Chapter Two
Be One With The Crowd
Lucinda 'Magwin' Fitzherbert, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Corona, and Duchess of the Northern Isles, flexed her sore arm after an early morning training with Hansel, the Lord Commander of her step-father's Kingsguard. It was sort of a daily routine that she followed strictly which begin with a duel with some of the best knights and soldiers under the watchful gaze of Hansel, and it was followed by a short rest before delving into the secrets of the arcane arts under the guidance of Gretel, the royal sorceress and magic adviser to her step-father. For a total of thirteen months, she had been following this schedule tightly ever since she was rescued from execution, however, today wasn't like any other day. The Coronain delegation consisting of fifty knights, and three hundred and sixty-five men-at-arms have been travelling for at least two weeks before finally reaching the outskirts of Dunwiddie, a small but growing village directly below the towering walls of the Enchancian castle. True to his word, King Erik Fitzherbert allowed Lucinda a head start, giving her the chance to meet up with her friends under the disguise of her apprentice outfit, she would then be able to mingle around with her friends and have a day of fun before slipping back into the encampment and donning her true colors.
Making doubly sure that her sword was attached to her belt and James' gift hanging proudly from her neck, Lucinda pushed away the flap to her tent and walked outside where Ralof, the captain of her personal guards waited with her Arabian horse readied. She swung herself onto the saddle like she always did during her training with the royal guards before Hansel took over, she stroked the horse's mane which caused it to neigh in response, she giggled and turned to face her concern captain. "I'll be fine Ralof. You don't have to be so paranoid. We are in the Kingdom of Enchancia, there is no chance that the Southerners could harm me here. And besides, I have friends in the village." She said, rolling her eyes in the process.
"I meant no disrespect, Your Highness." Ralof replied gruffly. "After the numerous attempts on your life by those Southern dogs had many of the lads on age, they would want you safe. I want you safe."
"Let them try. I'm not the same girl that they tried to kill all those months ago." Lucinda replied with a steely gaze. "In case you have forgotten, I trained under one of the very best swordsman known throughout the Kingdoms. And I have Rune." Her pet falcon screeched in agreement. She could still sense his unease, she sighed and shook her head. "I'll be careful Ralof, I promise."
"It seems that I can't stop you from going," Ralof gave a small grunt of approval. He lifted up a horn and handed it to her. "Under any circumstances that you should encounter danger, blow it once and help will come your way." Lucinda nodded her thanks. "Stay out of trouble, milady."
Lucinda took hold of the reins. "You know me Ralof, I don't find trouble." She gave it a tuck and her horse went surging forward. "Trouble finds me!" She yelled as the horse took off into a full gallop. She rode past several familiar sights, from the meadow where she first met Sofia to the forest where she loved to explore during her free time, she smiled ever brighter when she smelt the familiar air of the village of Dunwiddie. She was home. The first place she went was to her former house, she was glad to learn that it had been converted into a shop selling food supplies to travelers and townsfolk alike, she nodded her head in approval and rode down the lane. The familiar old oak tree loomed ahead of her, she recalled singing along the road with Sofia after the princess successfully managed to get her to apologize for all the hexes she caused to the other children. She dismounted, and tugged on the horse's reins, getting it to follow her as she inspected the towering tree from her younger days.
"Oh, Rune, I wish I met you sooner than perhaps you could enjoy flying around Dunwiddie." The falcon screeched and inclined its talons towards an inscription written on the bark of the tree. "Huh, what did you see?" Lucinda's eyes followed the talon and saw the words, she released her hold on her horse and approached the tree and placed a hand on the carving. It was Sofia's writing. "It doesn't matter who hurt you, or broke you down, what matters is who made you smile again. I miss your smile Lucinda." She read out softly. "Oh, Sofia, if only you knew how close we are from seeing each other." She commented with her eyes gazing towards the castle, but when she turned around she heard a loud gasp. Standing before her was one of her few friends from the village, the girl's eyes were wide as saucers and her mouth hanging slightly open, an empty basket laid on the ground with its contents laying all around. Lucinda smiled weakly and gave a short wave after nudging her feathered friend to take to the skies.
