Review please :) I've been working on this one chapter for God knows how long…I can't believe the writer's block I've been having lately…
Disclaimer- Let me check…nope, still don't own anyone except Julia, all Hightopps other than Tarrant, and even Mira's parents.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."—George Santayana
Mirana, 14 years old
Loneliness was not something that I was accustomed to. I normally had Julia or Tarrant by my side constantly. Now, all I had was either I myself for company or my mother, considering I had to go through those Queen Lessons. I spent my days wandering the halls and trying to convince my parents to let me travel where I could get my mind off things. So far, they'd yet to cave in. I wanted to go to the Castle of Marmoreal. My parents thought I was crazy! All that was left in Marmoreal was a run down, crumbling castle in the middle of a large meadow. The castle had belonged to my great-grandmother. I had done my research and learned my fair share of history. Absolem and Chessur helped me- they were as old as Underland itself. Still, I barely knew half of it.
My great-grandmother had been one of the first five original Queens of Underland. Before that, Underland was completely run by Kings and their sons. One of the Kings- King Jonathan- had only been blessed with a daughter. He wasn't happy about it, but he passed her the throne anyway. That queen was Queen Lonna- the very first Queen Underland had ever layed eyes on. She was beautiful, of course- all of royalty was. It was a gene that was passed from each ruler to the next, unfortunately. The Queens were often…used. Not only their husbands, but the court as well. Queen Lonna had one daughter named Deborah. She became Queen and passed the throne to her only daughter just as her mother had. She was named Queen Alyssa. She, as well, had a daughter who she named Lonna (after the original Queen). Lonna had one daughter, just as her ancestors did, and this time, it was my great-grandmother. She was crowned the White Queen Mirana. I was named after her, if it wasn't noticeable. She had had Marmoreal built in shiny white marble, accented with blue in just the right points. There had once been a fountain that sat in the middle of a huge maze. There were cherry Trees lining the path that led up to the large grey entrance and towers that were higher than Anything in Underland. Chess pieces were also scattered around the grounds, symbolizing her love for the game. I had, along with my name, inherited that obsession. Mother taught it to me when I was much younger but I forgot. I did intend on learning it again.
Well, Queen Mirana of Marmoreal had one daughter, my grandmother, Julianna. When she became Queen, she gave birth to my mother- Danielle- and her sister- Hannah. This was a historical happening in Underland. The birth rate for Underland's royalty is extremely low. To have two children- and both daughters at that- baffled the habitants of Underland. They rivaled each other, competing for the crown. The two girls couldn't have been more different. Even though Mother was younger, she gained the throne. By the time she was about 30 years old, she'd given birth to Iracebeth, me, and Julia. This, too, excited the population of Underland. No one had ever seen such a high birth rate in royalty.
That was the good part of Underland's history. There had been a Dark Period, where Auntie Hannah had stolen the crown from Mother. Of course, Good overcame Evil and Mother got the crown back. But there was a terrible war. All this time, my mother was only 23 years old. She was very young and this was quite an accomplishment. Father had been the Champion of Underland at the time and defeated the beast that Auntie Hannah had used in Battle. Mother married him because it was her duty. After- a year or two later- Iracebeth was born. In another 6 years, I was born; in yet another 6 years, Julia was born. I had been able to name Julia, just as Racy named me, and I chose the name because it was what I used to call Grandmother Julianna. I could never pronounce her full name, so I called her Grandma Julia. But, before Julia of Crims was born, Grandma Julia had passed.
But before that, my parents had to put up with each other and learned to love one another's personalities- though they were complete opposites. They had no choice in whether or not they married each other. Mother moved to Crims to be with Father, leaving Marmoreal to crumble under the fierce power of the elements. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened, had Mother married the man she loved instead. She said he was the most handsome man in all of Underland, but he was merely a Hatter and she was a princess. This, of course, made me lose faith in the fact that I could ever truly love Tarrant. But who's to say he would even consider marrying me?
I used to travel to Marmoreal with Mother all the time to pick through the rubble. Sometimes, we found an artifact. I actually helped her find the Oraculem. Marmoreal was so a place that was much fun. Going there calmed me. It was as if my female ancestors were still there, soothing me. I felt a pull whenever I was there, begging me to stay and look around in the ruins. I was so very curious- I wanted to explore and find something that may have been long lost in war or a flood again. Maybe it was simply a little creature, waiting to be rescued by anyone who happened to be passing by. I decided to find out. I was going there for the day- no one could stop me. Well, of course, I could stop me, but that was not going to happen.
