I guess I'm writing these chapters as fast as I can because I kind of like where they're going. I know they're a little on the short side, so I hope the consistency and speed at which I am writing will make up for the length. I think I intend to make this a longer story; I'm not sure. For now, JP owns the characters! Enjoy!
PS: Dauphin is a term used to refer to the King in waiting, meaning that Fang is next in line for the throne. Also, someone asked if this was based off of the show Reign. In the sense that I've used a similar political situation and meeting, yes. However, if you look closely as the story goes on, you'll find little bits and pieces of a lot of Medieval stories. I kind of went on a Netflix binge since I've been sick and apparently royal movies are top recommendations of Netflix! I'll try to keep the allusions to a minimum, but I apologize in advance if it happens!
Chapter 2: Beneath the Golden Birds
Not only was I sick, but now I just wanted to die. This is how they will remember my return to Artois: Max, Queen of Verlaine, cannot even stand without the help of her fiancé. There went my first impression.
I heard a deep laugh in my ear and felt the movement of it as Nicholas turned his face towards mine. His smirk was so large, I swore it could fill the English Channel. "I see you've gotten clumsier since we last saw each other, heavier too. What have you been eating, rocks?"
Nothing would have given me more pleasure than to wipe that nasty smirk off his face with my own hands, but I decided to merely respond with, "Why? Is your head missing some?"
Rolling my eyes and gathering myself, I pushed off the Dauphin, maybe a little harder than I had to. I forced a smile and a gave him terse 'thank you' before resetting my gaze on the castle.
King Philip approached quickly with his arms open towards me, "My how you've grown! Listen to me! I sound like an old woman! How are you, my dear?" I quickly went to his arms, mumbling an incoherent greeting. "I know it's been many years, but I wanted to personally say that I am sorry about your father. He would be so proud to see you now."
I had to stem the flow of memories of my father, so I thought instead of this man. I was always fond of him, despite the rumors around court. Even Father defended, saying he was a kind man, just one with an inflated head and a large appetite for power. Whenever I would get in trouble for running from the maids, he always made up a silly excuse as to why I had no use for a bath and how ladies running through the halls should be more common. He would allow me to watch him and Nicholas practice fighting with swords, and after months of watching, he gave me a sword of my own to practice with. Nicholas was never happy very happy with that; he felt that I was being favored. Nicholas and I had always had an interesting relationship. I had tried to be friendly towards him. At first, we got a long well, running around the castle and causing trouble with the staff. But, as we grew older, he tired of me. The laughter stopped and so did the friendliness. He began to see me as a burden. He wanted to play with the older children of the court and not some little girl he was forced to marry. In the end, however, we fell back into each other's graces, promising to write every day. That, of course, only lasted so long.
I felt a hand on my back, and I saw it's owner grinning at me as well. I laughed and embraced Anne. She had always been so loving and kind, and I had always looked to her for guidance as if she were my real mother. "You look wonderful, my girl. Tell me, have you been well?"
I held her hand lightly, "I have been very well, thank you. It is a pleasure to see you again."
"No dear, the pleasure is all mine. Shall we?" She made a sweeping motion with her arm to the castle. The crowd began to disperse as we walked, returning to their daily chores. The King and his Dauphin excused themselves on account of business while the queen escorted me to my chambers. After much walking, we stopped at a large wooden door.
"Here we are," Anne turned to face me. "I hope you find everything to your liking. Dinner will be at seven, and we are having a celebration in honor of your arrival."
I smiled at her before she walked down the corridors. Sighing, I stepped into my guest room only to be greeted with four lovely faces. Squeals filled the air as Ella, Nudge, and Angel wrapped their small arms around me.
"My friends! I'm so happy you're here with me. I thought you would be back in Verlaine for another week," I said excitedly. I had to leave early to stay in front of the flooding of an upcoming storm, and I was sure that would have delayed them by a week. Their presence meant so much to me, especially in a place I am alone in.