"Hi, Jade." She greeted sheepishly.
"LUCINDA!" Jade cried, springing forward and crashing her arms around the said girl.
Lucinda giggled at the affection shown by her friend, she returned the embrace fiercely, the two girls parted after a short while and stared at each other, studying the small changes before they both smiled. "Its so good to see you again, Lucinda." Jade said after she calmed down from her excitement.
"Likewise." Lucinda replied. "Its been so long. I'm sorry if I hadn't wrote." She apologized.
"Don't worry too much about it." Jade waved her apologies aside. "What's that outfit you're wearing?" She inquired.
"The outfit of an apprentice to the Coronain royal guards, or in simple term, a squire with benefits." Lucinda answered, as she herself marveled at her robes. Jade gaped at her in surprise. She laughed. "What can I say? I wanted to try out a different lifestyle."
Jade smiled warmly. "I won't comment on it. But Sofia and Prince James most likely would." She said. Lucinda stood up straighter at the mentioning of the two names that she wanted to hear. Jade smiled even wider. "You'll be surprised to learn that a lot of things has changed after you left for the Kingdom of Corona. For example, Princess Amber is now a Buttercup like Sofia. There is also an yearly event called Dazzleball, a game of sports that is played between the royals and us, or should I just say the Red Hawks and the Dunwiddie Ducks. Sofia switches between the two teams every year, this year she's set to play in the royal team. Perhaps, you can join us Lucinda." She said excitedly. Lucinda just smiled, but inside she was nervous, she didn't want to reveal her royal status just yet. "Speaking about Sofia, I'm about to meet her in the castle, you wanna tag along?"
Lucinda shrugged. "Why not?"
"Great! Let's get going!" Jade started to reach for her basket before realizing that the contents had all spilled. "Aww...I'm supposed to deliver these paint bottles to Sofia, something for her project. A school play I believe." She gave a defeated sigh. But just as she was about to ask Lucinda for any suggestions, the paint that currently stained the floor were sucked back into their respective bottles and neatly placed back into her basket. Whirling her head slightly to her left, she watched as a blue light surrounded Lucinda's hands as she slowly guided the paint bottles back into place. She stared at her friend and said only one word. "Woah..."
Lucinda smiled and lowered her hands and the light faded away instantly. "Jade, I know that this is a lot to take in but please keep this to yourself. I'll tell Sofia and the others at a later date." Jade just nodded in response. "Oh! Before we go." She approached her horse and whispered a few words into its ear, Jade watched with wide eyes when the horse neighed in response and trotted away. "Alright, I'm done. Let's go."
Constable Miles was astonished, or surprised by Lucinda's return. He continued shaking his head in wonder at the fact that she now carried a sword and wore an outfit that should be worn by a male, he heard the soft giggles behind him and knew that both girls were probably talking about his facial reaction earlier when Lucinda told him her name. The castle steward, Baileywick was away with his brother for a fishing trip and will not be returning until the royal ball which was the next day, thus the task of escorting guests and friends of the royal family falls to him. He stopped outside the door leading towards the library and gave three loud knocks. "Princess Sofia. Prince James. Princess Amber. Your friend, Jade from Dunwiddie is here to see you." He announced, he turned towards Lucinda who shaked her head as if to tell him to keep quiet, and surprisingly, he complied and waited for the door to open. And when it did, the three royal children stood behind and quickly welcomed Jade inside. But before Sofia could close the door again, James spotted an extra pair of legs behind the constable and pointed out.
"Wait! Who's that behind you Constable Miles?" James had spoken aloud causing his sisters to look at the constable.
"An old friend." Constable Miles replied with a smile, he stepped aside revealing a grinning Lucinda. "I shall now take my leave." He bowed and walked away.
"Lucinda..." Sofia rolled the name on her tongue, she took a few steps forward. She stared at her friend for almost an eternity before literally pouncing on Lucinda and tackling her to the ground. The joy of seeing her friend again after three long years was already melting her heart, but seeing her in an outfit that the Enchancian guards wore when they're not on duty shocked her to the core but that would be a question she'll ask later. The two girls giggled and laughed as they helped each other to their feet, Princess Amber surprised both her twin brother and step-sister when she pulled Lucinda into a hug as well before chiding her for the choice of clothing, Lucinda shrugged and flicked her hair towards the back revealing James' parting gift to her. The two princesses turned to their brother and shoved him forward.
