Yes.
iheartamianplusnatan is back from the dead.
Over the summer, my mom told me that I couldn't go on fanfiction anymore, so I left, erasing everything except for my stories. I just couldn't do it! It probably would have killed me.
So the other day I just randomly logged onto my account and started reading Once Upon a Time, and I realized that I NEED to finish it! So, this story will be my last farewell. Because I just NEED to finish it, ya know?
I miss you all so much! Please review, and I hope you like. Sorry, no Amian in this chapter, but don't worry, the next chapter will be good…. ;)
"Presenting King Starling of Knighton and his daughter, Princess Sinead!"
Trumpets blared as the gold and red carriage made its way through the moat bridge into the courtyard where The Queen was waiting for it, her beautiful sky blue skirts billowing out into the wind like cloud on a summer day. Plastered on her face was a kind and sunny smile. Next to her stood Princess Natalia, wearing bright pink robes. Behind them was Ian, wearing his stuffiest day-garments. He hated them, preferring the loose clothes that he often donned when going to the sword arena, but Mother had insisted on the long woolen ones. "They make you look so regal, Ian! Put them on immediately!"
The carriage stopped and out stepped the King of Knighton. He was a round, pompous man, full of hearty laughter and dim but well-meaning comments that Ian usually loathed. The Queen stepped forward and curtsied to him. "It's is certainly a pleasure, Barry! We haven't seen each other in a very long time! How is the Queen?"
King Starling nodded, pleased. "Very well and visiting her parents, m'dear, how thoughtful of you to ask! Curiosity never killed the cat, you know!"
Ian and Natalie glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. Ignoring the King's gaffe, Isabel smiled. "Oh, dear Barry, you ARE a laugh! How about we come in and make ourselves comfortable? My maids will get you daughter to her room."
King Starling's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes, my daughter. Where is she? Sinead? Girl, come out of the carriage!"
A disembodied voice coming from inside the thick red curtains said, "No, father. I am NOT. I wish NOT to be betrothed! A more dreadful thing I couldn't imagine! And this dress is absolutely horrid! It makes me feel confined!"
The King laughed nervously. "Well, dear, you really don't have a choice in the matter. So, you should, um, come out now."
The red curtains parted and out stepped a tall and athletically built girl with orange plaited hair. She tottered awkwardly in high heels and kept hoisting up her dress and wringing it as if she was mad at it. Natalie uttered a soft gasp of horror.
As Isabel and the King made their way inside, Sinead came stomping up to the two royal children, whose faces were agape. "What are you two fish heads looking at? Never seen a girl who wants to commit mutiny against her dress, I imagine. Well, SOME of us spoiled brats have brains. You wouldn't know anything about that, I suppose."
Ian contemplated telling this girl that he was working for a secret organization against his mother and he was doing spy work, and that HAD to take at least some brains, right? But he kept his mouth shut as the girl started ranting about spoiled palace brats and something called global warming. The earth was getting warm? Well that made no sense. Ian's morning baths were still as cold as ever.
Hamilton appeared at Ian's side. "What may I do for you, Prince Ian?"
Ian sighed. "Take…erm, Princess Sinead to her chambers please. And then I should like to be alone for a few hours. I have a splitting headache from this beastly costume. Thank you, that is all."
Hamilton held out his arm for Sinead to take. "My Princess, if you would kindly come with me, I will lead you to your chambers."
Sinead paused her rant and looked at Hamilton. "Who are you?"
Hamilton gave a small smile. "I am Servant Holt. You may call me Hamilton."
Sinead batted her eyes. "Oh, well, okay, Hamilton." Together they walked inside.
Natalia groaned. "And we have to live with that animal? I shall NEED to speak with mother about this."
By "speak", Ian knew Natalia meant yell, but he was too deep in thought to annoy her. "You go do that," he mumbled distractedly.
Because while Ian was listening to Sinead, he had realized something. His mother would be stuck to "darling Barry's" side all afternoon. Which meant that Ian would have full access to the East wing for the entire day.
Time to put those "palace brat" brains to work.
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The door to the Queen's office creaked open. There was practically no light coming in through the small stain glass window at the corner of the long room. The wall were bare except for a few landscapes and a desk in the middle of the room with a few papers stored away in a filing cabinet. Everything was eerily cold and barren. It made Ian shiver.
Ian closed the door quietly so as not to make his presence know to the guard who would come whistling around the corner in approximately three minutes and poke his head in the door to make sure everything was undisturbed. Ian's window of time to work was short, but he was determined to make the best of it.
Ian's examination of the room was brief and unrevealing. There was no hidden switch behind any of the paintings, not secret lever underneath the desk, and not files in the cabinet labeled "CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET EVIL PLANS. Everything seemed to be perfectly innocent and in order. But Ian knew better. The atmosphere in the room was almost…sinister, as if someone evil was watching him from the shadows. Instinctively, Ian turned around to make sure there was nobody there. Even after confitmation that he was indeed alone, the tingling on his back didn't stop.
One of his precious three minutes was up, and Ian hadn't found a single thing. Think, he told himself. If you were Isabel, where would you put a secret niche? He had checked all of the corners, on the backs of all the objects, in all the hidden places. If you wanted to keep something hidden, where would you put it?
