only pray there wasn't a guard here.
We calmed our breathing; Mana caught hers faster than I, my cheeks were a darker red than they usually were, and a bit of sweat dripped down my face, but Mana quickly wiped it away.
"Okay Ryll, I'm going to go see if Sakai is up there; if not, we can go on to Rigalda. I do not know if he is or not, if he is not, the door will open; but please, do not build your hopes, for they may be shot down." I nodded, and hid behind the grassy hedge. I watched as Mana skipped to the gate's doors, and pulled on the big, brass door handle. With a loud groan, the wooden door swung inward, Mana digging her heels into the ground to open it.
Once it was open enough for both of us to squeeze through, she let go of the door handle, her face was red, and lightly sweating. She huffed as she gestured for me to go through the door, I did so with wonder, excitement, and happiness. There was nobody there to say, "Princess, no!" or "Princess, it's too dangerous!" Master Mahad was not there to chastise, "Princess Amaryllis, don't!" I felt so free! So liberated! I honestly did not know what 'liberated' meant, but I'd heard Master Mahad say that 'liberty' meant 'free', so 'liberated' was another word for free!
I thought all of this in the few seconds it took me to get from the hedge to the door. I was a bit nervous; butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and my whole body felt jittery. Before I could go through, Mana grabbed my hand.
"Now, Ryll; stay with me when we are in Rigalda, understand?" I nodded, there were faint sounds coming from the other side of the door, and I wanted to find out just what they were.
My friendly servant gently pushed me through the door, with her following after.
My deep blue eyes were drawn to everything; the trees were growing tall and the limbs were not trimmed; flowers and grasses and plants grew untamed and wild, the blooms bursting with different colors. The air seemed thicker with new scents, and the path in front of us was beaten down, but it did not look like it was cared for like the ones in the palace gardens. I loved it!
Slowly, I spun around, taking in the new sights and smells; the sounds I had heard before were coming from the village a little ways down the path. As I stepped toward it, a loud slam made me turn around; my small frame trembled with sadness and fear, for I thought my adventure was over already. I had thought someone had seen us going to the gate; they sent Mahad or one of the advisors to fetch me and scold Mana.
To my immense relief and delight, the sound was Mana; she had pulled with what seemed to be all her might to close the big door, and, once it closed, she fell down on her rear.
I giggled and helped her up. She dusted herself off and asked, "So, what do you think of the outside world? Is it to your expectations?" With a big smile I answered, "Oh, Mana! It is simply magnificent! Everything seems so magical! I don't ever want to leave it! Oh, is Rigalda like this?" I looked from her to the village not so far away, but still pretty far.
She laughed, and straightened my hat on my head, and once again smoothed out my dress.
"The only way to know, is to find out! Now then," She straightened to her full height, her dark brown braid set over her shoulder, and pointed to Rigalda. "Shall we visit Rigalda? Or do you want to go back to Mahad's lessons on politics?" My ringlets swung from side to side as I shook my head, and with a laugh from Mana, we began our short journey to Rigalda.
Yami: So this came from a dream?
Me: Yes, as you can see, Amaryllis is me!
Yami: When do the rest of us come in?
Me: In a bit! Chill your rolls!
Yugi: Please leave a review! Jess will try to update as soon as she can! Thanks for reading!