James, the Crown Prince of Enchancia stared at the witch that had won his heart when she decided to help Sofia, unlike his twin sister, he never once faulted Lucinda nor Sofia for that small incident during Mother's Day. He only scolded Sofia for not telling him earlier, if she had approached him about her problem, he would have gladly stepped aside to allow both Sofia and his step-mother some alone time. But come to think of it, if Sofia did told him about her loneliness, he wouldn't have met Lucinda and the two would not have developed feelings for each other. He felt a burning sensation at his right arm and found Amber pinching him with a pointed look, he gulped nervously and lifted his head to face the girl of his dreams. "You look very fetching in that outfit." He blurted out suddenly. He blushed furiously when he realized his mistake, but he did not expect Lucinda's reply to be equally romantic.
"Why, thank you James. And may I say that you look devilishly handsome in that outfit." Lucinda replied with a warm smile. "I missed you James."
James wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his head on her shoulders. "I missed you more, Lucinda." He mumbled his reply. When the two parted after what felt like an eternity, he took a glance at the necklace and smiled brightly. "You wore it." He stated plainly.
Lucinda giggled. "Why would I not?" She gave a mock-pout and folded her arms. "I gave my word, didn't I?"
"Of course you did!" James quickly countered and smiled sheepishly. He heard Sofia, Amber and Jade howling away like hyenas, he tuned out their laughter and instead focused his eyes on Lucinda. "Are you part of the Coronain delegation? Do you need a room? I can have father-?!" His words died on his lips by another lip that came crashing upon him without any warning. His cheeks turned bright red that instant. The other three girls standing behind him made cooing noises, with Amber fanning herself with one of her many fans, Sofia and Jade had wide smiles across their faces. When Lucinda drew back, her cheeks pink with embarrassment and a tinge of shyness about displaying her affection so openly. James on the other hand, lifted his hand weakly and touched his lips with a dreamy look. "Wow...just...wow..." Was all he could say.
"And to answer your question. Yes, I'm part of the Coronation delegation. And for the need of a room, you'll just have to wait and find out." Lucinda battled her eyebrows, leaving her friends in suspension. Thankfully, she was trained by Hansel not to fall victim to cute faces and pouts, she folded her arms at Sofia's attempts. "Not tellin'!"
"Aw, you're no fun!" Sofia grumbled, but everyone knew she was joking.
"I suppose we can always wait to find out during the ball tomorrow." Amber reasoned, immediately putting a halt to any further attempts from Sofia and James. She snapped her fan shut and gestured for Lucinda to enter the library before signalling Jade to close the door. She dragged Lucinda towards the table where several pieces of clothing lay all around, most were old rags or tattered clothing that the servants donated. "Royal Prep is getting ready for a school play about ancient civilizations, the three of us are placed in charge of props and the clothing, but we are not entirely sure what to make out of it. You must have seen lots of things during your days in the Kingdom of Corona, so do you have any ideas that you might give us?" She inquired politely.
Lucinda studied the various props, she lifted up a short wooden sword. 'Hmm...a gladius.' She gently placed it back and allowed her eyes to gaze around the large pile of rags and old clothes, most were red though there were some that were purple and dark navy blue. Her eyes went wide as an idea rang inside her head. Flashes of sketches that she had seen in the Coronain castle's library came flashing before her eyes, drawings of an ancient military organization, an empire so great that it was respected as much as it was feared until it fell nearly a thousand years ago. "Well, judging from the colors, I suppose you can do a short skit about the ancient Roman Empire." She grabbed a rusty knight's helm and ripped apart the visor with her bare hands causing four eyebrows to shoot up at once, she ignored them and leaned forward to pinch several red feathers and indicating James to hold them in place above the helm. Reaching into the back of her robes, she pulled out a small vial and poured it at the bottom where she wanted the feathers to stick and nudged James to release his hold, and when he did the feathers looked as if it was attached to the helm in the first place.
