“I’m sure you do, and I have no doubt you will tell me, if we are to meet again.”
He let go of my arm and took hold of my hand, kissing my knuckles gently. Again, the butterflies and shivers went down my
spine and into the pit of my stomach. Such a simple act would have me spinning for the rest of the day.
No sooner did the action happen, he was bowing and walking away into the crowd of people that had gathered, playing
music and dancing. And I, sadly, headed back into the dress shop while the feeling of his lips still lingered on my skin.
Chapter 4
ORNELLA
The next few days at the castle were quiet, uneventful and I’d been ordered by my father to stick to the castle grounds. He
didn’t want to go out hunting for me again. I had a sneaky suspicion that he always knew where I was, even when I
wandered off into the woods. He was the king after all, and he had people whose job it was to know where every
member of his family was at all times. Even if I did like to pretend he had no idea.
My lessons with Hector were dull and boring as he continued going on about the history of my bloodline and the war
between two houses. Two royal lines within our world: the Crystal Kingdom and the Obsidian Kingdom. Once my great, great,
great grandmother was made to wed the son of the opposing side almost six hundred years ago, peace was instilled in the
world.
There was no more fighting. No more wives, mothers, or families losing each other, and we continued to reign happily in a
world where war wasn’t something that happened.
There had, of course, been threats and attempts of a few uprisings. King Theodore and Queen Helena of the Obsidian Clan,
had at one point decided that they wanted more power, and tried desperately to remove my grandparents, King Lenway and
Queen Lyla, from their thrones. And they had failed miserably.
My father refused to talk about those months. He became a prisoner of war when King Theodore captured him, and it took
many, many men to save him and a lot of negotiations to have him returned safely.
As Hector drilled on, his monotone voice hurt my head, and I continued to fight to keep my eyes open as sleep tried to take
me. I’d not dreamt of my shadow man in a while and wondered if I were to ever see him again.
“How did your—the king, get brought back safely, and no repercussions happened?” Hector asked, drawing me to look at
him.
“Eh…I am not sure.”
“Come now princess, we have just learnt this.”
“I um…I believe it was a trade deal that eventually the King and Queen of the Obsidian Clan agreed to return my father in
exchange.”