Chapter Two
Secundus
Do do do-do, do-do-doodoo—ping!
"No!"
Ally's fingers jumped from the piano keys. There's someone else here?! No one ever visited this church—it was rotting from the outside in—and there was no telling who could be lurking behind the curtain, where the only place to hide was. She had taken the risk of going to the darker side of the kingdom where the knights didn't patrol. She pulled her obsidian red wand from the left sleeve of her cloak and cautiously stepped towards the curtain where the bulge hesitated…
She stabbed the sliver in the curtain. The tip of her wand met brick.
Huh? She pulled back the entire curtain. It was nothing! She was sure she saw gnarly looking feet there a second ago…
She returned to the organ. She didn't feel like playing Break Down the Walls anymore. It didn't match with anything that she was feeling, the anger and mistrust fueling her, the notion that her aunt wanted her to marry—
"Your highness!"
Ally paused between the dark ballad she was attempting to strum. One of the envoys from the castle waited nervously in the center of the pews. He wore glittering decorative robes that must've blatantly stood out against the drab and meager conditions of the black faction streets. She spun on the bench to face him.
"What is it?"
"Madam Savona requests your presence at the castle," the envoy fidgeted, unable to handle his own tongue. "S-she doesn't want you h-here at the—the unsafer side of the kingdom—" He withered under Ally's hard eyes. They both knew he didn't have the place to be telling her what she should be doing. She said nothing towards it, although he was sure she would've punished him with magic.
"Let's go then," Ally sighed, picking up her songbook. "I am done here." In a swift movement she was up and down the steps, her footing light and her cloak softly sweeping behind her. When she was gone, a figure hiding under the pews pulled himself from out of there and continued to stare at the door she just exited from, his mouth agape and breath taken away.
"…Wow," The troll whispered.
Austin walked down the pale dirt path to the forest edge in a daze. He couldn't stop smiling. That girl left an imprint in his mind—the smooth, spiderlike way her fingers tapped the organ keys, the soft, passionate expressions that flashed across her face, those dark, mysterious eyes that held an abyss full of secrets—he wanted to know her. He wanted to know where she came from and what she did besides read and play the organ. He wanted to know if she could teach him.
The only complication he could see was that she was a witch—err—crafter, the correct political term to call her. She wasn't wild and reckless like the other crafters he's seen. To his knowledge, she didn't cast any spells. She only took out her wand and probed around for him, but she never caught him. He wondered if she knew he had snuck under the pews when she was inspecting the curtain.
But then—what did the envoy mean by your highness? Was she a duchess? A diplomat? There was no way she was a princess, not one that would step into the black faction…
The outskirts of the village was in view as he crossed the rugged TROLLS ONLY sign that fell over. He set the stake back up and continued forward, nearing the empty watch tower—it also passed as a kid-friendly tree house since all the weapons had been pilfered from it. His three friends waited for him at the base of the tower. He liked to think that they made up a clan—he, his girlfriend Kira, his best friend Dez, and his off-and-on burly friend, Trent.
"Austin!" Kira cooed as he got closer, bringing her arm around him.
"Dude! Good, you're here! We're about to play a game!" Dez said, looking giddy and excited.
"It's not a game." Trent said in a more serious tone at Austin's confused expression. "We're going witch targeting."
Oh. Austin felt uneasy about playing that game. It wasn't even a game-it was a cruel prank that ended in some traveler getting robbed. The last time he watched his friends target witches, Dez almost lost a finger and Trent was able to steal a sapphire encrusted throwing dagger and a small sack of Havana gold. Trent loved playing this game the most. He wasn't afraid to put the others at risk and was the fastest one to escape the situation.
Still, Austin didn't want to disappoint his friends by disagreeing. Kira was giving him puppy eyes. The pressure was unbearable.
He sighed and nodded. "Cool. Let's go witch targeting."
Ally thanked the carriage driver and stepped to the cobblestone. Around her the safety of the white faction swelled like a marshmallow. Unlike the black faction, this side of the kingdom was always clean. Knights patrolled the streets and they broke up fights. The knights were very friendly and always waved to their princess. The best view of the castle was always in the park directly in front of the gates. Ally sighed and smiled at the castle. Sometimes she really wished it was hers. She always felt like she was renting it.