She smiled widely at her master-piece. "Viola! Now you have a Roman Centurion helmet, at least from what I read. But I really wouldn't suggest wearing it until your royal sorcerer gets rid of all those rust, wouldn't want you getting an infection." She said and had to bite back a laugh at the now wide-eyed Amber.
"Wow! This is amazing, can you give us a hand with the rest?" Sofia asked, battling her eyes towards Lucinda who flicked her forehead with a finger. "OW!" She suddenly cried, rubbing her forehead.
Lucinda shook her head. "Nice try Sofia." She stated sternly. "But a true princess regardless of age will do her own work, and that goes for the princes as well."
"Don't let Desmond hear you say that." James remarked, causing Lucinda to raise an eyebrow and Sofia to blush. He folded his arms. "He's a friend from Royal Prep and he's also Sofia's boyfriend. Can you believe that it took Desmond a year to make his move, both Amber and I tried giving him hints that Sofia shared the same feeling as he did but was equally shy when it came to admitting. Nonetheless, he finally manned up and found the courage to ask her out, they have been dating since then and Amber fainted when Sofia kissed him on the lips." He jerked his thumb to his twin sister, who responded by jabbing her fan on his chest, he raised his hands in surrender.
Amber huffed and turned away. "Says the boy who threatened to have his friend blown to shreds by cannons if Sofia came to harm." She retorted.
Lucinda giggled at James' speechless expression. "Oh, James. How could you?" She swatted him playfully across the arm.
"What?" James looked at her with a lopsided grin. "It's what any brother would have done for their sister." He turned his gaze towards Amber. "And speaking about boyfriends and sisters. I'll be having a nice long chat with a certain someone when we return to school in three day's time." Amber whipped her head around so fast that her neck might have snapped, fortunately for her it didn't. He challenged her glare, and she stepped back in defeat. "Don't worry. I just want to ask him some questions. Don't forget, he nearly killed Sofia by cheating during the race."
"That was two years ago!" Amber cried. "But he's changed." Sofia nodded fervently. "Hugo is not the same person as he was before the race. He's no longer boastful and he doesn't look down on common folks anymore, thanks to Sofia." She smiled at her little sister. "He now uses his spare time helping out the servants around the castle instead of sitting around like he used to, he also help the cooks and the stable-master..." She cocked her head at James' reaction.
James wiped away his happy tears. "My sisters are in love!" He cheered. He turned to face Jade, whom had remained absolutely quiet since she entered the library. "Oh! Before I forget!" He reached into his coat and pulled out a neatly folded parchment. "Zandar sends his regards." He tossed the parchment into the air.
"SAY WHAT!" Jade yanked the parchment before it landed and read its contents, her eyes widening at each word written to perfect detail. "This is legit right?"
James nodded. "Yup, took it straight from his very own hands." He glanced at his sisters. "Amber. Sof. Take our guest to the seamstress and have her sizing done."
"As you wish milord." Sofia said sweetly before pushing Jade towards the door where Amber stood waiting, she popped her head back in. "Have fun you two. But not too much 'fun'." She quickly closed the door when James started to advance on her.
Lucinda sighed and took James by the hand. "Take me to the gardens. It would be a much better place to talk than here." She suggested. James nodded eagerly and led the way.
Lucinda followed James as he led her through winding trees and confusing sharp turns until they reached a door, he yanked the door open and urged her to enter, she took one step in and stared at the place in wonder. James explained to her that this hidden garden was his birth mother's favorite hideout when she wanted to get out of the politics that plagued the life as Queen, when she died, the garden was lost and forgotten as only she knew the entrance. But Sofia managed to find it when searching for her pet rabbit, she accidentally stumbled upon this mysterious lost garden and used it as the ideal location for her tea party project, working together with him, the two gave the entire garden life by luring birds and domestic animals into the garden. The two sat down with their legs dangling slightly above a pond, they spoke about many things that transpired in their lives, Lucinda told nothing but the absolute truth but left out the fact of her being royalty. And then the topic came to the wizard council, Lucinda was taken aback that the news actually traveled all the way to Royal Prep which had many princes talking about it, James knew that it involved Corona and wanted to find out whether she knew anything about it.
