Nobody paid any attention to her, because she was a lowly peasant. But she wasn't. Like everyone else, she had a huge secret.
Michaela returned to the Blue Castle, after her last outing with Allen. Her ponytails soaked up the moonlight, as she slipped through the gates. The guards stepped aside to let her cross.
The Verdigris girl walked up to the door of his study, doing the secret knock that he taught her. It swung open, and she stepped in.
"Your Highness. It's me."
The Prince's eyes penetrated hers as he looked up from the thick medical book he was reading. He smiled under his blue bangs, removing his reading glasses.
"Welcome back." He paused, adding "How's the butler?"
Michaela sighed. "I don't know if I'll ever get him to kiss me. He seems reluctant, or he knows about this..."
Prince Kyle frowned. He leaned forward, his hand on his brow.
"Michaela, this is going far too long. You've got to kill him! That's the only way I'll get to my Riliane. The Canterella wouldn't be as effective unless you apply it on the first try."
"But why Canterella? It's called the rape drug for a reason. I don't want to r-"
"Canterella, you see, is a sedative. Not exactly a drug. If he was was poisoned with cyanide, arsenic, or mercury, they will find it in his dead body. Canterella kills, and then disappears without a trace. Like us, if this is ever going to succeed. We need that to remain anonymous."
"B-but...I don't even love him! I think he's sensing that I'm hiding that. I feel like there's no point in killing him. He acted like a drunken puppy the first time we met. But he's not dumb, Your Highness."
Kyle rose. Every feature of him was accentuated with the moonlight, even his eyelashes having their own shadow (Not to imply that they were extremely long). He walked up to Michaela, his face looming in front of hers. She freezes when his warm breath hits her, as he whispers.
"Michaela, do as you say. Tomorrow night, go back to him and get the Canterella over your lips. Then kiss him, burn his body before he can wake up, and report back to me. I'm not giving in until this is all done. Once Allen is out of the way, Riliane will be mine."
"Riliane doesn't love you, Kyle. I do." Michaela says in her head, fighting back heartache. She sadly nods.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Then you are excused. Return to your quarters, and try again next night."
"Of course."
The tealette walked out, closing the door after her. She makes her way to the servants quarters, tears sliding down her face.
"I love you, Kyle. Why can't you see that? I would do anything for you, but keeping it from you and being forced to love Allen...it hurts me."
Her hand slides into her pocket for the cursed vial. It gropes around for a bit, and then tries the other pocket.
No Canterella.
"What?!" Michaela digs her hands through all her pockets, and then flips her dress up. She checks her shoes, hair, and underclothes. The drug wasn't there. How long had it been missing?
"Allen!" She suddenly exclaims. She stands in the hall, arms at her sides, seething. Because of him, she couldn't be with Kyle. And now, she'll never get the chance. He will send her to be executed, like what he did with the messenger. She will never tell him how she felt...
That's it, she thought. Tommorrow, Allen will die.
Things weren't going well for the Queen. She continued to drown in her own self pity and distress, and soon isolated herself from the rest of the world.
"Why does he like me? I'm not going to marry him. I won't give up my kingdom just because he threatens to kill me!"
She picks up a framed photograph of the king, a father she never knew. The Queen and the King had died the day she was born, and nothing but a will that fated her with Prince Kyle. She growls at it, then hurls it into the wall. It explodes in glass, shards getting into her hair.
"I DESTEST HIM! I want nothing to do with the Blue Kingdom. Kyle's just an idiot, a freaky, lying player! He's nothing like Allen!"
Riliane paces the room, her shoes crunching over broken glass. She sighs, collapsing back to her desk.
"All I need is Allen. Is that too much to ask?"
Soft knocking resonates from the door. Riliane doesn't lift her head up from the table. Today, she just wanted to sink into the table, and never have to talk to anyone ever again.
"Go away!"
However, the person knocking does the complete opposite of "going away". The door slowly creaks open, and a growing shaft of light appears on the ground. A familiar shadow contrasted against the light.
"Your Majesty?"
Riliane ignores him. He comes into the room, laying a silver platter with tea and brioche in front of her. Allen gets on one knee so that his face was level with the one that was on the table.
"I've brought food, in case you're hungry. If there's anything I can do to make you feel better, just tell me. Count on it, okay?"
The Queen doesn't answer, nor makes any attempt to move. He sighs, giving her head a comforting rub, then proceeds to exit.
"A-Allen?"
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
Footsteps ran after him. Suddenly, the Queen hugs him from behind. Allen reacts with a soft grunt.
"Promise not to leave me, alright? I don't mean it in THAT way, but whatever happens with me or the Blue Jerk, just be there. You're a great servant, Allen. I can't afford to lose you, even with all the money in my Kingdom. Seriously. I'd be broke."
He turns around, hugging her back. "I promise."
He looks into her eyes, finding that she had been crying for some time. Probably over the marriage, without even knowing it. It was so unlike her, to tell him what he meant to her. Or even cry over something that actually made sense.
