Once Upon Insanity – The third chronicle
Night had fallen, coaxing the moon to cast its faint, silvery glow upon the structure of the castle. Its pale shafts of illumination shone down softly on the fields, lighting up the place dimly, bathing it in its golden rays.
All was quiet, except for the voice of Mother Nature which sounded upon the stillness. The crickets chirruped; the moths' wings hummed; nocturne creatures woke and prowled within the shadows. All of these came together to paint a mesmerizing night time scenario.
And yet, however, upon closer inspection, something didn't quite fit in.
A shadow darted – nimbly, silently, swiftly… it scaled up the castle walls which separated Utopia from the cold, harsh reality and swung its leg over the edge –
– miscalculating its sense of balance entirely, tumbling over and falling on the ground on the other side with a sickening "thud".
Rubbing its sore, bottom, it groaned.
"Next time," Rosette growled darkly to herself, "I'd rather take the back gate."
The young princess stood, her usual demeanor gone. Her gown was absent, and in its place was well-polished armor, shimmering softly in the moon's glow. Silver blonde tresses were swept into a low ponytail at the back of her head, and those captivating cerulean orbs of hers were shining with anticipation and excitement. Rosette smirked, admiring her new look which suited her to a T.
And to think I used to dislike Joshua being at my height despite our one year age gap, she mused, swinging a bag over her shoulder.
I just hope Endes won't go running to Aunt Kate just yet…
- Flashback -
A young boy, scarce ten, hummed happily to himself as he skipped his way to his Master's room. After checking on Prince Joshua's knight armor, he was free! Free for that entire blissful afternoon! He already had his itinerary forming beautifully in his mind. A picnic by the lake, followed by blackberry hunting! Should he ask Alias along, he wondered, blushing faintly. Yes, yes he should. But how should he go about asking her? As subtlety as possible… perhaps he should bring along a flower?
Just as he was deciding on which blossom he should present to his playmate, he was whisked off both feet and thrust unceremoniously against the wall.
Terrified and quaking, he stared back at the Very Dangerous-looking Princess who, at that moment, could have been classified under class "D" of unsafe-to-slay beasts. And for your information, "D" never stood for "Dandy". "D" stood for extremely "Deadly" and "Dangerous".
"Don't," Rosette hissed, "try anything funny. Do as I tell you to, and escape unscathed thou shall."
Chrysanthemums, young Endes dazedly thought. White chrysanthemums would be the best…
For his coffin, that is.
He was one letter away from being "Ended".
- End Flashback-
Rosette sighed, scratching the back of her head. Perhaps she had been a little too harsh… he was only ten after all…
Then, all of a sudden, she gave a start.
Crap! She had wasted too much time, she thought as she, absent-mindedly, tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. She was going to have to hurry if she wanted to reach the nearest village by daybreak…
As she hurried off, she gave a backwards glance at her home, almost wistfully.
"Goodbye," she whispered, heading off.
Before that, however, she shuddered.
I'll bet Aunt Kate isn't going to take this very well…
As per usual, Kate was at the dining room with Joshua as soon as dawn broke over the horizon, waiting for the maids to serve breakfast on the table.
"Rosette's not here?" she enquired, lifting a cup of herbal concoction to her lips.
"Nope. Knowing her, she's probably still in bed, sleeping…"
The queen sniffed disapprovingly at her nephew's reply and returned her attention to her daily hot beverage. She inhaled deeply, savoring how the sweetness and bitterness of it all could come together to form such a perfect harmonic taste. She sighed, relaxing.
Now this was life. Joshua was finally showing marked improvement in his courses, and she had finally found Rosette the ideal life partner! It was a load off her shoulders, really, she thought as she made to sip at her tea.
Sadly for her, the maid chose this very moment to burst through the doors, waving a piece of paper wildly.
"P-princess Ro-sette –!" she gasped through pants, dismissing Prince Joshua's concerned hand impatiently, "She's ran away from home!!"
Before both the Queen and her nephew had time to respond to the servant's report, young Endes waltz pitifully into the room, silent tears streaming down his cheeks in torrents.
"T-the princess," he managed to sob through his wails, "She t-took Master's knight things, a-along with some of your m-Majesty's money!"
The handle of the fragile teacup snapped.
Then a shriek of fury, a cry of shock, along with screams of surprise.
"PRINCESS ROSETTE CHRISTOPHER! I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU!!"
Somewhere south towards the border of Magdalene Castle, a young teen sneezed violently.
Looking around wildly, the knight managed to compose and ease himself of his worries, reverting his attention back to the tray of food before him.
Or should I say, "Princess Rosette Christopher"?
"Jeez" she muttered, staring at the breakfast she ordered, an uncomfortable weight settling in her gut. "Can't anyone leave me alone around here to eat in peace?"
Just as she was about to spear her fork through the delicious-smelling omelet oozing with goodness, she caught a few words of what the frequents of the Inn were chatting about in loud voices.
"Poor girl," they were saying, "abducted from her own Palace. How could the Duke do such a thing?"
" – wanted her for her looks, it's rumored," they said, frowning, " Marriage's gonna take place a few days from now…Evil old git."
"Dear Princess…still, we never knew the King had a daughter," they paused, lamenting, before talking again.
"Heard there's going to be a huge reward for anyone who can get her back… Too bad," they were saying, "Who'd dare go against the Duke?"
Rosette blinked, pondering. A fellow princess in distress? A queer feeling of protectiveness rose within her for the young lady. She was in the same boat as she was, the blonde thought with a sudden pang. About to be forced into a marriage she absolutely cannot comprehend…
Rosette clenched her fist, her jaw set, determination flaring in her sapphire eyes. That was the last straw. She, with her stubborn streak of righteousness, just couldn't stand by and watch another girl get into the same, horrible plight as she was in. Heck, even Rosette had a much better deal than she did. Later, the princess in the knightly armor decided, she was going to gather up more information of the abduction and the said "Duke". Then she'd think of a plan to rescue the damsel in distress.
But the first thing up on my list, Rosette looked back down at her plate.
…Was to do justice to the breakfast laid out before her.
A/N: ...err...Well, I know this is kinda corny, but with me being me, you really just have to put up with it. I'm pretty much sure lotsa questions (If not, at least some) are buzzing around your heads right now, so just pretty much fire away. I'd do my best to answer them, unless its gonna be revealed later in the plot. Perhaps I'll do this little "interview" session with some of the characters, where they'll sort of answer the questions themselves, or something... I don't mind flames - I adore them and welcome them with open arms really - but what I crave for are "Reeeeevieeewsss"... Oolll Don't worry, I'm not threatening you into reviewing. Just a little side note. I'll be having my exams this few weeks, so... you know the drill - study. .