"Before I tell you anything. I want you to swear." Lucinda said softly with hurtful eyes. "Swear that you'll never reveal anything until tomorrow night."
"You have my word." James crossed his heart. "Prince's honor."
Lucinda took a deep breath. "It all started out when my mother died. An illness took her." She sniffed and found James holding her hand, he gave her a sympathetic smile, she smiled in return. "On the day of her funeral, I sneaked out of the castle on my broom and took a ship bound for the Kingdom of the Southern Isles. I decided to settle down in a small village known as Hampton, the small community welcomed with open arms despite my heritage as a witch. For at least a month, I helped around the village, bringing smiles to the people but all that changed when a rouge band of witches attacked the village and kidnapped all of the children except me. I tried to reason with the people, but they would not listen to me, they accused me of being the informant - the main reason behind the attack." She growled, her eyes spilling out tears of anger and rage. "How dare they accuse me after I helped them! That governor of the village ordered for my arrest, they stormed into my hut and dragged me out like a common criminal, they even had the nerve to snap my broom before my eyes!" She spat, James only held her hand tighter. "But they didn't dare touch this." She indicated the necklace hanging on her neck with a small grin. "Those guards actually believed that this was an artifact of immense power that would kill them if they laid a finger on it."
Her eyes darken suddenly. "Then those wizards from that council came. They held me on trial and was found guilty on spot and sentenced to burn at the stake alive, like all witches and wizards that practiced the dark arts. As I was being dragged out, I heard the sounds of wood being snapped and my magical energy being drained by a small margin, I knew without glancing that those old men had snapped my wand in two." James' gritting teeth told her that he too was fuming in rage. "They led me out into the open where a scaffold was set and tied me to the infamous stake, as a herald began reading out my crimes and punishment with the crowd cheering along, I managed to catch a glimpse of soldiers positioning themselves atop the roofs, then I spotted the twins, Hansel and Gretel giving me a nod. It was then the truth dawned on me, those soldiers I saw earlier were part of a rescue force, that was what I thought at first until a fast swirling arrow struck my executioner, as the soldiers above the roof continued raining down arrows upon the helpless people below, a deep rumbling sound from the forest could be heard. What I saw gave me a flicker of hope." She continued her tale slowly but her frown and tears faded away and was replaced with a bright smile when she got to the last sentence.
"The Coronain Royal Army had arrived at the nick of time." She giggled softly at James' wide eyes, he stared at her with his mouth agape. She knew that it was no secret that the Kingdom of Corona had the largest army in the entire continent, the vassals of the Kingdom could raise levies as high as nine thousand with five thousand being the minimum, when the call to arms came from the King. The royal army itself already consisted of twenty thousand knights and soldiers, and if she were to add the knights and soldiers from the northern vassals, the number would rise as high as fifty thousand. And even though she had met some knights and soldiers, she had not seen the full force of the royal army and only a small portion. "It's just a small fraction, James. Not the entire army." She explained.
James whistled in admiration. "But still...a portion of their army is already half the size of ours, imagine seeing the full force." His eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What about their Navy? Did you see them? How many ships were there?" He fired off his questions all at once.
"See them? I didn't just see them. I sailed with them. On the flagship." Lucinda corrected causing James' eyes to widen even further. "But I didn't see their entire navy. The rear admiral informed me that the ships that sailed to rescue me are part of the Royal Fleet, there is still the Northern Fleet and the Imperial Second Fleet. But the Royal Fleet is by far the largest of the three consisting of two-hundred and twenty-seven frigates and fifty galleys, all frigates are armed with thirty-eight 12-pounder guns on each broadside. The galleys are mainly used for invasion purposes but are equally heavy armed with twenty 6-pounder guns on both sides, don't look down on those medieval ships, they can throw quite a punch when they need to." The more she described, the more James felt like seeing those ships with his own eyes. She stared at James for what seemed like an eternity, and the more she stared, the more she couldn't bare to lie in front of his face. "James...there is something else."