She waved to the gatekeeper and passed through the thick golden bars shaped to form two smiling harps when bolted together. Just beyond the winding path, the gardeners were tending to the plants. Vibrant lavender, pink, and tangerine colored trees provided shade to the pathway. Blue flowers curled to reach Ally. The grand front was nearing—she took a left from the polished steps to a wooden, less noticeable door away from the enormous front doors used for special occasions. Ally only had the key to the service entrance.
After a quick trip through a spiraling staircase and a hallway of checkered floors and old paintings, Ally stopped at a mirror and fixed her hair before entering her Aunt Savona's study. It was empty minus her intern, writing away in his small corner of books and potions. She found Savona out on the balcony, writing furiously with her quill pen. The ink dripped off the page close to Savona's shoes.
"You called?" Ally asked, sticking her head out the archway.
Savona did not look up from her letter. "You're late. I called for you urgently."
"The message didn't come across that importantly."
Savona looked up momentarily. "Hn. I guess that's one more envoy to fire…in the kiln." She made a note of that. "Come closer."
Unsure if she was still talking to her, Ally sidled up to her and took the chair against the wall. Her aunt stared passed the stationary to the garden and pathway to the gate at the far left. It was almost scary how young she appeared. Ally assumed she was in her early forties, but her skin was smooth and shiny enough to pass as early twenties. They only looked a few years apart! To think, this was the one woman who outlawed black magic like voodoo…
"Ally," Savona said dryly, breaking her out of her stupor. Ally blinked and nodded. "There is…" her aunt's mouth curled to a sweet smile, breaking the sterile seriousness she wore earlier. "There's someone here for you."
"Don't tell me it's another one of your set ups!" Ally said hysterically.
"Set ups? No…Yeah, it's a play date!" Savona laughed. "You're already aware of your age and suitor status. 18, single, and ready to mingle is not the ideal position princesses should be at." Ally glared at her. "At least give this one a chance, Ally. I don't want to have you available for political negotiations."
"If I don't get married soon, you'll marry me off to someone else?"
"For ammunition," Savona confirmed, flicking off dust from her dress. Ally's hands wished to snap her wand. This was the side of being a parliament-proclaimed princess that sucked majorly—she was only valuable as a prize for a kingdom settlement. It didn't matter if she was kind and generous to her people—she still had to sacrifice herself to save them. There was a lonely pang within her that wondered what it would've been like if she had said no years ago when they nominated her. Would she have been a master of black magic now? Would she have traveled farther than the sun reached and listened to musicians from outer kingdoms? Would she have had the courage to call her aunt…wicked?
"I'll greet him," Ally muttered, storming out from the balcony, missing the smirk sent her way. She ignored the intern who waved from his desk and sped to the courtyard at the northeastern side of the castle. All of her future suitors, her matches, her play dates, were brought here because it was the most "romantic" atmosphere in the castle, besides the ballroom and the bedroom. This pattern of suitors began when she was 16, but it was a game back then. Meet, play, laugh, find a horrible fault in him, and then send him off to never see him again. Sometimes they were dukes. Sometimes they were travelers. Sometimes they were old, wealthy guys who only wanted a young piece of eye candy on their arms. She's only ever met a few princes.
She was a floor above the courtyard, but through the wide archways she could still see the beautiful blue hue of the pond and the statues that led to it. There was nothing past the wall of the courtyard. It was just a straight fall downwards into an empty, dry canyon. She peered down to the courtyard in search for the visitor.
There—oh dear, he was tall—brunette, stood straight, wore very nice colors. A green blazer, golden epaulets, and one of Ally's favorite classic novels in his hands to finish the look. She bashfully pulled up her cloak's hood and pulled aside one of the handmaids that walking by—Cassidy—and asked, "What's the status quo on him?"
Cassidy looked down while balancing a covered basket on her hip. "Him?…Oh! That's the master scriber's son. He's in line to inherit the grand library and all of the historical records." Ally sucked in a breath of air—he was a collection of knowledge on legs! He must be the most intelligent suitor of them all!
"What's his name?" Ally awaited on toes to hear. She wanted to hear bells.
Cassidy smiled. "It's a lovely name for a future master scriber. His name…is Dallas."
Hey there! Thanks for returning to the story!
There isn't much to say right now; just enjoy the ride and hopefully you don't catch all my tricks before I've laid them out. I'd like to say thank you to to queenc1 for the review and to the other 3 who've followed the story! :D I'd love to know you guys' thoughts on what's going on, whether it be angry criticism or not. I don't mind! My goal is to frustrate you guys, but don't worry, Auslly is endgame.
Thanks for reading! :D
