Atlesian Nights
A White-Rose Fiction
By Erheig
Chapter 3:
An Electric Encounter
Weiss could count the times she had been outside of the palace walls on her fingers and had never been out without an escort; suffice to say she had led a sheltered life; she decided that would change today. The princess had disguised herself to look as common as she could. She wore not an elegant gown nor any jewelry, but rather a plain blue tunic and a pair of breeches. Her distinct porcelain hair was covered by a wimple and veil. She crept through the familiar halls of the castle during the busy morning, taking care to avoid anyone who would recognize her too quicky and praying that the majority of the servants that noticed her would see nothing but a maid on her way to her next chore. As she neared the outer gate of the palace, she froze with dread. Standing by the doors to freedom was her father's chief advisor and Head of Research and Development for the Royal Dust Fellowship, Archduke Arthur Watts.
The man was slender, with dark hair and an impressive moustache. he was dressed finely, though not necessarily dressed for court. He also had a silver pocket watch that he was never caught without. The archduke seemed to have a flair for the dramatic, which, in tandem with his prodigious mind and pet bird that he was rarely without, made him seem like a witch or a mad scientist; Weiss couldn't tell which, though the difference seemed negligible to her. She noticed that Watts was speaking, but no one else was around. She then realized that he was speaking to the bird, as he so often did. The avian in question was a raven with both black and white plumage that the archduke had named Whitley. Arthur Watts spoke to this bird more often than he did people and seemed to respect it more than even the king (though Weiss was fine with that part). The creepy thing, however, was the simple fact that ravens are not only surprisingly clever but excellent vocal mimics. At times it truly seemed like the two of them were actually conversing. What an aristocrat and a bird would have to discuss, Weiss couldn't guess.
The princess collected herself and approached the gate. After all, the best way to blend in somewhere is to act as though you belong. The key was confidence, and no one has more confidence than a princess, right?
Marching across the courtyard, Weiss felt relieved that Watts seemed too absorbed in conversation to notice anything but the corvid in his hand. But her stride broke when suddenly,
"Oi, girl! Where do you think you're going?" A guard that Weiss hadn't noticed in the corner approached her fiercely. "Get in the kitchen and help prepare the king's breakfast before you're taking lashes!"
"Is that any way to speak to a lady, you goat?"
The archduke hadn't even shifted his gaze from his feathered friend as he reprimanded the man.
"Let the girl attend to her business, it's none of ours"
"But, milord, I-"
"Speak again and I'll have your tongue, understood? Gods know the poor serfs need a break. Now fetch me a drink."
After a brief pause, the brutish guard wordlessly grimaced, nodded, and headed into the palace to satisfy the archduke's command.
"... Thank you, milord."
"Think nothing of it, girl," Watts responded, still keeping his gaze on the monochrome bird in his hand. "I simply regret that we hire such ogres in the first place."
Weiss curtsied and rushed through the gates, out of the castle and into the bustling city square. Though as she left she could swear she heard Whitley call out "Good day, Princess." She put the thought out of her mind as she strode down the street and deeper into a world she barely knew.