Waking Up
Waking Up
Chapter 1
For a long time, neither parent spoke. The air was as thick with tension as blue flames devoured the logs in the hearth. The Princess of the West kept her eyes closed as she listened to the lull in her parents’ conversation. Then, after a while, the Queen of the West finally spoke.
“You cannot ask our daughter to marry that... beast.” The Queen hissed, trying to keep her voice low as she stroked her daughter’s ash-coloured hair. The girl shifted slightly, but her eyes remained shut tight. She was far too old to be sleeping on the couch like that, but neither parent moved to wake her. The King’s eyes lowered to the girl. They darkened as he gazed at his youngest child.
“Would you rather the kingdom be destroyed while she sleeps?” The King said bitterly. “The East is far stronger than us.”
“She’s a child.”
“She is sixteen.”
Silence filled the room as the King and Queen glared at each other. The fire crackled, filling the still air with its quiet sound. Shadows danced on the wall and across the royal family, twisting their features within the darkness. The Queen took a deep breath.
“I’m going to bed.” She stated as she gently slipped her legs free from under the girl’s head. The King stood and followed, trying to reason with his wife even though he knew it would be impossible. She was as unyielding as the Northern winds.
Once their voices faded, the girl opened her eyes. She stared at the fireplace in front of her while her mind repeated the conversation between her parents. The King of the East. Was he that horrible?
The Princess curled up on the couch, resting her head on her crossed arms as she thought. The Continent was divided into four sectors, each named for their respective locations. The four kingdoms had a tense relationship since the Divide. There used to be a time when all four belonged to the same coven, but people grew suspicious of the others’ powers until everyone grouped with people with the same abilities and, thus, the divide. The East’s magic teetered on Dark magic: necromancy, spirit talking, and anything in between. They were powerful and scary, and the other three groups avoided them like the plague, which they had caused at one point. By the time the Princess fell asleep again, her mind was swirling with thoughts of dark magic.
Shouting woke the girl with a jolt. She rolled off the couch, landing on her knees with a painful thump. The room around her was dark. A glance behind her told the girl that the fire had died long ago, so not even embers remained.
The Princess started to stand when she saw a shadow dart past the open door. She crouched on the couch and watched another two shadows run past, one pausing to glance into the darkened room before running after their companions.
“The princess.” A feminine voice hissed. “Quickly, before the guards catch up with us.”
“Shut up and run!” Another one said, their voice heavy with an accent the Princess couldn’t place. The trio ran away.
The Princess remained frozen on the couch. Her mind turned over the words, trying to pry the intent from them. An intention she didn’t want to acknowledge. So the Princess remained frozen in the darkened room until sunrise.
The guards found her as dawn broke. They spoke, telling her of the night’s events, but she didn’t react. Instead, her gaze locked on the still open door in front of her. No one tried to move her.
“Datura?”
The Princess finally moved her head. Her eyes landed on her brother as he entered the sitting room. He still wore his travelling clothes. Many people assumed they were twins, which was an understandable conclusion even though the Prince was two years older. The siblings shared the same tall, lithe bodies, ashen hair and oval faces.
“I hurried back as soon as I heard.” Sanguinaria Clematis said. He sat on the couch, stretching an arm over the back as his dark eyes landed on his sister. “Are you holding up well?”
“I...” Datura shook her head. She looked around the room, her eyes flickering over the two guards standing at the door. “We were just in here. Together.”
Datura’s gaze turned to her brother. Her eyes widened.
“Are... are they actually gone?” Datura’s voice came out as a pitiful whimper. Sanguinaria looked away and swallowed hard. He wished he could reassure her. Tell her that they were fine. That they were waiting in the next room for her to tell them the newest fact she’d learned from her books. Instead, Sanguinaria had to nod.
Datura closed her eyes. Her heart stilled in her chest as she tried to fight down the tears that crawled up her throat. Sanguinaria rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. The siblings sat together for a while, neither one speaking.