James shook out of his stupor. "What is it?" He asked, his face showing concern.
Lucinda sighed and stood up. "First let me tell you a story. A friendship bloomed between a young prince and a young witch when the two first laid eyes on each other, they grew up together but events transpired that caused the witch to flee. The prince spent months, years even just to track her down and finally found her in a small village and discovered that she was no longer a young witch but a full-fledged white witch with beauty that any man would kill for. He wrote a letter and invited her over to his castle to be a member of his court, she accepted and brought her young daughter with her, the feelings that they had for each other did not even falter and only grew brighter the moment they laid eyes on each other again. Alas, their moment together was short when she was taken away from this world." She watched as James slowly absorbed her words and he sat even straighter than before, his eyes studying hers for any traces of a prank but found none. "The prince is none other than His Majesty Erik the First, by the Grace of the Divines, King of Corona and King in the North. And the witch was my mother, Marla Magwin, granted the title of Queen of Corona and Queen in the North posthumously."
James pointed a finger at her accusingly. "Doesn't that make you..."
"Her Royal Highness, Lucinda the First, Crown Princess of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles." Lucinda repeated her title whilst doing a curtsy.
James snapped back to reality and bowed his head. "Pleased to meet you." He took her ring finger and gave her the kiss of peace. "Your secret's safe with me."
They continued on talking about their royal life and experiences that they lost touch with the time and before they even knew it, the sun had already set and the sky was plunged in a nice array of both orange and dark blue.
"I didn't even realize we had been talking for at least five hours." James commented as he stared at the setting sun.
"Indeed." Lucinda remarked softly, hugging his arm while leaning her head on his shoulders. "And it is getting fairly late, I ought to get back."
"You could just stay here." James pointed out. He didn't really want to see her leave after reuniting with her after three long years.
Lucinda smiled and pulled him close enough for a peck on the cheek. "I'll come back tomorrow. I promise." She turned her attention towards the castle's bridge and gave a soothing whistle that echoed across the bridge until it reached the ears of a certain Arabian horse. She heard James' heavy breathing behind her and can't help but snigger at the mere thought, she smiled when the mighty steed approached, she ran her hand along the mane before swinging herself onto the saddle. "Never seen an Arabian horse before?" James shook his head and lifted his hand, looking at her for permission. "Go ahead, he won't bite." James then begin to gently stroke the horse's neck while his eyes studied the massive beast before him, not even the Enchancian stables had a horse as huge as this. "Don't worry too much about me, I bet my entire gold purse that Coronain knights are in the village waiting for me."
James laughed. "Then you'd better get going." He took a single step back. "I'll see you tomorrow evening then."
"Tomorrow." Lucinda confirmed and gave the reins a slap. With a loud neigh, her horse surged forward, riding across the bridge with the wind on her side. True enough, a small company of royal guards awaited her at the entrance to the village, she sighed and approached them. "What brings you here, Ralof. Father sent you here again."
"His Grace didn't, we came on our own accord. And we are watching your back, Your Highness." Ralof answered with a nod. "If I may be so bold, we should probably head back."
"Let's." Lucinda started riding off in the direction of the Coronain encampment with the small company of royal guards behind her.
The following day, a loud commotion could be heard coming from the village of Dunwiddie as people crowded both sides of the streets leading to the castle to welcome the savior of Enchancia, no one had forgotten what Erik had done for them and their former King. The Coronains had entered the war as part of a coalition force led by Roland the First, the former King of Enchancia and Erik who was still a prince then led the Coronains against the barbarians and saved Roland's life nine times on the field of battle and turned the tide of the war in their favor. His courage inspired the coalition soldiers that they fought even more harder against the barbarians and gave them no other option but to sue for peace, Roland the First hailed him as the savior of Enchancia and the name had stuck with him ever since. It was in the late afternoon when the trumpets and drums were heard on the road to the village, children ran and screamed for their parents and informed them that the banner of the golden flower was spotted on the horizon.