And at that moment, he knew he had to speak to the Prince about this. It makes him angry to see the Queen cry...and even angrier since it was because of Kyle.
After releasing him sheepishly, she tugs on the tuft of hair on the back of his head.
"Hey...you got a ponytail."
"Oh, yeah." Once he started doing the chores on regular basis, he had to tie his hair up to keep it out of the way. "I didn't mean to impersonate you, it's only because-"
"Shut up. I didn't say it looked bad. In fact, it brings more attention to your face." She grins, pushing him out of the room."Thanks, Allen."
"For what?"
"For just being here. But you should go now. You've got chores to do."
"Of course, Your Majesty." She slams the door on him, leaving him stunned. But then it opens again, just a crack. A blue eye peeks through, lined with fluttery eyelashes.
"Allen? You'll never hurt me, right?"
"Of course not-"
"Good." The door shuts for the final time, leaving Allen alone in the hallways. He choked back tears, as he realized that his answer was a lie. The knife and poison in his coat pocket said so. Untouched, unused, and waiting for him to finally make his decision.
Allen decides to skip doing the chores today. Want he wanted to do the most was to confront Kyle...for making his Queen cry. It was the least he could do to make up for attempting to murder her, that other night.
Did she honestly just hug him? And told him that he was worth more than all the money in her Kingdom? While stating that his ponytail "didn't look bad"? AND trusting that he would always protect her from harm, and never ever back stab her...?
The Evil Queen has...changed. And he didn't know whether or not he liked it.
He shook that thought out of his head, before guilt weighed him down again. Just then, Leonhart's voice booms through the Castle. Another criminal has been brought to the castle, for capital punishment. And the Queen is needed for the trial.
"Riliane! I mean, Your Majesty! An offender has been brought into the Castle!"
Riliane moves out of the room within a second, walking past him without a glance. She hops onto her throne, her servant following closely behind. With a mood that had completely contrasted to the way she acted before, she waved the offender in.
"Bring them before me."
With Allen standing next to the Queen, the criminal was dragged in by Leonhart. She had short blue hair and cerulean eyes...an Azure.
"Let me go!" The girl could be no more than sixteen, that or she was just really tiny. Although she wasn't dressed in rags, her clothing suggested that she had traveled a long way to get here. She had several fresh cuts around her body, suggesting that she was a pain to transport before the Queen.
"Be quiet. I don't have time for this. Leonhart, make it quick."
The soldier that had the Azure by the wrists cleared his throat. "The criminal has been charged with stealing gold from her master, and was sent here by the Blue Kingdom. Witness reports say that-"
"To hell with what the witnesses say. This girl is an Azure. Put her to death."
"What?! No! You can't do this to me!" The girl lashes out in fury, and Leonhart had to kick her to keep her down.
"Of course I can. I am the Queen, you see. Now, Leonhart."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
With that, the merciless soldier drags the screaming girl away, probably to the gallows. Before the Azure girl was gagged, her gaze averted to Allen's- sad, broken, and pleading. Like he was the only person left who can save her life. Instead, Allen looks away, eying a potted plant.
When the girl was gone, Riliane acts like nothing had happened. Like nobody's life had been taken away.
"See what I have to go through everyday?" She gets up from her throne, retreating upstairs.
"You sentenced her to death...just because she was an Azure?" Allen muses, almost disbelieving. Riliane nods.
"I'm sorry that it bothered you. But she can thank her Prince for her death."
The servant sighs, long after Riliane disappears. Then he takes a deep breath, waited for the castle to be completely quiet, and then headed down to the Dungeon.
He had an idea.
Sure enough, he found her exactly were he thought she would be. The Azure girl sat in the corner, her knees pulled up in front of her. She was sobbing quietly, in the dark, filthy cell.
Allen pulls his cap to shadow his eyes, a sparkle of his confidence coming back. This was going to be easy.
She couldn't see him in the dimly-lit dungeon. But his feet splashing the puddles told her where he was.
"Miss, do not be afraid."
However, she was afraid. She yelps, upon seeing his startling golden eyes. Allen removes his cap, and the girl calms down.
"Y-You're the butler!" She whispers, edging closer to the bars to see him.
"Servant may be the more appropriate term." He bows slightly. "I'm sorry the Queen had to deliver that sentence. She's been awfully sour these past few days."
"Not exactly..." He thought, as he remembers how she hugged him today.
The Azure girl stares at him, her eyes huge with fear. Yet she remains perfectly still, studying his Xanthine features.
"So many people come in here everyday, so Leonhart's not going to notice. I'm going to get you out." Her face lights up with surprise, but then he continues talking. "On one condition. You have to do me a favour."
The girl exhaled, trying not to smile. "Anything! What is it that you ask of?"
"If I set you free, I request that you deliver a message to Prince Kyle. Make sure it goes to him, not his parents. And I ask that you deliver it to him personally, not his messenger. On my behalf."
The girl gasps. "Prince Kyle was my master! I can't go back...what if he has me arrested again?" However, her sad gaze lands on Allen. "But I'll do it, if you let me free. Please, I just...I don't want to die..."