"We actually arrived a week earlier than you did! We heard about the weather and decided to leave earlier which I guess is what you thought yourself, however we did not want you to be without ladies so we decided to leave a week even earlier than intended to make sure to have everything prepared for your arrival. And what a wonderful arrival it was! Except you seemed so dark! Black horses, black carriages, black uniforms for your staff, you even wore a black dress! Honestly, Artesian court is so colorful! Reds, blues, they were all so beautiful. The only person who didn't match was Prince Nicholas. Wearing all black, it only makes him appear even more dark than he already does with his hair and eyes. I guess you guys match! Maybe you should –" Monique, Nudge as we have come to call her, was cut off by Ella.
"Speaking of, after today, have you fallen for the Prince, Max?" Elle joked, raising her eyebrows.
"Ha ha, very funny Ella. Did you think of that one all on your own? I'm very impressed," I rolled my eyes, all attempts at forgetting todays events were obviously useless. I grabbed my bags and began to unpack. If I had to stay here, I might as well be comfortable.
Ella laughed at my behavior, "I actually did, though I'm sure the whole court came up with something similar!" I snorted. "Oh, for God's sake Max, you have to marry him, at least pretend like you like him."
"I have to marry him Ella, no one ever said anything about liking him. We need this engagement to go through. The unstable relations I have with Entrainian King and his son are the only ones I have with the country. This union is the only protection against Entrain that we have right now, and I'll be damned if I let it fall through because Nicholas is an ass. I can learn to tolerate him if I have to, but I will not love him," I responded, busying myself with my things.
"You know, I never understood why you hate him now. Sure, you had your rough patches before you left for Verlaine again, but you made up and wrote to each other every day for years. This is the first times you've seen him since your departure, why would you possibly hate him? One little comment made in jest surely could not have caused such strong emotions to form so quickly!" Angelica, affectionately known as Angel for her personality and demeanor, inquired aloud. "You never did tell us why. You never talk about it."
"It's a long story Angel, one saved for another day," I didn't want to talk about Nicholas right now.
"Another day then. We have more fun and important matters to attend to... getting ready for tonight's celebrations!" Angel's statement brought on a round of shrieking, and before I was dragged off to be prepped, I couldn't help but think that talking about my past with Nicholas would have been more enjoyable.
The click of my heels against the cold floor echoed through the halls as my eyes remained glued to the walls, staring at the great tapestries of Artesian court. I had convinced the other girls to go ahead to dinner earlier, encouraging them to find young, wealthy suitors while I needed some fresh air. Within the hour I would be suffocated by a million greetings, so I decided to take some time for myself and explore the castle. Not much of the castle itself had changed since my years of absence. The tapestries, the vases, the banners, they were all very much the same. I walked to the end of the hallway to see my favorite tapestry. It was beautifully made with rich reds and deep blues with golden accents all around, depicting the might of the Entrain rulers. It was not the majesty depicted through cloth that made the tapestry precious to me but rather the small golden birds that surrounded the main image. What I doubt the past King had understood when he bought the piece was that it was crafted by Verlainian weavers. The Artesian King of the time had not been very pleasant to the creators of the tapestry so they placed golden hawks all throughout the piece, showing the might of Verlaine and its symbol instead.
Much to my dismay, I saw that it had begun to fray throughout the years. As I grabbed a side of the tapestry to examine the damage, I noticed some of the damage had reached the back side of the piece. Moving the piece further off the wall, I saw something I had not expected. Instead of a complete wall, I saw a dip in the stones. Slightly under the tapestry, I reached for the side of the dip and felt the grain of a wooden door, even finding a metal handle as well. I was about to disappear completely under the cloth when I heard voices and footsteps from around the corner. I quickly removed myself from the wall, dusted myself off, and walked to dinner with a promise to myself that I would come back to see what lay beneath the golden birds.
This chapter was a little longer than the others. I hope that I can make the rest of the chapters more like this one! Tell me what you think please! I love seeing how many people read the story, but I really want to hear what you think about it!
- St. Silver Wings