"Mirana of Crims! Where are you?" shouted a tiny voice from down the hall. I smiled to myself and braced myself for what I knew was coming. This was the only other thing that could stop me. Julia came sprinting down the hall straight at me. I bent my knees a bit and opened my arms, letting out an "oof!" as she jumped into me a bit too hard. I coughed a minute and held her there, laughing as she whisper-yelled into my ear.
"Momma wants to see you!" she said excitedly. I laughed gently and set her feet on the ground. I took a deep breath, trying not to show just how exhausted I was. I took her hand and walked down to Mother's receiving room for the fifth time this week. I was getting bored of these lessons.
"Mira, why is Racy so happy today?" asked the little girl at my side, who wasn't so little anymore. I could almost feel my heart stop as I realized what must've happened. She was going to marry the King of Hearts. I would be Queen. More importantly, what would happen to Racy?
"I don't know," I lied, "Maybe she found something special." Julia left the topic there, but I had to have a word with Mother about this. "Tell Mother I need a moment- I'll meet her soon enough today. No later than Brillig." I sent the young girl off and began walking to Iracebeth's room. I felt a little fatigued, but I had important things to do.
"Racy?" I shouted, knocking on her door. She opened it and smiled, taking me in a small hug. We didn't see each other often anymore. "I need to talk to you," I said frantically, pushing her inside the room. I knew she was letting me- I couldn't have done it otherwise.
"What is it? You look concerned," she mused, walking over to her vanity. She began curling her hair, as it had gone flat.
"I need you to tell me- are you marrying the King of Hearts?" She stopped and dropped the curlers on the table-like thing in front of her.
"Yes."
"Could you at least wait a few years? You don't even have to crown yet," I added, knowing that she'd never have the crown.
"This is not your choice."
"But Racy! Just a few years? I know you don't want to marry him- I've seen the hate in your eyes when you look at him! You love Illosovic Stayne, don't you? Wait for him! I heard him talking Tarrant a few months ago about proposing to you. Please, Racy?" By this time, I at her side, holding onto her arm- partly to emphasize my point, partly to hold up my weight.
"Fine. I'll tell him I need a while to think about it," she muttered, a dreamy look in her eye as she thought about Illosovic. I sighed in relief and went to sit on her bed. I began playing with a loose strand of hair and noticed it's color.
"Racy- why is my hair this odd color?" It was dark brown, but the underside of it- the part you couldn't normally see- was nearly blonde. My sister came over and played with it for a moment, then dropped it.
"I don't know. Now, go, Mother was wanting you, I heard." I grimaced and hopped down off the bed, making my way to my next Queen Lesson. Bloody things. As I walked down the hall, I had to take slow, deep breaths.
I should have stayed in bed today, I thought. By the time I reached my mother's receiving room, I could feel my leg muscles burning with over use and my head was beginning to spin. All over, I felt terrible.
"Hello, Mirana," my mother greeted me, as I entered the room. I smiled weakly and sat down in a chair, grateful for a chance to relax.
"Now, I won't need you for too long today, dear. I just need you to make a decision. You need to choose three courses to take. You've already started with Potions, so you should probably stay with that. Here's a list of choices," she said, handing me the list.
Courses... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Instructor
-Crafting... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Art and Craft
-Dominion of the Living Things... ... ... ...Life
-Dominion of the Dead... ... ... ... ... ... ...Death
-Healing... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Medicine
-Potions... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Queen Danielle
-Music... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Melody and Harmony
-Public Speaking... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Voice and Confidence
And it ended there. It was quite a variety of choices, but I knew one of which I would definitely take.
"Healing," I said, not even thinking about it.
"And the other?"
"What is Racy taking?" I asked.
"Crafting, Dominion of the Living Things, and Music." I should've known. I was not musical or crafty in anyway, nor did I need practice in Public Speaking.
"May as well take Dominion of the Dead," I whispered, grimacing. I despised Death, no matter how kind he truly was. He was just stuck with a terrible job.
"Alright. I'll try and speak with Death and Medicine- they'll probably have no problem teaching you. I'll continue your Potions training myself, though, alright?" I nodded. "You may go." I began to stand up, but immediately felt the effects of my efforts and fell back into the chair. "Mira, love, are you alright?"
"Yeah," I choked out. I stood again and walked out the door, holding onto the walls as I made my way to my bedroom. About halfway there, I stumbled and leaned against one of the walls. I slid down, drawing my knees up to my chest. I leaned my head down and waited for the dizziness to pass. I looked up slowly as I began to feel better, and gasped. There, right in front of my face, was a pair of very bright, very concerned green eyes.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!