Allen smiles, although it wasn't the least bit evil this time. "I understand. Thank you."
The second he says that, the door swings open without a sound. The girl watches in amazement.
"How did you do that?"
"I have my ways. Now, let's hurry." He takes out a scroll that he written himself, tied with a yellow ribbon. He hands it to her, as they run through the great hall. The amber floor seems to catch their reflection, two people doing something illegal. He noticed how the Azure girl looked so out of place in the castle of the Xanthines.
"I'm Allen." He said, trying to be friendly.
"I'm...Kaiko."
They reached the exit, and ran beyond that. He knew very well that Riliane would be in her study or bedroom, which faced the stables and the west side of the Kingdom. The Queen's garden was in the east. That's where they'll go, then.
Allen and Kaiko stop at the trunk of the elderly tree, catching their breath. They walked into the Yellow Kingdom, and Kaiko goes on to talk about her life. How she worked for the Prince, earning enough to feed her family. Then the wages severely dropped, because Kyle was using the money to buy gifts for Riliane. Because of that, she stole from him for years, but getting caught one day and taken to the Yellow Kingdom for her so called '"trial".
"You see, he loves your Queen very much. But more in the obsessive, materialistic way. If they started working together, I wouldn't know what to do...it could be the end of all Four Kingdoms as we know it. And I'm very aware that your Queen doesn't feel the same way for him. I have to say she has a very...obscene way of wording her hate."
"And you know this because...?"
"I used to be Kyle's personal messenger. I read the letters alongside of him, which was my favourite part of the day. Reading the Yellow Queen's rejection letters...never fails to humour me..."
After escorting her to the docks that would take her to the Blue Kingdom, he gives her a heavy pouch of gold.
"I hope this will cover enough to get you to the Prince. And maybe a little extra, in case you're hungry. Just tell him that you were set free by the Queen, because she requested it. He wouldn't mind, trust me."
Kaiko smiles broadly, extremely grateful. He wished he could do this with all of the prisoners, who were prisoners because of Riliane. But it was impossible. He did it for the sake of getting a letter to Kyle, requesting that he meets Allen someplace secret, as Allen had something to ask of him.
"Thank you...thank you so much! You saved my life...!" Kaiko holds back her tears and Allen smiles, before the two part their ways, never to see each other again.
"I hope she will be alright. I hope he gets the letter."
Allen knew he had succeeded in getting the message, while saving someone's life too. But he ignores all this, and just returns to hoping.
Finally, the day ended. After doing all the chores and paperwork that Riliane had forgotten about, the letter came.
"A messenger? This late?" Riliane turned to Allen, who was in the middle of reading her a story. He doesn't reply, and then bolts out the door.
"Hey, Allen!"
The servant was consistent with getting the (possible) reply from Kyle. He slides down the banisters, which was his way of dusting them. It was the only secret he had that was completely harmless.
"Message to Allen Avadonia, from the Blue Kingdom." The messenger hands him the scroll and tips his hat, and then walks away before Allen could say anything else.
He unrolled the parchment, and takes note of the Prince's neat handwriting that slanted forward rebelliously. The ink and royal seal were dark blue.
"To Allen Avadonia, and others it may concern:
Your request was a daring one. If I didn't know who you were, I would've sent security to find you. Not that it matters, anyways. But lets put aside all this absurdity: Riliane has no choice than to accept the marriage, or die. I apologized that you were offended, but then again, you are in no place to argue with me. Her Kingdom is falling apart, as you know. She will fall apart too, and lose her title of Queen when the time comes. However, if she comes with me, the Yellow Kingdom can rebuild itself without her dictatorship. I will let her rule the Blue Kingdom alongside of me. And I know that you love her very much. So you wouldn't want her executed, would you?
Now, regarding the letter you sent me. It was clever for you to use the bum I threw in prison to deliver it, in secret. However, if Riliane requests it, then who was I to say no? You're a strange one, Allen. You suggested that we meet somewhere isolated, but you never specified where. So how about tomorrow evening, at five o'clock, at the Cendrillion Bar? It's quite secluded, as it's a place for strange people. It is located on the 34th road between the Blue and Yellow Kingdom, west of the docks, which makes it convenient for the both of us. I've drawn a map here, in case you get lost. Agreed?
I look forward to meeting you, Mr. Avadonia.
Prince Kyle Marlon of the Blue Kingdom. XX/XX/XX"
"Cendrillion Bar, huh." He knew of that place, but never entered. It was full of thugs and drug dealers, and sounded too risky. But it was the only way, if it were to be secret.
Allen tucked the note in his pocket, as Riliane came down from the stairs.
"Allen! What's going on?"
"The messenger asked that we send a confirmation letter to the Green Kingdom about this season's imports." He lied.
"Oh, that. I'll do that tomorrow." She yawned, tugging on his sleeve. "Can we finish the story now?"
"Of course!"
Her smile caused his heart to sink with guilt, as they made their way to the bedroom.
a/n: Feedback is appreciated :) Thank you for tuning in!
Kaiko: Kaiko Shion