The answer hit Ian, and he almost kicked himself. Obviously, if you wanted to keep something hidden, you put it in PLAIN SIGHT! Cahill spies would first check all of the obscure hiding places, but they wouldn't think to check out in the open! Ingenious!
Of course, that didn't help Ian figure out what it WAS that was in plain sight. And another precious minute had just ticked away.
Ian started pacing, hoping the answer would come to him. He strode towards the window and rested his palm against the cool glass. Then, he looked at the lever to open the window. It was twisted, broken beyond repair. But….Ian looked closer. If the lever had been broken for some time, then wouldn't a layer of dust have accumulated on the gilded surface? But no, the handle looked polished as ever. Tentatively, as if grasping a hot poker, Ian wrapped his hand around the lever and pulled.
Instead of going back, like a lever is supposed to, it moved sideways. Ian didn't have time to wonder at this, because at that same moment, there was a smooth click noise coming from the inside of the wall, and a panel opened. It was perfect craftsmanship; the panel looked like it had been intact with the wall. It would not be easily found. Moving quickly, Ian slipped inside the panel as it slammed shut.
Ian was in a different room, one that he had never seen. The torches were lit, which Ian found strange. They illuminated the pictures on the wall. They were depicting gruesome battles, and a mighty army with a gray flag that had a blood red V on it. "Vespers," Ian whispered to himself.
There was a huge file cabinet on the left wall. Ian hurried to it and grabbed some of the papers and slipped them under his belt. He would examine them later for clues.
To the right of the panel was a staircase going up. Ian started ascending.
The stairs were cold gray stone, and there were small niches where animal skulls were displayed, all with the same "V" etched into them. The stair kept on going, higher and higher, until finally Ian came to a ladder and a trapdoor. He pushed it open and stepped on to a small circular roof. The cold wind whipped his hair and threatened to tug the papers out from under his belt. It was high up, higher up than anyone could jump or climb. If this was the way the mysterious man had gotten out of the castle, than how? And why? The more he discovered, the more answers he realized he didn't have, Ian gathered.
Descending the stairs, Ian felt a small amount of triumph at his discovery. He now knew where all the secret information was, and how to access it. He had grabbed some papers, and would analyze them further. He managed to sneak out of his mother's office without being detected and hurry back to his room, the papers crinkling against his leg.
As soon as he has reached the safety of his bedroom, Ian took out the papers and spread them over the floor. If he was expecting anything, he was sorely disappointed. It was nothing but food supply bills and orders for new materials that they needed around the palace like linens and china. Also, there were some court sentence notifications and notes on the person's trial. Innocent stuff, like; farmer, paid bills, killed man over money. Murder. Punishable by law, and man, 35 years of age, literate, stole from market. Punishable by law. Ian could see no relevance to any of these, and he roughly stuffed them back into his folder, annoyed with their lack of explanation. Why on Earth would Mother want to keep this junk locked up? It was obvious that they were important, yet Ian could find nothing of importance in them.
Growling with frustration, Ian stuffed the papers back into the folder and pulled up a loose floorboard from the inside of his closet. Stashing the evidence in there made him feel that it would be safe. Nobody would think to look there.
With questions swirling through his head, Ian left his room and headed down to the sword arena for some practice.
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The palace guard poked his head into the Queen's room. There was nobody there. He was about to close the door and continue his rounds when he noticed the outline of a handprint on the window.
Eldrich's lips tugged into a cruel smile as he shut the door softly and walked away.
He had somewhere to visit.
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The sun was slowly sinking beneath the clouds. Ian finished up his workout and hurried back to the castle, determined to get in a quick bath before he was needed for the Royal Family Dinner with the new visitors. On the way inside, Ian pulled aside one of the maids and asked if she could bring a hot bath into his room for him so that he could change quickly.
As soon as Ian entered his room, he could sense something was wrong. Everything looked the same, but there was a cold and sinister feeling in his room. Why would it feel this way? If someone had been in there. But why would someone want to break into the Prince's room. There was nothing important in it, was there? Unless…
Ian ran to his closet and cursed. There, laying on the ground, was the loose floorboard, and inside it, emptiness. The papers were gone. Somebody had found out about him. But who? And how?
Ian knelt to the floor and picked up the floorboard. On the surface, a V had been carved into the wood.
Hi! Did you like it? Was it long enough? Please review and tell me all your lovely criticisms!
A special thanks to Allison…for helping me study for my Science final? For just being there? Whatever.
In English we're reading To Kill A Mockingbird, and there' all this symbolism in it and stuff. So- here's my symbolism for this chappie;
The broken lever on the window is symbolic of Isabel b/c she is all nice and polished on the outside but broken and twisted on the inside. Also, the lever opens doors, like it's opening opportunities for the Vespers to get into the courts and kill Bookkeepers and evil stuff like that. :) I thought that was really deep guys...like REALLY deep.
Have y'all seen Catching Fire yet? ITS REALLY GOOD YOU NEED TO!
LOVE YA,
iheartamianplusnatan