As the column of men drew closer and closer, they could see three different banners, the middle one was the symbol of Corona which was the golden flower, directly on the right was the King's coat of arms which consisted of a wolf sharing the stage with a lion on a red background, and the left was another banner that was being displayed for the first time since Lucinda's introduction to the royal court. Like her father, Lucinda chose animals to represent her strength and courage, thus her heraldry consisted of a falcon sharing the limelight with a wolf on a green background. The people cheered even more louder when they spotted the very man that saved their Kingdom. Erik Fitzherbert rode down the streets of Dunwiddie in all his glory, his golden crown gleaming brightly above his head, he smiled and waved at everybody he passed. Riding around him were members of the Coronain Kingsguard, their distinctive red cloaks and feathered helms were a dead giveaway to their ranks, five rode in front while ten rode at the back with their Lord Commander directly at the front. Behind them marched at least a hundred soldiers, all with red cloaks and holding halberds and spears.
The crowd turned their heads eagerly to witness a second group riding at a slower pace than the first, unlike the first group, the knights that rode down the road had blue cloaks instead of red and the marching tune was totally different as well. Several children within the crowd including Jade stared with mouths agape and eyes wide when a familiar-looking witch rode in the center of the column, all knew her as Lucinda the friendly witch. Yet, here they were staring at the exact same girl but instead of her usual purple robes and pointy hat, she wore a sparkling blue dress with a silver tiara resting above her head, a brown-feathered falcon was perched on her shoulders. Lucinda noticed Jade staring and shrugged her shoulders, she smiled when she saw Jade nodding her head in understanding about the secrecy, she found Ruby further down the road with an equal expression as Jade. The roaring crowd soon got lesser and lesser as the column went further down the road and before she knew it, the bridge leading to the castle was dead in sight, she took a deep breath and tucked on the reins. She had discussed her entrance with her father before they broke camp in detail, he would enter the castle courtyard first and introduce himself per royal tradition and patiently wait for Roland the Second to introduce his family. Erik would then introduce both Hansel and Gretel before revealing that he had a daughter, of course Lucinda had told him that James already knew about her being royal and she trusted him to play dumb. She would then come riding in with her guards after a herald reads out her name and titles.
"Are you ready?" Erik spoke to his daughter, moments before crossing the bridge.
Lucinda nodded curtly. "I sure am."
"See you on the other side, little dove." Erik said as his trotted down the bridge.
King Roland the Second stood outside the main entrance to the castle's great hall with his family members and staff arrayed to his left and right, it was customary for royalty to greet the other which had been going on for at least a thousand years. The familiar trumpets and drums made him smile brighter than before, he even stood a little straighter when he caught a glimpse of Erik's heraldry flying proudly in the wind when the first group of horsemen made it past the gates. Ever since he was a boy, watching the knights of Corona riding was one of the few things that he enjoyed doing and he still does, which clearly explains his huge childlike eyes. Though he wasn't the only one. James had a similar expression. The cavalry rode around the courtyard and formed two lines on either side of the wall, facing the entrance, when the Enchancian guards blew their horns signaling the arrival of King Erik, the Coronain knights dipped their banners and heads in respect. Roland was taken aback when the horses lowered their heads as well, but what would be more surprising than this, the Coronains were master horse-breeders which explained their close relationship with their four-legged friend. He watched as his old friend rode down the courtyard, dismounting with a man and a woman before approaching him, they eyed each other for a while and bowed their heads in greeting.
"Hail, Your Majesty." Erik greeted respectfully. "How have you been all these years?"
"Looking after the Kingdom you saved, Your Grace." Roland replied with a huge grin.
The two Kings surprised everyone when they threw their arms around the other in a brotherly hug, which they parted with a firm handshake and a pat on the shoulder. "Allow me to introduce you to my family," Roland said as he gestured towards his wife and children. "This beautiful lady here is my beloved wife for three years, Miranda." Erik did the only thing that most princes and Kings would have done, he took her ring finger and gave it a kiss which flattered her completely. "And this here is my only son and heir to the throne, James." James bowed low enough to impress the foreign King. "My eldest daughter, Amber." Amber gave a graceful curtsy while trying to look out for any sign of Lucinda. "My youngest daughter, Sofia." Sofia curtsied while doing the same as Amber. "Our loyal steward, Baileywick." A man with a black coat and a pocket-watch bowed his head in greeting. "Our royal sorcerer, Cedric the Sensational." The man in purple robes gave a solid bow. "And lastly, a good friend of the family and may I say the youngest to ever work in the castle. Dorrie Cooper." A young girl, most likely around Lucinda's age gave a swift curtsy.
"It's nice to meet you all." Erik greeted everyone but his eyes kept lingering to the young lady-in-waiting causing her to fidget nervously, something told him that he knew her from somewhere. The facial features of the woman that rescued his life was buried in the deepest part of his mind, even though he was merely six years of age, he swore to never forget the face of his savior and that face, a younger one was now right in front of him. He threw those thoughts aside. 'I'll bring this up with Roland later.' He said to himself before returning his gaze to his friend. He gestured to the man and woman standing to his right. "May I introduce to you the Lord Commander of my Kingsguard, Hansel. I'm sure you have heard of his exploits during his younger days." Hansel bowed his head towards the Enchancian royal family. "And this lovely lady here is our royal sorceress, Gretel. And before you ask, they're both twins." Gretel gave a curtsy and stood straight back up with her hands clasped behind her back.
Now came the fun part.
"You have met my trusted companions," Erik spoke gruffly, throwing a wink towards James who caught the snitch. "But." He raised his voice. "I haven't introduce you to my daughter. She was nothing more than a wreck when I rescued her from the clutches of the Southern Isles, however, with time and patience, she recovered fully from the terrible ordeal. She now brightens up the day in the castle with her cheerful smile. It took her some time getting used to royal life, but she managed it." He turned to face Roland. "My daughter is turning fourteen in a few days time and I decided to allow her to return to Enchancia as a present, for it was in Enchancia where she was born, it was here where she first learned how to walk. Enchancia is her real home and it was her dream to return here one day. You already know her. You've met a dozen times when Princess Sofia invited her over." He enjoyed the inquisitive looks that the royal family apart from James were throwing at him. He turned and nodded at one of his guards.
"All hail Her Royal Highness, Lucinda the First, Crown Princess of Corona and Duchess of the Northern Isles!" Came a loud cry and it was followed shortly by trumpets.
All eyes turned to the main gate where another group of knights with blue cloaks rode in, they rode around the courtyard and positioned themselves on the left side of the wall, directly opposite the knights with red cloaks. "SOLDIERS SALUTE!" Both sides snapped to full attention as Lucinda came riding down in all her aspects of royalty.
Lucinda dismounted from her horse and whispered softly to Rune and the falcon screeched in response before perching itself on a nearby tree, her guards flanked her left and right as she walked up the steps where her father waited. "Greetings, Your Majesties. It's so good to be back here again." She curtsied more gracefully than Amber and Sofia combined. She smiled at James. "You look very fetching in a blue jacket." She commented causing the Prince's mouth to fall open.
"And you look very..." James shook his head to keep himself from drooling. "...stunning in a dress."
"Lucinda..." Sofia started slowly, she gazed at her friend and a huge smile slowly formed on her face. "Welcome to royal life."
"Indeed." Amber said as she approached, looking at Lucinda's sparkling blue dress in envy. "Your dress is even better than mine. I bet Hildegard would kill anyone just to lay her hands on this." She remarked. Lucinda rolled her eyes while James and Sofia held on to each other while laughing away like hyenas.
"Well, we'd best head inside. I'm sure you're still waiting to greet your other guests." Erik interrupted before any further talks could continue. James reluctantly returned to his position after promising Lucinda to escort her to the ball later. Lucinda merely nodded her head in response before making her way into the castle, her guards in tow. The King of Corona watched as his daughter made her way in before turning to face his friend. "Roland, I need to speak to you privately after you greet your guests of course."
Roland turned his head towards Dorrie and nodded in understanding. "We can talk in the solar." He suggested. Erik nodded curtly before entering the castle.
Author's Note
First and foremost, I like to thank Niagara14301 for allowing me to continue using characters from the story 'Dorrie'. Judging from the latest chapter of 'Dorrie', I can assume that Dorrie's twin, Candice will be making an appearance in the next chapter.